(Reviewed by Jeyran Main)
Once Lost Lords is a book about survival, love, and intense battles. Author Stephan Morse takes us into dark times, where elves, wolves and vampires live together. Jay Fields is a tracker; one of the few left that takes contract jobs from his friends to make ends meet. As happens, he gets mixed into a fervor of which costs him more than what he originally bargained for.
“I closed both eyes and tried to wish the lock of hair away. That failed.” Jay says after he returns from a four-year absence to avoid certain confrontations.
The battles are epic and the fights very pleasantly explained. Stephan Morse’s art in literature is superb. He writes in such a manner that you can effortlessly visualize the scenes in your head. I believe this skill is something not many writers have, and I congratulate him for his talent.
The characters, plot and the overall story are intriguing, and if you are a person who likes to read science fiction stories, this book is definitely up your avenue. Each setting is explained with precision, and it is clear that the author wants to intensify the feeling of its reader and capture their attention in every scene.
With all said, I did find the book a little slow in pace at times. For instance, Jay Fields gets out of bed to leave his house as his friend is waiting on him. From his bed to the door you would have had to read, at least five pages containing Jay’s thoughts, possible back flashes, then physical surroundings and maybe some dialogue with his friend. You could not help yourself sometimes from asking where is the author going with this?
The ending was very nicely put together. It leaves you just enough for wanting to know what happens next but yet content to where it leaves you.
