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Pearls of the Elf Lords
A motley crew of adventurers; ranging from royalty, renegades, thieves and wizards-led by the half-elf bard and son of the Sword-Master of Alexon-are in a race against time, creatures of magic, assassins, orcs, bandits, enemy soldiers and a host of other dangers to bring the princess safely home in hopes of her becoming a queen; and preventing the Pearls of the Elf Lords from falling into the wrong hands in the process.
- GenresFantasy
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 28, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 18, 2012
Flawed, but fun. I rounded up from 3-1/2 stars.
First, the good stuff. This story took me back to college, when weekends meant marathon D&D sessions with a bunch of engineering students. Most of us had a collection of fantasy or SF paperbacks, and we loaned them out freely. When I returned one of Jim's books, he'd often say, "take it to Craig, he wanted to read it next." Pearls of the Elf Lords would have been one of those. What rescued this book from a 3-star rating was the cast of characters, often with unique voices, who would make mistakes and keep on keeping on. They were people (and elves, and a dwarf) that made me care about what happened to them. There were several muted sex scenes, and the first one would have had my college buddies chortling at the situation and the aftermath.
It didn't start out very promising, unfortunately. The first chapter had a rather large infodump that could have been woven into the story, and there was little else in the first two chapters to distinguish it in an ocean of derivative fantasy. But a few chapters in, it started picking up steam. Then it threw me again: around 20% in, I started wondering if I was near the end, and the rest of it was previews for other books. But never fear, the story picked right up and moved on without a hiccup… and it found its own voice and started standing out from the crowd. Hooray! It did that four or five times, actually. So the story banged right along, the perfect companion for a rainy Sunday afternoon, after I finished my to-do list and the rest of the family were out getting groceries. I easily imagined myself sprawled on my bunk in the dorm, back in 1980, thinking I really should do that last bit of homework… after I finish the next chapter, of course.
There were numerous issues that could have been easily fixed with a copyediting pass, or even by a thorough beta reader (who would have flagged the infodump as well). Things like using "boarder" where the author meant "border," and so forth. In a few years, this kind of thing will be unacceptable even among indies. The ending felt a little deflated, and there was one major issue left for Book 2 to resolve. Without these issues, this could well have been a 5-star read, because the story was that much fun.
First, the good stuff. This story took me back to college, when weekends meant marathon D&D sessions with a bunch of engineering students. Most of us had a collection of fantasy or SF paperbacks, and we loaned them out freely. When I returned one of Jim's books, he'd often say, "take it to Craig, he wanted to read it next." Pearls of the Elf Lords would have been one of those. What rescued this book from a 3-star rating was the cast of characters, often with unique voices, who would make mistakes and keep on keeping on. They were people (and elves, and a dwarf) that made me care about what happened to them. There were several muted sex scenes, and the first one would have had my college buddies chortling at the situation and the aftermath.
It didn't start out very promising, unfortunately. The first chapter had a rather large infodump that could have been woven into the story, and there was little else in the first two chapters to distinguish it in an ocean of derivative fantasy. But a few chapters in, it started picking up steam. Then it threw me again: around 20% in, I started wondering if I was near the end, and the rest of it was previews for other books. But never fear, the story picked right up and moved on without a hiccup… and it found its own voice and started standing out from the crowd. Hooray! It did that four or five times, actually. So the story banged right along, the perfect companion for a rainy Sunday afternoon, after I finished my to-do list and the rest of the family were out getting groceries. I easily imagined myself sprawled on my bunk in the dorm, back in 1980, thinking I really should do that last bit of homework… after I finish the next chapter, of course.
There were numerous issues that could have been easily fixed with a copyediting pass, or even by a thorough beta reader (who would have flagged the infodump as well). Things like using "boarder" where the author meant "border," and so forth. In a few years, this kind of thing will be unacceptable even among indies. The ending felt a little deflated, and there was one major issue left for Book 2 to resolve. Without these issues, this could well have been a 5-star read, because the story was that much fun.
February 26, 2011
I have nothing, but positive things to say about Pearls of the Elf Lords. It has everything from intrigue, unexpected twists, and grand adventure to love triangles. I have read a lot of fantasy in my time, and I can honestly say this is one of my favourites.
Landis and his party of fellow warriors are sent out to retrieve the lost sword of Alexon. An ancient sword lost in battle hundreds of years ago. They hope it will help secure Princess Petra's right to the throne. On their way there Landis learns there is more to their quest. Hidden with the sword under the ruined city of Sedau are the Pearls of the Elf Lords. Magical gems with seemingly unlimited power.
Landis soon discovers he isn't the only one after them, and that's just one of his worries. Not only does he have to deal with past and present loves of his life, one of them is threatened by a deadly assassin. An assassin he knows very well.
The battle scenes were well choreographed and I really felt worried if the characters would make it or not. I also loved the character's back stories and their interactions with each other. You could really feel the camaraderie between them.
Overall, I think fantasy readers new and old will thoroughly enjoy the Pearls of the Elf Lords and I can't wait for the next books in the series to come out.
Landis and his party of fellow warriors are sent out to retrieve the lost sword of Alexon. An ancient sword lost in battle hundreds of years ago. They hope it will help secure Princess Petra's right to the throne. On their way there Landis learns there is more to their quest. Hidden with the sword under the ruined city of Sedau are the Pearls of the Elf Lords. Magical gems with seemingly unlimited power.
Landis soon discovers he isn't the only one after them, and that's just one of his worries. Not only does he have to deal with past and present loves of his life, one of them is threatened by a deadly assassin. An assassin he knows very well.
The battle scenes were well choreographed and I really felt worried if the characters would make it or not. I also loved the character's back stories and their interactions with each other. You could really feel the camaraderie between them.
Overall, I think fantasy readers new and old will thoroughly enjoy the Pearls of the Elf Lords and I can't wait for the next books in the series to come out.
August 21, 2012
The author takes a standard plot line (princess, magic sword, magic pearls and a quest) and develops an entertaining and unpredictable story with interesting characters around the framework.
Obviously an indie author and I noticed a few things another editing would have caught but my download (2012) did not contain any major issues and for me an entertaining story certainly outweighs a misspelled word here and there.
My biggest praise for this book, besides the very well done characterizations, was the ending. After being unexpectedly presented with a number of cliffhanger endings (which I despise) I particularly appreciated the author's handling of the conclusion. There could be more books coming in the series, openings were certainly left, but the story here had a beginning, a middle and an end that left me satisfied as a reader, something that I find more and more authors not doing.
Obviously an indie author and I noticed a few things another editing would have caught but my download (2012) did not contain any major issues and for me an entertaining story certainly outweighs a misspelled word here and there.
My biggest praise for this book, besides the very well done characterizations, was the ending. After being unexpectedly presented with a number of cliffhanger endings (which I despise) I particularly appreciated the author's handling of the conclusion. There could be more books coming in the series, openings were certainly left, but the story here had a beginning, a middle and an end that left me satisfied as a reader, something that I find more and more authors not doing.
June 26, 2014
I don't normally read science fiction, but I've been trying to broaden my horizons and I fell in love with the characters after reading the first chapter!
I only have positive things to say about Pearls of the Elf Lords. It was full of unexpected twists & turns that kept me reading more. The adventures of Landis and his pack of warriors was well worth the ride as they set out to retrieve the lost sword of Alexon in hopes of earning Princess Petra's right to the throne. They learn much on their journey and have much to fear as they enter into battles.
The beloved characters had me cheering for their success. I challenge others to look outside your comfort zone and give this science fiction adventure a try...I was glad I did!
Can't wait to read more...
I only have positive things to say about Pearls of the Elf Lords. It was full of unexpected twists & turns that kept me reading more. The adventures of Landis and his pack of warriors was well worth the ride as they set out to retrieve the lost sword of Alexon in hopes of earning Princess Petra's right to the throne. They learn much on their journey and have much to fear as they enter into battles.
The beloved characters had me cheering for their success. I challenge others to look outside your comfort zone and give this science fiction adventure a try...I was glad I did!
Can't wait to read more...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews