Review: The Breach Between by Duncan McGonall

The Breach Between by Duncan McGonall

Steph's Rating: 4 stars

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Format: e-ARC

Publisher: Mages Gate Publications

Pages: 216 

Publication: October 2013

Goodreads Synopsis:

Three Magi must find a way to satisfy the contradicting terms of the Legacy and stop a defunct, ancient order’s plan to reverse the Circle of Life by restoring to Order the ancient, off-plane machine known as the Atum Origin.

Legacy members; they use blood to walk through time and sigils to port worlds; they are Magi, one new, one immortal, the third a soldier of secrets and keeper of true lies. An immortal must die, the genesis affect harnessed, the Ennead sated and Order must prevail to restore the ancient, off-plane machine known as the Atum Origin. Bruce and Tolen must discover that the three Legacy members working together can win the fight.

Steph's Review:

Every now and then, it really is a good habit to give your brain a tease with stories woven with such intricate detail. Duncan McGonall's The Breach Between is a wonderfully complex supernatural novel that will be sure to draw in those who appreciate the magic and mythology genres, especially Greek and Egyptian mythology. 

The nine gods who form a group called the Arcanon hold domination over the Firma sphere world and its portals to other spheres. Problem is, they are losing control of it and fast, thanks to the threat of an opposing group simply dubbed the Faction, which is a group composed of magicians. As I said before, The Breach Between is a special book because it isn't bound to just one mythological idea. The Arcanon is composed of both Greek and Egyptian gods, for instance Apollo (Greek Sun God) is a member, but another member present is Ra (Egyptian Solar God). Three Magi named Bruce, Tolen, and Maramore have been called on to stop the magicians before the Arcanon loses complete control over Firma. 

I had a hard time getting into this story. I was very confused about what was going on within the first few chapters and nearly just called this book quits. I proudly say that I am glad I did not, and for future readers of this book, my only advice to you is to simply "Keep On Reading" (which is one of the rules I swear by nowadays :). The story comes together more as you read, and will keep your mind spinning in all directions. Its like fringes of rope that just need to be tied together, which will slowly but automatically happen as you continue on through the story. It does take a while to sort out characters and spheres in your head, but once everything has been set straight you can kick back and relax and enjoy a thrilling tale.

As the Arcanon's hold on the Firma sphere slowly slips away, our characters are brought into a world of true otherworldly politics, magic, and even time travel. This book is full of action, but also doesn't miss out on the intellectuality either. History from the Vatican to the Nazi party is in the story. McGonnal's diction is fantastic; while this is not the easiest of reads, his use of language will feel oddly refreshing and stimulating compared to some of the useless prattle and inferior language we sometimes see in the "modern novel's of today". I did feel like I was reading at a slower pace than I normally do for other books, but I ended up enjoying this book from start to finish.

While this book is supernatural, there is a great balance between magic and the real world so it doesn't seem that we are too far off of Earth. This book does take quite a while to get through merely because of the ample story we have to wrap our heads around, so I would recommend this to readers who aren't especially busy and have the time to sit down and enjoy a story. Great read and tale by Duncan McGonall!