Sage Alexander and the Hall of Nightmares Review

Synopsis from Edelweiss:

The World is Darker than it Seems. The Light is Coming.

Demons, vicious half-humans and evil creatures of myth and legend prowl the earth, unseen to human eyes – but not to the eyes of 14-year-old Sage Alexander. Descended from humans and angels, Sage has the power to see and fight all these creatures, and in fact he must.The human race is in danger, controlled unknowingly by the Seven Princes of Hell, the seven deadly sins. Greed, Sloth, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath and Pride all breathe their sin into weaker human ears and take those willing souls for their own, as they have for centuries. And now Mammon, Greed incarnate, has possessed Sage’s father and threatens to keep him forever. The Angelic Response Council, a committee of angels, archangels, guardians and half-angelic humans, has fought the forces of blackest evil for centuries, but their numbers are dwindling.

There is prophecy of a gifted warrior, who will come in the Council’s darkest hour to bring about the demise of the fallen angels cast out from heaven and all of their nefarious descendants. His name will be Sage Alexander. Sage must face danger and death as he assembles a supernatural team and battles his way through time and Godspace in order to save his family from the grips of Greed. But he has an even bigger quest ahead of him. … This is only the beginning.

About: Sage Alexander and the Hall of Nightmares is a fiction book written by Steve Copling. It will be published on 4/11/17 by Brown Books Publishing Group, 432 pages. The genres are young adult, fiction, and fantasy. This book is intended for readers ages 12 to 18. This book is the first in a series of 7 books to come. According to Brown Books Publishing Group, they are “known for being one-of-a-kind, a fiercely independent, full-service publisher that encourages author empowerment.” Please see below for more information about the author.

My Experience: I started reading Sage Alexander and the Hall of Nightmares on 3/12/17 and finished it on 3/25/17. This book has good intentions. In this book, readers will follow the point of view of Sage Alexander, 14 year old with a destiny to fulfill even before he was born. His destiny is to destroy the 7 princes of hell (aka the 7 deadly sins) before they destroy the human race, starting with his dad. His dad is going through an acquisition that if all goes according to plan, Sage’s family will be very wealthy. One of the prince of hell is coming for Sage’s dad and signs of him being destroyed by the prince are the yellow appearing on his skin and the snakes protruding from Sage’s dad’s neck. These signs are only visible to Sage because he has the ability to see with the gift of Sight. Sage has a few other gifts that makes him the most powerful warrior, a prophecy named him to protect all human against the 7 deadly sins.

Sage’s abilities are being kept a secret. He grew up being examined and bullied because he sees things others can’t. He has a guardian named Leah that follows him, gives him protection, and makes sure he’s trained when he’s needed. Growing up, Sage half believe of his destiny and half doesn’t because he only hear Leah’s side of the story but hasn’t witnessed anything to catch his attention until he started noticing the changes in his dad’s appearance. His mission composed of traveling through Godspace, memory sharing, pathfinding, teleporting, etc to save some council members that went missing and in the mean time, hunt down Mammon, prince of Greed to kill him before Sage loses his dad.

I love reading YA fantasy, but this book just doesn’t do it for me. This book has a fantasy world of creepy looking monsters and very hard to pronounce and remember the princes of hell’s names. I do like the memory sharing, travel through alternate reality, and teleporting, but bringing in Hitler and Istanbul just loses my interest. I like Ronan, a personal assistant to Sage’s Grandpa. He seems to be the only one with a personality. This book is packed – info dump in my opinions because there are gargoyles, werewolves, archangels, transmutation, time travel & changing history, etc. I have read many books and have been told by a publisher that not all books are written for everybody. I don’t enjoy this book but I do recommend you to still give it a try. You may love it.

Pro: 7 deadly sins, special gifts, alternate reality,

Con: not an entire fantasy world (US, France, Istanbul, Hitler is mentioned in this book), info dump

I rate it 3 stars!

Grab yourself a copy here: Book Depository

About the Author:

Steve Copling has over thirty-five years’ experience in law enforcement and corporate security. He currently serves as a captain at the Plano, Texas police department. He lives in a small North Texas town with his wife of nearly forty years, has three wonderful sons and five beautiful grandchildren. He is the author of two crime novels. Sage Alexander and the Hall of Nightmares is his first Young Adult fantasy novel and serves as the foundation for a seven-book series. (Info obtained from Edelweiss and photo from Goodreads).

More information about Brown Books Publishing Group:

Website: http://www.brownbooks.com | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brownbooks | Twitter: https://twitter.com/brownbooks

***Disclaimer: Many thanks to Brown Books Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review. Please assured that my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine