The Penitent

Part III

Fiction - Fantasy - Epic
290 Pages
Reviewed on 08/24/2022
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

I am an author, poet, and classical guitarist with a lifelong addiction to storytelling. Mountain ranges and coastlines fascinate me, I still remain stymied in suburbia. Faith, music, family, friends, and two fur babies help sustain me.

I'm currently writing a planned nine-book series titled "The Immortality Wars". It is a sci-fi, fantasy, and spiritual thriller based upon Christian themes. The second trilogy, "the Pilgrim", is currently being written. The first trilogy, "the Penitent", was published by Stillwater River Publications in August 2019.

Throw in a little bit of Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and Lee Child with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, and I'm happy to say that these writers are heroes who inspire me to write stories that enchant, terrify, and hopefully entertain my readers.

The Immortality Wars series was created from several questions I asked myself. For example, given the history of humanity's conflict between good and evil, what will we be like 540 years from now in 2562? If we continue our exponential increase in our rate of knowledge, where will this knowledge take us? Will we be at peace, or will we be at war? Will science become a religious force to us, one that we worship?

I wanted to write a series of books that had the power to tell a story in the style of a Tolkien or Lewis, but one containing the sensibilities of our 21st-century experience.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Alex Ndirangu for Readers' Favorite

What would it be like to live in a society without technology, where people had to rely on their innate skills, beliefs, and magic to survive? Could the positive effects of love for one's people truly triumph over the negative forces of destruction in such a world? Through an epic tale of heroes and action, The Penitent transports us to a world that evil threatens to destroy. Pall Warren is one of the brave and exceptionally gifted people who have made it their mission to fight demons and liberate humanity from the tyranny of this all-pervasive evil. Pall travels to Gullswater with a man and his daughter, following the aftermath of a demon. He then sets out on a mission to find John Savage, a master bowman. He finds John engaged in combat in the port city of Seascale, which is under attack by the occult priest Kosem Mungadai. Mungadai uses demons, imps, and even slakes to attack the port city. Pall is a skilled fighter in hand-to-hand combat. However, in order to defeat these evil creatures, he must rely more on his spiritual abilities.

The plot development of the book is comparatively straightforward and simple to follow. In terms of character development, A. Keith Carreiro excelled. Each character is skillfully portrayed and has a unique personality. I resonated with their experiences and felt their joy, happiness, and rage. My favorite character was Pall, who I admired for his kindness to those around him and his determination to find his place in the world. I appreciated how the dialogue aided the plot's progression. The dialogue between the various characters brought the story to life and placed the events in their context. Through these conversations, the author highlighted and foreshadowed events without disrupting the narrative's flow. As a result, I had a solid grasp of each scene and the behaviors that defined it. I liked Carreiro's structural organization in writing this book because it made it easier for me to follow the plot and reference materials I found interesting. The chapters are beautifully reinforced by a prologue and an epilogue. Nothing about this book disappointed me. I thought it was a thrilling adventure novel suitable for any sci-fi or fantasy fan.

Essien Asian

The third installment of The Immortality Wars, The Penitent by A. Keith Carreiro kicks off at the same pace as its predecessors. John Savage and Gregor Mordant are engaged in their intricate cat-and-mouse game of battlefield chess. Pall Warren makes new allies as he works his way to join up with his friend, Savage, in one final push to vanquish those who oppose King Ranulf Ealhhere. With all sorts of demonic creatures prowling the land on the instructions of the mysterious Kosem Mungadai, all roads lead to Seascale and the inevitable battle these two men will engage in for the soul of the kingdom. With the stakes high and the battle lines drawn, who will prevail?

Having read one of the preceding books, I had a fairly good idea of what to expect from The Penitent and I must admit A. Keith Carreiro did not disappoint. The action is gritty and graphic, the characters do not go into their history too often so a first-time reader of the series would find the cast of characters listed at the end of the book a helpful tool in following the story. The storyline is filled with suspense right up to the end. The mythical creatures made for some rather interesting reading and Carreiro's style of alternating between characters gives the book a unique feel. The Penitent lives up to the hype, and it’s the kind of adventure story I would read several times just because it's a fun-filled reading experience.

K.C. Finn

The Penitent Part III is a work of fiction in the epic fantasy subgenre and is the latest installment in the Immortality Wars series. It is suitable for the general reading audience and was penned by author A. Keith Carreiro. The book continues the story of Pall Warren as his search for a higher purpose for his life takes him to the city of Seascale where he learns that the entirety of West Fundland is being threatened by a dangerous occultist who unleashes a terrifying evil upon the world. As Pall fights back against the darkness threatening to engulf the world, the prayer of his friend may be his last line of defense.

It is an unfortunate truth in life that all good things must come to an end, and epic literary trilogies telling an extraordinarily compelling tale of good and evil are no exception to this rule. To say that author A. Keith Carreiro succeeds in bringing the tale of Pall and his associates to a satisfying and well-earned climax would be an understatement; this work is a triumphant conclusion to an accessible and exciting narrative set in a gorgeous fantasy world and brought to life throughout by imaginative prose. The author is careful throughout the book to put us in the shoes of several characters in order to understand who they are and why they take the actions that they do, the result being a deep narrative packed with nuance and excellent character work. Overall, The Penitent Part III is a satisfying end to the trilogy but hopefully not the last time we visit this dynamic fantasy world.