If you like to settle in for long journeys through places with ancient histories, this is the story for you. The Lore of Arcana series follows a fellowship of humans and immortal guardians across the world Valeris in an attempt to save their world from the forces of chaos from invading through a dimensional rift that has isolated Valeris for generations. It's that mash-up of science fiction and fantasy involving lost colonies and where magic is a kind of forgotten technology human stumbled on after defeating Valeris' original inhabitants and subsequently mysticized and later banned after sorcery brought a near-apocalypse. The immortal guardians are ancient aliens who keep the peace between worlds but wield power that make them seem like gods (in some cases literally) to the techologically-regressed humans. I enjoyed the layered worldbuilding in this story and its underlying the ancient history, along with the twists I didn't see coming.
Without giving away spoilers, in book 1 the big bad, Infinity, contrives a game where a mixed group of 12 mortals and immortals must undertake a series of quests to save their world from invasion by the forces of chaos, the Arcana. Book 1 is a slow burn as it sets up the world, its rules, and all the players on stage but picks up the pace as it goes along and takes a few twists I didn't see coming. There's a lot going on and at first I was overwhelmed keeping up with all the relationships between the characters but after a while it all came together and the larger picture emerged. There's a lot to chew on in this book, so my recommendation is to settle in and take it easy. By the time you reach the end of book 1 you'll go full speed into book 2.
Note: With over 1700 pages in the omnibus edition, I'm updating to my review as I complete each book in the series.
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2020
