The Chronicles of The Virago: Book III the Triumviratus
Michael Bialys
Granny Cake Publishing (2022)
ISBN: 979-8650066088
Reviewed by Lily Andrews for Reader Views (11/2022)
Mystical and expressive, Michael Bialys’ fantastical feat follows a young teen who, with the help of her friends, endeavors to seek back her father’s soul and protect her two siblings from the threat of a vengeful villain.
“The Chronicles of The Virago: Book III the Triumviratus” is the third volume in the series and can be read as a standalone novel. Makenna Grace Gold, The Virago, and a “Protector of Protectors” had just conquered an enormous seven-headed dragon, lying high in the sky over Shanghai’s Huangpu River in China.
However, her father Michael Gold’s soul had shortly after been taken by a Souler to the Under Realms. Makenna, who has a direct lineage with the hero Joan of Arc, is tasked with protecting her twin siblings otherwise known as twin-gift, and a force of pure good, who were given to Earth by the Enlightenment One to offer hope to the world. Her two classmates, Stephen and Sam, are therefore tasked by the fairy Prelate to descend to the Under Realms, intercept the Souler and retrieve Mr. Gold’s soul and return it to him. Will this perilous journey plunge them into worse trials? Will Makenna succeed in keeping the twins, Noah and Emilyne Gold, away from the treacherous and cruel Seaton?
Michael Bialy has succeeded in writing with unrelenting malevolence. He adroitly blends magical creatures, action, suspense, and thrill with unmatched skill. With a beguiling beginning, the book does not tally in its progress and aptly introduces its characters in a well-fleshed-out manner. Readers are bound to admire Sam’s knowledge and navigating skills as well as Stephen’s gifts of clear-sightedness and insight. Makenna’s quest is clear but defies assumptions by surprising the reader with more of this quest, enhancing the thrill in the reader. It is the luscious descriptions of the settings and employable prose that give the book a high poise.
Brilliantly drawn, “The Chronicles of The Virago: Book III the Triumviratus” reflects love, friendship, determination, selflessness, and courage in all their forms. Primarily written for middle-grade children, this fine ode and five-star work by Michael Bialy is likely to appeal to a larger audience and especially fans of fantasy novels. It is well worth the read!
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