
Metzra by M.U. Phoenix is a debut novella that introduces us to the fantasy world of Metzra. Following the murder of his mother and his father remarrying, Raivy decides he needs time out to sort out his emotions and to deal with the violent death of his mother. He retreats to a hut in the forest where he tries to come to terms with what has happened and to attempt to find out who killed the most wonderful woman in the world. In his quest for answers he is lead to an old sage who lives alone in the wilderness. What the sage tells him will lead him on a journey that will not only, to his shock and horror, expose his mother’s murderers, but will also make him question his very existence. He will discover a hitherto unknown, to him, dimension, Metzra and will come to understand that he is so much more than he thought he was. Metzra and Raivy will be permanently intertwined as this saga continues.
Although a fantasy and although very short, Metzra reminded me in many ways almost of a new sub-genre that is gaining popularity – RPG Adventures. As a debut novella, M.U. Phoenix was clearly attempting to introduce a new world to his potential readers and pique their interest in reading the future books of this series and the further adventures of Raivy. From that perspective, Phoenix clearly achieved his/her objective. The world of Metzra is different and fascinating. The three types of beings, hybrids are it seems to me unique, especially the hybrid types i.e. horsnake (combination of a horse and a snake). I felt it was clever and bodes well for future interesting episodes. I know this is becoming a common technique amongst some authors – to serialise their novels as novellas, however, as a reader, I’m not overly certain I’m comfortable with it. That being said, Metzra is a good, if a somewhat unsatisfying length of read. I look forward to more from Phoenix.
