Phantasia (Book One: Into the Rain)
-
-
4.3 • 29 Ratings
-
Publisher Description
REVIEWS
“Riyadad Ullah has set forth an excellent tale with Phantasia, a future fantasy epic. His writing is exemplary, his storytelling a well-honed craft, and it shows with this journey into the magical world that he found.
His book is a sprawling fantasy epic mixed with science fiction elements, and a fantastic cast of characters. It echoes shades of Dune and Lord of the Rings, but at the same time is its own story with a unique voice, setting, and plot. The author doesn’t try to hide his use of common tropes, and instead, puts a unique twist on each of them.” (THE TELLEST)
“An incredible feat of imagination, comparable to the best the genre has to offer. Phantasia is thought-provoking, dark, creative, and well-written.” (SB Science Fiction Forum)
SYNOPSIS
After finding the body of a dragon in a metallic desert, Red finds out that he is the reincarnation of a messiah worshipped by an insectoid alien race bent on invading his star system. Swept into a dangerous adventure across glacial swamps, cloud cities, and dead stars — Red must evade his true purpose in the world, to summon a forsaken deity trapped in another realm.
Travel into a world unlike any other, a world teeming with creatures the size of planets, parasites that can lay waste to entire civilizations, and mysterious energy sources that can decay the lifeforce of stars. What starts as only a whisper in the darkness, grows into a tale of epic proportions.
Phantasia is a future fantasy epic that stands at 180,000 words.
Customer Reviews
Amazing!
Sometimes reading like a psychological thriller, sometimes like a romantic adventure, and sometimes like an epic fantasy, Phantasia is a far reaching fantasy novel with an ambitious goal of mixing science fiction elements into high fantasy in clever and unique ways. I’ve never read anything like it, certainly nothing I can make a direct comparison too, yet it simultaneously manages to bring back a sense of familiarity for anyone who’s a fan of fantasy!
As the plot thickens by the end of the first third of the book or so, you’re absolutely drawn into a world with different characters who all have different motives, multiple layers of lore that connect seamlessly, and a world full of bizarre and awe-inspiring creatures. There are things to be afraid of, things to be amazed by, things to rejoice over, and moments you could even cry!
Nothing but 5 stars here. I was left with a feeling of longing at the end of the novel and I really wished it would have kept going. It was hard to bring myself out of the world once the book ended. I loved the ending as well. I think one or two of the other reviewers mentioned they didn’t know it was part of a series and were expecting a full conclusion, which I can’t understand since the title clearly says “Book 1.” The book closes all the threads you’d expect to be closed (you find out what WEAPON is, there’s a great twist, and the main villain is somewhat revealed), and also leaves enough to be explored in book 2!
All in all, one of the best fantasy novels I’ve ever read, perhaps even the single best. A truly amazing work of art.
Wow what a read!!!
What an epic!!! My only gripe is that everything wasn't resolved by the end - although I'm sure that'll pave the way for a great sequel. I really loved this!!!
Great Book!
The story is fairly complex and takes a bit of initial effort to settle into, buts the pay off is certainly worth it. The book is hard to put down after chapter three and will leave you ready for book 2. Included is a great afterword by the author where he discusses his many inspirations and thoughts on writing. As a fellow writer, I found it very interesting. Can't say I've ever read anything like this. It feels at once familiar with its many traditional fantasy tropes, but at the same time uniquely different because of all the different twists to each element.