Aaron Hodges Sword of Light Trilogy is pretty classic fantasy. The stakes increase a little more with each book, and this one has quite a wicked cliff-hanger. That said, you’ll want to read the first book of the trilogy before diving into this one. Hodges gives enough backstory so you won’t get lost, but some of the character arcs can’t really be summarized adequately.
I found myself quite taken with the main characters in the story. Their plight drew me in during the first book and Hodges’ characters continued to be engaging and intriguing in this book. For the most part, Hodges’ avoids any annoying, unrealistic plot twists (the deus ex machina help at the last minute to save the day). Every surprise and twist is foreshadowed or hinted at earlier, so for the observant reader/listener one knows something is coming, though how that twist is executed still remains to be experienced. Hodges doesn’t shy away from the consequences of one’s actions, nor the common-sense actions of any character, good or bad. This is one thing I enjoy about Hodges’ writing, because it lends the tale a sense of realism and makes the consequences of the characters’ actions seem to have a real ‘weight’ about them.
So, all in all, I enjoyed the story quite a bit. Some of the plot points seem to be borrowed from classic stories (here’s looking at you Star Wars), but they’re woven together in a fairly original way, so I don’t fault Hodges for that. The magical system is intriguing and seems mostly thought out.
David Stifel continues with his consistently solid narration. I went straight from the first book to this one and didn’t notice any real deviation in character voices or anything. Some reviewers have complained about his speed or pacing. I ended up speeding up the the recording and didn’t have any problems. That may have to do more with personal preference.