Brand of Light (2019)

About the Book

Book: Brand of Light

Series: The Droseran Saga #1

Author: Ronie Kendig

Release Date: December 3, 2019

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

There’s a price on her head, and it has everything to do with the brand on her arm.

Tertian Space Coalition has blessed every planet in the quadrants with high technology, save one: Drosero. But in spite of their tenuous treaty with the ruling clans, TSC has plans for the backward planet. And they’re not alone.

After a catastrophic explosion, Kersei Dragoumis awakens in a derelict shuttle, alone, injured, and ignorant of the forbidden technology that has swept her into a nightmare. The brand she’s borne since childhood burns mysteriously, but the pain is nothing to that when she learns her family is dead and she is accused of their murders.

Across the quadrants, Marco Dusan responds to the call of a holy order-not to join them, but to seek a bounty. Gifted-or cursed-with abilities that mark him a Kynigos, a tracker sworn to bring interplanetary fugitives to justice, Marco discovers this particular bounty has nothing to do with justice and everything to do with prophecy. One that involves the hunter as much as the hunted.

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My Thoughts

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.