I hadn’t read the preview for Matthew Stenning’s IMMORTAL before picking it up, so I wasn’t sure what to expect beyond the broad category of “fantasy.”
Two pages into it, I sighed to myself – “Oh great, another D&D wannabe.” Ten pages in, I knew that not only was I sorely mistaken, but that I wouldn’t be able to put it down.
This tale is a masterful mashup of The Matrix set within a massive multiplayer online role-playing game. The characters are developed slowly and with care, and the almost poetic prose harkens back to the likes of Tolkien, McCaffrey, and Jordan.
IMMORTAL is a most impressive debut effort. Kudos to you, Matthew.