About the Book

Book: Brand of Light

Author: Ronie Kendig

Genre: Christian Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera

Release Date: December 3, 2019

Tertian Space Coalition has blessed every planet in the quadrants with high technology, save one: Drosero. But in spite of their tenuous treaty with the ruling clans, TSC has plans for the backward planet. And they’re not alone.

After a catastrophic explosion, Kersei Dragoumis awakens in a derelict shuttle, alone, injured, and ignorant of the forbidden technology that has swept her into a nightmare. The brand she’s borne since childhood burns mysteriously, but the pain is nothing to that when she learns her family is dead and she is accused of their murders.

Across the quadrants, Marco Dusan responds to the call of a holy order—not to join them, but to seek a bounty. Gifted—or cursed—with abilities that mark him a Kynigos, a tracker sworn to bring interplanetary fugitives to justice, Marco discovers this particular bounty has nothing to do with justice and everything to do with prophecy. One that involves the hunter as much as the hunted.

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

Oh, where do I even start?

This book was everything I hoped it would be plus so much more. I personally do not usually read sci-fi genre books because they (usually) take God out of the equation or put in a bunch of gods. When Ronie Kendig started advertising that she felt God calling her to write a sci-fi book I was intrigued to see what God had put on her heart for this genre. Even having little to no experience with this genre I believe Ronie Kendig hit a home run with this book.

The characters were very well laid out, they did not contradict themselves and were easy to get along with. The first few chapters Ronie Kendig showed us some great strengths and weaknesses in all her main characters. Technically, there are probably only two main characters, however, I would argue that there could technically be three main characters. I will let you decide on that (I would love to hear your thoughts on it). The characters interacted seamlessly together, and by the end of this book, I was captivated by the plights of the characters. The only character I would have liked to see more of was Kersei, I never saw her thoughts on the events that took place come through. However, this is only the first book 😊 so who knows what will come next.

Since this is book one in a series, there are several plots with threads interwoven. Nothing overt or distracting, just there on the fringes waiting. The plot is laid out in an easy to follow way, after the first couple of chapters where you connect the dots. Ronie Kendig certainly took me on a roller coaster in this book. I laughed, I stressed, and I almost cried at the ending (You will see why when you read it). I think that because of the way this plot was written it could easily become a complicated and confusing story, but it was not. Ronie Kendig did a good job of laying out the story in a way that I could readily understand; all the different words were explained in a way that seemed natural in the storyline.

This being my first sci-fi opera book I truly did not know what to expect going in. I loved the characters, the plot, and being immersed in a world so different from the one we live in. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars for the creativity that went into coming up with all this, the well-developed and easy to follow characters, as well as the ending I am still reeling from. All that to say I was very emotionally invested in this story and now I can not wait to read the next book in this series.

**Plus, have you checked out the giveaway? Ronie Kendig and her team were thoughtful enough to make maps and character cards to help you get a mental picture of what Drosero and the surrounding planets might look like.

*I received a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.

About the Author

Ronie Kendig is an award-winning, bestselling author of over twenty titles. An Army brat, Ronie lives a shot train ride from New York City with her husband, twin sons, and two fur-sons, VVolt N629, a retired military working dog, and Benning the Stealth Golden. Described as an empath by her literary agent, Ronie has used her degree in psychology to write books that have won the coveted Christy Award, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, HOLT Medallion Award, and more. Her books have also hit the CBA Bestseller List multiple times.

More from Ronnie

In November 2005, I lurched into a story that started with one small element—what if a hero could literally smell fear? And so I delved into the story with the characters, and felt like I’d fallen into the vortex. I wrote over 90,000 words in one month, this story just gushing out of me.

But I was a very new writer. And if you saw the first draft that gushed out of me, you’d snicker. I sure have. It’s appallingly bad writing, yet the story’s bones are healthy and intact. So, I teased the story into shape over the last fourteen years. In 2012, I took a hard look at it and tried to shape up the writing. I’d even gotten to know Kathy Tyers, who wrote for the Star Wars franchise as well as the much-beloved Firebird series (*insert reverent pause here*), and I bravely asked if she would take a peek at the first fifty pages or so. Being gracious as Kathy is, she agreed to take a look.

Um, yikes. Haha. Make no mistake—Kathy is a brilliant writer, and I will never write like her, but I learned so much her feedback and took it to heart. Clearly, I still had a long way to go before that story was ready for the world, so I delved into honing my craft and deepening this story. Honestly, I was afraid show Brand of Light to anyone again, because I love this story so much and did not want to see “her” fail. Nore correctly—I did not want to fail this story.

About three years ago, I sensed a deep conviction that it was time to stop hiding and, as an act of faith and obedience to what God had given me, to send Brand of Light out into the world. As I write this, she is still 1.5 months out from the release, and I’m scared. I want this beauty to be loved, but even if it’s not, *I love this story and know I honored God with my writing and sending her out. I can rest here for a long while, reveling in the gift God gave me with this storyworld and its characters. I’m excited to see her launch out into the deep now. As Marco and the hunters always say, For Honor.

Blog Stops

Through the Fire Blogs, December 14

April Hayman, Author, December 14

Hallie Reads, December 14

amandainpa , December 15

Inside the Wong Mind, December 15

Christian Chick’s Thoughts, December 16

Wishful Endings, December 16

Pause for Tales, December 16

A Reader’s Brain, December 17

Faery Tales Are Real, December 17

Simple Harvest Reads, December 18 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 18

Where Faith and Books Meet, December 18

Texas Book-aholic, December 19

Mia Reads Blog, December 19

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, December 20

Betti Mace, December 20

Books, Life, and Christ, December 20

Just the Write Escape, December 21

Britt Reads Fiction, December 21

Blogging With Carol , December 22

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, December 22

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 23

All-of-a-kind Mom, December 23

The Artist Librarian, December 23

Emily Yager, December 24

mypreciousbitsandmusings, December 24

Bakerkella, December 25

Worthy2Read, December 25

janicesbookreviews, December 26

Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 26

Just Your Average reviews, December 26

Inklings and notions, December 27

Splashes of Joy, December 27

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Ronie is giving away the grand prize package of a Tinted Prose edition of Brand of Light, Galaxy Tumbler, “Kersei” Dio Adorable Candle, 3 Character Cards (to include Marco, Kersei, Tigo), and 2 Maps (to include Drosero and the planetary map)!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click Here to enter.