Now is Gone: "Ameca J and the Demon God of Mythrania" by Paul Xavier Jones

Ameca J and the Demon God of Mythrania (Ameca J Chronicles, #3)

Ameca J and the Demon God of Mythrania by Paul Xavier Jones

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Info: Genre: Fantasy
Reading Level: MG to YA (10 to 13 and up with that caveat that parental guidance should be provided for those under 15)
Recommended for: Anyone who can read it, with the caveat that more sensitive readers should be guided
Trigger Warnings: Torture, murder, child abuse, slavery

Disclosure: I received an e-book ARC from the author (a member of my LinkedIn network) in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The synopsis, directly quoted from the blurb for the book that is commonly available, contains spoilers if you have not read the previous books in this series. I will put these under spoiler tags on Goodreads, which is the only site to allow this, but if you are reading this on any site other than Goodreads, you have been warned.

Synopsis: Ameca and Fraya, the legendary Flame and the Flower, Heirs of Menindus on the magical world of Mythrania, have achieved the impossible: (view spoiler). Surely now, their adventures on this alien world are over and they can now return with their parents to their own world…? But things are never that simple. When their father begins acting strangely, is accused of murder and goes missing, the two girls and their mother are forced to embark on a dangerous mission to redeem him before they face the final battle with the enemy

Series information: “Ameca J and the Legacy of Menindus”:–Part I of the Ameca J Chronicles—released October 9, 2012
“Ameca J and the Revenge of Lex-Ultar”:–Part II of the Ameca J Chronicles—released December 13, 2012
“Ameca J and the Demon God of Mythrania”:–Part III of the Ameca J Chronicles—released January 16, 2013
“Ameca J and the Rise of the Serpii”:–Part IV of the Ameca J Chronicles, release date unknown

My Background with the series: This is the third book in the Ameca J Chronicles, following Ameca J and the Legacy of Menindus (review linked here where formatting allowed) and Ameca J and the Revenge of Rex-Ultar (review linked here where formatting allowed) (if you are not on one of those sites, go to my blog, Now is Gone, which is linked to in my profile, and read the review there to see the links and formatting). An additional book is planned called Ameca J and the Rise of the Serpii. I had hoped to have this read and review prior to the publication date (January 16, 2013, but unfortunately I just was not able to fit it in any sooner, so my apologies to the author for the delay.

My Thoughts: This one picks up right where book two left off, so if you can, I recommend reading all these books right in a row for maximum entertainment. It is fast-paced; since most of the character development was done in the earlier books it can stick to the action. I was happy to see the reappearance (however brief) of Squire Fluffy, who did not feature nearly enough in previous books. More Squire Fluffy!

I think this has been my favorite of the series so far. The girls have grown so much, and are very mature now, making difficult decisions and standing up for themselves as needed. It ends the first trilogy, but the author is obviously continuing the story. And I ended the book with a smile on my face, which is always the sign of time well-spent. For fans of MG to YA fantasy adventures, you really can’t go wrong with these books. While there is some content that might prove disturbing to more sensitive readers, with parental guidance I think these books would be perfectly appropriate for any reader. I really do recommend these wonderfully fun stories to anyone.

I’m capping off the review some some random comments and reactions, but they’re really not important, and this has been pretty long already. The important stuff is over; what is left is fun. Read it or not, as your inclination leads you.

Random Comments: I know it is standard British usage, and I know it is not incorrect, but it still jars me every time the ground is referred to as the “floor.” Am I the only one who just cannot move past that? One would think, as many BritComs as I’ve watched, and as many British authors as I’ve read and edited, I’d be accustomed to it, but I... just can’t do it. The “floor” is inside in my brain, and a field in front of a forest is no place for a floor... Sorry!!

At one point, toward the end, I literally stopped reading, put my hand on my head, and said, “Oh, no!” I was so dismayed. How into it was I? Let’s just say, I had to read for another 20 minutes before I could even stop and make this comment... Excellent!

I was so incredibly amused by the Scelestus’ cape fixation. Such an evil villain thing to do. Also, this quote make me laugh like crazy: “Ameca freaked out when she heard the Scelestus do the evil genius laugh...”

Lovecraftian monster? FTW!

Random Rant Inspired by this Book: What on earth is up with evil dudes destroying everything? They kill everybody, wreak havoc on the ecosystem, turn everything into a barren wasteland... why? What point is it to rule a barren world devoid of life? For starters, there is nothing to eat! Even evil dudes have to eat, don’t they? And why take over entire universes? It would be exhausting to keep everyone in line, especially the iron-fist rule that most of these evil dudes undertake. They would constantly be having to shuttle from system to system, putting down rebellions, enforcing their mind-control...