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The Keepers of the Orbs #1
The Unknown Man
An unknown man regains consciousness in the back of a merchant’s wagon only to discover he has no memory of who he is. He discovers the merchants are Goblins, who are transporting him to Havenbrook under the assumption he is a nobleman. Given his extravagant armor and decorated two-handed sword, they are hoping for a reward for his return. Once in Havenbrook, the Lord urges him to seek out an old and mysterious wizard who lives at the foot of the mountains to the east, and sends his daughter with him as an escort and guide. This is where their journey begins.
To the north, a malevolent force is building, gathering the resources necessary to reap destruction across all of Askabar. The sinister figure is on a mission to release his master from the prison he has been bound to for over a thousand years. To succeed in this endeavor, he will need to gather all seven of the orbs, and he recruits Orcs and Minotaurs as soldiers for his cause. Standing in his way is the unknown man, whose party continues to grow.
All of Askabar is on the verge of destruction and tyrannical rule. Battles will be fought, and heinous plots will be carried out. The one man who can stop this nefarious plan doesn't even know who he is. Will he uncover his memories in time? One thing is for certain; an entire population will depend on the unknown man.
To the north, a malevolent force is building, gathering the resources necessary to reap destruction across all of Askabar. The sinister figure is on a mission to release his master from the prison he has been bound to for over a thousand years. To succeed in this endeavor, he will need to gather all seven of the orbs, and he recruits Orcs and Minotaurs as soldiers for his cause. Standing in his way is the unknown man, whose party continues to grow.
All of Askabar is on the verge of destruction and tyrannical rule. Battles will be fought, and heinous plots will be carried out. The one man who can stop this nefarious plan doesn't even know who he is. Will he uncover his memories in time? One thing is for certain; an entire population will depend on the unknown man.
357 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 15, 2012
64 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
J.G. Gatewood
7 books170 followersJ.G. Gatewood lives in Parker, Colorado with his wife of 14 years, Sarah, and their two boys Branden and Evan.
When he isn't working on his writing, he can be found enjoying the Colorado Outdoors, and brewing his own beer.
When he isn't working on his writing, he can be found enjoying the Colorado Outdoors, and brewing his own beer.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 13, 2014
Our story begins in a magical place where Turl rushes to show his Master what he has created. I really enjoyed the story beginning like this. It’s as if we are opening a door in the middle of a dramatic event. This technique leaves the reader wondering what is going on; what is the significance of the orb and where is the story taking place? Our choice as readers? Keep reading!
The next part of our story deepens the mystery. We meet a pair of ugly goblins, Kos and Tuk, who happen upon a knight passed out on a river bank. Being the opportunist all goblins are, they decided the knight is worth more to them than his weaponry and decide to return him to Havenbrook. The knight doesn’t know who he is or where he is. And thus the adventure starts.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s well written and entertaining. I found the characters captivating and although set in a fantasy world, realistic. I enjoyed the accents of the goblins in particular and found the descriptive passages added to the depth of the story. Sometimes the wording is a little stilted but I don’t think it distracts from what is, overall, a great story.
I highly recommend it.
The next part of our story deepens the mystery. We meet a pair of ugly goblins, Kos and Tuk, who happen upon a knight passed out on a river bank. Being the opportunist all goblins are, they decided the knight is worth more to them than his weaponry and decide to return him to Havenbrook. The knight doesn’t know who he is or where he is. And thus the adventure starts.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s well written and entertaining. I found the characters captivating and although set in a fantasy world, realistic. I enjoyed the accents of the goblins in particular and found the descriptive passages added to the depth of the story. Sometimes the wording is a little stilted but I don’t think it distracts from what is, overall, a great story.
I highly recommend it.
June 4, 2014
'The Unknown Man' appears to be J. G. Gatewood's first novel and it's a pretty impressive debut. Gatewood has managed to create a believable and fleshed-out fantasy universe. While it incorporates many familiar staples of the genre (minotaurs, orcs, elves) they are treated in a fresh manner.
The story begins in an almost comic vein when two goblins find an unconscious knight, Tirene, and take him into the nearby town of Havenbrook, expecting to be paid a handsome reward. What they get, is far nastier.
The knight has amnesia and can remember very little about his identity and past. 'Tirene' is actually the name given to him by beautiful warrior-magician Liniiana. So begins a journey to find answers, as the two set off up north, accompanied by Tirene's apprentice-in-arms, Jaeden.
Tirene is an appealing protagonist. His sense of honour, and his almost fuddy-duddy adherence to ethics, makes him endearing in an avuncular sort of way. Liniiana is an appropriately feisty female foil, and the blossoming love between them is well handled.
Gatewood has worked out an interesting background of magic and oaths that underlie the story. It is quite often an exciting tale, and also unexpectedly violent in places.
It is mostly well edited but there are a few mistakes such as 'puss' where in context the author means 'pus.'
I suppose the biggest challenge with fantasy and science fiction is getting across your world without resorting to long screeds of exposition. I felt Gatewood was mostly unobtrusive in this, but occassionally the novel felt weighed down with scene-setting. There was quite a bit of repetition of information, though. For instance, there is one scene where Tirene communicates with a telepath, Milenthia. He then tells Jaeden and next Liniiana what Milenthia said, even though we, as readers, were privy to the conversation the first time.
There are other tautological examples. We are told that Jaeden "walked over and sat down on a log by the fire ...' A sentence later, we are told that he 'sat there for a moment ...' Technically okay, but it does give the impression of him sitting twice in close succession.
My strong feeling is that 'The Unknown Man' could really rollick along with a good trim. It's already pacey, but it could be pacier still. With future instalments, I'm sure Gatewood will become more streamlined in his writing, and dole out more exciting tales of adventure and fantasy.
July 14, 2014
The Unknown Man is about the titular character, an amnesiac knight dubbed Tirene, who is discovered by two goblins and must track down Norlun, a wizard who will help him recover his memories. Aiding him is Liniana, the daughter of a lord and the healer of the party; Matt, a thief with a tragic backstory; and Jaeden, a fledgling youth ready to save the day. Although Jaeden does split the thief role with Matt by taking on the silver tongue and gambling aspects. So this leaves Tirene to pull double duty as a mage. With all the party gathered, they have to stop the evil Lutheras as well and protect the seven orbs—which are hourglasses called orbs for the same reasons some Elves in this world are bronze instead of pasty white.
Now if the previous description didn’t tell you, this is about as high fantasy as you can get. Knights, wizards, magic, elves, dwarves, dragons, the whole lot. But one aspect that really struck me was the villains, especially the head leader, Lutheras. He is about as over-the-top evil as one could be to the point of dawning a cloak most times and having evil red eyes. And thankfully, at first, his henchmen tend to use minotaurs instead of the standard orcs for a refreshing change of pace. Yet he and his whole group of corrupt humans, elves, minotaurs, and orcs are absolutely terrified of Tirene. There are a few points where he does try to be dark and menacing with murder or ruthless blood magic, but never quite loses his kitsch atmosphere. Sure, the villains being scared of the hero kills much of the tension. On the other hand, it has this interesting, goofy edge that makes them seem like bumbling, incompetent fools. It’s a different approach and has me question if this book is supposed to be satirical.
Because if this book is satirical, it would certainly explain why Tirene comes off as devious and manipulative as Lutheras. Tirene is basically the kind of honor-bound, stalwart knight that in a contemporary approach would be poked fun of. While it’s nice to see that everyone isn’t laughing at the knight with a code of honor for once, it doesn’t help that his code is pretty twisted. In Tirene’s view, drinking, thievery, and whisking women back to your bed despite the occasional concern that he might be married and not remember are all fine compared to gambling. For whatever reason, Tirene hates gambling, even when the gambler does it to support himself and his deadbeat, drunk aunt since it’s all he’s good at and can make money with his talent. So much does Tirene hate it and views this gambler, his actions, and his reasoning as dishonorable, that he makes the gambler sign a magical blood pact not to gamble and to protect the land. If broken, the pact will tear his soul apart and drive him insane. All this done in the name of honor. Even Lutheras isn’t as sinister in his views and he’s swimming up to his red eyeballs in blood magic.
Other than that, Tirene came off to me as your basic knight, although one with a quick temper that starts to seem like a child throwing tantrums for not getting his way. Thankfully, the rest of the party comes out better. Liniana is quite supportive of everyone and is the voice of reason. Jaeden is foolhardy, though eager to help in the face of danger. Matt is a man looking to pay for past sins and is a humble, heart-of-gold kind of thief who tries to put others before himself. I quite enjoyed their characters throughout the story.
As some other reviews have pointed out, the narrative does tend to repeat itself. Every time the pace picked up speed, the repetition slowed it down like bumps in the road. It also has the problem of often saying such and such a character “was apparent of” or “knew” or “noticed” something instead of outright telling what is happening. The dialogue tries to go for a more “ye olde” speech, being wordy and verbose, which for this particular tone is fine and I can get behind. But that, too, pushes itself, as characters explain every point of reasoning for their actions or will have entire conversations that could be shortened.
Speaking of reasoning, the relationships are also iffy to me. Seeing as she’s the only major party member without a Y chromosome, Liniana is pursued by Tirene. Obviously. It’s the only thing that stops him from actively sleeping around so he can get together with her instead. I just never bought any budding romance between them, especially as he comes onto her rather strong. Rather uncomfortably strong. The friendships between the rest of the party are told to the reader instead of shown, such as Matt’s and Jaeden’s fast friendship.
Unfortunately, I found the world building is pretty mixed. Sometimes, Tirene’s amnesia or Jaeden’s youthful ignorance are used as audience surrogates to explain the mechanics of the world, the races, locations, or the magic system of the Spark. Yet other times, the narrative outright tells you or tells that Tirene knows that a race does something or the history of a land. It really took me out of the reading.
As for the world itself, there isn’t much told about it. I don’t want to say that there’s nothing unique in it. For example, the Spark system seems to have some interesting qualities when it’s used. Although the rules of it and what separates it from other mystical systems isn’t really covered much. The orbs themselves possess unique powers that I won’t spoil here. And the history of the realm is short, to the point, well planned, and straightforward enough to follow, as are the relationships between the various lands and races.
But most of the fantasy aspects are shown in the last fifth of the book. Even then, I couldn’t find much in the world that differentiates it. Dwarves live in mountains, some elves in the woods, and the party makes a stop at one spot in the city of Rivenfell, the sister city to Rivendell I imagine. Let me be clear: I’m not claiming this is derivative, as Gatewood seems to have some ideas for the world up his sleeve that he hints at near the end.
Now I wouldn’t expect to know everything about a fantasy world by the end of the first book in a series. I just feel that Gatewood plays his cards too close to his chest, such as Tirene’s supposed importance seen by everyone else. He’s a Keeper, like Liniana, but is the better fighter of the two. Somehow, this makes everyone believe he is destined for greatness, with no clear reason why he’s such a special Keeper compared to Liniana for much of the book. It’s the type of secrecy like this throughout and until the very end that almost led me to believe this book would be par for the course for the fantasy genre. It’s a rocky start and there were other parts of it I didn’t care for. However, it does look like Gatewood has some plans for the long haul to expand his world. He has some good supporting characters, an interesting take on villains, and shows some hints at an exciting world near the end. It’s just that the introduction to that world is a mixed bag and I wanted to know more about it than what I got.
Now if the previous description didn’t tell you, this is about as high fantasy as you can get. Knights, wizards, magic, elves, dwarves, dragons, the whole lot. But one aspect that really struck me was the villains, especially the head leader, Lutheras. He is about as over-the-top evil as one could be to the point of dawning a cloak most times and having evil red eyes. And thankfully, at first, his henchmen tend to use minotaurs instead of the standard orcs for a refreshing change of pace. Yet he and his whole group of corrupt humans, elves, minotaurs, and orcs are absolutely terrified of Tirene. There are a few points where he does try to be dark and menacing with murder or ruthless blood magic, but never quite loses his kitsch atmosphere. Sure, the villains being scared of the hero kills much of the tension. On the other hand, it has this interesting, goofy edge that makes them seem like bumbling, incompetent fools. It’s a different approach and has me question if this book is supposed to be satirical.
Because if this book is satirical, it would certainly explain why Tirene comes off as devious and manipulative as Lutheras. Tirene is basically the kind of honor-bound, stalwart knight that in a contemporary approach would be poked fun of. While it’s nice to see that everyone isn’t laughing at the knight with a code of honor for once, it doesn’t help that his code is pretty twisted. In Tirene’s view, drinking, thievery, and whisking women back to your bed despite the occasional concern that he might be married and not remember are all fine compared to gambling. For whatever reason, Tirene hates gambling, even when the gambler does it to support himself and his deadbeat, drunk aunt since it’s all he’s good at and can make money with his talent. So much does Tirene hate it and views this gambler, his actions, and his reasoning as dishonorable, that he makes the gambler sign a magical blood pact not to gamble and to protect the land. If broken, the pact will tear his soul apart and drive him insane. All this done in the name of honor. Even Lutheras isn’t as sinister in his views and he’s swimming up to his red eyeballs in blood magic.
Other than that, Tirene came off to me as your basic knight, although one with a quick temper that starts to seem like a child throwing tantrums for not getting his way. Thankfully, the rest of the party comes out better. Liniana is quite supportive of everyone and is the voice of reason. Jaeden is foolhardy, though eager to help in the face of danger. Matt is a man looking to pay for past sins and is a humble, heart-of-gold kind of thief who tries to put others before himself. I quite enjoyed their characters throughout the story.
As some other reviews have pointed out, the narrative does tend to repeat itself. Every time the pace picked up speed, the repetition slowed it down like bumps in the road. It also has the problem of often saying such and such a character “was apparent of” or “knew” or “noticed” something instead of outright telling what is happening. The dialogue tries to go for a more “ye olde” speech, being wordy and verbose, which for this particular tone is fine and I can get behind. But that, too, pushes itself, as characters explain every point of reasoning for their actions or will have entire conversations that could be shortened.
Speaking of reasoning, the relationships are also iffy to me. Seeing as she’s the only major party member without a Y chromosome, Liniana is pursued by Tirene. Obviously. It’s the only thing that stops him from actively sleeping around so he can get together with her instead. I just never bought any budding romance between them, especially as he comes onto her rather strong. Rather uncomfortably strong. The friendships between the rest of the party are told to the reader instead of shown, such as Matt’s and Jaeden’s fast friendship.
Unfortunately, I found the world building is pretty mixed. Sometimes, Tirene’s amnesia or Jaeden’s youthful ignorance are used as audience surrogates to explain the mechanics of the world, the races, locations, or the magic system of the Spark. Yet other times, the narrative outright tells you or tells that Tirene knows that a race does something or the history of a land. It really took me out of the reading.
As for the world itself, there isn’t much told about it. I don’t want to say that there’s nothing unique in it. For example, the Spark system seems to have some interesting qualities when it’s used. Although the rules of it and what separates it from other mystical systems isn’t really covered much. The orbs themselves possess unique powers that I won’t spoil here. And the history of the realm is short, to the point, well planned, and straightforward enough to follow, as are the relationships between the various lands and races.
But most of the fantasy aspects are shown in the last fifth of the book. Even then, I couldn’t find much in the world that differentiates it. Dwarves live in mountains, some elves in the woods, and the party makes a stop at one spot in the city of Rivenfell, the sister city to Rivendell I imagine. Let me be clear: I’m not claiming this is derivative, as Gatewood seems to have some ideas for the world up his sleeve that he hints at near the end.
Now I wouldn’t expect to know everything about a fantasy world by the end of the first book in a series. I just feel that Gatewood plays his cards too close to his chest, such as Tirene’s supposed importance seen by everyone else. He’s a Keeper, like Liniana, but is the better fighter of the two. Somehow, this makes everyone believe he is destined for greatness, with no clear reason why he’s such a special Keeper compared to Liniana for much of the book. It’s the type of secrecy like this throughout and until the very end that almost led me to believe this book would be par for the course for the fantasy genre. It’s a rocky start and there were other parts of it I didn’t care for. However, it does look like Gatewood has some plans for the long haul to expand his world. He has some good supporting characters, an interesting take on villains, and shows some hints at an exciting world near the end. It’s just that the introduction to that world is a mixed bag and I wanted to know more about it than what I got.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2015
The Unknown Man is an adventure-filled fantasy story about Tirene, a knight of unknown origin who wakes up one morning in the back of a troll cart unable to remember who he was. Once delivered by the trolls to the city, Tirene, and the beautiful Lady Liniana (his love interest and city nobility) start out on a quest to find a wizard who may be able to help Tirene get his memories back. This story has is full of traditional fantasy elements: wizards, goblins, dwarves, elves, even dragons which I wasn't expecting. The setting of this story, for me, can be described in one word: quest. Tirene, Liniana, and two side kicks they pick up, are traveling the whole book, with their final destination being the city where the wizard resides. Along the way, they meet tons of interesting creatures, villains, and bands of thieves. What I enjoyed about this book was the imagination around the orbs and the power they possess. I thought Mr. Gatewood provided enough information and mystery to make the readers want to continue the story. Of course, the mystery surrounding Tirene himself intrigued me and the ending was a total cliff hanger I wasn't expecting. You can tell Mr. Gatewood put forth a lot of time, effort, and imagination into creating a well rounded story.
There were a few things I wasn't too fond of, mostly the dialogue and character personification. I felt the dialogue very unnatural and robotic at times which then translated into me not being able to connect with the characters. Personally, feeling for a character is more important than the story itself, because characters make a story, but that is just my personal preference as a reader. I respected the honor and goodness of Tirene because if he was a truly a despicable character, I would've stopped reading.
Overall, entertaining read!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
There were a few things I wasn't too fond of, mostly the dialogue and character personification. I felt the dialogue very unnatural and robotic at times which then translated into me not being able to connect with the characters. Personally, feeling for a character is more important than the story itself, because characters make a story, but that is just my personal preference as a reader. I respected the honor and goodness of Tirene because if he was a truly a despicable character, I would've stopped reading.
Overall, entertaining read!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 6, 2016
Epic, mysterious and thought provoking…a must-read tale
This epic fantasy (with generous slices of mystery and science fiction) will be relished by fans of those genres. I can vouch for this as I’m not normally one of those fans…but I’ve been converted!
The writing is classy; there’s little downtime (important as this reader is easily bored); and there are levels to this tale. Levels that build with each page, holding your interest right to the end.
Highly recommended!
This epic fantasy (with generous slices of mystery and science fiction) will be relished by fans of those genres. I can vouch for this as I’m not normally one of those fans…but I’ve been converted!
The writing is classy; there’s little downtime (important as this reader is easily bored); and there are levels to this tale. Levels that build with each page, holding your interest right to the end.
Highly recommended!
October 12, 2015
The unknown man
I couldn't put the book down I love reading fantasy and this was a very good read I look forward to reading the rest of the books of the Keepers Of The Orbs Series
I couldn't put the book down I love reading fantasy and this was a very good read I look forward to reading the rest of the books of the Keepers Of The Orbs Series
June 16, 2014
If you put together knights, goblins, elves, orcs, dwarfs, minotaurs, wizards, time travel and a nice love story, nothing can go wrong. And the author plays with those ingredients with mastery. The result is a plot that hooks any reader from the first page.
A young knight regains conscience after being rescued by goblins, but have no recollection of who he is. Taken to the Lord of the city Havenbrook, he is suggested to search for a wizard, who might be able to give him his memory back. The Lord sends his daughter as a guide and they start a journey that will group together some unusual companions. In the center of the story you have the orbs, that are seven devices that can give unlimited power to the person who manages to reunite all of them. And a sinister figure is trying to achieve just that, in order to free his master. Even without knowing who he is, the young knight feels he is an important part on the task of preventing that from happening. An his companions also play a role on that.
This is a very well written book, an excellent start of this series that promises to be very exciting and will keep you entertained for hours. Kudos to the author for his results. I hope the second book will not take long to be published!
I received a copy of this book from the author for reviewing and I was not requested to give a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.
A young knight regains conscience after being rescued by goblins, but have no recollection of who he is. Taken to the Lord of the city Havenbrook, he is suggested to search for a wizard, who might be able to give him his memory back. The Lord sends his daughter as a guide and they start a journey that will group together some unusual companions. In the center of the story you have the orbs, that are seven devices that can give unlimited power to the person who manages to reunite all of them. And a sinister figure is trying to achieve just that, in order to free his master. Even without knowing who he is, the young knight feels he is an important part on the task of preventing that from happening. An his companions also play a role on that.
This is a very well written book, an excellent start of this series that promises to be very exciting and will keep you entertained for hours. Kudos to the author for his results. I hope the second book will not take long to be published!
I received a copy of this book from the author for reviewing and I was not requested to give a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own.
January 4, 2014
Excellent for a new author
I feel honored to be one of the early readers and reviewers of this series. The story drew me in from the beginning. The author and story have a lot of promise and I look forward to watching them grow.
That being said, there are areas where the novel needs help. The descriptions could be shortened. There was a lot of unnecessary description that was not needed to keep me entertained. My other criticism is more of a personal preference. I like stories with shorter chapters so that I have stopping points that are closer together. If I could have just read the book start to finish it wouldn't have mattered, but life gets in the way of reading!! I think my criticisms are pretty typical for a new author.
All in all I am sincerely excited about the potential and direction of The Keepers of the Orbs and J.G. Gatewood. Well done!
I feel honored to be one of the early readers and reviewers of this series. The story drew me in from the beginning. The author and story have a lot of promise and I look forward to watching them grow.
That being said, there are areas where the novel needs help. The descriptions could be shortened. There was a lot of unnecessary description that was not needed to keep me entertained. My other criticism is more of a personal preference. I like stories with shorter chapters so that I have stopping points that are closer together. If I could have just read the book start to finish it wouldn't have mattered, but life gets in the way of reading!! I think my criticisms are pretty typical for a new author.
All in all I am sincerely excited about the potential and direction of The Keepers of the Orbs and J.G. Gatewood. Well done!
March 12, 2013
This book was free for a while and I was lucky enough to snatch it up! I think the author shows real promise. While the writing may be a little rough in spots, the story really makes up for it, especially considering this is the author's first book (or so it appears). I am looking forward to see what the author can do with book two!
April 16, 2014
The plot of 'The Unknown Man' is very well developed and all the elements really work together in harmony.
The main characters are well written and give life to the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy...and I am waiting for book2!
The main characters are well written and give life to the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy...and I am waiting for book2!
July 14, 2017
This book did not seem edited in the slightest. I'm used to self-published books having errors but this one was beyond acceptable.
I marked this as read but I did not finish it. The author's graphic details of the unpleasant features of the goblin repulsed me but I kept reading. When I got to the part of the self-inflicted torture that what I am assuming a vampire caused the goblins to endure I was done.
I marked this as read but I did not finish it. The author's graphic details of the unpleasant features of the goblin repulsed me but I kept reading. When I got to the part of the self-inflicted torture that what I am assuming a vampire caused the goblins to endure I was done.
June 1, 2020
It's readable
I gave this rank because there is no world or character building. There are enough grammar errors to confuse the reader for a bit until you figure out what was meant. I have absolutely no desire to read any other books in the series.
I gave this rank because there is no world or character building. There are enough grammar errors to confuse the reader for a bit until you figure out what was meant. I have absolutely no desire to read any other books in the series.
February 6, 2015
Immediately after reading this novel’s description I was expecting a high-fantasy epic adventure tale, and in that light the novel doesn’t disappoint. In fact, just about every standard of the fantasy genre gets a chance to be represented here; goblins, elves, orcs and minotaurs, just to name a few. And this list is far from complete – to go any farther I would need a spoiler alert. Suffice it to say, if it ever lumbered across your Dungeons and Dragons table, odds are good that it makes an appearance in The Unknown Man.
To be perfectly fair, the classic archetypes of fantasy literature are a little bit shallowly rendered here, to the point that many of them are very nearly caricatures of their type. And, more often than not a secondary character’s entire purpose within the story line was immediately obvious within moments of their introduction. Some were more props than characters. The writing was a little choppy and unpolished, and the dialogue was sometimes stilted enough I wondered if it was meant as parody. But, the overall concept here was original enough to keep me eagerly reading to the end, and will have me waiting eagerly for the next installment of this series.
*** (From this point on, spoilers may be hard to avoid. I’ll try to skirt the specifics, but please only read on at your own risk!) ***
I feel like there was a lot of potential room for growth with these characters, but I’m not certain how well that growth was achieved in the end. However, the last scene of the novel – the very last handful of sentences, in fact – is enough to shake up some conceptions formed throughout the rest of the reading anyway, and distinctly gives the impression that the story doesn’t end here. So maybe the raw, unrealized feeling I get from the characters is intentional.
I’m glad I had a chance to read this book, and it’s certainly given me a lot of food for thought where the high-fantasy genre is concerned. I very much look forward to reading more from J.G. Gatewood. I received a copy of The Unknown Man in exchange for an honest review.
To be perfectly fair, the classic archetypes of fantasy literature are a little bit shallowly rendered here, to the point that many of them are very nearly caricatures of their type. And, more often than not a secondary character’s entire purpose within the story line was immediately obvious within moments of their introduction. Some were more props than characters. The writing was a little choppy and unpolished, and the dialogue was sometimes stilted enough I wondered if it was meant as parody. But, the overall concept here was original enough to keep me eagerly reading to the end, and will have me waiting eagerly for the next installment of this series.
*** (From this point on, spoilers may be hard to avoid. I’ll try to skirt the specifics, but please only read on at your own risk!) ***
I feel like there was a lot of potential room for growth with these characters, but I’m not certain how well that growth was achieved in the end. However, the last scene of the novel – the very last handful of sentences, in fact – is enough to shake up some conceptions formed throughout the rest of the reading anyway, and distinctly gives the impression that the story doesn’t end here. So maybe the raw, unrealized feeling I get from the characters is intentional.
I’m glad I had a chance to read this book, and it’s certainly given me a lot of food for thought where the high-fantasy genre is concerned. I very much look forward to reading more from J.G. Gatewood. I received a copy of The Unknown Man in exchange for an honest review.
August 6, 2015
**spoiler alert** Let me start by saying I managed to get through the arduous first portion of this book containing grotesque descriptions of a leper troll without hurling.
So these two goblins, Tuk and Kos, find a man asleep by a riverbank and load him up into their cart. The Unknown Man – or Tirene- wakes up with no memory of himself or the world around him – though ironically he does happen to remember ‘the Spark’. Anyway, after he’s delivered to Havenbrook by the two goblins, he sets off on a journey with some sidekicks: Liniana, Matt, and Jaeden to find the wizard who can bring his memory back. On the journey he learns that he is a Keeper of the Orbs. Supposedly there were seven orbs lost from the ancient time and if combined their abilities are strongest. There’s only three that are known to exist and the person who collects them will have power over the world.
Lutheras is the evil lord out to find the orbs for himself. He storms on Korloth and takes the general Rhovick captive then tortures him into telling him where the orbs can be found in the funniest kind of way I’ve ever read - by forcing him to eat stale bread. Sadistic of him, I know. I actually enjoyed Lutheras’ chapters quite a lot.
With Tirene I started to find him really tiresome. Is it possible that a person can have too much honor it becomes an irritable nuisance? Kind of like Rob Stark and look where that got him. And it’s not that Tirene was even all that honorable, he just has this idea or ‘code’ that he is. Apart from him being a keeper of the orb, I didn’t find anything particularly enthralling about his character. As for his sidekicks, I felt they were all a little cliché. To be honest, I would have loved if the story continued the way it had in the beginning with Tuk and Kos (even though he made me cringe) on their own journey with Tirene to discover who he was. Tuk and Kos could have agreed to help him in exchange for his armor or something. Even as I could scarcely keep from gagging to the opening of this book, due to the pus running down Kos’ face, in that short time I’d grown to like the nasty goblins. I thought they were funny. So I was kind of disappointed when they just disappeared out of the scene and didn’t return until later to where Tuk graphically stabs a poor sleeping Kos – a lot - and becomes Lutheras’ treacherous little minion.
I was excited about reading this book, but as it progressed my interest slowly diminished. Maybe I’m just too picky, but I found myself mentally crossing out sentences that repeated. As an author, you have trust that the reader understands what the characters are doing without being repetitive. Also, there were times when the author would go off on some grand description about 'the Spark' and 'the Orbs'. There are ways to incorporate vital information like that into a book without making it sound like a dictionary explaining what the word means.
Was it a good book? Yes. Did it change my life? No. I’m sure people who love high fantasy will love this book. Maybe my problem is that I watch wayyy too much Game of Thrones. I can’t read a fantasy with this many dwarfs, elves and goblins without imagining something straight out of the Lord of the Rings or Narnia. Don’t get me wrong, I love LOTRs, I just can’t take it seriously the way I do with Game of Thrones.
So these two goblins, Tuk and Kos, find a man asleep by a riverbank and load him up into their cart. The Unknown Man – or Tirene- wakes up with no memory of himself or the world around him – though ironically he does happen to remember ‘the Spark’. Anyway, after he’s delivered to Havenbrook by the two goblins, he sets off on a journey with some sidekicks: Liniana, Matt, and Jaeden to find the wizard who can bring his memory back. On the journey he learns that he is a Keeper of the Orbs. Supposedly there were seven orbs lost from the ancient time and if combined their abilities are strongest. There’s only three that are known to exist and the person who collects them will have power over the world.
Lutheras is the evil lord out to find the orbs for himself. He storms on Korloth and takes the general Rhovick captive then tortures him into telling him where the orbs can be found in the funniest kind of way I’ve ever read - by forcing him to eat stale bread. Sadistic of him, I know. I actually enjoyed Lutheras’ chapters quite a lot.
With Tirene I started to find him really tiresome. Is it possible that a person can have too much honor it becomes an irritable nuisance? Kind of like Rob Stark and look where that got him. And it’s not that Tirene was even all that honorable, he just has this idea or ‘code’ that he is. Apart from him being a keeper of the orb, I didn’t find anything particularly enthralling about his character. As for his sidekicks, I felt they were all a little cliché. To be honest, I would have loved if the story continued the way it had in the beginning with Tuk and Kos (even though he made me cringe) on their own journey with Tirene to discover who he was. Tuk and Kos could have agreed to help him in exchange for his armor or something. Even as I could scarcely keep from gagging to the opening of this book, due to the pus running down Kos’ face, in that short time I’d grown to like the nasty goblins. I thought they were funny. So I was kind of disappointed when they just disappeared out of the scene and didn’t return until later to where Tuk graphically stabs a poor sleeping Kos – a lot - and becomes Lutheras’ treacherous little minion.
I was excited about reading this book, but as it progressed my interest slowly diminished. Maybe I’m just too picky, but I found myself mentally crossing out sentences that repeated. As an author, you have trust that the reader understands what the characters are doing without being repetitive. Also, there were times when the author would go off on some grand description about 'the Spark' and 'the Orbs'. There are ways to incorporate vital information like that into a book without making it sound like a dictionary explaining what the word means.
Was it a good book? Yes. Did it change my life? No. I’m sure people who love high fantasy will love this book. Maybe my problem is that I watch wayyy too much Game of Thrones. I can’t read a fantasy with this many dwarfs, elves and goblins without imagining something straight out of the Lord of the Rings or Narnia. Don’t get me wrong, I love LOTRs, I just can’t take it seriously the way I do with Game of Thrones.
October 8, 2014
This is the book to read if you are headed to a Rennaissance Fair. And if you're not, you'll be in the mood to find one. It's filled with adventure, mugs of ale, delicious food and boisterous taverns and inns.
The title, the Unknown Man, refers to the main character. Not only is he unknown to anyone in the world around him, he's unknown to himself. He wakes with no memory of how he got where he is, and why he's dressed in an awesome set of armor and holding a powerful sword. The story becomes a quest to learn the answer, along with a larger quest to find a number of magic orbs and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. As our main character journeys along his path, he picks up various interesting companions. Each has a role to play in ensuring the future safety of their world.
I enjoyed following along with the cast of characters very much. The protaganist and his friends are a good-hearted bunch. Fainthearted readers be warned, though. The bad guys are brutal and gory and no details are spared.
The tale ends with a big revelation that leads to the next story. Fortunately, this one is wrapped up enough to feel like an ending for this particular book. All in all, an enjoyable read.
My review is based solely on the story. I have opted not to comment on the grammar, spelling and writing style and therefore cannot vouch for those aspects of this book.
The title, the Unknown Man, refers to the main character. Not only is he unknown to anyone in the world around him, he's unknown to himself. He wakes with no memory of how he got where he is, and why he's dressed in an awesome set of armor and holding a powerful sword. The story becomes a quest to learn the answer, along with a larger quest to find a number of magic orbs and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. As our main character journeys along his path, he picks up various interesting companions. Each has a role to play in ensuring the future safety of their world.
I enjoyed following along with the cast of characters very much. The protaganist and his friends are a good-hearted bunch. Fainthearted readers be warned, though. The bad guys are brutal and gory and no details are spared.
The tale ends with a big revelation that leads to the next story. Fortunately, this one is wrapped up enough to feel like an ending for this particular book. All in all, an enjoyable read.
My review is based solely on the story. I have opted not to comment on the grammar, spelling and writing style and therefore cannot vouch for those aspects of this book.
September 1, 2014
This one is a mixture of hits and misses while showing promise for improvement in future writings. The writing feels rough at times, needing polish and editing. The characters are a bit too over the top and have a few inconsistencies that take away from something good. The plot has that familiar fantasy thread with little to offer outside the box, but still manages to remain interesting. I'm a bit disappointed with the world building as I feel it could really make this a much better read with more fleshing and a dash of creativity. There are moments that are well done. The inconsistencies bother me as it takes so much away from the experience. I would expect later books to read better as the author learns with experience. I received an evaluation copy from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
November 19, 2012
Story line was ok, but it was ruined by the quality of writing and numerous errors in editing.
March 31, 2017
yuk. poorly written and terrible story line.
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