Going into Retribution: Chronicles of Reaper Book II by J.R. Lightfoot, I felt slightly at a disadvantage not having read the first book, simply titled Reaper. Nonetheless, this second installment can technically work as a standalone, and I quickly found myself getting into the story. The story takes place in a medieval fantasy-style world and centres on Jaml, a legendary Reaper who has previously defeated Fallen Angels, and his brother-in-arms Shay, as they investigate a series of violent supernatural attacks and track down a missing prince.
The story wastes no time throwing us into the action. The opening prologue features Reaper Burt entering a mysterious cave to hunt what he believes is a demon, only to discover the horrifying truth: he’s facing Midos, a Fallen Angel who literally embodies the sin of Greed. In short, it doesn’t end well. Nonetheless, the main character is Jaml, a Reaper, one of God’s superhuman warriors infused with divine power to hunt demons in the aftermath of Christ’s death. Despite being famous for killing two Fallen Angels, he’s plagued by self-doubt: “Why was I chosen? I am no better than any of you, so why am I the one to be burdened with all this?” So, he’s not completely unrelatable.
Now, I’m not particularly religious myself, but I have to say the religious themes here are genuinely well done. The book explores Christian mythology through a dark fantasy lens. It’s pretty unsubtle in its Christian worldbuilding (the monastery is literally called the Temple of Moses), so if heavy religious themes aren’t your thing, be aware. However, Lightfoot handles it in a way that feels more like epic mythology than preaching, and you don’t need to be religious to enjoy it. In some ways, it reminded me of a far darker Narnia, or the video game, Darksiders.
The villains in particular are brilliantly conceived. Midos is a standout antagonist whose obsession with gold manifests in horrifying ways. His partnership with Lust, another Fallen Angel, creates a menacing alliance. Their plan to reunite the scattered Fallen Angels and “raise the power of Lucifer once again” provides a suitably apocalyptic threat. The secondary villains, including Didava (the eighty-foot gold dragon), violent lycans who massacre entire royal convoys, and corrupt human politicians like General Kipp, are fun additions.
Speaking of violence, this book is pretty violent. Not gratuitously so, but the combat is graphic and frequent. Lycans tear soldiers apart, Burt is tortured by being encased in molten gold while still alive, and there are detailed descriptions of corpse-strewn battlefields. Still, the worldbuilding is strong. The setting is a medieval-style high-fantasy realm with its own kingdoms, complete with royal courts, monasteries, and supernatural layers involving Reapers, Fallen Angels, lycans, and dragons. It’s certainly a very imaginative, immersive world with slight Game of Thrones vibes, that I enjoyed learning about.
However, there are a few things that could be improved. The biggest issue is dialogue attribution. There’s often a lack of dialogue verbs (said, asked, replied, etc.), which makes conversations confusing to follow, especially when multiple characters are speaking. I frequently had to reread passages to figure out who was talking. Additionally, while I didn’t mind the present tense personally, I’m not entirely sure why the book is written that way; it doesn’t feel essential to the story, and some readers will find it distracting. The book will also be slightly difficult to pitch to mainstream audiences because of its occult motifs. It’s not going to appeal to everyone, but for readers who enjoy books exploring these kind of satanic concepts, it’ll be perfect.
On the positive side, though, the book is well-written and edited overall. Lightfoot excels at description, and his action sequences deliver consistently, from hand-to-hand sparring matches to large-scale monster battles. The relationship between Jaml, Kem and Shay provides emotional grounding, and the mystery of why Prince Lucas was kidnapped rather than killed keeps the pacing and momentum strong. Though the book is generally competently done, sometimes the prose feels a bit like an author still honing their craft. Nevertheless, it’s good to see a fantasy book with black heroes at the centre of the story, even if at times I would have liked to see slightly more depth to the characters.
All things considered, Retribution is an ambitious dark fantasy that isn’t afraid to tackle heavy religious themes. It’s well-paced with compelling characters, memorable villains and strong Christian-based worldbuilding. Readers should be aware this is Book II in a series and reading Book I is probably advisable, but not absolutely necessary. At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a dark, action-packed Christian fantasy epic, you won’t find much better than this.
Final verdict: For fans of dark religious fantasy in the vein of Ted Dekker, Brent Weeks, and Glen Cook, this is a compelling, page-turning read. Despite a few quibbles with the writing and a slightly niche plot, it’s a unique, ambitious novel with a lot of heart beneath its oft brutal exterior.
You can get your copy of Retribution: Chronicles of Reaper (Book 2) here!
