Tempest Blades: The Cursed Titans

Tempest Blades: The Cursed Titans portrays a young hero plagued with depression and gifted with supernatural abilities. Alex needs to understand he is not alone as he fights to save the world from the evil plans of the planet-wrecking Titans while striving to save himself from depression. The Chivalry Games may be the answer to his problems: a reason to get up and an opportunity to save the world. Consequently, he must work with a team of like-minded people to defeat the best fighters in the world.

Though Alex has some amazing abilities, like being able to electrocute his enemies with an explosion of electro-magnetic energy, he battles with the voices in his head. This could translate to how the world deals us both the good and the bad and no matter how attractive our gifts and treasures are, we should be ready for the ugly side. The danger facing the world and the Alliance—consisting of humans, freefolk, and samoharo—reminded me of how the balance of our diverse world is currently threatened by individuals who discriminate against others. More real-life issues, like the few I mentioned, are brilliantly merged into the supernatural story, making it an impressive blend of fiction and reality.

I enjoyed the intense action and how science, fantasy, and martial arts are combined together to create a surreal experience. It would be wonderful to see the story in a movie or a video game. I was completely gripped with fear as I read some daunting scenes, like the part where the characters have to face burning, oiled chains and amphibious creatures that leap in the air to snatch and kill their prey. My favorite part of the book is the positive message about mental health: “[I]t’s not your fault you have this shadow inside you.” Also, the characters are so well-developed and realistic that they have different ways of fighting, dressing, and speaking.

Though I was blown away by some things in the book, the largeness of the world and the high number of major characters resulted in a complex experience. Some of the important characters include Alex, Joshua, Kasumi, Gaby, Sid, Fionn, and Harland. Trying to remember the details about each character became tedious after a while. Readers who can easily understand a story with a lot of details might not have a problem with this. However, I wished for a simpler narrative and a fewer number of important characters.

The breathtaking moments and the positive messages in Ricardo Victoria’s book would stick with me as they made quite a strong impression. I recommend Tempest Blades: The Cursed Titans to fantasy fans who love action and video games and don’t mind a large, detailed narrative and language usage.