Ralene Burke’s Armor of Alethia is a great example of faith-based high fantasy. Burke’s primary protagonist, Karina, is relatable in many ways and the storytelling and pacing are on point. As Karina begins to discover more and more about who she is, her fixation on the nearby mountain and her high calling/destiny become more focused.
One of the bright spots of Burke’s writing is the way she interweaves familiar, Christian tropes with those concepts that any fantasy reader is acquainted with. If I have a major complaint against “Christian fantasy” as a genre, it’s that the faith aspects are seldom melded seamlessly into the narrative; not so with Burke’s storytelling. It comes across smoothly and believably.
While I’m not terribly impressed with the cover, the tightness of her prose certainly kept me turning the pages and seeing how Karina embarks on her journey of her discovery and how the mystery of the high calling revealed to her by the Creator unfolds. I recommend this book to any readers YA on up!
I received a free copy of the book in order to write a review for Inside the Inkwell blog… you can click here to check it out on Amazon!
