A review by constant2m
The Renegade Within by Mark Johnson

5.0

The Renegade Within is a military-esque fantasy. The main character, Therese, is a part of the government/military/religious hierarchy, which is part of the complication of her identity. She pursued this line of work out of a passion for truth and good, like the knights of old, but over time succumbed to the temptation of working for the next promotion and to make her father proud. Still, when she discovered that her organization was participating in a greater evil than anything she had imagined, she decided that she would have to take them down from the inside.

The book is a bit slow at the beginning and a bit confusing as the character descriptions and ranks were all new. This has been noted by other reviewers. I think it would help to have the glossary at the beginning of the book or perhaps identify unknown terms and places in the text, but once you get used to the new data, it's an intriguing story of power structures. It asks questions such as can one person make a difference? Are the gods listening and do they care or have they left humans on their own? And who can be trusted? It's a fantastic beginning to what promises to be an original, epic tale.

I received a free copy from the author and have reviewed it willingly.