The Spirit Mage by Layton Green

Repeating myself, I enjoyed Layton Green’s previous books but he has stepped up his game with this one.  Three brothers and their friend are thrust into a thoroughly unbelievable situation and forced to cope with the supernatural.   This book is even better than Brothers Three.

Val, Will and Caleb are the three brothers.   The author does a great job in creating likeable and yet flawed characters.  Each one is a realistic example of how different and yet similar siblings are.   Val is more prominent in this book as is Will, Caleb is almost an afterthought.

The three are trapped in Urth which is an alternative universe or multi-dimensional aspect of Earth.  The new villain is the environment they are trying to master.   The Congregation runs a tight ship due to the fact that wizards used to be persecuted and they want to insure there is no threat to their authority.  This leads to paranoia and persecutions which inevitably leads to rebellion. 

There are in and out love interests but nothing approaching a romantic novel.  This is fantasy adventure with a wealth of interesting characters and creatures.

The author allows each character to mature and grow throughout the book.

I highly recommend the book.

Web Site:   http://laytongreen.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.