Synopsis (from Goodreads): In a land torn by religious war and chaos, rogue mariner Richard Hawkwood leads an expedition to find a lost continent where safe haven may be found. But before the explorers find sanctuary-they must first survive the journey.

Initially, I felt very drawn into this book as it begins with the Holy City being invaded by a foreign army and burning it to the ground. Author Paul Kearney is very good at describing setting and really painted a picture of the horrors of a city falling to an invading army.

However, these descriptions go on, and on, until I’ve forgotten which character is supposed to be  experiencing  all these things going on around them. These descriptions also go on for so long that my mind began to wander. There were times when this worked, such as when the city was burning or during a large scale battle scene. Other than that, it just felt tedious and rambling.

I could have gotten over this had the characters been outstanding, they were not, however, all that unique or likable.  Each character was just sort of what you would expect based on that characters social status or occupation. The nobleman behaved like a conceded nobleman, the ship captain behaved like a ship captain, the religious leader behaved like a pious religious leader, and so on and so forth. The female character (as few as there were) were even more lacking. There are a grand total of four female characters who are introduced. One is a slut who uses her body to manipulate men and get what she wants. Another is a pious woman who blushes and turns away at the sight of her husband’s skin. The third has very little told about her other than her name and the situation she is in. Honestly, she felt unnecessary. The fourth had the most potential but, unfortunately, that potential will not be realized.

I almost considered not finishing this book. So, why did I? Well, this is the first book in a five book series and I really felt like this book and all that happens in it, is leading up to something much more spectacular. The last hundred pages of the book were much more interesting as a large battle is waged and events transpire to push the plot forward.

Overall I give this book 2/5 stars and I hope that book two is more engaging.