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Kastor Chronicles #1
The Forge of Dawn
Barbarian swordsman Kastor Auberlane has no problem with this saving-the-world thing; it's putting up with Mikah that's a little hard to take.
Status: Complete
Word count: approx. 109,222
Art credit: http://kanarae.deviantart.com/art/Mik...
Status: Complete
Word count: approx. 109,222
Art credit: http://kanarae.deviantart.com/art/Mik...
328 pages, online fiction
First published December 19, 2008
9 people are currently reading
524 people want to read
About the author
Jesse Hajicek
13 books209 followersWritey Guy, Evil Overlord of Getting Stuff Done
Pseudonym: Jumping Jack Flash, Chartreuse
http://metanoia.studiowhippingboy.com/
http://riverside-hq.livejournal.com/
http://startyrian.deviantart.com/
Pseudonym: Jumping Jack Flash, Chartreuse
http://metanoia.studiowhippingboy.com/
http://riverside-hq.livejournal.com/
http://startyrian.deviantart.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
September 22, 2019
News flash: Life isn't fair. Exhibit A: This story is unpublished, available online for free, and the author doesn't get a penny for it. It makes me want to weep.
If I was a fan of epic fantasy, I'm sure this would have been a 5-star read for me. In spite of my disinterest in that sub-genre, the story swept me up, entertained me, moved me, and made me think.
Jesse Hajicek's writing is nuanced and sometimes even beautiful.
Estranged lovers find themselves compelled to join forces against a dire threat... Yes, this is epic fantasy, so there is the inevitable band of plucky misfits heading off to save the world. But to hell with the world -- what mattered to me was Kastor and Mikah's struggle to understand each other, and forgive each other, in the face of impending tragedy.
In my search to discover new authors I've wasted money on so much amateurish crap. It pains me that something this accomplished doesn't get the attention, recognition -- and financial reward -- that it deserves.
If I was a fan of epic fantasy, I'm sure this would have been a 5-star read for me. In spite of my disinterest in that sub-genre, the story swept me up, entertained me, moved me, and made me think.
Jesse Hajicek's writing is nuanced and sometimes even beautiful.
"He could see his breath. He thought about the mist of his breath and the mist of the mountains joining into one mist, the breath of man and mountain all one thing."
Estranged lovers find themselves compelled to join forces against a dire threat... Yes, this is epic fantasy, so there is the inevitable band of plucky misfits heading off to save the world. But to hell with the world -- what mattered to me was Kastor and Mikah's struggle to understand each other, and forgive each other, in the face of impending tragedy.
"Not speaking of it out loud didn't keep it from hanging between them like a flame, throwing strange shadows over everything."
In my search to discover new authors I've wasted money on so much amateurish crap. It pains me that something this accomplished doesn't get the attention, recognition -- and financial reward -- that it deserves.
December 23, 2013
No. No, no, no, no, NO. I DON'T GIVE A CRAP THAT THE WORLD WAS SAVED WHO GIVES A FUCK THE LET THE WORLD BURN NOOOO KASTOR, MIKAH, WWWHHHYYYYYY???
This story has no HEA, and a there's major character death. None at all. I don't care that the world was saved and whatnot and all that pizzazz none of it is worth anything because there is no happy ending for the romance and the world, as far as I'm concerned, can go fuck itself.
Spoiler for bk 2:
I don't want to read on. I'm feeling bitter and resentful. I'm going to have the worst book hangover from this and now I need fanfiction that completely rewrites canon.
And Kastor needs to mourn more, goddamn it.
I mean, the universe was pretty awesome, actually, and the plot was an actual plot and stuff (wasn't perfect, but hey, for free fic, it was actually really damn good), but all that pales in the face of the major character death and my resulting utmost resentment towards the author. I mean, was this even a matter of saving the world? Why can't we just let the world burn? Ah, except we couldn't have, because that's OOC for these characters, and if they'd done that, we'd probably have grown to resent them. Fuckity fuck fuck. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
No, I don't care. I hate you, author. I hate, hate, hate you. I think I need to go read some pulpy, purpley romance and eat some cheesecake brownies and try to not metaphorically cry myself to sleep rocking in a corner.
This story has no HEA, and a there's major character death. None at all. I don't care that the world was saved and whatnot and all that pizzazz none of it is worth anything because there is no happy ending for the romance and the world, as far as I'm concerned, can go fuck itself.
Spoiler for bk 2:
I don't want to read on. I'm feeling bitter and resentful. I'm going to have the worst book hangover from this and now I need fanfiction that completely rewrites canon.
And Kastor needs to mourn more, goddamn it.
I mean, the universe was pretty awesome, actually, and the plot was an actual plot and stuff (wasn't perfect, but hey, for free fic, it was actually really damn good), but all that pales in the face of the major character death and my resulting utmost resentment towards the author. I mean, was this even a matter of saving the world? Why can't we just let the world burn? Ah, except we couldn't have, because that's OOC for these characters, and if they'd done that, we'd probably have grown to resent them. Fuckity fuck fuck. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
No, I don't care. I hate you, author. I hate, hate, hate you. I think I need to go read some pulpy, purpley romance and eat some cheesecake brownies and try to not metaphorically cry myself to sleep rocking in a corner.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2012
Beautiful.
June 30, 2021
3.5 stars
It's an excellent fantasy, even though I'm not sure I would have read it had I realized it's an unfinished series by an author who hasn't updated anything in 10 years. But it's good enough that I didn't even care about the fact that the romantic pairing didn't have any appeal to me for a long stretch in the beginning. Because there are several featured characters, male and female, and they were all interesting, and the world they were traveling through was interesting, and they had interesting conversations and complex interactions with it and each other. I would have loved to continue with the next "book" (these are online only), but this one had a satisfying ending in all ways but one, which was unfortunately, and I was afraid the next one might not. (Book 3 seems forever destined to be a WIP.)
I've read lots of good things about his only other completed fantasy The God Eaters, but there's a big part in the beginning about the MC's past as a child prostitute that I wasn't willing to read about.
I would still recommend this one if you don't make your reading choices based on Romance :) I liked it better than most of the published (and popular) "fantasy quest" writers I've read this year.
It's an excellent fantasy, even though I'm not sure I would have read it had I realized it's an unfinished series by an author who hasn't updated anything in 10 years. But it's good enough that I didn't even care about the fact that the romantic pairing didn't have any appeal to me for a long stretch in the beginning. Because there are several featured characters, male and female, and they were all interesting, and the world they were traveling through was interesting, and they had interesting conversations and complex interactions with it and each other. I would have loved to continue with the next "book" (these are online only), but this one had a satisfying ending in all ways but one, which was unfortunately, and I was afraid the next one might not. (Book 3 seems forever destined to be a WIP.)
I've read lots of good things about his only other completed fantasy The God Eaters, but there's a big part in the beginning about the MC's past as a child prostitute that I wasn't willing to read about.
I would still recommend this one if you don't make your reading choices based on Romance :) I liked it better than most of the published (and popular) "fantasy quest" writers I've read this year.
June 29, 2013
I can't think of why this isn't already spoken in awed hushed whispers among the whole of English speakers.
The care and originality, even with some fairly common themes, set this high above many yet unpublished online novels. It's a polished and riveting story.
I was engaged and appreciative of the entire tale ... I don't believe there was ever a moment when I found myself skimming over a passage in boredom (a nasty problem I'd been experiencing with published works -- refreshing not to have that here).
The care and originality, even with some fairly common themes, set this high above many yet unpublished online novels. It's a polished and riveting story.
I was engaged and appreciative of the entire tale ... I don't believe there was ever a moment when I found myself skimming over a passage in boredom (a nasty problem I'd been experiencing with published works -- refreshing not to have that here).
September 8, 2017
I love this series so much it breaks my heart.
June 4, 2016
An excellent well-written epic fantasy, any m/m scenes occurring off camera. Our hero Kastor has been exiled from the Kyri people. He takes work as bodyguard to Magda, a young nun who is setting out on a journey to deliver some books. The annoying immortal Mikah, a Mara, turns up wanting them to accompany him on a quest.
January 25, 2015
Excellent, beautiful read! The setting, the characters, the plot, the world-building, everything, everything is perfectly magical!! I could not recommend this book more!
I can't come up with any cons to this story. I can tell you things that would have made me not buy the book: no sex on page. We're told of it, but we don't get to see it. However, it's done so well, I didn't miss it. Character death. I knew there was one from a previous reviewer on here screaming about this spoiler. I don't turn away from character death, but if I'm investing money into it, I don't want to be totally disappointed with the loss of a character I grew to love. I did grow to love this character, however the death was done beautifully, meaningfully, and I was able to mourn and move on. That's the important bit. I wasn't hung up and stuck, and instead I am looking forward to the next book.
However! Since this book is available for free, I didn't hesitate at those two minor quibbles and I am so very glad I did! If you like adventure, magic, and a tale weaved together beautifully with fully-developed characters, read this! You'll be glad you did!
This would be a book I'd buy a hard copy of and display it on my shelves between re-readings, it's that wonderful.
I can't come up with any cons to this story. I can tell you things that would have made me not buy the book: no sex on page. We're told of it, but we don't get to see it. However, it's done so well, I didn't miss it. Character death. I knew there was one from a previous reviewer on here screaming about this spoiler. I don't turn away from character death, but if I'm investing money into it, I don't want to be totally disappointed with the loss of a character I grew to love. I did grow to love this character, however the death was done beautifully, meaningfully, and I was able to mourn and move on. That's the important bit. I wasn't hung up and stuck, and instead I am looking forward to the next book.
However! Since this book is available for free, I didn't hesitate at those two minor quibbles and I am so very glad I did! If you like adventure, magic, and a tale weaved together beautifully with fully-developed characters, read this! You'll be glad you did!
This would be a book I'd buy a hard copy of and display it on my shelves between re-readings, it's that wonderful.
July 15, 2017
The first gay fiction novel by a non- Japanese author I ever read was The God Eaters, I don't even remember how I found it, it was years ago.
I was impressed by Hajicek and I've been meaning to to read Kastor Chronicles for a long time, but I was putting it off, I guess I didn't want to spoil the magic or the fascination I held with the author's talent.
This book still caught me off guard. The say expected tragedy is better than unpredictable joy.
I beg to differ. I saw the sad ending coming, and I still didn't want to accept it.
The book has 12 chapters and an Epilogue. Till the very end of the last chapter I was arguing with myself whether I like it or not, whether the author should've chosen a different outcome of the characters' decisions.
I was angry, certain this is not how things need to be. There's always another way, right?
And the very last few pages changed my mind entirely and I saw the point of it all...
This is an amazing read, beautifully written,as typical for Jesse's style; great high fantasy novel with rich plot and consistent characters.
I don't know when I'll proceed to reading the next part. I am still mourning the loss of my favorite character.
I'll end my rambling with the remark the series is unpublished and left unfinished.
This again gets me on the terrible train of thought the most important thing is not always how good of a writer you are, but how well you're advertised.
I was impressed by Hajicek and I've been meaning to to read Kastor Chronicles for a long time, but I was putting it off, I guess I didn't want to spoil the magic or the fascination I held with the author's talent.
This book still caught me off guard. The say expected tragedy is better than unpredictable joy.
I beg to differ. I saw the sad ending coming, and I still didn't want to accept it.
The book has 12 chapters and an Epilogue. Till the very end of the last chapter I was arguing with myself whether I like it or not, whether the author should've chosen a different outcome of the characters' decisions.
I was angry, certain this is not how things need to be. There's always another way, right?
And the very last few pages changed my mind entirely and I saw the point of it all...
This is an amazing read, beautifully written,as typical for Jesse's style; great high fantasy novel with rich plot and consistent characters.
I don't know when I'll proceed to reading the next part. I am still mourning the loss of my favorite character.
I'll end my rambling with the remark the series is unpublished and left unfinished.
This again gets me on the terrible train of thought the most important thing is not always how good of a writer you are, but how well you're advertised.
December 22, 2012
I'm so sad now.This was a very good book. Going to go cry now.
Note to self, this book does not have a happy ending.
Note to self, this book does not have a happy ending.
January 13, 2016
Non originalissimo, però mi è piaciuto.
Il wordbuilding è lasciato un po' a metà, perché non si ha mai un'idea precisa di come sia fatto il mondo di Kastor - quante civiltà lo occupino, le culture diffuse, i confini e le forme orografiche. Sotto quest'ultimo aspetto, il racconto andava integrato con una mappa, se proprio non si voleva scendere nei particolari.
C'è poi uno strano contrasto tra il senso di fantasy "storicizzante senza soprannaturale" dell'inizio, dove predomina una civiltà erudito-pragmatica la cui massima minaccia sono i banditi nei boschi, e il deciso stampo da fantasy "a tutto tondo" del seguito. Inoltre, la mitologia prende da tutte le parti senza darsi una quadra omogenea: si sente parlare prima di demoni, poi vampiri, poi fate, pixie ed elfi in stile celtico, quindi angeli di stile cristiano e via dicendo. Unico elemento originale, per quanto ne so io, sono i Mara, interessanti ma di origine alquanto inverosimile.
Dal punto di vista stilistico, ci sono errori di ortografia che un buon betaggio avrebbe eliminato. Ma non sono eccessivi.
Puntualizzato questo (e il fatto che i libro sia online free e , aggh) ripeto che mi è piaciuto. Abbastanza da lasciare un'impressione; non penso che lo dimenticherò, anche se magari non vorrò rileggerlo per vent'anni. Di fantasy ne ho visti tanti e il genere nel suo format più classico non lo digerisco: eppure The Forge of Dawn è riuscito a sostenere il mio interesse sino alla conclusione. Il fatto che ci siano errori di ortografia non toglie che la prosa sia scorrevole, piacevole, naturale, con belle immagini, e che i personaggi abbiano un percorso credibile. Sì, sono originali, direi, benché senza l'"issimo".
Molto coinvolgenti le scene di combattimento, soprattutto il cimento intrapreso da Mikah come campione di Kastor. E Mikah... diciamo solo che meritava di più.
So che il seguito tratta di altri personaggi, quindi non penso che lo leggerò. Ma non si sa mai.
August 14, 2019
I'm bummed and glad I didn't read this sooner- bummed because it was SO GREAT and I didn't find this until recently; glad because it was SO GREAT and I'm running out of great things I haven't read before. I love this story-telling, the characters, and the adventure/quest they go on. I love Jesse's writing. I read The God Eaters years and years ago. Thank you again, Jesse, for putting your writing and stories out into the world. They make me happy (even when some crying may be involved :)
May 31, 2011
The beginning of the story is good, but some where around the middle it gets stupid. this book is not even half as good as "the god eaters".
May 13, 2016
4.5 stars
June 24, 2018
i read this a year ago and i can't remember a single thing about this book
December 24, 2017
WHERE IS MIKAH OMG
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2017
4.5
Beautiful writing, gripping story. I appreciate the fact that there is no sex on page.
I wonder why the author didn't manage to publish this after the success of The God Eaters.
Warning: , even though it kind of fits in the story and it is well done.
Beautiful writing, gripping story. I appreciate the fact that there is no sex on page.
I wonder why the author didn't manage to publish this after the success of The God Eaters.
Warning: , even though it kind of fits in the story and it is well done.
May 25, 2018
Wonderful read. The character development is by far the best part of this book. They come alive. It is smart, well written, and each detail is important.
Though this is a series, this story is strong enough to stand on its own.
Though this is a series, this story is strong enough to stand on its own.
July 26, 2020
It is a goddamn travesty that Hajicek apparently gave up fiction writing entirely and if I had any money I would be absolutely delighted as all hell to give it to him in thanks for his original fiction.
June 3, 2021
I don’t really have words to describe this story, other than it is wonderful and hopeful and heartbreaking all at once. It made me laugh and cry and made my heart ache. It was excellent and I’m so glad I finally read it.
December 23, 2017
I remember nothing of this except that I remember loving it more than I can possibly explain, and I must reread it.
June 3, 2018
Well. That was upsetting.
September 20, 2013
Never fails to keep me engaged and stuck in the fantasy world he made up. This is my second time reading this and I still cried like a baby. I love his descriptions of the settings and how he allowed the readers to slowly understand the characters. Which also meant the characters grew along with the story development.
Simply wonderful.
Simply wonderful.
May 25, 2012
Loved the writing but the romance took forever to develope and then it ended too soon. I took a glimpse at the 2nd book but it doesn't seem to continue with the same couple, makes it bittersweet at best.
July 24, 2016
Great, well thought out fantasy.
It's very light on the romance, those that are wary of MM romance probably can still enjoy this tale quite a bit.
This author should seriously think about self publishing this book.
It's very light on the romance, those that are wary of MM romance probably can still enjoy this tale quite a bit.
This author should seriously think about self publishing this book.
November 18, 2011
I really like this book. You get caught up in the characters and hate to lose them at the end of the book.
October 29, 2013
Sweet fantasy.
February 26, 2014
oh, that ending
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews