Praise for ‘Sparking the Inferno’
This book pulls you in immediately then just gets better! Following Nevin and his “friends” as they try to solve a mystery they literally cannot walk away from will make you laugh out loud and wonder “Where can this go next?” The characters are all very different and relatable in their own ways. The writing will drop you into Nevin’s world as you follow him on this epic adventure from one city to the next, one foe to the next. The descriptive nature of the writing makes you feel like you are right there with Nevin and his friends seeing, hearing and smelling the surroundings. Clear the rest of your day because you won’t want to put this one down until the last page!
– goofy96547
The story opens with our hero, Nevin Walker, already imperiled and with no real recollection of how he got underneath the wheelbarrow he uses for shelter. Achy, sore, and bleeding from a head wound, his body shows other signs of trauma, but all he can hope to do is avoid the men who hunt for him and appear to be on the cusp of discovery.
Nevin is about to begin the adventure of a lifetime…
The debut novel by Brandon Carter hits the ground running and feels like an epic saga from the opening paragraphs. Carter’s narrative style is lyrical without condescension, painting a believably lush canvas upon which his story unfolds without lull or hesitation. It’s a world outside our own, in which a boy’s best friend is a talking lynx, and magic is a known and coveted commodity to souls both righteous and corrupt. When Nevin finds himself in possession of an unknown magical artifact that seemingly only he can touch, the story really kicks into gear, with a gloriously wicked antagonist, Vincht, in relentless pursuit.
Carter’s characters are vivid and complex, often morally ambiguous, and completely engaging. Description and action are handled with balance and eloquence, punctuated with crackling dialogue that fully fleshes out each character. Minor clashes and major skirmishes culminate in a climactic showdown that will have you flipping pages just as quickly as you can digest the content.
In the end, it’s a coming-of-age story for a boy and his cat, friends versus foes, good versus evil—two sides of the same coin fighting for dominance but best maintained in a fragile state of equilibrium, for without one, how can we possibly understand the other? As this is Book 1 in Carter’s Circle of Origin series, don’t expect everything to be tied up in a neat little package by book’s end. Seeds and scraps for Book 2 and beyond remain, and I will eagerly await another adventure in Carter’s engaging paracosm.
– D Morrow
“Sparking the Inferno” sucked me in the moment my eyes met the page. I was thrown into action, and it never left. I caught myself turning page after page wondering what was going to happen next, where they were going, and how they would get out of the new precarious situation they were thrusted into.
The characters were believable, and their dynamics beyond entertaining, that it would be hard pressed not to feel something for every individual you meet. The raw emotions were refreshing as the protagonists go through turmoil. The character development across the board is everything a reader wants in a tale of adventure.
Needless to say, I can’t wait to continue this journey, since this book merely scratched the surface. Ladies and gentlemen, I have found another favorite author.
– Haley
Where do I even start my review of this book.
Definitely with Aidux…a talking lynx. And an adorable one at that. From now on I want all epic fantasy novels to have an animal sidekick. There is such a colourful set of characters throughout and they’re described so well that I felt like I knew them. This novel has everything I want from epic fantasy….adventure, magic, enemies and allies. It’s a story of loss, friendship and love told in an exciting voice that doesn’t sound formulaic. It reminded me of Raymond Feist’s Magician that I fell in love with in 1989.
I eagerly look forward to many more stories from Brandon Carter.
– Bronwyn Kotze
