A beautiful princess named Norne with white hair and royal purple eyes is reading a book in a fantastic city on a planet that is half molten rock, half frozen wasteland. She comes from another planet, and she has superhuman capabilities to boot. She is distracted by a giant man who cannot even speak, and she is disgusted by his nakedness and lack of education. They strike up a mental conversation and go meet the king of the planet together, where this giant of a man, who named himself Chaos, takes the throne with a brutal showing of power.

This is a creative epic fantasy novel that utilizes an interesting blend of high science fiction and high fantasy, the latter more reminiscent of Asian martial arts novels than your run of the mill dragons and castles. There are people in this world that have Power, and there are those who don’t. There are many royal families, their kingdoms span across planets and solar systems, and they establish their dominion with their Power.

The book begins with a short history lesson of the world, and a very detailed explanation of the magic system, so readers will know exactly what they are getting themselves into in the first few pages. This also leaves readers with the impression that the backstory and lore of this world is deep and well thought out.

While the worldbuilding is written with a passion I would have enjoyed the story more if the characters dialogue and interactions had the same depth. The action scenes are very detailed and well choreographed, but they can also be extremely violent, since most of the characters either can’t die or it takes a lot to kill them. Reader discretion is advised, but if you enjoy all-out action novels, then author Jaiden Baynes has written a hard hitting story that you will surely enjoy. The magic system, like the worldbuilding, is also thoroughly explained. The world, the history, and the magic that makes it what it is are very well explained and is one reason I really liked this book.

Manifest Destiny: An Unholy Alliance is an action-packed adventure with tons of depth to the world. Fantasy fans looking for a world that was built with purpose and passion will find plenty to enjoy in this lively adventure.

Pages: 513 | ASIN: B0BNBMQBDJ

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/12/19/manifest-destiny-an-unholy-alliance/