“A Kingsguard Tale: Road to Celestia is on my top 5 books of this year. I can describe it as Final Fantasy 14 meets King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. Imagine your favorite JRPG in book form. This is the story of Dart Horowitz, after growing up hearing the tales of his grandfather’s adventures, he starts dreaming of becoming a Kingsguard. After witnesing his village getting attacked, his dreams becomes stronger, not only to protect his loves ones, but also to protect the kingdom. With that said, Dart is not your typical hero, all muscle and no brains or emotions. Dart is a knight carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, a mind full of dreams and his heart on his sleeve. You feel his happiness, weakness, sadness and you can even sense the humanity coming out of the pages. He learns from his mistakes, isn’t afraid to admit when he fails and at times, he is a bit harsh on himself but never to the point of being annoying. After he finally makes it into the Militia ranks, and proving his worth, he still fails to become a Kingsguard. This doesn’t deter him and when the King entrusts him with the most important mission yet, he only has one goal in mind… Bring the Ancient One to Celestia no matter what. He is apprehensive at first, but he knows if he fails, the faith of his Kingdom and probably the world would be at stake. He encounters dangerous adversaries of great strength called Infernals. Vile creatures with no sense of morale but a lot of sense of destruction. They want to abduct the Ancient One and prevent humans to defeat them and eradicate their race from existence. Good thing Dart has an amazing team that will encourage, challenge and help him grow. The road has characters straight out of your favorite fantasy books and video games. You have Elise: the childhood friend, supportive and caring. Ava: the Last Ancient, a mix of innocence, resilience and hope. Butler: the Shifter, Ava’s protector and the big brother of the team. Jack: the Kingsguard, Mentor, a noble with a heart of gold. Silver Fang: the strongest Kingsguard, cold and secluded but will risk his life for the good of others. Dale: the kooky helper, Jack of all trades. Maroone: the dark Mage with a conscience. Drakar: evilness personified and the one that can end it all. Since I don’t want to throw any spoilers… all I can say is: the book has action, mystery and an amazing plot that transports you to another Era where magic, summons, and Knights are the norm. If you like fantasy, adventure, mythology or if you are a nostalgic gamer circa 80s & 90s, this book is for you!”
