Eternity’s End: The Call of Zeil’Galia

Eternity’s End: The Call of Zeil’Galia is the beginning of a much larger fantasy story, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that what Aden knows about his world is only a small piece of what is actually happening around him. There is a lot of history he doesn’t know and quite a few people who seem to know things they aren’t sharing. Naturally, that got my attention because I love a story that gives me reasons to question what everyone has been told and start trying to piece things together for myself.

Aden worked for me as the main character because he doesn’t discover there is something different about him and suddenly become the perfectly prepared fantasy hero. He is young, curious, impulsive, and sometimes completely out of his depth. He makes mistakes, doesn’t always know whom to trust, and spends a good portion of the story trying to figure things out right along with us. I much prefer that to a character suddenly knowing exactly what to do simply because the story has decided he is important.

I also liked that Aden already had established relationships before everything began changing around him. His history with Ronan and Vladimir gave their friendship more weight, especially once things started getting complicated between them. Ronan ended up being one of my favorite characters. There was something about his curiosity and genuine interest in understanding how things worked that made me want more of him, and I hope he continues to have a larger role as the series develops.

Vladimir was considerably more complicated for me, but I think he was supposed to be. There were definitely times when he frustrated the hell out of me, particularly where Rune was concerned, but I never felt like I was necessarily supposed to agree with his behavior. There was enough history between these characters to keep him from feeling like someone who existed solely to create conflict.

Rune interested me too, although I wanted more of her outside of her relationships with Aden and Vladimir. Some of my favorite moments with her were when she started questioning what she actually wanted instead of simply accepting what everyone around her seemed to expect. I would love to see more of that side of her going forward.

I did struggle a little with the development between Aden and Rune. Their feelings didn’t come out of nowhere, so I believed the attraction between them. It was the transition into actually doing something about those feelings that moved faster than I expected, especially with everything involving Vladimir hanging over them. I think letting that emotional mess simmer a little longer could have made the consequences hit harder.

The world itself was probably both my favorite part of the book and the thing I struggled with most. There is clearly a much bigger story underneath what Aden initially understands, and I genuinely wanted to uncover it. The problem was that sometimes I was being introduced to new information before I had completely settled what I had just learned. I like complicated fantasy worlds, so I didn’t need the story simplified. I just needed a little more time to absorb it.

The chapters are also pretty substantial. The author explains at the beginning that each chapter is intended to be its own adventure, which helped me understand the structure going into it. I actually like the idea, but some of those adventures contain quite a bit. There were times when I reached the end of a chapter feeling like I had taken in a whole lot before getting a natural place to stop.

That contributed to some pacing issues for me. This wasn’t a case of nothing happening, because plenty was happening. Sometimes there was simply so much surrounding what was happening that the story felt slower than the actual events should have felt.

The writing is very visual, which worked beautifully in some places. I could picture the world, and there are definitely scenes where that descriptive style helps create the atmosphere. There were other times when I felt like a scene was being described longer than it needed to be. I also started noticing some of the same types of descriptions being repeated throughout the book. Once I became aware of them, it became harder not to notice them.

The mysteries were another mixed bag for me. I absolutely do not expect the first book in a series to hand me all the answers. Half the fun is finishing with theories and wondering whether I have figured anything out or I’m completely full of crap. But there has to be a balance for me between getting answers and collecting even more questions.

By the end of this one, my question pile was considerably larger than my answer pile. I would have liked a little more payoff on some of what had already been introduced before the book gave me even more to wonder about. Ironically, those unanswered questions are also a big part of why I want to know what happens next.

There are some darker elements to the story that I enjoyed as well. This world doesn’t feel completely safe, and some of what Aden encounters made me curious about what else is hiding beyond what he has always known. The story also left me questioning exactly who can be trusted, which is always a good way to keep me poking around a fantasy world looking for whatever everyone is trying so hard to hide.

Overall, Eternity’s End: The Call of Zeil’Galia is ⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 stars for me. What held this one at three stars was mostly that I never became quite as lost in the story as I wanted to. There were things that worked for me and some that didn’t. There was a lot of information coming at me, some of the description became heavier than I personally needed, and I wanted more payoff from the mysteries before reaching the end. I also think some of the emotional moments would have hit harder if they had been given a little more room to develop.

But three stars doesn’t mean I didn’t like anything about it. It means I had a mixed reading experience, and there was still enough here that worked for me to recommend giving it a try, especially if you enjoy big fantasy worlds, lots of mystery, and stories that don’t hand you all the answers right away. Just be prepared for a lot of world-building and information to take in along the way.

As for me, I finished interested enough in Aden and everything happening around him that I would most likely pick up Book 2. There are just too many unanswered questions for me not to.

Review By: SASSY
Owner • Creator • Queen of the Chaos
SassyReviews.com
Read, Reviewed, & BookDragon Approved… or Not.

ARC REVIEW NOTICE: I received an ARC/review copy from the Author in exchange for nothing more than my honest opinion. As always, any opinions or thoughts expressed here are entirely voluntary, 100% my own, and were not influenced in any way. This review reflects the version of the manuscript I received and read, as it was written on September 17, 2026. Any edits or changes made to the book after that date are not reflected in my review.