[Blog Tour] The Forever Knight by John Marco : Review and Interview!

Today marks the release of John Marco’s The Forever Knight. It’s my pleasure to host the first stop on his blog tour (see a list of all stops here) which he’ll be doing for the next month.

Posted below is my review of The Forever Knight, and my interview with John Marco.

Lukien is the Bronze Knight, beloved by his kingdom and renowned in battle throughout his world. After betraying his king and losing his beloved, he wishes only for death, but rather than die, Lukien is given a chance for redemption: to be the protector of the Inhumans—those fragile mortals who live deep in the desert, far from the prying eyes of their world. These remarkable individuals have been granted magical powers in exchange for the hardships and handicaps life has handed them. And Lukien, now immortal himself, must be their champion. But how can one man, even an immortal warrior, protect hundreds from a world of potential enemies? – Description from Amazon

The Forever Knight by John Marco is an entertaining read, filled with believable characters, triumph and tragedy.

Following Lukien and Cricket, his novel is the 4th installment in The Bronze Knight series, however it serves as a “reboot” to the series and sits as a standalone. Readers don’t need to have read the first three to be able to pick up this one and enjoy it. (I’m able to say this as I have yet to read them, but did find this to be quite easy to get into). I have avoided mentioning specifics and plot details, just to avoid the possibility of spoilers from earlier books as much as possible.

Marco has created a vast and interesting world. His concept of the afterlife was an intriguing one, which I’m looking forward to seeing explored in future novels. Although, at times his magic system (the near-immortality granted to Lukien) felt a bit too convenient, and added an element of predictability to the story, giving the sense that he was never really in any danger. Despite this, the story was still overly enjoyable.

Exploring elements of sacrifice, rebirth, and magic, Marco does a good job with showing the character growth and the dynamics of relationships between characters, as well as exploring their interactions in relatable circumstances, bringing them to life.

Marco has written a story which will pull readers in and have them enthralled until the last page; hoping for the survival of characters that they will come to love, even when it seems impossible.

I will be going back and picking up the first three novels in The Bronze Knight, as well as any future installments. You can look forward to a review of The Eyes of God (Book 1) Later this month.

Without further ado, below is the interview which I had to pleasure of doing with John.

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R: Hi John! Thank you for taking the time to do this, I really appreciate it.

In interviews everyone asks “Tell me something about yourself”, but can you tell me something most people don’t know about you?

J: Most people probably don’t know how private I actually am, because I tend to be pretty open on my blog. But actually, I’m very introverted. That’s not to say I’m shy; I’m not. I’m just a loner who tends to keep to himself a lot. For example, I just left what I used to call my “day job.” I was there for two years, and in all that time no one knew I was a published author. It was just something I kept to myself that whole time. I remember my sister calling me a loner when I was just a kid, and I remember liking being called that! I’m not a team player; I even dislike the word “team.” Probably makes sense that I became a writer. It’s not just something I love doing, but it fits me perfectly.

R: Yeah, seems to make sense for you to be a writer, given that.
Can you describe The Forever Knight in 10 words? 

J: I would call it “A tale of bloody revenge and the curse of immortality.”

R: And what was your inspiration for The Bronze Knight series? The near-immortality through the Akari is quite interesting and unique.