Review of Rise of the Savior: Acolyte of Truth

[G D H]

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

---

2 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Set outside a defined scope of time, Rise of the Saviour: Acolyte of Truth by Antoine Bonner is a nearly non-sci-fi and half-apocalyptic fantasy thriller. A shōnen anime by style but a shōjo manga by theme and characterization, it is splashed with a rather transient element of time-travel. It surges into the lives of Amanda and her six-year-old smarter sister, Saira; and goes on to measure where they stand in the efforts of a secret agency and of a psychotic witch at saving the world from the feared purgatory schemes of the god, Akuma, as well as from the fell and evil intent of Jamie Connor, the marked acolyte of death.

Functioning as Bonner's prequel to Rise of the Hearts: Rebirth, the novel is hinged on the epic actions of Amanda in the aftermath of finding herself saddled with the task of restoring balance to the world, after surviving what should have been an irreversible fatality. Nevertheless, our heroine is no Avatar, and fans of shōnen anime are bound to be highly disappointed, if at first instance, they expect such colossal power from our newest reincarnation of the acolyte of truth. At the last instance, however, she teams up with Saira and a ragtag team of other elite acolytes, and becomes just as brutal in dealing with the bad guys as truth when it comes to hunt the wicked.

The presence of subtlety in the author's approach to the events narrated in the story and the underlying themes is made evident and also enhanced by a marked prudence in upholding any moral backdrop to the manifestation of love. He uses intuitive suggestion by presenting us with a holistic outlook of the aftermath of each choice we make in this thread; the two possibilities being to cloth our choices with the light side of love or with the shadow that our sometimes selfish version of love often casts on us.

The novel could rightly be perceived as a fantastical fusion of a myriad of cross-religious dogma, multi-dimensional notions, and even a slight splash of sci-fi with the later unexpected introduction of time-travel by an acolyte called Zerah who arrives with a message from the future. This suggests the author's own open-mindedness and free will, investing him with literary dynamism. It also has rich amounts of what we could call "literary tech," in that it has enough of an interesting plot and active imagination to make a good novel. It however scores low on how it has manipulated this tech.

Even though life as portrayed is still very much alike to ours and seems to bear affinity to a very near past timeline, I also believe that the book lacks the proper temporal synthesis needed to stand apart as a delicious pound of the fantasy genre. Why? It is ultra fast-paced! The average reader already thrown off by the many relatively strange and far-off terms could easily tap out in the prime of reading, without the right dose of natural curiosity. This fatal unstructuring could rightly lead to its being received as a fantasia rather than a true fantasy anime.

It does however have enough scenes capable of inspiring delicious laughter even in the most disinterested reader. What it lacks in synthetic progression, in what seems to be taking shōnen anime and its well-known fast-paced notoriety to a whole new level on the part of the author, it therefore more than makes up for with thankful moments of ectasy and unrestrained hilarity. What else to expect when you have Amanda herself at the forefront of skepticism and the comic challenge of tampering optimism with grim mental conjuring of possible horror and go-wrongs, even as the ordained saviour of the world.

Although I believe the novel has been well-edited, it does not seem to have the touch of a professional editor. Considering all that have been said so far in favour and not of this book, I believe it is fair to balance things out by scoring it 2 out of 4 stars.

I see graphic scenes of blatant brutality and destruction of human life in the book, which forces me to reconsider its free recommendation as a children's manga. I suggest its recommendation only to individuals who have attained an understanding of responsibility and the violence one may come across when fighting for a good cause. Parents should therefore not be tempted to brusquely pass this novel off as a children's thing as the kids depicted in the novel are way more mature.

I recommend this novel to readers who love tinkering with plots in their minds to create their own alternate endings; to lovers of anything anime in general, and of thriller fantasy; and finally to all those interested in the literary exploration and exploitation of Far East mysticism.

******
Rise of the Savior: Acolyte of Truth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[AvidBibliophile]

Time travel, secret agencies, futuristic messages, and a psychotic witch would certainly liven up any plot, so it sounds like this fantasy/sci-fi thriller has a great deal of potential, but thank you for pointing out all of the other contributing aspects associated with this one. Perhaps it can go undergo another round of editing in order to reach and delight a new group of readers!

[Chiwelite O]

I think I would enjoy this book, the humor got me really interested. Thank you for this wonderful review!

[G D H]

Time travel, secret agencies, futuristic messages, and a psychotic witch would certainly liven up any plot, so it sounds like this fantasy/sci-fi thriller has a great deal of potential, but thank you for pointing out all of the other contributing aspects associated with this one. Perhaps it can go undergo another round of editing in order to reach and delight a new group of readers!

It is truly a remarkable piece. Just as you have pointed out, I am also of the opinion that Bonner's sequel is in need of more artful polishing. I do appreciate your kind response.

I am new, but I know enough about OBC to have a warm respect for a once “Awesome Member of the Month."

Still awesome !

[G D H]

I think I would enjoy this book, the humor got me really interested. Thank you for this wonderful review!

The humor?
I am sure you will enjoy it. Let us go sampling, shall we? In chapter 20, Amanda is shoved off a building in the thick of an all out-war, and what does she say to her team:

“Just a heads-up: I’m currently falling without a plan. Feel free to save me”

But then, in less than 5 seconds:

“Getting ready to freak out in three, two, one. Help! Help! I’m falling. I didn’t plan on dying like this!”

And there goes the Savior-in-Chief of the world..


Trust me, even more await you. In all, thanks so much for your response.

[Unsullied]

I tend to highly rate books that are full of humour like this one. Thanks for the detailed and nice review.

[G D H]

I tend to highly rate books that are full of humour like this one. Thanks for the detailed and nice review.

Interesting! Trust me, the humour in this book is out of this world.

And it is I who thank you for reaching out—the pleasure is all mine. That is why I am here, you know.

[Ruchi Raina]

I think I would enjoy this book, the humor got me really interested. Thank you for this wonderful review!

The humor?
I am sure you will enjoy it. Let us go sampling, shall we? In chapter 20, Amanda is shoved off a building in the thick of an all out-war, and what does she say to her team:

“Just a heads-up: I’m currently falling without a plan. Feel free to save me”

But then, in less than 5 seconds:

“Getting ready to freak out in three, two, one. Help! Help! I’m falling. I didn’t plan on dying like this!”

And there goes the Savior-in-Chief of the world..


Trust me, even more await you. In all, thanks so much for your response.

I think I would love the book. The example you have given here about Amanda falling had me laughing This seems like an enjoyable read. Thanks for the amazing review.

[G D H]

I think I would love the book. The example you have given here about Amanda falling had me laughing This seems like an enjoyable read. Thanks for the amazing review.

I am glad you like it, and also sure you had a good laugh. Even I can not imagine placing my life in her hands, not until I am sure she can be trusted.

A beautiful name you have, Raina. Congratulations on your first ever official review!

[Kaushiki Parihar]

Your review is really detailed. I am an avid fan of anime, so I must check out this book. Thanks for the great review.

[G D H]

Your review is really detailed. I am an avid fan of anime, so I must check out this book. Thanks for the great review.

Very cool!
I bet you will. There are lots to laugh over and much to enjoy. Thanks a lot for your appreciation—helps fuel my pen in some kind of way.

[Jevin T]

Great review. I really liked how you managed to discuss beyond just the scope of story and about the underlying meanings.

[G D H]

[bn=][/bn]

Great review. I really liked how you managed to discuss beyond just the scope of story and about the underlying meanings.

Thanks for your encouraging words . You equally did a good job with yours.

[Jevin T]

Thank you! Although I have to improve a lot more .