A review by bellesmoma2021
Brand of Light by Ronie Kendig

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The cover of Brand of Light drew me in like a moth to flame. It’s absolutely beautiful. Then the synopsis had me intrigued. I’m not a Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Space Opera reader, but I thought I would take a chance on something that’s a little different for me. I am really glad I took that chance. This book is out of this world (pun intended). Coming in at 450+ pages, Brand of Light is not for the faint of heart. This story is non-stop action the entire time. It stressed me out something fierce. This is definitely a read where I had to take breaks. There is violence, there is evil. There are a lot of fight sequences (these are cool and would look awesome on film!). And there are a lot of names and places. I probably highlighted more in this book than I’ve ever highlighted before trying to keep track of who is who, and what is what, and where is where. We’re talking about five different kinds of people, various planets with cultures completely different and unique from one another, an intricate religion that felt a little Catholic and a little pagan, three unique groups of military/skilled fighting men and women, and science and technology of various levels depending on which planet the characters are on in the moment. Kendig gets major props for world-building in this very intricate story. Atmosphere is huge in this novel. Each place is unlike any other place with a culture and way of living different than anything I’ve ever read. In this, Brand of Light reminds me of Star Wars. Kendig’s characters are exceptional. Kendig does a great job of having a seemingly clear good guy vs. bad guy line, but it gets crossed. The bad guys are who you think and then a few more are revealed and it’s gasp-worthy. The good guys are also who you think and then a few more switch sides and it’s super satisfying. What I appreciate the most in this book is the good guys’ fight against evil. Evil is as evil does. The villains in this book are BAD. I mean really creepy, ugly evil. But the good guys never give up. They want to so badly. They are so tired at some points in this story, but they never give up. They keep on fighting the GOOD fight. It’s quite inspirational. And it’s my favorite aspect of this intense novel.

There is SO much more to be said about Brand of Light, but I don’t want to accidentally spoil a single moment of this wild ride. I recommend this highly engaging story if you love well-written adventure/action stories, if you are a fan of amazing world-building, and/or if you enjoy Sci-Fi/Fantasy the likes of Star Wars.

I purchased a copy of this novel in eBook form from Amazon.com on June 15, 2022, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.