BookView Review

Acker launches his Pure Light series with an engaging fantasy adventure centred on Gem, a young woman who awakens beside a river during a violent storm with no memory of who she is. Her only guide is Diamond, a curious, seemingly conscious orb of light. When mysterious powers emerge, Gem sets out with sharp-witted Nyla across a war-torn realm, searching for answers about her past and the key-shaped mark embedded in her palm.

The novel blends an amnesia mystery with an expansive magical world of rival powers, endangered cities, dragons, and the threatening Nocturnia Covenant. Acker wisely keeps Gem’s identity at the centre, allowing each discovery about magic and the wider conflict to deepen the uncertainty surrounding her.

Gem makes an appealingly vulnerable protagonist, while outspoken Nyla provides humour, energy, and emotional depth. Diamond is the novel’s most charming creation: though unable to speak, the expressive orb develops a distinct personality through its changing colours, movements, curiosity, and fierce attachment to Gem.

The story occasionally slows beneath the weight of its world-building, but vivid magical confrontations and increasingly unsettling revelations maintain momentum. Questions of memory, morality, and whether the past defines one’s identity give the adventure emotional substance. A tantalising ending leaves ample room for the series to deepen its mysteries.

A spellbinding series opener fuelled by magic, mystery, and long-buried truths.

***