I have a real hit-and-miss relationship with the fantasy genre. I do find that a lot of the stories in the genre just don’t work for me, and yet fantasy books are the ones that I would love to be able to be more in sync with given that they take you fully away from the norm and place you in a world created within the author’s imaginative mind.

Fire Within is a medieval fantasy novel and the first in a planned series. It started strongly with an exciting prison break scene lead by our protagonist, Ivan, as he leads his fellow inmates and a wolfman from the Olso race. At this point, we don’t know much about Ivan except that he states he did not commit any crime and that unlike most of the inmates, Ivan is a nobleman sentenced to death by his father.

The world took some getting used to, as did the mass of characters. You are never sure which character is telling you the truth or who is good or evil. You will even question whether our protagonist is being truthful with us, is he really capable of the hideous crime he is accused of?

The world is grim and the plot very dark. The world-building however is superb I just wish I could follow it and understand it far better than I did. It contained everything most fantasy novels contain. Feuding families, war, fighting, secrets, corruption, a religious aspect, and otherworldly beings. The story has plenty of twists that will have you questioning everything you have been told up to that point.

If you enjoy a well-developed fantasy novel that is bloody and fast-paced, plus is a series, then you should pick this book up. Unfortunately, I think this is where my journey with these characters ends as I can appreciate the imagination, thought, and creativeness that went into the series I just wish I could have found myself enjoying it more than I did.