Review - Ascension of the Whyte

Ascension of the Whyte - Karen Wrighton

ISBN - 9781497446519

Publisher - CreateSpace

Release date - June 9th 2014

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

Sara Carson did not believe in life after death, Heaven, Hell or even reincarnation. However, what she didn't know was that some of us are special. For some of us, death is just the beginning of our next great adventure. Sara Carson was one of those special people, and her most incredible journey did not begin, until the day she died. 

Ascension of the Whyte is the first book in a series called The Afterland Chronicles and is an intriguing fantasy that will have you turning the pages. I'm a sucker for any book that starts with a map so I couldn't wait to see the places on the map described so I could picture them in my head.

The beginning of the book opens with Sara chatting to a friend as they leave school and ends with a sudden & horrific death. We're then transported to another dimension and the story really begins.  We are introduced to a whole new way of life where, when you die, your soul ascends and becomes another person who may or may not have ascended many times before. Meet Rose, the first Whyte Ascendant for a thousand years, who with Ash, Auriel and Lee, make a very select cell who will save the world of Hydrarygrum if a prophecy written centuries before is to be believed.

I found it quite hard to believe that this was a debut novel. The writing was mostly extremely well written and each & every character had their own distinct voice. The magical system created was nothing short of amazing and quite frankly there were one or two potens (or abilities) that I would love to be real. The ability to read dozens of books in mere minutes would have come in very handy at school!

I became so immersed in the world Karen has created that I didn't even realize that it was starting to get light outside, I managed to read Ascension of the Whyte from start to finish and get to watch the sun come up! If you like your fantasy well thought out with an intriguing magic system, djinns who want to take over the world  and characters who will become friends then this is the book for you. Karen has created a fascinating world which made me laugh and made me well up, I was thoroughly entranced by the writing and the characters. Also, as a word of warning, Karen isn't afraid to kill characters off so don't get too attached! I'm now desperate to read the next book in the series as things are just getting warmed up. Need another beta reader?