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Michael R. Schultheiss is a fantasy author with a passion for history and an obsession with metal music.
Through fiction, Michael enjoys escaping to other worlds of danger, discovery, and daring adventure.
History is Michael’s main non-fiction interest. He is fascinated by the worlds of the past, and has been known to talk about the rise and fall of civilizations at great length.
Michael lives with his fiancée and dog in the rainy and verdant land of Oregon.
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
The Spiral of My Destiny by Michael R. Schultheiss is an epic fantasy adventure and war novel and the second book in The Rosteval Saga series, preceded by book one, The Altar of My Fate. The book revolves around and is told from the first-person point of view of Rosteval, a warrior who wants what all warriors want: power and glory. He has amassed his fair share of both with an army behind him and his wife Ghaitta, a former slave with the incredibly rare power of being able to connect with the Rishva, by his side. Unfortunately, touching the Rishva puts Ghaitta in grave danger, and to both maintain her sanity and stay the course, the help of their enemy, Haldua, is required. But that alone is not enough. The machinations of Soltapyral infiltrating dreams, conjuring up specters, trying to turn slave against master, and fanning the frustration of Rosteval's men are thrown from every direction, and Ghiatta and Rosteval are still at risk of losing their minds...and everything else. “With iron in my gaze and fire in my heart, I watched them come. We were done retreating. Now it was time to fight.”
I read The Spiral of My Destiny without first having read The Altar of My Fate, and even though Michael R. Schultheiss does enough drip-feeding of backstory for book two to be read, understood, and enjoyed on its own, I did feel at a disadvantage. The world Schultheiss has created is vast and there is nary a page that passes where the name of something—a god, spirit, enemy, rival, character, king, and anyone else—isn't mentioned. Thankfully, I'm a good little note-taker and was able to get on the rickety oxen cart and join the sand gang with moderate ease. The writing is superb. The sorcery and supernatural elements, alongside really fleshed out societal structures and customs, are absolutely incredible. This series is BIG. I love a good battle scene and Schultheiss delivers and does so because of the robust emotional commitment from a reader that he builds alongside the story. We trust where Schultheiss is taking us, and so we genuinely care about Rosteval and Ghiatta. In short: I would give this series a whole bucket of stars if I was allowed to. Very highly recommended.
