A grand work that brings remarkable originality.
Ah, to live the good life in the Crest, among those tasked with governance in the Mountain. Fresh air, sunlight and the best of everything! Young Lillia Tanner may have been born deep within the Crag, but her bright mind and fastidiousness have all but guaranteed her a position of great esteem and service to the Commonwealth. After all, no one more than Lillia feels as passionate about the motto of the people, “Our all for all.” But, alas, a life-threatening accident tends to provide perspective to even the most self-important of citizens. Lillia survives by a miracle, but her life is changed. And that isn’t the only change on the horizon in the Mountain. Faith is making a comeback, threatening the tight control and delicate balance between the Crest, the Crag, and the Quarter.
Epic is a wholly overused adjective, but The Mountain by Matthew C. Lucas is absolutely an epic novel! Weighing in at about 700 pages, The Mountain is like an entire fantasy series all wrapped tightly into one intelligent volume. Overflowing with symbolism and ritualistic formalities, the rigid world Lucas has crafted has just the right amount of menace, fear, and rebellion. Borrowing elements from scripture but moving in unique directions, readers will find some unexpected twists and turns applied to enduring names, terms, and ideologies. The narrative is gripping right from the start with Lillia and her schoolmates, but there are so many different personalities and plot lines to explore that readers will have their hands full for quite a while as they discover all the secrets held within The Mountain. From religious hypocrisy to political oppression in the name of the greater good, Matthew C. Lucas has penned a grand work that brings remarkable originality to the fantasy genre.
