Teleosis is an upcoming 2024 fantasy novel by Amy W. Vogel. The novel is scheduled for release on January 16, 2024 and is being independently published by the author. I received an advanced copy from the author for review purposes.
Inira Boehme was on the brink of her ascension to the role of High Priestess and Supreme Ruler of Teleosis, an ancient civilization born at the moment of Creation to bring hope, vision, and abundance to the whole world. Until her future was destroyed and left in as much ruin as the capital city. Twenty years later, she finds herself face to face with the life she worked tirelessly to hide. Destiny comes in the form of a mysterious man who promises to redeem all she lost, but it will require immense sacrifice. Fraught with hidden agendas, betrayal, and enemies as old as Creation itself, Inira must confront the sinister forces threatening to destroy all that she loves while fighting the darkness within herself to find her way to transformation and freedom.
The author gives some trigger warnings at the beginning of the book for a number of things, including sexual assault, gun violence, suicide bombings, stalking and alcoholism.
The plot of the novel was very creative, and it’s easy to see that the author had a lot of ideas for this story. It’s difficult to talk about the plot in-depth without spoiling important aspects of the story, and this is one of those instances where the story should be experienced. At its core, the novel is about Inira confronting the traumas of her past, and moving forward to rebuild the life she once thought was lost. The narrative builds towards the climax slowly but steadily, setting the important groundwork for both twists in the story and a satisfying resolution. Most of the twists and turns in the story are well-executed and each takes the plot in a new and interesting direction. I wasn’t completely in love with the overall plot, because it felt a bit rushed. The novel was balancing several ideas, several themes, all at once, meaning a lot more happens in this novel than you might expect. Some of the themes and underlying messages are very important and I wish they’d been given a little more time to breathe. With that said, the story does a good job of building tension and when the more exciting, action scenes happen, they’re thrilling.
I enjoyed the characters in this novel immensely. Inira initially seems like a very straight-forward character but it soon becomes clear how nuanced she is. Her backstory is incredibly compelling. She’s a perfectionist, she’s dealing with multiple sources of trauma, she’s a somewhat of a hypocrite. She’s a complex, nuanced, three-dimensional character and while the story centers around her, she’s an imperfect character. Matthias, her love interest, is a well-executed morally grey individual in the sense that, even when I opposed his morality, it wasn’t difficult to understand how his morality impacted his decisions and worldview, and vice versa. Supporting characters, such as Inira’s daughter Emerie, are less nuanced, but overall complex. There was only one character, the antagonist, I found to be a shallow character, and it was mostly due to a writing choice. Gender and the gender binary are a big focus in the novel, and the worldview of the antagonist doesn’t leave much room for nuance or complexity on the issue.
The fantasy aspects of the novel are rather subtle. The novel takes place in a slightly alternate version of the real world. For the most part, there isn’t extensive world-building needed for the story. The magic and mysticism focuses on the religion Inira was raised to one day lead, and aspects of that faith, and how it interacts with the world. Important information about the religion is revealed to the reader slowly and in pretty digestible ways. The religion itself, the associated magic, and how it fits into the story felt very unique and was fascinating to me.
The writing in this novel was beautiful. The prose was very vivid and the author did an excellent job not only telling a compelling story, but building a complex world. The descriptions were vivid, without resorting to “purple prose”. The writing style was distinct and becoming immersed in the story was easy. The one criticism I have of the writing is that some of the dialogue doesn’t quite work. At times, it can feel a bit clunky, but it wasn’t distracting overall.
Teleosis was a good book, but it didn’t quite fit my tastes. It’s a beautifully written book, with compelling characters, but the story didn’t resonate as much with me. The author had a lot of fantastic ideas, and some of those ideas were executed better than others. The fantasy elements were fascinating and unique. I didn’t feel blown away by the novel on the whole, but other readers will definitely enjoy it.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Pre-Order Links for the book: Amazon
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