Athanasia: The Great Insurrection

by Thomas Coutouzis, Issac Lewis (Editor), Brian Lloyd (Illustrator)

In Athanasia, an ancient land of 21 kingdoms, a great evil that has hidden its face for many thousands of years is emerging. A group of immortal protectors known as the Adelphos were created by the one and only God, Sophos. Their purpose was to protect the 21 kings and their royal lines. The head of this order was known as Mardok. Mardok coveted the glory of Sophos and the glory of the kings they were created to protect. He looked at these mortal kings as weak and inferior and thought that they should be serving and worshipping him. The Adelphos were immortal, superior in every way to man whom they were assigned to serve. In his pride Mardok could not stand to carry out the orders and protection of their assigned kings, so he planned a secret rebellion. Over the course of 2000 years he planted seeds of deceit in the ears of the Adelphos and the people in the Kingdom of Portus, knowing that a little yeast will work its way through the whole batch of dough. Secretly, he turned many of the Adelphos and people of Portus to his side. In this first book, Mardok begins to execute his diabolical plan to usurp the throne of the King of Portus and ultimately every king in Athanasia.This is the first book in a 6 book series.

Genres: Fiction

420 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me first admit that this book is not perfect. There are some typos, the moral and theological teaching in the book is often less subtle than I would prefer (but keeping in mind that this is a book written for a younger audience, I understand this), and the writing is not 100% polished. However, with all of those caveats, I still give this book a 5/5 review simply because it has so many of the things that I enjoy and appreciate. I could not put it down this weekend.

First, the world of the story is very interesting, and I find myself wanting to know more about it. World-building is vital to a good fantasy story. I felt connected to Athanasia in the same way that I have felt connected to some of my favorite fantasy worlds.

Second, the characters are compelling. I feel connected to the main protagonists and, even have a deep interest in what happens to some of the ancillary characters. I think one of the things that attaches me to the characters is that they have clearly established moral convictions. The current cultural trend of redeeming villains, corrupting heroes, and graying out morality exhausts me. It was refreshing to read a story with compelling characters who have a clear morality.

Third, (building off my last point) this is a classic story of good vs. evil. The story embraces the complexity of some moral situations and demonstrates that justice is sometimes more complex than simply punishing the wicked (e.g. the story of the man who owed back taxes to King Justinian). But the complexity never overshadows the clear distinction between what is good and what is evil. The story also demonstrates how evil people can be redeemed.

Fourth, the story is a story of faith. The God of the bible is represented by Sophos in this story and demonstrates sovereignty, mystery, grace, mercy, and justice.

[Karyn Gallaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was nice to read something so clean and theologically sound. Although it was long, I didn't find it dry like Lord of the Rings, so I am very excited to continue the series.

[Jayden Aries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly? It’s got that classic “rise against the system” energy. Characters are pretty decent, flawed but intriguing, story flows smooth, and there’s a moral heartbeat under it all that lowkey hits.