Review of Rise of the Savior: Acolyte of Truth

[Elena Nechita]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Rise of the Savior: Acolyte of Truth" by Antoine Bonner.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Rise of the Savior: Acolyte of Truth by Antoine Bonner is a fantasy novel, the prequel to Rise of the Hearts by the same author, but it also serves as a standalone.
Eighteen-year-old Amanda craves something different than the community college her parents have in mind for her, but being chosen as the savior of humanity is not that something. When she and her father get into a life-threatening accident, Amanda gets chosen by a deity to be the acolyte of truth, which in turn gives her the ability to identify the people who are lying or telling the truth. Amanda doesn't think very highly of herself, but when the acolyte of death, Jamie, intends on using her sister to save his dying son, Amanda has to believe she can be capable of saving everyone.

At the beginning of the book, the relationship between Amanda and her sister, Saira, is considerably strained, largely because Amanda can't understand her little sister. As the story progresses, their relationship develops so beautifully that it became my favorite part of the book. Their interactions evolve to the point where they resemble normal siblings but remain true to their characters.

A teen who doesn't want to be the hero isn't a new idea for the main character, and I didn't connect with Amanda until halfway through the story. My favorite character has to be Ana, a mysterious woman who seems morally grey yet is very intriguing. I felt there wasn't enough of her but taking into consideration how many characters there were in the book, I can understand.

I liked how the author took the time to portray all the different abilities that the characters possessed, as they were all pretty interesting. My problem was that every time someone used their power, Bonner repeated the same description, word for word, and at one point, it became bothersome. That happened because the final battle was extremely long, and they all had to use their powers constantly, but at that stage, I didn't need to hear every time how they work.

The book had many characters, and though they all had something to do, it was sometimes difficult to follow them. Even the author mixed two characters at one point. The writing felt forced sometimes, but the pacing was good enough I could still enjoy the story.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars as it contained equal amounts of things I liked and disliked. It was professionally edited, with only a few errors.

I recommend this novel to people who like SF and fantasy books, but they should be age-appropriate because there are many scenes with graphic violence and profanity.

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Rise of the Savior: Acolyte of Truth
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[Raluca_Mihaila]

Thank you for your honest and balanced review! I like the idea of a teen who doesn't want to be the hero, but it does not seem original.

[Muna Chizzy]

Sounds like an intriguing fantasy story, i would love to know how Amanda saved everyone. I will add the book in my shelf. Thanks for the great review.

[Victor Jerry I]

I enjoyed reading your review. It’s nice to know that the book can be read as a standalone.

[Elena Nechita]

Thank you for your honest and balanced review! I like the idea of a teen who doesn't want to be the hero, but it does not seem original.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

[Elena Nechita]

Sounds like an intriguing fantasy story, i would love to know how Amanda saved everyone. I will add the book in my shelf. Thanks for the great review.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

[Elena Nechita]

I enjoyed reading your review. It’s nice to know that the book can be read as a standalone.

Thanks for reading and commenting!