Every so often I am fortunate to get a recently published book directly from an author (and is not related to a Shelf Awareness or Goodreads giveaway). That was the case with the novel, Reign of the Black Flame: The Waterglobe, by B.B Vayk. Denise Lo Cicéro, a good friend of mine, and I got into a discussion about her glowing review of this book, (which, by the way, she had won as a Goodreads giveaway, but I digress). Long story short, the author entered the conversation and offered a copy to me. Thus, this extended review.
Reign of the Black Flame: The Waterglobe
By B.B. Vayk
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-49964-050-2
B.B. Vayk’s Reign of the Black Flame: The Waterglobe is a fantasy, and a well-written one at that. It is the first in a trilogy, but the story is complete as is. Not since reading J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has this reader found a fantasy world that is so fully formed, complex, and complete. Having compared this to Rowling’s works, this story is not a knock-off or clone, though. It stands on its own merit. This world of Vayk’s imagining is so descriptive and clever that the reader can see it all. The language to describe the various creatures in the different realms is so creative and is one of the joys of this story. The descriptions of the places are just as rich. The cover artwork is fantastic, yet doesn’t do justice to the story within.
The story takes place on earth as well as various realms of the Forces of Nature. Briefly, the Realm of Fire, ruled by the evil lord, Fire, hates Water and steals the Waterglobe in order to become the ultimate ruler. By stealing the relic, the world is becoming drought-stricken and the equilibrium between the Forces is lost.
Into this battle of Fire and Water come George Ground and his son Robert. Known only in their village as the two who grow impressive roses, George is making a name for himself and unwittingly attracts the attention of Fire himself. Fire appears in the village, battles, and then kills George, who is protecting his son. Fire also destroys the roses. Green-eyed Robert, now an orphan, vows to find out more about how and why his parents died at the hands of Fire so he leaves the village, heading toward the realms of the Forces of Nature. Along the way, he encounters Marian, a fireling sent to kill him, a fermad named Gider, who is a vicious, but slow-witted creature, and a rainsteed named Shine. They form an unlikely partnership, but it is this group that continues as the Cloud Queen promises answers to Robert’s questions if he can reclaim the Waterglobe from Fire.
Thus, the quest begins. As the quartet of Robert, Marian, Gider, and Shine journey together, there are challenges to be met, perilous realms to be explored, powerful weapons gathered, and fierce battles to be fought before Ground can recover the Waterglobe and get the answers he seeks about his parents.
Rather than provide any more spoilers (and most of this can be ascertained from the blurb on the back cover), a few things add to the fun of this fantasy include Gider’s language skills and many of the names of the creatures themselves (for example, Fire’s children are called Spark, Flame, and Flash).
The few typos and proofreading errors are easily overlooked as the story is so compelling. Overall, this is a fantasy world worth entering, and the novel is a highly recommended read for any who love to read the fantasy genre. Personally, I can’t wait for the next installment.