A face without a face – an unmasking that leaves the mask.
Once every few hundred years the sun god, the Akhen, takes on human form and descends to earth. Each Unmasking of the Face of the Akhen ends one era and begins another; the last one created the Faustian Empire. Where and when will the Face next appear, and who will he – or she – be?
Dayraven, son of a great hero, returns to Faustia after years as a hostage of their rivals, the Magians. Those years have changed him, but Faustia has changed as well; the emperor Calvo now seems eccentric and is controlled by one of Dayraven’s old enemies. Following the brutal murder of his old teacher, Dayraven is drawn, together with a female warrior named Sunniva, into the search for an ancient secret that would change the fate of empires.
The Hidden Face is an epic fantasy novel drenched in the atmosphere of the early Middle Ages and in Kabbalistic riddles and is the first book in the Fifth Unmasking series.
Source | Format | Pages | Publisher | Genre | Publication Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Author | eARC | 350 | The Hive | Fantasy | November 25th, 2017 |
*Many thanks to S. C. Flynn for providing me with a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review*
I don’t think I’ve ever read a fantasy quite like The Hidden Face before. The plot in this book reminded me of Uncharted (ye-haaay! look at me pulling a gaming reference), except the end result of connecting all of the clues and finding the ‘big prize’ doesn’t result in a big payout and Pina Coladas on a Carribean beach. Finding the big prize aka who and where The Face is, is a matter of life and death for all countries in the world Flynn has created. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a heroic quest at hand!
Dayraven has been a hostage for 15 years and when he returns to his home country, the emperor is no longer the man he once knew. The emperor is now seemingly in constant brain fog, blundering countries for riches and not at all bothered about the impending Fifth Unmasking. Dayraven will not be left to enjoy being back on home soil for long though as he is immediately pushed on said quest to retrieve a scroll that holds a great secret. The great secret is not the answer to all and everything, it is only the beginning of a perilous journey for Dayraven and Sunniva.
It is nothing to do with fate pushing a male and a female together on the quest- the two are meant to be on this journey together, so when Sunniva and Dayraven start piecing together each clue as they get closer and closer to the Face, it appears that there are others who are after it for very selfish reasons and they are quite dangerous indeed.
The Unmasking is an interesting concept. Every few hundred years the Unmasking of the Face happens. This event moves the political power from one country to another. What a wonderful idea… If only we could make it work in our reality as well… that should keep things balanced, nay? But of course, it’s never just that simple. There are always some who believe they should have the power over everyone else. Because, high horses and self-entitlements!
The Hidden Face is a plot-driven title and even though I prefer my books to be character-driven, I must admit, I was quite hooked on each and every new clue our main characters discovered whilst battling the bad guys in the race of ‘who get’s there first‘.
Throughout the story, our couple finds themselves in all sorts of situations- escaping the baddies, camping, bathing in the river, solving clues with their combined knowledge. Can’t really blame them for developing a bit of a spark… but it doesn’t come easy! *zips lips, so you can find out for yourself*
Besides Dayraven and Sunniva, a few more characters have a strong presence. For example, there’s Dagon. He’s the baddest of them all and a beekeeper. Nope, I’m not kidding. He has a shedload of bees and he uses them, but not for honey harvest!
Then, there’s Malombra. When I think of her only two words come to my mind- femme fatale. Really. I never thought I’d be able to use this description. Ever. But there we go.. she’s quite possibly a bit deluded but also done over in the past and one’s heart does go out to her for what she’s been through… However, lady needs to dial down on the plant potions a bit. Also, in the modern day setting she would probably be one of those Beverly Hills/Orange County housewives too taken with their appearance and thinking their punanny holds all the powers!
And the Twister! The humpbacked, bastard son of an emperor who seriously got a bad hand dealt to him. I wasn’t entirely sure if I was afraid of him or if I felt pity. Maybe a bit of both. He’s one of those characters that begs to be approached with caution because truly, he remained unpredictable to me throughout. I was expecting horrible, horrible things from him… and… *zips mouth*
Overall, I would say, this was an enjoyable read. Even though my usual character-driven (the tortured hero searching for the meaning of life) plot wasn’t the core in this book, I was still quite engrossed in the adventure. The start of the book delivered quite a few flashbacks from both Dayraven and Sunniva but these had purpose vital for connecting the dots and as such can’t be labelled as infodumps.
What can I say? It’s quite an interesting start to the trilogy- the stage has been set, characters introduced and backstories explained. I expect a rather interesting sequel!
Thanks for this detailed review! I am very pleased you liked the book.
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Pleasure all mine… I can’t wait to see where the story leads.. big things ahead! 🙂
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Gotta love a gaming reference and Uncharted is a fantastic game series.
Fantastic review and the characters you described sound great.
I’m on the blog tour for the book with a guest post, Monday I think, will have to double check so I post on the right day!😂 Anyhow, would you mind if I linked your review to the tour post? I’ll credit your blog and say where it’s from on my post?🤔
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Bring on the blog love!
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🙂 Blog love is real!
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Sure is! I used to be a blogger myself.
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I think the gaming ref is even cooler because I have never played it myself… I usually watch hubby playing.. they’re a bit like a movie and quite addictive, even to just watch!
Thank you Drew! 🙂 And no, I do not mind at all- I would be absolutely honored to get a shoutout on your blog for the tour post! 🙂 Cheers!
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Ok. First of all. You had me hooked at the mere mention of Uncharted. That is my all-time favourite franchise; the story in all of them are simply brilliant, the actors are amazing and the graphics iz eye candy!!!! You definitely got me curious about this title though. I have to say that the shift of political strengths here and then would be a pretty curious event if it were even remotely possible in real life. I can see some abuse it before the changing occurs too hahaha Fantastic review, Liz! 😉
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Very pleasing!
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hahahaha, that’s brilliant.. Uncharted is a cool game and I don’t even play it- I usually just watch hubby playing and I’m just mesmerized 😀
Cheers, Lashaan 🙂 It’s definitely a different kind of fantasy I’ve read but was enjoyable and fun 🙂
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I’ve been waiting for your review of this to see if I should pick it up. Great review! I shall get this tomorrow. 🙂
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Very good to hear! Just 99 cents!
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Dude, I’m British! 😛
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😀 hahahaha … pence, pennies, cents… all the same 😀
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Blasphemer!
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Yes. 99 cents/pence/euro for the first week!
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Thank you 🙂 Ooh… means a lot that you’re interested in my thoughts about a book… I would be interested in what you thought of it, that is for sure… I can’t say I was absolutely thrilling about it, but it is an adventurous read with good bit of substance… and sets the sequels up nicely… I hope you enjoy 🙂
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I love your reviews Liz. I’ve read several books based on your thoughts. Such as… *thinks*… Lot of a Nobody! and… erm… well I have a terrible memory so I can’t think of any others. OH, it was your review on Blackwing that made me finally read it.
I often have mixed feelings with epic fantasy, sometimes there are just too many unfamiliar names for my little brain to keep up with. But I’m willing to give this a go, and if I end up not liking it, that’s fine. We just won’t be able to be friends anymore. No biggie. 🙂
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Aw, thank you…. 🙂 That is so cool to know ❤
Well, you'll be glad to know there is no complicated names in this book 🙂 And if you don't like it you can stop being my friend but you'll gain a stalker 😀 hahahaha…
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Wow, well this certainly sounds interesting. Great review.
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Thank you 🙂 I have high hopes for the sequels! 🙂
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This does sound really different and unusual! I do prefer character driven stories to be honest, but this does sound exciting! hehe but a badass beekeeper? That’s hilarious! A lot of the characters sound intriguing in this- especially the Twister. Sounds like a great start to a trilogy. Awesome review!
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Twisty is my fav, although the evil bees are cool as well, I think!
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Awesome!!
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I always loved Uncharted storyline so this is nice to see that this novel reminds you of that game!! 😀 Super detailed review I love it!
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Thank you! 🙂
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Well obviously your review says it better than mine , but I still stubbornly refuse to budge from the fact that Sunniva forgave Dayraven that easy. That just feels wrong .
I’m also sad I didn’t mention Twister more , he was one of the best character in the book , he was , like his name suggests , a bit twisted in his mind , but i felt for the poor guy .
as always fantastic review
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Thank you, Rash! 🙂
Yeah, she did forgive rather easily but perhaps- where love (attraction?) is in, the sense is out? 🙂
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“He has a shedload of bees and he uses them, but not for honey harvest!” Okay, this is the kind of level of badassery that I one day hope to achieve 😛
I’m relatively new to fantasy, having only read one or two books here and there, but I think I’d really enjoy this, more so since there’s a teeny tiny dash of romance thrown into the mix 😛 It’s a shame about it being plot driven, though. I think it’s great when books mirror real life and are shaped by the people within them.
Awesome review!
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Thank you, Jazz! 🙂 I did me very best with this book to put my personal preference aside and I think it worked quite well… 🙂
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So funny, I just left a comment on one of Drew’s posts that I have been watching the nonhubs play through the Uncharted games 😛 I tend to also favor more of a character driven story as well, so I am on the fence about this one. But it does seem to promise some action.I might have to keep this one the back burner for when I am seeking something a little different 😉 Superb as always Stan!
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Thank you… Stan’s your man 😉 😀
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Gods and Goddesses are not my thing, but the cover is perfect. Month9 books just sent me a box and I was all excited until I opened it up and all the books were mythos based. Ha ha. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.☺
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Yes the cover is great!
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Oh no!!!! bahahahahaha… do you think you’ll try some of these books out just to see if you’ll like it? Why nt gods and goddesses? This has me intrigued… Like, with time travel, I’m like- no, keep time travel away from me and I don’t even know why, I just don’t like it… are you like that with gods/goddesses or do you have a set in stone, solid reason why they’re not for you? 🙂
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