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Hollenguard
The idyllic land of Valice has enjoyed a quiet existence for many centuries beneath the glow of the silver and gold rings that stretch across its sky. It is home to tall vistas and beautiful, green forests, and bordered by a great expanse of rolling mists called "the veil."
At the Inn at the Crossroads, Kamil helps to tend to the many varied patrons and wonders about the wide world that he has never seen. As autumn draws to a close, a boiling storm appears on the horizon and four strangers arrive with dark portents.
Kamil soon finds himself on a journey across the breadth of Valice and far beyond. But when he discovers that the world is being violently consumed behind him, his odyssey becomes a dangerous exodus to the ancient fortress where all of the roads in the land end:
The storied bastion of Hollenguard.
At the Inn at the Crossroads, Kamil helps to tend to the many varied patrons and wonders about the wide world that he has never seen. As autumn draws to a close, a boiling storm appears on the horizon and four strangers arrive with dark portents.
Kamil soon finds himself on a journey across the breadth of Valice and far beyond. But when he discovers that the world is being violently consumed behind him, his odyssey becomes a dangerous exodus to the ancient fortress where all of the roads in the land end:
The storied bastion of Hollenguard.
- GenresFantasy
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 30, 2011
2 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 20, 2013
Loved the start to this epic fantasy, and in the first half it kept me awake reading way too late. The characters and setting were highly realistic, despite the overwriting and the 1980s shared PoV, and the plot and world-building were intriguing. But somewhere in the middle and later, it started to lose traction. The characters found weapons effective against the otherwise indestructible monsters… and kept losing them. Even when they were holed up in a fortress for what felt like several weeks, no attempt was made to make more; they waited for someone to bring them a fresh supply. (If there were reasons they couldn't make more of these effective weapons themselves, a discussion on the topic, while the characters were in the fortress, would have explained a lot. One character supposedly knew how to make them, and an old fortress should have had a blacksmith's shop.) When new weapons did arrive they were spearheads, not arrowheads or crossbow bolts. One character had a great idea to defend the fortress's heights, but there was no follow-up. When the monsters arrived, it was via the heights.
So let's call this an effective and engaging adventure, with some (for me) annoying elements near the end. There are the usual typos, not many and not enough to keep me out of the story after the initial stop. Three and a half stars.
So let's call this an effective and engaging adventure, with some (for me) annoying elements near the end. There are the usual typos, not many and not enough to keep me out of the story after the initial stop. Three and a half stars.
June 19, 2012
S. Arthur Martin's debut fantasy novel, Hollenguard is an entertaining adventure filled with believable characters and a rich world.
The story follows Kamil and his guardian, Nijal as they are swept away from their quiet life when a dark threat falls upon the life. They soon find themselves on the run from this dark threat, meeting friends and foes while being swept up in a battle for the future of humanity.
Martin has obviously spent a lot of time building this world. Valice and Denshire are populated with unique types of people/creatures, and his descriptions truly bring the world alive for the reader. His action scenes are exciting and well written. The book as a whole is very well edited.
As one reviewer mentioned, the story is a bit slow to get started, but once it does, you do not want to put down the book.
Hollenguard is a great book and I look forward to S.Arthur Martin's future works.
The story follows Kamil and his guardian, Nijal as they are swept away from their quiet life when a dark threat falls upon the life. They soon find themselves on the run from this dark threat, meeting friends and foes while being swept up in a battle for the future of humanity.
Martin has obviously spent a lot of time building this world. Valice and Denshire are populated with unique types of people/creatures, and his descriptions truly bring the world alive for the reader. His action scenes are exciting and well written. The book as a whole is very well edited.
As one reviewer mentioned, the story is a bit slow to get started, but once it does, you do not want to put down the book.
Hollenguard is a great book and I look forward to S.Arthur Martin's future works.
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December 29, 2016A fantasy book with an evil and dark storm (think "winter is coming") slowly taking over the land while the good guys adventure on an epic retreat. A lot of your typical but enjoyable fantasy fare. I appreciate that it's a self-contained story even though it's the first novel in a series.
I did have problems following the writing style at time. Someone else called it "shared POV", which is probably a good description of it. It becomes particularly confusing to keep some of the characters straight when three of the main ones are poorly named "Kesrin", "Kitarin", and "Kamil".
Worthy of a read, but I won't be going on to the sequels.
I did have problems following the writing style at time. Someone else called it "shared POV", which is probably a good description of it. It becomes particularly confusing to keep some of the characters straight when three of the main ones are poorly named "Kesrin", "Kitarin", and "Kamil".
Worthy of a read, but I won't be going on to the sequels.
July 27, 2013
I was so enraptured by the characters and story that I finished the second and third books before I got a chance to review this first!
While not usually my genre, I found it incredibly hard to put this book down. the character development is incredible, making me eager to pick it back up whenever possible.
This story will definitely make for an epic film!
While not usually my genre, I found it incredibly hard to put this book down. the character development is incredible, making me eager to pick it back up whenever possible.
This story will definitely make for an epic film!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews