Song of the Aura

Song of the Aura

by Gregory J. Downs

Gribly is the best thief in Ymeer because of the hidden power he wields over the elements of the city. But one day a simple burglary goes horribly wrong, and soon an army of assassins and soldiers are hunting him. His only way out is to join Lauro, a prince-turned-vagabond, and Elia, an orphaned nymph girl, on an insane quest to find the abode of one of the mighty guardian spirits, the Aura. The only problem is, no one has seen them for hundreds of years.

It would be easier if people didn’t keep dying all around Gribly, and if he could convince the world the murders aren’t his fault- a hard task, since the killer looks exactly like him, and might be the only one who knows the truth of his past. One hero isn’t enough. Can three unlikely champions control their wildly unpredictable gifts, throw down a thousand-year-old tyranny, and challenge Fate itself? The more Gribly learns about himself, the more he wishes he hadn’t come on this adventure. But without him, his friends will die and the world will burn. The truth is inescapable:

Real heroes don’t have a choice.

****

4 Stars

This book is a lot to take in, there are three parts and honestly I feel like I should have wrote a review after every part just because it is so long and so much happens.

The story itself is pretty unique, but under the over all flow of it there is something akin to the fight between God and the Devil. Anyone that is even partly religious will notice this, but it doesn't take away from the story at all, and really it could be just the way I myself interpreted everything. If looked at another way it could be of the eternal struggle between good and evil. It in no way preaches to you at all, so you shouldn't let this discourage you from reading it.

The characters themselves are good, and there is a lot of them. Everyone grows and changes in different way through the entire book. Its told from a hold slew of point of views, but this is done very well. You always know when its switching so you aren't left trying to figure out whats going on.

The plot is good, and very intense. There is a lot of different things going on all over the place. In the beginning you are mainly focused on Gribly and the people around him, but as the book progresses things start to focus on other people, it has that flow where everyone eventually meets up with each other at some point.

Its hard for me to write this review just because I can't really focus on anyone part of the book, partly because it was such a long read but mainly because there is just so much that happens that I can't pick and choose and I also don't like putting any spoilers in my reviews. I can say that it was a worth while read and that the author has a lot of talent. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes, but only if you are looking for a book to really dig into and focus on for a while. I'm a fast reader and it still took me 3 days to finish and process everything, for someone else I can see it taking a few weeks.