Sons of Prophecy: Davian's Deception (Book 1) by Steve Schmutz (2013)

Description from Goodreads:

"Three to be borne upon the mount
To a woman torn from hearth
One to Greatness
One to Strength
And One to serve the Dark
Divided at birth the Three will be
Not knowing of each other
Divided by Light
Divided by Faith
Divided but ever Brothers"

Pregnant and desperate, Jena Bain hid in a secluded cave high in the Jaar Mountains. She hoped to escape from the vile men who wanted her unborn child. What Jena didn’t know was that she was about to give birth to not just one, but three sons, and in so doing she would bring to pass the fulfillment of a long-awaited prophecy.

The years have passed and the three sons are now men. Davian Ul’s powers have grown and he is preparing his Dedicates to take over the Realm. The leaders of the Realm discover Davian’s plans and unite in their fight against his dark and evil purposes.

Will Davian have his way, and manipulate the prophecies for his gain? Will the Alliance of kingdoms succeed in bringing peace back to the Realm? What will happen to the three sons, who although divided at birth, are ever brothers?

Thank you Steve Schmutz for allowing me to have a chance to read "Sons of Prophecy: Davian's Deception".

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I became really interested in the story right away I had read the description. Three brothers are divided at birth, and according a prophecy, all of them have a different destiny to fulfil. This kind of base for the story promises you that you are going to witness adventures, sacrifices, and betrayals, and Sons of Prophecy: Davian's Deception definitely gave the readers these. The book is almost 600 pages long, so there are plenty of action included. However, we also get glances of the legends and history of the world of SoP and these are the times when readers are allowed to take a breath.

There were quite a lot of characters included, and I think all of them had potential to be very distinguishable ones. However, I felt like most of them blurred together for me and I got confused who was who. Every good guy is compassionate, kind, strong and agreeable, while the bad guys are always cunning, rude and indifferent. There weren't too many distinguishable personality traits between the good guys, and that is why I was left with an impression of one-dimensionality. Bar-Dalon was my favourite character and the only one who got depth as the readers are allowed to know his tragic past. 

The mood in the book was surprisingly light, which I didn't except. Despite the tragedies the characters face during their journeys, there is a fairytale-like quality to the story: there are brave princes and beautiful princesses, thus evil warlocks and minions of the Dark Lord.  I usually like my fantasy some what dark and graphic (e.g. A Song of Ice and Fire series), but those who enjoy more brighter and traditional fantasy, this might be the book for you. 

The storyline is the absolute strength of SoP. There were twists and turns in the plot which I couldn't have guessed before hand. I think this is the foundation of good fantasy: to have the basic elements of good vs evil, power struggle, and romance, but lace these units with tragedies and joys. Schmutz did a good job mixing the basics which ended up a in a decent fantasy book.

Even though Schmutz's descriptive writing was average, I can't help the feeling that it lacked some dramatics. Even though some of the events were in itself were unexpected and surprising, the effect of them somewhat diminished as the language couldn't reach its potential at these crucial moments. Schmutz romanticised and embellished some of the more gruesome happenings when I would have preferred them to be described as they were: raw and graceless. 

I think there are people who will no doubt enjoy Sons of Prophecy: Davian's Deception. I just need to admit that it wasn't for me. I prefer my fantasy as dark and shocking, and even though SoP was it at points, it wasn't as much I wished it was. Nevertheless, I liked the storyline and I think some people will even love it. 

"Does the Alliance seriously think they can beat me?" Davian said in a tone of arrogance. "No one can beat you, Father." Davian looked at his son and said, "Yes. That is true. No one."

☆☆