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The Sovereign #1
Severance
To be born Gaian is to be born gifted. That wasn’t always true, but as more infants were born with special talents of the mind, what was once considered abnormal became the majority. The ungifted were sent to Thalassa, an island chain off the coast of the mainland. These orphans grew up in a vassal kingdom forced to pay dues to its overseers.
In Severance, the first book of The Sovereign, a Thalassan soldier and orphan gets wind of a plot against his island home and wages war against its oppressors. A captain’s daughter fights for a love across the cultural divide. An assassin’s need for power takes him on a bloody journey throughout both lands. And a princess tells the biggest lie in her nation’s history, protecting her family’s right to rule.
With alternating perspectives of war and tragedy, love and loss, secrets, lies, and counterplots – the fight for a nation’s independence starts here.
In Severance, the first book of The Sovereign, a Thalassan soldier and orphan gets wind of a plot against his island home and wages war against its oppressors. A captain’s daughter fights for a love across the cultural divide. An assassin’s need for power takes him on a bloody journey throughout both lands. And a princess tells the biggest lie in her nation’s history, protecting her family’s right to rule.
With alternating perspectives of war and tragedy, love and loss, secrets, lies, and counterplots – the fight for a nation’s independence starts here.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 16, 2014
10 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Michael Pritsos
11 books4 followersMichael Pritsos studied English with emphases in both Literature and Creative Writing at Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Michael returned to A.S.U. to complete his Bachelors in English as well as two additional Masters degrees in Criminal Justice and Emergency Management/Homeland Security. His 4th novel, Fracture, is the second book in a heroic fantasy series entitled The Sovereign. He currently teaches in Central Arizona where he lives with his wife and 2 children.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 28, 2018
This book excels in everything I need to consider it great: character development, personable and relatable characters, an intimidating and epic villain, an engaging storyline, unpredictability, and great action scenes. Highly recommend and can't wait for the second in the series.
June 10, 2016
*I received a free copy of Severance in exchange for an honest review*
*3.5/5 Stars
Severance was a good novel about the struggles those who are different face and the hard times involving war, deception, and power. It was well written and had many like-able characters, but it was very slow at times and it could get very confusing on which character is which due to the frequent switching of points of view. While the book had some flaws, I still found it to be a good read. It had great battle scenes and the plot was definitely intriguing. Lastly, the idea behind the world and the world building was pretty awesome. To be completely honest, the idea behind the world was the reason I said yes to reviewing this book in the first place. The world just captivated me because of the way that the Gaians' will just cast aside their children if they are not talented in mind reading. Especially since they are basically tested right after birth and then are shipped off to be a Thalassan orphan if they are cannot read minds.
On to a more light hearted topic, my favorite characters happened to be Xander and Ana because it was interesting to see this world through their eyes as well as see how their cultures differ. Xander is a Thalassan soldier and orphan that the book centers a lot on and Ana is the Gaian daughter of a Gaian Caption and a Thalassan infant caretaker. On the other hand, a character I actually thought that I would hate but didn't was Roselyn, who is the Thalassan Princess and Xander's ex-lover. There are definitely some things about her character that are unlikeable in my opinion, but I still couldn't find it in myself to hate her. However, a character I loathed entirely was Donovan, who is a really bad character that got on my nerves endlessly. However, that is kinda impossible to avoid when he is one the antagonists in this novel.
Overall, this was a good read and I would pick up the next installment.
*3.5/5 Stars
Severance was a good novel about the struggles those who are different face and the hard times involving war, deception, and power. It was well written and had many like-able characters, but it was very slow at times and it could get very confusing on which character is which due to the frequent switching of points of view. While the book had some flaws, I still found it to be a good read. It had great battle scenes and the plot was definitely intriguing. Lastly, the idea behind the world and the world building was pretty awesome. To be completely honest, the idea behind the world was the reason I said yes to reviewing this book in the first place. The world just captivated me because of the way that the Gaians' will just cast aside their children if they are not talented in mind reading. Especially since they are basically tested right after birth and then are shipped off to be a Thalassan orphan if they are cannot read minds.
On to a more light hearted topic, my favorite characters happened to be Xander and Ana because it was interesting to see this world through their eyes as well as see how their cultures differ. Xander is a Thalassan soldier and orphan that the book centers a lot on and Ana is the Gaian daughter of a Gaian Caption and a Thalassan infant caretaker. On the other hand, a character I actually thought that I would hate but didn't was Roselyn, who is the Thalassan Princess and Xander's ex-lover. There are definitely some things about her character that are unlikeable in my opinion, but I still couldn't find it in myself to hate her. However, a character I loathed entirely was Donovan, who is a really bad character that got on my nerves endlessly. However, that is kinda impossible to avoid when he is one the antagonists in this novel.
Overall, this was a good read and I would pick up the next installment.
January 25, 2015
It was well written and most of the characters were multi-faceted and well developed. Parts of Severance were very engaging and enjoyable to read. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen, especially to those very likable...and unlikable characters.
However, this is a very long and, in parts, slow moving book. I was disappointed at the end because this is really not a stand alone book. There are way too many loose ends to be tied at the close of the book. If you like cliff-hangers, you may enjoy this. If, however, you like things to be neat and tidy at the end of a book, like me, then this may not be your cup of tea. Now, I am not at all against serial books. However, even in those, I like to see the issues dealt with in the book to be solved before the next book. Even if we're dealing with some of the same issues, I like there to be a clear resolution of some sort at the end, there really wasn't. Honestly this felt like a really, really, really long prologue.
There are a lot of characters in this book, and a lot of different point of views that the story is told from. Until about midway into the book it is very confusing to keep switching. I had to stop several times and think on who this person was and what their character was like. This disrupts the flow of the book. I think limiting it to two or maybe three points of view might be immensely helpful.
All that said, if you like medieval-esque fantasy books this may still be for you. I can't say too much without giving a lot away, but there is a lot to the storyline to enjoy. Many of the characters are quite likable and easy to get attached to.
I am going to give this one a three, this is NOT a bad thing. At. All. I still enjoyed it, just not enough to pick up the next in the series. But, I think a lot of that is due to personal taste and the confusing character switching.
However, this is a very long and, in parts, slow moving book. I was disappointed at the end because this is really not a stand alone book. There are way too many loose ends to be tied at the close of the book. If you like cliff-hangers, you may enjoy this. If, however, you like things to be neat and tidy at the end of a book, like me, then this may not be your cup of tea. Now, I am not at all against serial books. However, even in those, I like to see the issues dealt with in the book to be solved before the next book. Even if we're dealing with some of the same issues, I like there to be a clear resolution of some sort at the end, there really wasn't. Honestly this felt like a really, really, really long prologue.
There are a lot of characters in this book, and a lot of different point of views that the story is told from. Until about midway into the book it is very confusing to keep switching. I had to stop several times and think on who this person was and what their character was like. This disrupts the flow of the book. I think limiting it to two or maybe three points of view might be immensely helpful.
All that said, if you like medieval-esque fantasy books this may still be for you. I can't say too much without giving a lot away, but there is a lot to the storyline to enjoy. Many of the characters are quite likable and easy to get attached to.
I am going to give this one a three, this is NOT a bad thing. At. All. I still enjoyed it, just not enough to pick up the next in the series. But, I think a lot of that is due to personal taste and the confusing character switching.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews