Review: Epic: Legacy by Justin Osborne

Blurb:

Almost a billion people have simply vanished in the last six months. 

Deacon’s mother sends him to stay with his eccentric uncle Evon in an effort to keep him safe. Upon his arrival, he learns that his uncle is more than a little on the strange side, he was once a legendary hero.

At first Deacon is reluctant to believe his uncle’s stories, but after meeting his brownie butler, dwarf wife, not to mention the dragon head mounted as a trophy in the foyer, Deacon is starting to come around.

After drinking too much ‘Meadale’ the night before, Deacon accidently falls through a Faerie Mound in his uncle’s backyard, where he ends up trapped in Avalon, a doomed world where all our myths and legends are real, and the only way back home is the badly wounded (and pissed off) faerie that brought him there.

Deacon’s quest to get help for the injured faerie lands him in the village of Fen Glennan, where his uncle is a hero and he is an untrusted outsider from the horrific world of Abaddon (Earth). During his stay, He finds a few friends, a few enemies, and perhaps even love.

Upon his return to Earth, Deacon is forced to carry on his uncles ‘legacy’ and fulfill his dying wish, save the people of Fen Glennan and as many in Avalon as he can before it’s destruction.

Elle's Review:

 “All right, this could be epic.”

When I sat down to read EPIC: Legacy, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The synopsis teased impending world destruction and some serious hi-jinks after a night of boozing. There was also something intriguing about the details within the synopsis.

MEET THE HERO:

“We are all quite fond of the idea of the hero arriving in the nick of time…We’re so used to it in fact, that we take it for granted. To think that there could be any other outcome is almost inconceivable…But sometimes, things don’t go the way we want or expect.”

For most of the novel, the narrator focused on Deacon’s journey.

Deacon McTaggart isn’t the typical knight in shining armor. In his eyes there’s nothing extraordinary about himself. He’s just a guy who loves playing his guitar.

“Deacon thought of himself as just an average looking young man. He was 5’7”, lean

build, longish black hair, and eyes the color of faded denim”

Beneath his laid back appearance, is a kind-hearted, noble guy.

“…they saw him as the ‘Bullies Bully’. If someone decided to pick on another that was smaller and weaker, he was there to put a stop to it.”

Although Deacon doesn’t go looking for trouble, it finds him throughout the book. Never once does he back down.

“He smiled and raised both middle fingers through his fists. ‘Deacon, Deacon

McTaggart’.”

THE TALE OF TWO CONFLICTS:

In the first few chapters, the story’s foundation was laid before my eyes, and before I knew it I was hooked. The author wasted no time before shoving Deacon head first in to turmoil. The narrator’s pace varied based on the mood of the scene, which helped keep my attention on the events of the ever-changing story.

When the moments were tense and Deacon’s conflicts were outside forces, the pace quickened. However, there were a lot of introspective moments for Deacon as well. When the conflict became his internal struggle, the pace was deliberate and meticulous, allowing the reader to soak in every detail within the scene and reflect with him.

“He had never killed anything before…Could he bring himself to do it? Deacon kept telling himself that it was self-defense. Wasn’t it? If it came down to his life or something trying to end it, he really didn’t have a choice, did he? Kill or be killed, right?”

“He also had to live up to his uncle’s name. After all, the man was a damned hero to these people and to most of Avalon too, for that matter. Deacon did not want to be the one to tarnish his uncle’s reputation.”

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS:

Within the pages of Deacon’s journey are several chapters narrated about other characters. I loved the author’s incorporation of the different characters’ views. I learned what motivated the villains to destroy Avalon and was shown what happened outside of Fen Glennan while Deacon was trapped there. These chapters were a creative way to show a lapse in time in Deacon’s world while giving the reader another piece of the story.

The imagery throughout the entire novel was incredible. As I read along, it was like a movie was playing inside my head. Descriptions of the settings and characters were so picturesque, it was like a movie was playing inside my head as I read each line.

SEALED WITH A KISS:

Something else I would like to commend the author on is how he incorporated romance in to the plot. Romance was referenced in the synopsis and present within the text; however, it was more of an underlying thread instead of being the main focus driving the characters.

This novel wasn’t about the relationship between a boy and a girl but the relationship between a boy and himself. One minute Deacon was fighting for his life and the next he was fighting to come to terms with his place in the McTaggart legacy.

 “Ah, the naivety of youth. When we know everything and are completely confidant in our ability to control our fates, luckily for most, it doesn’t take long before we understand that we know absolutely nothing.”

ENCORE: BUILT IN PLAYLIST

Often times an author or reader will compose a play list of songs to go along with a novel. These can be songs referenced in the story or songs that remind the person of a particular scene or character. To my surprise and delight, Justin Osborne has embedded a play list within the text of EPIC: Legacy. Each chapter title is also the title of a song. I highly recommend that you listen to each song as you read along with its companion chapter.

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