Book review: 'Impyrium' is a fabulous first installment of new fantasy series

Princess Hazel Faeregine is used to being the overlooked, ridiculed member of her triplet sisters. She knows there's no way she'll ever sit on the throne, so she tries to just bear court life. She also doesn't realize it yet, but will soon find out, what a pampered and sheltered life she's been living. But things in the kingdom on Impyrium are not what they once were and those changes will impact Hazel in ways she cannot fathom.

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Hob Smythe, a poor boy from one of the outlaying villages of Impyrium, has never fathomed leaving his hometown. But when a strange man approaches and makes an offer he cannot refuse, Hob leaves all he's ever known and becomes immersed in court life and layers of intrigue.

As Hob and Hazel become two unlikely friends and glimpse views of each others' worlds, they realize that everything they thought they knew may only hold a layer of the truth. As their country teeters on the brink of war, they learn they hold the knowledge to fend off violence.

Author Henry H. Neff does an incredible job explaining the mystical dystopian world of of Impyrium to readers. This book is full of characters that leap out of the pages and so many twists and turns that readers won't know what to expect next. Neff's writing is fantastic and this series is one I'll definitely be finishing.

"Impyrium" has a few cuss words, several violent passages, and a subtle reference to child sex slavery. While this book is touted as the next "Harry Potter," and contains a lot of "Harry Potter"-like magic, it is as dark as the final "Potter" book and should be given to children with that knowledge. "Impyrium" is the first installment to a stand-alone series that takes place after Neff's popular, "Tapestry" series.

Neff lives in New Jersey with his family.