The Bane of Yoto

Author: Josh Viola with Nicholas Karpuk

A surprisingly quick read for a nearly 500-page novel, “The Bane of Yoto” is a movie franchise waiting to happen for fans of the fantasy/sci-fi genre.

The novel deals with two brothers, Eon and Yoto, who are part of the Numah, a race enslaved by the savage Olokun. Set on Neos, a moon colony inhabited after their home world of Ajyin was destroyed, the Numah toil in the mines of Neos, and infractions are punished with a trip to a battle arena and a grim end.

Eon thirsts for revenge and a revolution to overthrow the Olokun. Yoto, his younger brother, has chosen a different path, and while he quietly attempts to make life better for his fellow Numah, he also is content being an overseer of their mining life, avoiding conflict and trying to quell the plans of his brother.

All that changes when a foiled assassination attempt, the beginnings of a Numah uprising and an amazing physical transformation of Yoto thanks to a magic dagger combine to bring down the Olokun’s tyrannical reign.

The story’s climax features a pulse-pounding showdown in the battl earena and the revelation of the secret behind Ajyin’s destruction. It also sets the stage for the next book in what promises to be a long and successful series featuring the brothers and the first book’s characters.