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A kingdom is about to collapse, torn by war on all sides. Factions are coming after the crown that makes Renovia the mightiest nation of its time. But, this great nation is near its ruin. A king’s only solution is to protect his children, and the future of his kingdom, by sending Kairo and Aterah into the future where they will forget all they have known.

The future is a time of war and rebellion and Aterah and Kairo are on what seems to be the losing side. There are factions and warlords surrounding them who are not only deadly, they deal in magic known as vuu. The powerful magic is used in different ways by different nations and at this moment in time, Renovia seems to have none of it. But, there are artifacts that can restore the world to what it once was. Kairo and Aterah have no indication of how important they are in events to come. And there are others who covet the power of vuu and the artifacts that can restore Renovia.

Illyadra is a high magic fantasy epic. Several people and nations will be taking actions that will sway the fate of the world entirely. Some of these people are unaware of what is to happen, while others are making strategic plans on how they can capitalize for themselves. There are battles to the death using weapons, magic, and even with only the power of words. When Aterah is taken, Kairo must take action to rescue his sister. Unfortunately for him, a major injury means he will need all the help he can get. But what form that takes will surprise everyone.

The author, Adriel Wallaker, does a fair job of handling a large cast of characters. It can be at times somewhat difficult for the reader to keep them all straight as a few of them have very similar names. But the writing is strong enough this is not too much of a concern. Wallaker also does a decent job of tying things up in the end while still leaving the reader wanting to know what will happen next in the series. There are some spots in the book where the action gets a bit tedious but for the most part it’s fun.

Readers should be forewarned there is quite graphic violence in the book. It is handled well by the author but not for the squeamish at heart.

One of the more interesting aspects of the book was seeing magic used in ways not simply related to battle. Especially intriguing were the people who could wield influence over others with arguments. This is one area it would have been nice to see a little more of because those portions of the story were quite engaging. This is where a lot of the philosophy behind vuu comes in and is rather fascinating.

If you like sprawling epics where magic is everywhere and can be used in a lot of ways, Illyadra is definitely worth a read.