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The Last Key
Raven Byrne is a novice dahkshari warrior-priest about to complete his training when his mentor, Jelan Drummond, is killed by a mad war hero named Thallan Brael. With the death of his mentor, it falls to Raven to to stop Brael from using an ancient, destructive magic called the Reaping Key to avenge the deaths of his family and commit genocide against an innocent nation.
- GenresFantasy
Nook
First published April 9, 2010
10 people want to read
About the author
Rob Steiner
21 books33 followersRob Steiner is author of the Journals of Natta Magus series. Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show featured two stories about Natta Magus: “The Oath-Breaker’s Daemon” and “The Cloaca Maxima.” Rob also wrote the alt-history/space opera Codex Antonius series (MUSES OF ROMA, MUSES OF TERRA, and MUSES OF THE REPUBLIC) about a Roman Empire that spawns an interstellar civilization.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 14, 2011
In Rob Steiner's, The Last Key, Raven Labrend is a Novice Dahkshari, an Order of Faith on the continent of Andea. He and his mentor, Jalen Drummond, are tasked with escorting Seala Mesalek, a Duke's daughter and heir, to a peace treaty signing between the kingdoms of Andea and Loquath. The ceremony is to be held at her uncle's castle. It should come as no surprise that the journey is fraught with perilous adventure.
The modern fantasy genre evolved out of fairy tales, legends and mythology. It peaked with Tolkien and his success spawned many imitators, good and bad. As such, we've all been exposed to these stories and are familiar with the elements that go into a high fantasy story: swords and magic, mythical creatures, kings and queens, valiant heroes and fair maidens, and the titanic struggle between good and evil. It would be all too easy for Steiner's story to simply follow that well-worn path and for his characters to fall into two-dimensional stereotypes, but they don't.
Steiner's characters have a measure of depth to them. Raven, is the valiant hero who wants nothing more than to emulate his mentor, Jalen, and to do that he must respect the strict rules of the Dahkshari. But he struggles with a painful childhood memory that drives him to seek justice even if it means bending the rules. Seala is the fair maiden, but she's an educated idealist among the nobility who's unafraid to engage Raven in a debate over the freedom to practice one's Faith. Furthermore, she takes pains to demonstrate to Raven that she's no fragile flower and won't be swayed by a handsome face.
Seala's uncle, Duke Thallan Brael, is cast as evil but he's not a cartoon villain. He was a decorated war hero during the war with Loquath. Sadly, Loquathi soldiers murdered the Duke's wife and children right before his eyes. For him, signing the peace treaty is a big mistake as his heart burns with revenge.
Ferahtu could be considered for the cartoon villain role, but he's more complex than that. His malevolence possesses a dark logic. He helps Brael to see that the end justifies the means. Sacrifices need to be made for the greater good and Ferahtu is all to eager to execute those hard decisions for him. Brael is in possession of one third of the Reaping Key, a powerful source of magic that a millennium ago nearly destroyed the world when one man possessed all three pieces. With Ferahtu's help, he seeks to reclaim the other two pieces and use its power to completely destroy Loquath.
The Last Key is more complicated than a simple quest journey. One of the sub-plots involves the practice of Faith. In Steiner's world, Faith is a form of magical energy; the life essence granted to all living things by the Patrons. It can be used to heal, protect and even destroy. There are various schools of Faith in which people may enlist to learn how to properly harness it. However, there's always someone who doesn't like school. These people are considered heretics and are hunted as criminals. Steiner puts Raven in an awkward situation, as the Novice must decide whether or not he should accept the help of a band of heretics or turn them over to the authorities.
There's plenty of action and at least one fight scene was so vividly choreographed that I had no trouble visualizing it blow by blow. But at no point did I feel like it was overdone. However, the body count is high. Many a character, both major and minor, meets an untimely end. While it makes for a grim story, under the circumstances, it's realistic.
Mythical beasts are used sparingly and to great effect. The Gryphons are noble, yet prideful creatures. The Renders are terrible monsters and Steiner doesn't spare us any details to their grotesque creation or their eating habits.
The Last Key is a great fantasy story. Steiner has crafted a world where politics muddy the boundary between good and evil and forces the characters to find a clear path to solve a world-shattering crisis. His characters rise above stereotypes and engage each other with realistic dialogue that comes naturally to them. And they evolve. Although it is only his first novel, The Last Key clearly exemplifies Steiner's mastery of writing high fantasy. He is one to watch.
The modern fantasy genre evolved out of fairy tales, legends and mythology. It peaked with Tolkien and his success spawned many imitators, good and bad. As such, we've all been exposed to these stories and are familiar with the elements that go into a high fantasy story: swords and magic, mythical creatures, kings and queens, valiant heroes and fair maidens, and the titanic struggle between good and evil. It would be all too easy for Steiner's story to simply follow that well-worn path and for his characters to fall into two-dimensional stereotypes, but they don't.
Steiner's characters have a measure of depth to them. Raven, is the valiant hero who wants nothing more than to emulate his mentor, Jalen, and to do that he must respect the strict rules of the Dahkshari. But he struggles with a painful childhood memory that drives him to seek justice even if it means bending the rules. Seala is the fair maiden, but she's an educated idealist among the nobility who's unafraid to engage Raven in a debate over the freedom to practice one's Faith. Furthermore, she takes pains to demonstrate to Raven that she's no fragile flower and won't be swayed by a handsome face.
Seala's uncle, Duke Thallan Brael, is cast as evil but he's not a cartoon villain. He was a decorated war hero during the war with Loquath. Sadly, Loquathi soldiers murdered the Duke's wife and children right before his eyes. For him, signing the peace treaty is a big mistake as his heart burns with revenge.
Ferahtu could be considered for the cartoon villain role, but he's more complex than that. His malevolence possesses a dark logic. He helps Brael to see that the end justifies the means. Sacrifices need to be made for the greater good and Ferahtu is all to eager to execute those hard decisions for him. Brael is in possession of one third of the Reaping Key, a powerful source of magic that a millennium ago nearly destroyed the world when one man possessed all three pieces. With Ferahtu's help, he seeks to reclaim the other two pieces and use its power to completely destroy Loquath.
The Last Key is more complicated than a simple quest journey. One of the sub-plots involves the practice of Faith. In Steiner's world, Faith is a form of magical energy; the life essence granted to all living things by the Patrons. It can be used to heal, protect and even destroy. There are various schools of Faith in which people may enlist to learn how to properly harness it. However, there's always someone who doesn't like school. These people are considered heretics and are hunted as criminals. Steiner puts Raven in an awkward situation, as the Novice must decide whether or not he should accept the help of a band of heretics or turn them over to the authorities.
There's plenty of action and at least one fight scene was so vividly choreographed that I had no trouble visualizing it blow by blow. But at no point did I feel like it was overdone. However, the body count is high. Many a character, both major and minor, meets an untimely end. While it makes for a grim story, under the circumstances, it's realistic.
Mythical beasts are used sparingly and to great effect. The Gryphons are noble, yet prideful creatures. The Renders are terrible monsters and Steiner doesn't spare us any details to their grotesque creation or their eating habits.
The Last Key is a great fantasy story. Steiner has crafted a world where politics muddy the boundary between good and evil and forces the characters to find a clear path to solve a world-shattering crisis. His characters rise above stereotypes and engage each other with realistic dialogue that comes naturally to them. And they evolve. Although it is only his first novel, The Last Key clearly exemplifies Steiner's mastery of writing high fantasy. He is one to watch.
October 8, 2011
The story didn't feel entirely original and reminded me both of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy and 'The Wheel of Time' series but it was reasonably good in its similarities.
The version of magic was interesting and fairly unique - some people can access 'Faith' - those who can are often bound by a Charter to become Dahkshari, protectors and healers of the people. Due to historical upset, all others are forbidden from using their Faith. Those that do so in breach of the law are known as 'sovereigns' or 'heretics', depending on what political side you're on. There were some interesting early discussions about the moral implications of denying the poorer villages the right to use their Faith to maintain their lifestyle, rather than requiring them to move to the cities and under the protection of the Dahkshari but this petered out later on. Great while it lasted...
Future Duchess, Lady Seala, is under the protection of Raven and Jalen in her journey across the plains to a world-changing treaty signing. And it is on this journey that things take a dramatic turn. The length of the journey and its dilemmas were what reminded me of The Fellowship of the Ring (or The Two Towers, I'm not sure...). For me, it was a bit too slowly paced and I felt a bit restless at a couple of points along the way. The action does pick up though and the last couple of hundred pages are fantastically quick and drag the reader along riotously.
My favourite thing (as so often is the case) were the characters. They were fairly complex and the "good" characters had darker elements and all but one of the "bad" characters had some redeemable aspects. Raven is one of the main good characters but harbours a fanatical hatred of the 'heretics' due to a childhood trauma and his dealing with this prejudice is interesting. Equally, Duke Brael is despicable and vile but at times there are glimmers of the grief and fury that drive him on and its difficult not to occasionally sympathise.
This was self-published and, unfortunately and possibly consequently, there were quite a number of grammatical/typing errors which can be annoying if you notice that kind of thing, for example, 'new' instead of 'knew'. One minor character's name is spelt in a couple of different ways and the lack of consistency was a bit irritating.
Also, it seemed as though the story drove the novel and some elements were forgotten or abandoned along the way. Ruby Fenn, for example, is a fantastic character and was one of my favourites who helps draw a lot out of Raven. However, somewhere between page 500 and 600, she just stops being in the story with very little mention of what has happened to her and no mention at all of what will happen to her. Also, some of the minor details, like the fact that the Dahkshari need to sustain their powers by eating a type of herb every day are completely ignored later on when the stock runs out.
It almost seems like the ending was rushed out and the novel is incomplete....I gave it three stars solely mostly because I found the latter half of the story to be quite exciting despite its flaws. Would I read a sequel? Probably not...
Overall: It's an ambitious first novel and good fantasy story but lacking some attention to detail. I'd recommend it but only to real fans of fantasy who are used to the longer, 'epic' type fantasy and a somewhat forgiving reader.
The version of magic was interesting and fairly unique - some people can access 'Faith' - those who can are often bound by a Charter to become Dahkshari, protectors and healers of the people. Due to historical upset, all others are forbidden from using their Faith. Those that do so in breach of the law are known as 'sovereigns' or 'heretics', depending on what political side you're on. There were some interesting early discussions about the moral implications of denying the poorer villages the right to use their Faith to maintain their lifestyle, rather than requiring them to move to the cities and under the protection of the Dahkshari but this petered out later on. Great while it lasted...
Future Duchess, Lady Seala, is under the protection of Raven and Jalen in her journey across the plains to a world-changing treaty signing. And it is on this journey that things take a dramatic turn. The length of the journey and its dilemmas were what reminded me of The Fellowship of the Ring (or The Two Towers, I'm not sure...). For me, it was a bit too slowly paced and I felt a bit restless at a couple of points along the way. The action does pick up though and the last couple of hundred pages are fantastically quick and drag the reader along riotously.
My favourite thing (as so often is the case) were the characters. They were fairly complex and the "good" characters had darker elements and all but one of the "bad" characters had some redeemable aspects. Raven is one of the main good characters but harbours a fanatical hatred of the 'heretics' due to a childhood trauma and his dealing with this prejudice is interesting. Equally, Duke Brael is despicable and vile but at times there are glimmers of the grief and fury that drive him on and its difficult not to occasionally sympathise.
This was self-published and, unfortunately and possibly consequently, there were quite a number of grammatical/typing errors which can be annoying if you notice that kind of thing, for example, 'new' instead of 'knew'. One minor character's name is spelt in a couple of different ways and the lack of consistency was a bit irritating.
Also, it seemed as though the story drove the novel and some elements were forgotten or abandoned along the way. Ruby Fenn, for example, is a fantastic character and was one of my favourites who helps draw a lot out of Raven. However, somewhere between page 500 and 600, she just stops being in the story with very little mention of what has happened to her and no mention at all of what will happen to her. Also, some of the minor details, like the fact that the Dahkshari need to sustain their powers by eating a type of herb every day are completely ignored later on when the stock runs out.
It almost seems like the ending was rushed out and the novel is incomplete....I gave it three stars solely mostly because I found the latter half of the story to be quite exciting despite its flaws. Would I read a sequel? Probably not...
Overall: It's an ambitious first novel and good fantasy story but lacking some attention to detail. I'd recommend it but only to real fans of fantasy who are used to the longer, 'epic' type fantasy and a somewhat forgiving reader.
November 3, 2010
Sometimes I have a hard time entering a new fantasy world. Full immersion works best for me, where each new word or idea is sorted out by context, but even so the beginning is often slow. This book did not have me sold in the beginning. Partially I wasn't in the mood for a fantasy, partially I was confused by the names and vocabulary. But I'm glad I kept reading. Once I figured out the basics of who was who and what was going on it was difficult to put down.
The use of the word Faith was sometimes hard for me to get around. Not because it's good or bad because I wasn't quite sure of the context. I also didn't know if I really liked the main character. I thought he was hot-headed and a little boring. But as his character developed and interacted with other characters it made the novel more enjoyable. I also liked that it didn't end the way I expected it to. No spoilers here. Just saying that I thought I knew what the end outcome would be, and while I was satisfied at the end. It wasn't the finish of the tale I had imagined.
I don't know if this book is a stand alone, but I feel it's been left open for continuing tales, of what happens to the main characters, and I would probably read those as well.
The use of the word Faith was sometimes hard for me to get around. Not because it's good or bad because I wasn't quite sure of the context. I also didn't know if I really liked the main character. I thought he was hot-headed and a little boring. But as his character developed and interacted with other characters it made the novel more enjoyable. I also liked that it didn't end the way I expected it to. No spoilers here. Just saying that I thought I knew what the end outcome would be, and while I was satisfied at the end. It wasn't the finish of the tale I had imagined.
I don't know if this book is a stand alone, but I feel it's been left open for continuing tales, of what happens to the main characters, and I would probably read those as well.
April 9, 2011
This was a pretty good book. Although I did get confused a few times keeping all the characters and their roles straight I did enjoy this one. It was pretty full of action and it was beautifully written. The scenes were so vivid in my mind while I was reading this.
I really liked the story. It was obviously a fantasy but it was believable. It wasn't way out there like some fantasy stories I've read. I didn't have trouble picturing the beasts and such that were in the story. It was written very well.
I loved the characters. Raven was a great hero, even though he didn't always believe in himself and he took a risk or two, he always had everyone's best interests at heart and really believed in his mission. Raven was great but I loved Seala. She was a bit hard-headed, but she was strong and reasonable (as the story progressed). I liked the bit of a love story that was developing also. It added to the story and I think it would have been lacking without that little detail.
Overall this was a pretty good story. I liked the writing and would love to read something by Steiner in the future.
I really liked the story. It was obviously a fantasy but it was believable. It wasn't way out there like some fantasy stories I've read. I didn't have trouble picturing the beasts and such that were in the story. It was written very well.
I loved the characters. Raven was a great hero, even though he didn't always believe in himself and he took a risk or two, he always had everyone's best interests at heart and really believed in his mission. Raven was great but I loved Seala. She was a bit hard-headed, but she was strong and reasonable (as the story progressed). I liked the bit of a love story that was developing also. It added to the story and I think it would have been lacking without that little detail.
Overall this was a pretty good story. I liked the writing and would love to read something by Steiner in the future.
January 1, 2011
I must confess I've been reading quite a number of fantasy novels lately and while it's not usually my prefered genre, I have to say Rob Steiner did a great job with his first book.
Following Lady Seala, protected by Raven and Jalen on her journey across the plains to a world-changing treaty signing the reader finds a unique plot line with an emphasis on how the inhabitants on this world harness their Faith, the life essence in all living beings, to magically shape the world around them. Add interesting and most importantly well-developed characters which make it a (in the beginning mabye a bit slow) read that managed to win me over soon enough with all it's detail.
At the same time I did encounter minor flaws in the storyline and character development, which didn't quite mar the pelasure of reading it, but put the book as a whole more in the region of average than outstanding. But as mentioned before, for a first novel it's a wonderful work and I'm sure the author will grow with each new book he writes.
In short: An engaging and detailed novel for all those fantasy fans out there!
Following Lady Seala, protected by Raven and Jalen on her journey across the plains to a world-changing treaty signing the reader finds a unique plot line with an emphasis on how the inhabitants on this world harness their Faith, the life essence in all living beings, to magically shape the world around them. Add interesting and most importantly well-developed characters which make it a (in the beginning mabye a bit slow) read that managed to win me over soon enough with all it's detail.
At the same time I did encounter minor flaws in the storyline and character development, which didn't quite mar the pelasure of reading it, but put the book as a whole more in the region of average than outstanding. But as mentioned before, for a first novel it's a wonderful work and I'm sure the author will grow with each new book he writes.
In short: An engaging and detailed novel for all those fantasy fans out there!
June 12, 2011
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I enjoyed Steiner's descriptions of the characters and the terrain. I found myself going through a gamut of emotions while reading this book. Although some of the emotions were not pleasant, it made me want to continue reading to see what happened next. I have recommended this book to some friends who love these types of stories and I know they will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed it. I hope Steiner decides to write more in the future.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews