Only a few days after his review on Risingshadow of Seventh Child, Volume 1 in the Evil Above the Stars series by Peter R. Ellis, Seregil of Rhiminee has also written a review of The Power of Seven, the second Volume in the series. He starts by saying that this second book “continues and deepens the story that started in Seventh Child in an interesting way and transports the reader into another world that is reminiscent of yet different from our world”. Seregil commends the originality of the book, unlike many young adult fantasy novels which “often tend to be more or less formulaic and predictable”. He especially identifies the combination of Celtic elements, cosmology and alchemy in this novel that is not only “original and unique” but also well done. Like Seventh Child, Seregil found The Power of Seven to be a fascinating and pleasant surprise. He says that the “story unfolds in a rewarding and entertaining way in these novels, because the author gradually adds more depth to the story”.
Seregil finds the character of September Weekes to be “an interesting teenaged protagonist”, “a well-created character who has to deal with many problems. As she tries to face her problems, she also tries to be a courageous grown-up woman, although she’s just a teenager”. Seregil says that September reminded him of the similarly courageous heroines in Christopher Nuttall’s fantasy novels. He also found Malice, September’s nemesis, to be especially interesting, because she “is everything that September isn’t” and because she “has her own personality and she seems to have influence over the Malevolence and she’s able to direct its fury”. He compliments Peter’s handling of what happens between September and Malice.
As with Seventh Child, Seregil liked Peter’s way of writing “about things related to the evil in a slightly different way than other authors. Although he writes about the evil and what it does, his approach to it is fascinatingly different”. In particular he liked the way that their “terrifying deeds … weren’t sugarcoated in any way. People died because of evil and nobody was safe from the evil’s corruptive powers. This added a nice touch of realism to the story, because it was impossible to save everybody.” Seregil adds that one of the “most interesting aspects about this novel is that the author has added science fiction elements to the story”. But we won’t reveal any spoilers!
He concludes by saying that there was “something charmingly old-fashioned about this novel and the way the author wrote about the protagonist that I found compelling” and although Peter has obviously been inspired by classic works he has “created his own vision of battle between the powers of good and evil”.
You can read Seregil’s full review here.