Forgotten Prophecies by Anthony R. Karnowski

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I was completely blown away by the story ‘Forgotten Prophecies’ after only 4 chapters – in a good way. Anthony Karnowski’s writing style is easy to follow and understand, it flows in the places it should and he manages to adapt the length of sentences and speech to suit the scene such as short, concise parts where the action is increasing. I liked the variety of descriptions and detailing as well which really helped to form a vivid picture in my head of the characters and story as it evolved. I find that a lot of authors compromise one area of their writing and either make it over-complex in an attempt to create colour or verge too far towards simplicity so that you feel as if you are reading a statement of facts and not a work of literature. Karnowski managed to get a perfect blend of the two going and so the reader gets caught up in the story as opposed to analyzing every sentence.
 Having read the initial summary for ‘Forgotten Prophecies’ I had a small idea what the book would be about and my interest had obviously been piqued, however I did not feel this brief paragraph did the story justice. I realize the difficulty in trying to highlight every major point in such a short manner but perhaps there should have been more mention of the state of the world as it currently stands which I believe directly influences why the main character, Kyr’s, journey begins in the first place. I loved the originality of the story – there are so many fantasy novels written which end up being just another version of a story already told, but this one raised some interesting concepts while retaining the vital qualities of a classic tale. Even the characters and races were highly original, with unusual characteristics to make them interesting to read about and avoiding certain stereotypes already in existence within the Fantasy/Sci-Fi genre. I also thought it was brilliant how much consideration had been given to the history of both this new world and the people within it. The fact that the author had created this background in his mind before writing, even though it was not always written in endless detail, came through clearly as required.
 Overall I found ‘Forgotten Prophecies’ compelling to read (one night I read for almost 3 hours although I knew I had an early start the next day) and I got a great deal from reading it: a thought-provoking take on society, entertainment and emotional involvement. I would have to really search hard to find any flaws in the book or writing, and even then they would only be minor comments. I think the one thing I found slightly off-putting at times was the occasional typo or grammatical error, such as writing ‘lie’ instead of ‘lay’ or vice versa. Besides these few areas however I would place ‘Forgotten Prophecies’ on the same level as other fantasy-fiction books by well-known authors. I feel that this book should be the first in a series as there is definitely more of a story to tell regarding the characters and this world. At the time of writing this review I am unsure if there will be a sequel but have asked the author and hopefully discover that there will be more books to follow. ‘Forgotten Prophecies’ is a highly imaginative and well-written book which I would recommend to all fans of fantasy.

Reviewed by Helen Kerslake

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