A Kingdom Forgotten

A Throne of Souls - Book 1

Fiction - Fantasy - Epic
492 Pages
Reviewed on 04/16/2017
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Author Biography

Charles W. McDonald Jr. was born in Oklahoma City, raised in Norman, Oklahoma, and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a BBA in Management Information Systems and a Minor in Economics. He also has a background in Aerospace Engineering and High Availability Systems Engineering. Honorably discharged from the United States Air Force Reserves, he also has a background in the armed forces. He lives with his wife, Brandy L. McDonald, in Roanoke, TX.

In the summer of 1995, Charles read every available book on the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan in a couple of weeks, and later that same July awoke in the middle of the night from an incredibly immersive dream. Charles began writing, by hand, everything he could remember from that dream which became the outline for the story of A Throne of Souls. Very shortly afterwards, Charles wrote Robert Jordan directly, looking for advice and inspiration for his own work, and Robert Jordan personally responded in a three-page letter, encouraging Charles to tell his story in his way, in his voice, and in his time. The completion of A Throne of Souls is a deeply personal mission for Charles to thank the spirit of Robert Jordan.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

A Kingdom Forgotten is a wonderful opening into A Throne of Souls series by Charles McDonald Jr., an opening which I consider to be the best promise for a long, epic adventure. This book will have a great appeal for fans of general fiction, sci-fi and fantasy who love stories with complex plots and strong characters. But the setting is nowhere near anything I have ever read before. It spans centuries, and one gets the impression that one is reading the evolution of human consciousness through all time. This story introduces readers to Damon, the main protagonist, caught up in a world where nothing is as it seems. Does he have the courage to break the rules?

This is a monumental story with its unique kind of conflict and multiple storylines. Readers are introduced to powerful heroes, magic, portals into other worlds and times, medieval settings, and a lot more. The book is intelligently imagined and masterfully executed, and it is important to note that it isn’t a light read. Yes, the story is complex on multiple levels, including the points of views that shift and that can cause some dizziness in the reader, the writing that is extraordinary, fraught with depths of meaning, and the storyline with numerous characters. Charles McDonald Jr. has created a story that is colossal and that combines various elements of the art of storytelling into one place. I was wowed by the writing and the characters, but most importantly, by the author’s ability to unveil the depth of human emotion and consciousness. A Kingdom Forgotten is a story of great magnitude, one to read with focus, a story that will remind readers of their roots.