The First Ancestor
She avenged the fallen. Rebelled against an empire. Commanded a titan itself. Now Leiyn must win a war against death incarnate.
Oathbound to a deceased shaman, the ranger Leiyn ventures north with her comrades to fight alongside the Gasts in their ancestral war.
But this enemy is like none other Leiyn has faced. Ancient and malevolent, the very world bends to their dominion.
To overcome them, she seeks to rediscover a secret lost to time. A magic even dryvans fear.
The true power of titans.
Leiyn must prevail, for the Gasts’ war reaches far beyond the Veiled Lands. Should she falter now, the Gast nation shall fall, and all of Unera will soon follow.
Title: The First Ancestor
Series: Ranger of The Titan Wilds #2
Author: J.D.L. Rosell
Genre: Fiction / Fantasy
Kindle: 442 pages
Publication Date: 05/01/2023
Publisher: Indie
Language: English
My Review
Last year, I had the pleasure of reading my first novel by J.D.L. Rosell The Last Ranger, the first book in Ranger of The Titan Wilds novel, and subsequently enjoyed Ranger’s Justice, book #0.5 in the same series of which I learned a bit later. This was one of those discoveries last year, that was a match made in heaven. I loved the story of young Ranger protagonist Leiyn so much, that I’m glad the wait wasn’t too long for The First Ancestor to follow.
Here is what to expect in the newest installment that was published today:
A unique creation story with ancestral secrets.
Mysterious vailed shores to reach.
Spirits and Titans.
A quest into the darkest depths of evil with demons lurking far below the surface.
An evolving magic system.
New friendships, a touch of romance and battles to be had.
In The First Ancestor, we find Leiyn embarking on a journey that is a) - filled with ancestral lore and background, and b) - takes unexpected turns that will challenge her promise down to the ultimate sacrifice. In this novel, much time and detail are given in exploring the full circle of events that lead up to Leiyns past and the situation throughout between Gasts, Dryvan, Titans, and a new enemy she didn’t see coming. While a few new characters enter the story, not everyone is so convinced that her abilities will aid in overcoming and settling the longstanding dispute. A new development of the romantic kind makes a strike against her group’s ambition even more personal and not always the wiser, Leiyn’s goals take her deep into the underbelly of demons. A slow-building tease of a story arc proves to be the ultimate clash, a test of Leiyn’s survival and abilities.
J.D.L. Rosell’s writing remains spectacular, albeit a little less purple towards settings, which I loved so much in the first novel. The First Ancestor provides a much slower-moving plot with more significance and depth given to the lore and history of Titan Wilds as it develops towards a big crescendo at the end…and I was so looking towards that action to which it was slowly building up to.
The story’s soft focus on romance was a welcome and new addition I enjoyed and it gave Leiyn more gravitas in her decisions with the development of that plotline. The end of the novel has me wondering and waiting to find out where this will go, naturally.
In all, The First Ancestor surpassed my expectations in unforeseen ways and underwhelmed me slightly in terms of the reach in settings. I have a love for journeying/discovery, especially in this world J.D.L Rosell created, and Leiyn did much more exploratory Ranger work in the first book which is what I wished to read more of. It still reached great moments and I loved the caves with its shrouded secrets. As the story closes with a head spinner of an epilogue, I am craving to find out what happens next. Can’t wait!
I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
All opinions are my own.
Thank you!