The day young Mikey Rhodes disappeared was the day the family shattered. Many suspected his father, Aaron, of killing the boy and hiding the
body... even his wife Wendy. Only Mike's older brother Brennan stuck by him, refusing to give up hope. Then one day, a year later, the FBI
summons the Rhodes to their offices. A strange man, dressed and armed like some bizarre fantasy barbarian, was found by the highway... and,
according to fingerprints, that bearded, battle-hardened man is the boy Mikey. He claims he was abducted to a fantasy world to fulfill a
prophecy by destroying an evil lord, and has returned to Earth to hunt down five mages who might let that evil take root here - but is he
telling the truth, or has he been corrupted by the very entity he was prophecized to destroy?
Review
Birthright offers a nice twist on the usual "Earth kid gets whisked away to become a hero in another world" story, showing the devastation left
behind as his family struggles to come to terms with his disappearance... and the changes that being forced into a warrior life can wreak on even
the nicest boy. Deep within the heart of the jaded, battle-hardened and compromised man he has become, Mikey is still a little lost boy who wants
nothing more than to go home, and he's not about to let anything get in his way. Meanwhile, Aaron refuses to let this opportunity to
reconnect with his son slip past, even if it means becoming a fugitive, and Brennan (once the older brother, now just a kid beside his Conan-like
sibling) can't help falling in as an impromptu sidekick, still somehow hoping that his broken family can be mended... though even he begins to
wonder if he truly recognizes Mikey anymore. Wendy, the mother, once again feels the burden of being the sensible, responsible one, left behind
by the boys while she stays with law enforcement (and her new boyfriend) to do what she believes is the right thing and hunt down the "dangerous
stranger" claiming to be her lost son. Flashbacks show the young Mikey's journey and its inauspicious start in Terranos, introducing characters that
look to come into play in future volumes. It's an interesting story, moving at a fair clip, with great artwork (that leans a little gory at times,
as a warning to younger or more sensitive readers.) I'm looking forward to the next volume already - I'll have to see if Hoopla has it available
yet.
Mikey Rhodes was an ordinary boy - or so he thought, until he was abducted into the magical world of Terranos to fulfill a prophecy by
slaying the evil god-king Lore, slave of the twisted Nevermind. Many years later (but only one year on Earth), a now-grown Mikey returns
home... but not as the victor he told his family. As tool of the Nevermind, he hunts down five escaped mages with the help of his (formerly
older) brother Brennan, who remains unaware of the corrupting force poisoning Mikey from within. Meanwhile, Wendy finally believes that the
barbarian "madman" found by the FBI was indeed the child she thought her husband had killed - and, with the help of Mikey's Terranos-born
friend and lover, sets out to find her fugitive son.
Review
The story of fallen hero Mikey, his faithful brother-turned-sidekick Brennan, and the shattered Rhodes family continues to be filled with
action, magic, twists, and some truly emotional moments. Brennan begins to see what his brother has become, yet cannot bring himself to lose
faith in the Mikey he knew. Back with the parents, a new team of agents with an unknown agenda step in to take over the case, just as Wendy
and Agent Brooks begin to believe in Mikey's wild tales... helped by the arrival of the winged "gideon" woman Rya, Mikey's former friend from
Terranos and mother of his unborn child. I had been afraid that this would be a "boys only" tale, with women relegated to back-burner roles,
but Wendy isn't going to be left at home to pine and grieve, and neither is Rya. This volume delivers another interesting and engaging tale,
violent at times but toward a purpose, not simply for the sake of it; indeed, Mikey's fall from grace can be tracked to when he finally
learned to kill in pursuit of fulfilling the prophecy everyone told him he was destined to fulfill. I look forward to discovering where this
story is going.
Mikey Rhodes continues his quest to hunt down the four remaining fugitive mages, who fled Terranos for Earth and have lived in exile ever
since. His brother Brennan now knows of the Nevermind infecting him, but follows anyway - Mikey's his brother, after all, and he can't turn
his back on family. Besides, as he's quickly learning, the truth isn't as black and white as many believe; there may well be good reason the
mages deserve death. But their current target, a shadowy assassin hiding in Chicago, may best even the hero of Terranos.
Wendy Rhodes, now in the company of the winged girl (and Mikey's friend and lover) Rya, sets out to find her sons - and finds herself up to
her neck in magic and forces she can scarcely comprehend. Can Mikey still be saved, or is it too late for him and the world of Terranos... and
if Terranos falls, what will Earth's fate be?
Meanwhile, the imprisoned Aaron Rhodes continues to defy the authorities to protect his children - but Agent Kylen promises leniency if he talks
Mikey into peaceful surrender. Little does he realize the man's hidden agenda...
Review
This third volume continues the action-filled, often dark tale of Mikey, the lost boy who became a broken hero. Brennan now has his own magical
secret, and his awareness of the Nevermind only makes him more determined to stick by and help his formerly-younger brother. Meanwhile, the boys'
parents become caught up in their own Terranos-tainted entanglements; this isn't a story that leaves the "grown ups" by the wayside like so many
fantasy adventures. More twists arise, and more of Mikey's backstory of his time in Terranos comes to light via flashbacks. A revelation at the
very end almost made me waver on the ending, but I'm willing to trust the creators to see where things are going. Hopefully, Volume 4 appears on
Hoopla soon...
Wounded and possibly dying, Mikey Rhodes has found unlikely sanctuary with one of the mages he was sworn to kill: Sameal, his estranged
grandfather. The foul Nevermind's grip on him is stronger than ever, but Mikey's family refuses to give up on him, even if it means defying
powers the likes of which Earth has never seen. Besides, Mikey and Sameal aren't the only Rhodes men to have special powers: young Brennan
finds magic waking in his own veins.
Meanwhile, Mikey's mother Wendy and his winged lover Rya remain captives of the sorceress Mastema, who reveals more about Terranos and the
prophecy that ensnared Mikey than either want to hear...
Review
The tale continues at a fast pace in this fourth volume of the Birthright saga. With Mikey sidelined for much of the tale, father Aaron and
brother Brennan must step forward, even as fractures in family unity threaten them all. Aaron cannot quite forgive Sameal for abandoning him as
a boy, and for not coming forward when Mikey went missing... but he must also come to terms with his own spotty parenting record, and his lack
of faith in Brennan. Meanwhile, the surviving wizards pull out even more stops in their relentless pursuit of Mikey; they sacrificed Terranos
to stop the Nevermind and Lore, and aren't about to see Earth fall to the same evil, no matter the human cost. The women could use a little more
dynamic roles at this point, mostly relegated to sitting around as captives talking to Mastema, but otherwise it's a fairly active story. I do
hope there's a conclusion pending in another volume or two, though, as this pace can't be sustained indefinitely.
The Birthright series, Book 5 Joshua Williamson, illustrations by Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas Skybound Fiction, YA Fantasy/Graphic Novel Themes: Epics, Fantasy Races, Portal Adventures, Magic Workers ****
Description
Rya, the winged gideon from war-torn Terranos, followed her human lover Mikey Rhodes to his homeworld Earth - only to find the evil Nevermind that destroyed
her world had corrupted him, setting its sights on new territory. She was born into war, and is not about to let another world fall... even if it means fighting
the father of her unborn child.
Review
Bringing the characters together in the same location at last, this fifth volume feels less scattered. Mikey's father can no longer deny the truth about his
wayward son, while his mother finally gets a bit more of a role in the story. It sets up a probable finale in the next volume, which is already on deck in my Hoopla
account.
The Birthright series, Book 6 Joshua Williamson, illustrations by Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas Skybound Fiction, YA Fantasy/Graphic Novel Themes: Epics, Fantasy Races, Portal Adventures, Magic Workers ****
Description
After escaping the fortress of the sorceress Mastema, the Rhodes family has been reunited, but Mikey remains in a magically-induced coma, trapped by his
grandfather Samael. Here, the mage sifts through his memories of Mikey's final confrontation with the god-king Lore on Terranos... when he failed his destiny
and embraced the controlling Nevermind. Only by finding out why can he hope to free his grandson from the entity's grip - assuming it isn't too late.
Review
I had thought this volume would be the finale, but it turns out there are more installments. It is, however, the signal of a pivotal shift in the arc,
as the reader finally sees how Lore corrupted the hero of Terranos - and Mikey makes up his mind whether to remain in the service of the Nevermind or
return to his family. Like the previous volume, it keeps the players in one setting (save trips into Mikey's memories), making for a more streamlined,
less jumpy tale. New dimensions unfold, setting up a new direction for the series. I'll be reading onward as future installments become available,
though I wonder how much longer the story can go on barring another major shift like the one introduced here.
The Birthright series, Book 7 Joshua Williamson, illustrations by Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas Skybound Fiction, YA Fantasy/Graphic Novel Themes: Epics, Fantasy Races, Portal Adventures, Magic Workers ****
Description
At long last, Mikey has been freed from the influence of the Nevermind and reunited with his gideon wife, his newborn child, and his family... but the faun
Kallista stole his brother Brennan. She means to train him as a mage, using him to subjugate both Terranos and Earth - and only Mikey can stop him. But to do so will
mean using the magic that already corrupted him once and destroyed many lives, including his own.
Review
As the series continues after the changes of the sixth installment, Brennan is drawn deeper into the forces of magic and the ongoing conflicts that brought down
Terranos and could destroy Earth - forces that tap into the pain he still feels from Mikey's disappearance and the collapse of his family. From the older brother to
the faithful sidekick, Brennan now becomes a potential nemesis... just as Mikey, still reeling from the horrors he unleashed while in the Nevermind's control, vows
never to use magic again. Like the previous volumes, it reads quickly and has plenty of action (and more than a little gore), calling back to young Mikey's formative
traumas in Terranos and his first taste of magic and the pain it requires. I'm not sure how much longer the series can continue - frankly, I think there's only
one or two volumes left in the arc before it risks repetition or filler - but it's still a nice, dark twist on portal fantasies.
The Birthright series, Book 8 Joshua Williamson, illustrations by Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas Image Comics Fiction, YA Fantasy/Graphic Novel Themes: Epics, Fantasy Races, Portal Adventures, Magic Workers ****
Description
The Rhodes family has been through a lot - but worse is to come. Now a covert government group wants answers about the strange incidents that are threatening
global security, a group that has known about magic since the 1940's. The barrier between Earth and Terranos has become unstable, turning magic on both worlds
toxic. Unless the boundaries are rebuilt or removed completely, both planets will die... but one of the last living mages seems determined for that to happen.
Three generations of Rhodes men must stand up to the most dangerous enemy, worse than even the Nevermind or the God-King Lore.
Review
The story that started with an innocent boy who failed under the impossible burdens of heroism enters its eighth volume feeling a little stretched, but still
moving forward. Mikey still has anger issues to deal with, and his grandfather must face his responsibility in helping create the current disaster (and in
neglecting Mickey's father; the failure of parents to understand or bond with their children has done lots of damage to many people in the story.) Meanwhile,
Mikey's brother Brennan is still recovering from his addiction to magic and the trauma of being abducted and temporarily turned against his own family. Mastema,
the last surviving mage aside from Sameal Rhodes, reveals her ultimate goal, a goal that, like so many things in the story, has been warped by childhood pain
that never healed. It starts with plenty of action and bloodshed and ramps up from there to an explosive conclusion, then a cliffhanger. Yes, there's at least
one more story in the Birthright arc, though I'm really hoping the next volume wraps it then; as mentioned, the story's feeling a little stretched by now. (I'm
also seeing the women, particularly Mikey's mother, and to a degree his lover Rya, getting shunted to the side as Williamson focuses on fathers and sons, or
fathers and daughters.)
The Birthright series, Book 9 Joshua Williamson, illustrations by Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas Image Comics Fiction, YA Fantasy/Graphic Novel Themes: Epics, Fantasy Races, Portal Adventures, Magic Workers ***+
Description
Mickey Rhodes has come a very long way from the little boy abducted into the magical world of Terranos to fulfill a prophecy that turned out to be a lie.
Now, he and his family - both the human family he left behind and his new wife and child from Terranos - are all that stand between two worlds and the total
domination of King Lore. With Lore's monster army pouring through the portal to Earth, endgame has come: the final confrontation between Mickey and Lore, a
test the boy-turned-warrior already failed once. But while he is facing the literal demons of his past, someone needs to seal the portal and separate the two
worlds lest both collapse... a task that falls to Mickey's brother and his parents.
Review
While it brings the war to a cataclysmic conclusion, this volume nearly lost a half-star for being stretched, repeating itself to draw out page count.
Mickey finally finds out if he has it in him to be a hero after all the lies and betrayals and his own corruption, while the Rhodes family finds strength in
unity even when they must go their own ways to save the world. It's the ultimate finale, though, on top of that stretching, that cost it the full fourth star,
as it deliberately introduces a last-minute complication for the sake of probable sequels. Why? Something about it just felt tacked on. (I also still feel
like the women got short-shafted in the overall story, particularly Mickey's mother.) Still, despite that - and despite the overall sense that this could've
been a volume (or maybe two) shorter - Birthright remains a decent inversion of the portal world trope and a decent story overall.
