Reviewed by Anne Boiling for Readers' Favorite

"Umbrosus: The Void", by James Herring, opens with our hero lying on a stone table in a cave. He remembers tying one on the night before but not much else. A skeleton of a man, Solus, begins to question him about how he came to possess the Mantle of Delriv. The old wizard tells Umbrosus to let his mind go blank.

In Umbrosus’s mind, he returns to the Arcane Institute, where he is studying magic. We learn that there are four artifacts and, if someone has all four, they will be invincible. As the story continues, we learn that Umbrosus strives to become a god. He meets a variety of characters. Many are minor gods. Along the way, he collects the ancient relics. The path is not an easy one to follow; he must face danger and fight battles along the way. Solus offers him the key to dark magic. He must decide which fork to take along the path, the one of love or the one of loneliness and power.

This is a well written fantasy. The hero must decide between good or evil. The characters are well developed and so is the plot. The story is unique and will please all fantasy fans.