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Shomari T. Black has been writing since the First grade when he was caught plagiarizing a creative writing assignment and had to come up with something original. He is a Chicago resident but not a Chicago native. He started writing his first novel, Sabien's Quest: The Light, when he was 16.
Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite
In Sabien’s Quest: The Light, Zatella, daughter of Father Ryos, and her infant son Kriz-tien, barely escaped from being captured by a Kaynai soldier, General Kolim, when she succeeded in seeking sanctuary at the Temple of the Creator. Unfortunately, Zatella’s survival is not meant to be, leaving her son in the care of the monastery and renamed Sabien by his grandfather. Raised as a monk, Sabien is unaware of his royal lineage. When his home is mercilessly burned down, Sabien sets off on a mission to make the perpetrators pay for their crimes. Little does he know that a great destiny awaits him. This first installment of the series is written by Shomari T. Black.
I admire the way Shomari weaves this fantasy story with Christianity. However, a subtle religious tone would have been better as the story tends to sounds sententious at times. That aside, Shomari's prose is excellent and clear with no redundancy. The setting is faultless and the action scenes are good, particularly the early scene that starts off in the beginning, where Zatella was trying to escape the Kaynai soldier.
As this is the first book of a series, it is of course a must for any author to leave some loose threads to make readers look forward to the next installment. However, I find the ending is a bit hasty. Overall, Sabien’s Quest: The Light is still a solid read that would entice the YA readers to loyally follow the series until the end.
