The Bookwyrm's Review of The Bright Lord by Alex Knowles

Author: Alex Knowles

Length: 193 Pages/ 5 Hours, 31 Minutes (Audio)

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: November 16, 2020/ February 26, 2021 (Audio)

Narrator: Steve Campbell

Amazon Link

A home, a family. Lies, resentment. To save the future, he must reclaim his past.

Plot Summary

Ryan Hart thought he had saved them all. He'd served as Lord Commander of the Sarashead guild, faithfully and with honor for thousands of years. His work expanded their empire and brought peace.

But peace never lasts. . . .

Emperor Duhan has been murdered, ripping Ryan out of his new life as a citizen on Earth. Once again, he must leave those he loves for the greater good.

Rebirth is the path, a reset into a new body that he must cultivate and train. The collision of two worlds draws ever closer, and if he can't claim what was once his, all will be lost.

MY THOUGHTS

i wasn't familiar with the story before I started listening, just having it recommended to try out. I discovered a sci-fi story with LitRPG elements that has elements of space opera as well. I really liked the basic premise that the most powerful commander in a galactic empire would give up all the galaxy spanning power and be zeroed out as a normal person on Earth. This kind of hidden history story has always appealed to me. Of course, the hidden history always seems to come back to haunt the main character in stories, and this is no exception. Using his new family to draw him out from hiding is a fairly simplistic ploy, but I think it is fairly realistic. Having to re-enter his old life at a newb level is unsurprising, but having some hidden possible perks allows for quicker growth. I certainly didn't expect the struggles he went through as he had to deal with issues his new body started out with, and that really added some quality tension to the story as it progressed.

The other characters went though some nice character arcs themselves. We get to see growth from both naïve newb types to full redemption arcs, as past failures are made up for with current actions and decisions. The antagonists are a bit of a mystery though, and really weren't expounded upon much. I expect there will be more about them in subsequent books, but this one felt just a bit shallow without that needed backstory to flesh them out. It's not a deal breaker by any means, but it's something I hope to learn more about in subsequent books. 

The world building is an interesting mix of sci-fi/space opera elements and Lit-RPG/cultivation progression. The mixing of these disparate elements shouldn't work  as well as they do, but the author doesn't get overly reliant on crunchy stat building, instead using it as a basic framework to explain the energy manipulation and other psychic abilities. It allows for a wide range of effects within the story, with tech being the underlying foundation for what could easily be seen as magic. I wish a bit more of the backstory had been fleshed out in this book, but again, it's a multi story arc, so I'm sure it ill be expanded upon in later books. 

The narration is performed by Steve Campbell, who has quickly climbed into my top five for narrators. He reminds me quite a bit of Travis Baldree in the way his narrative voices sounds , and he has such a wide range of character voices, be it male, female, AI, alien, and every accent imaginable. He just brings the characters to life, and gives them each their own unique character on the recording. I look forward to the next audiobook of his I listen to.

I can definitely see this book appealing to a wide range of people. Whether it be sci-fi or LitRPG fans, there is something to find enjoyment in. It's a world a reader can just immerse themselves in, and let the story carry them away. I'll call this a recommended read.

RATING: 8/10 Stars