The Blue Moon Narthex (Karmanic Sovereign Legion, #1)

by N J Donner

• ISBN10: 0997476311
• ISBN13: 9780997476316
• Publish Date: 7 February 2017
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Steel Page Press, LLC
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Beth C.]

What would you do if your dad died suddenly, and you learned that most of what you thought you knew about him was wrong? That not only did he keep secrets from you, but they were secrets of a mystical and dangerous nature? When Cole's father is killed in a train "accident" right in front of him, he learns that his father possesses a rare blue stone - the Blue Moon Narthex. This stone allowed him to assist a group of people who help to keep good Karma flowing in the world. As Cole discovers this, and much more, he and his best friends find themselves neck deep in danger and intrigue.

The story was ok, though it reads as a middle-grade book instead of Teen/YA. Definitely affected my perspective on the events of the book. The idea of helping Karma is an intriguing one, and the overall idea was good, but the execution sometimes seemed a little...convenient. For example, Cole's best friends, who discover what's happening even though it's supposed to be a secret, conveniently are able to spend all of their time with Cole rather than with their own families. Little things like that tended to assist in moving the story along, but definitely tended to make me question what I was reading instead of allowing me to stay in the world.

For many middle-grade readers, however, they will probably enjoy the story. Teenagers - not so much. It's a little simplistic in the writing for them, though a few of the themes might seem more for them. It was sort of odd - the writing and the themes often clashed, as if the author was trying to cover *all* of the bases for every reader, rather than just picking an age group and going with it. Overall, it's a decent book, but not one I'll worry about reading the sequel to.

[anastasia]

Full Review on my blog!

~a copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley~

This book was better than I had expected. The Blue Moon Narthex was like a mix between Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Divergent and several other action/fantasy/really good books, all with a unique twist of its own. There is so much going on in this book that you can really fly through it. There were times while reading it that I was thinking just one more chapter and then the next thing you know I was flying through the pages wanting to know what was going to happen next. I like the concept of the sliding and Coreseum and KSL. At times it was hard to wrap my head around everything that was happening because there was so information. I am looking forward to finding out what is going to happen in the later books.

Since the beginning of time, Karmanic matter worked silently and unassisted keeping good and evil in balance, until growing greed in the world meant Karma couldn’t keep up. As World War I rages, the secret Karmanic Sovereign Legion works behind the scenes to help Karma.

A suspicious train accident and an odd stone shaped object that belonged to his father thrust Cole McCarthy and two schoolmates into the middle of this battle to keep dark forces in check.
After a dangerous encounter with a strange creature, Cole, along with his two best friends, Britton and Sophie, is transported to a secret society called Coreseum, filled with those that have dedicated their lives to keeping the balance between good and bad karma. To help them do this, they use a Narthex, a stone that allows them to use ‘karmanic power’ to move through time and space to wherever they want and need to go.
With only the powerful stone, a letter, and grandfatherly Norm to guide them, the trio must unravel clues and tap into unknown strengths to discover who Cole’s father really as and keep themselves and those they love safe.

I had a lot of fun reading this book. Author N.J. Donner does a fantastic job at building this world of Narthex’s, chasers, and karmanic matter. Having it set it the early 1900’s adds an interesting dynamic, and Donner works it well into the story. Something I hope to see in the sequel is more character building for the side characters. I found them to be so interesting and I would love to learn more about them!

The Blue Moon Narthex has adventure, friendship, revenge, and hope. I highly recommend it!

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