By: Stephanie Wyatt
*I was given this arc for my honest review.*
The Battle For Metagore is a high fantasy novel by D.L Stewart. It tells the story of the Kingdom of Metagore. A peaceful kingdom led by an elf named Lord Brighton for many centuries. After the death of Lord Brighton during an end of year harvest festival, four of the Viscounts of six kingdoms within Metagore decide to declare war on the newest Lord Cornelius because they are unhappy they were not consulted about his election.
The story is told from the point of view of various different players of the six kingdoms. This gives the reader a wide view of the situation, but I found myself being jarred by the frequent point of view switches in the book. It made me not feel as connected to any character because I had to focus on who was dead and who was still alive. I also felt like characters were not mentioned for a while, and then they would come up again so I would have to go back to make sure I remembered their backstory.
I did enjoy the fact that the story included various different types of magical creatures such as elves, succubi, dragons, shapeshifters, tree folk, and demons. Most fantasy novels focus on one or two, so it was interesting to see so many different types of creatures, and their reactions to the different climates across the kingdom. I also enjoyed seeing a religion mentioned in the Kingdom of Metagore. It was interesting to see which rulers turned to religion for help in the war, and what their limit was before they turned their backs on said gods. The Battle of Metagore is a book filled with love, heartache, betrayal, and greed. It is the first of the A Lands of The Abyss Series. It is available for purchase on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.
Functionally Fictional 