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Descent of Kings #1
Prelude to War
Descent of Book One
“Never make a mistake, Beryl. Never, in your youth or ignorance or arrogance, do something that might endanger your people, that might cause others harm.”
- Elven Prince Eladar
Eladar, second son of the Elven King of Riviera, can never atone for his disastrous initial foray into the Lands of Men, but he yet hopes to make his family proud. Before his simple mission to meet Prince Talon of the shattered kingdom of Amontir is done, he saves lives and takes them, finds love, and stands to lose all he holds most dear as he leads Talon’s cousin, Beryl, to sanctuary amongst his people.
Caravan guard Alnas is searching for an unconventional love and thinks he’s found it in Hardred, but he must first overcome the former mariner’s tragic past. Neither man dreams their act of kindness in freeing Master Trader Oberas’s snagged cargo vessel will trigger events that alter the fate of their world.
The destinies and lives of these men and others become inescapably intertwined with that of Rion, son of a minstrel and a City Guard, in a world about to be consumed by war. Their trials and tragedies, mistakes, and triumphs will either save the world or destroy it.
“Never make a mistake, Beryl. Never, in your youth or ignorance or arrogance, do something that might endanger your people, that might cause others harm.”
- Elven Prince Eladar
Eladar, second son of the Elven King of Riviera, can never atone for his disastrous initial foray into the Lands of Men, but he yet hopes to make his family proud. Before his simple mission to meet Prince Talon of the shattered kingdom of Amontir is done, he saves lives and takes them, finds love, and stands to lose all he holds most dear as he leads Talon’s cousin, Beryl, to sanctuary amongst his people.
Caravan guard Alnas is searching for an unconventional love and thinks he’s found it in Hardred, but he must first overcome the former mariner’s tragic past. Neither man dreams their act of kindness in freeing Master Trader Oberas’s snagged cargo vessel will trigger events that alter the fate of their world.
The destinies and lives of these men and others become inescapably intertwined with that of Rion, son of a minstrel and a City Guard, in a world about to be consumed by war. Their trials and tragedies, mistakes, and triumphs will either save the world or destroy it.
380 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 21, 2013
4 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Maria Albert
18 books15 followersMaria Albert lives in the California Bay Area with her two daughters and several dozen friends, most of the latter of whom are still trapped in binders on her bookshelves. She looks forward to releasing many more of them in the coming months.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 22, 2013
4 1/2 Hearts
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews
http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
Eladar, Talon, Beryl, Alnas, Hardred, Oberas and Rion are all main characters in this book, we are introduced to each character and their lives in this excellent woven fantasy. Eladar is given the task of meeting Talon, but Talon is late. Alnas and Hardred come to Oberas’s aid on the river. Eladar saves Hardred’s life when he drowns. This is just the beginning of the journey that brings these men together throughout the story in adventures, danger, rescues, love and loss.
Well, this is a very complex story that is just the beginning of a fantastic series. There are many characters that we follow as they journey across land and sea each on their own journey, but crossing paths with other characters that will affect their lives. The story begins with Hardred and Alnas working as guards on a caravan when they come across a boat stuck in the river, they lend a hand to Oberas, but Hardred disappears while chopping down an underwater tree. We are then introduced to Eladar, a water elf, who is waiting for his brothers friend, he pulls Hardred from the water and revives him just as Talon and his cousin Beryl show up, they join up briefly with the land caravan and water caravan and we discover Oberas and Eladar are previously acquainted. We then head straight to the town where they are all heading, Ardock, and young Rion who wants to be an apprentice trader with Oberas.
This story jumps from character to character but shows it clearly, it also jumps from place to place so we could be in the forest, water or town depending on who we visit next. Although we learn some of what is happening there is much left unsaid, just who are Talon and Beryl? Just who is their Enemy? What is going on? This story is just what it says it is, the prelude. We get to know the characters, some of their backstories and we know that something evil is coming, but we don’t know what roles they will play in the future. We become invested in the characters as we discover more about them, but we are left with the mystery of why they are so important. There is danger, rescues, escapes, death, loss, fear, anger, happiness, developing love and young crushes.
This isn’t the sort of story to read if you want something light and easy to read. There are many threads to this story that twist and twine around the characters, there are also many more characters that we meet who will probably also be important to future books and there are three more to come. This story is a bit confusing especially with names as some characters have more than one, you also begin to wonder where the story is going because it is complex with the different species of humanoids; water elves, wood elves, humans, Amontirs, the Enemy and nothing seems to get answered. This is just the beginning and it is a book that is a great story but it isn’t a story that is finished, not by a long shot, there is much more to come before we have all the answers and it will be littered with danger, loss, hope and love.
I will recommend this story to those who love high fantasy, a complex in-depth storyline, new budding relationships and an ending that leaves you wanting more.
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews
http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
Eladar, Talon, Beryl, Alnas, Hardred, Oberas and Rion are all main characters in this book, we are introduced to each character and their lives in this excellent woven fantasy. Eladar is given the task of meeting Talon, but Talon is late. Alnas and Hardred come to Oberas’s aid on the river. Eladar saves Hardred’s life when he drowns. This is just the beginning of the journey that brings these men together throughout the story in adventures, danger, rescues, love and loss.
Well, this is a very complex story that is just the beginning of a fantastic series. There are many characters that we follow as they journey across land and sea each on their own journey, but crossing paths with other characters that will affect their lives. The story begins with Hardred and Alnas working as guards on a caravan when they come across a boat stuck in the river, they lend a hand to Oberas, but Hardred disappears while chopping down an underwater tree. We are then introduced to Eladar, a water elf, who is waiting for his brothers friend, he pulls Hardred from the water and revives him just as Talon and his cousin Beryl show up, they join up briefly with the land caravan and water caravan and we discover Oberas and Eladar are previously acquainted. We then head straight to the town where they are all heading, Ardock, and young Rion who wants to be an apprentice trader with Oberas.
This story jumps from character to character but shows it clearly, it also jumps from place to place so we could be in the forest, water or town depending on who we visit next. Although we learn some of what is happening there is much left unsaid, just who are Talon and Beryl? Just who is their Enemy? What is going on? This story is just what it says it is, the prelude. We get to know the characters, some of their backstories and we know that something evil is coming, but we don’t know what roles they will play in the future. We become invested in the characters as we discover more about them, but we are left with the mystery of why they are so important. There is danger, rescues, escapes, death, loss, fear, anger, happiness, developing love and young crushes.
This isn’t the sort of story to read if you want something light and easy to read. There are many threads to this story that twist and twine around the characters, there are also many more characters that we meet who will probably also be important to future books and there are three more to come. This story is a bit confusing especially with names as some characters have more than one, you also begin to wonder where the story is going because it is complex with the different species of humanoids; water elves, wood elves, humans, Amontirs, the Enemy and nothing seems to get answered. This is just the beginning and it is a book that is a great story but it isn’t a story that is finished, not by a long shot, there is much more to come before we have all the answers and it will be littered with danger, loss, hope and love.
I will recommend this story to those who love high fantasy, a complex in-depth storyline, new budding relationships and an ending that leaves you wanting more.
October 1, 2013
After the first few pages I was sorely tempted to put this book aside. As a reader you are dropped into the story with very little exposition, and the number of characters thrown at you seems daunting at first. So many of the names are the same, especially in family members; then you realize that many of the characters have 'travel names' as well as actual names, and when you realize later in the novel that some characters also have 'true names', well, that can be a little overwhelming. For a while I wished for a cast of characters at the start of the novel, but quickly dropped that idea. It would have meant wasting an enormous amount of time flipping back and forth that could have been better spent reading the novel. And I am so glad I persisted. Once I had adjusted to the number of characters I wondered how I ever had a problem, and I would have missed out on a wonderful fantasy novel had I not finished it.
It would be a waste of time to try and explain the plot giving any more detail than the information found in the publisher's blurb. There is simply too much plot happening in too many places starring too many characters to shrink it down to a couple of paragraphs. Suffice to say that I became totally enthralled with the lives of Eladar, Beryl, Alnas and Hardred (especially Hardred), Rion and even gruff Trader Oberas. The chapters (which at close to an average of 35 pages are very long), switch between one set of characters and another, and it is to the author's credit that when coming to the end of any chapter I cried Nooooo, for I desperately wanted to continue with the adventures of the characters in that chapter. Of course, at the end of the next chapter, I wanted to stay with THAT set of characters.
The novel is at times joyful, suspenseful, and sad. (Beware that characters you grow to like do die in this novel). Also, if you want long and vivid sex scenes, well, this is not the book for you. There is one couple (with a lot of promise for more), and their relationship is only mentioned a couple of times in passing. Oddly enough, although I enjoy well-written sex scenes as well as anyone, I didn't miss them at all here.
The last chapter of the novel flits back and forth between the cast of characters rapidly, as the suspense mounts in expectation of the tumultuous and deadly times that look to be ahead. My next purchase of books will have to include the next in the series, Heir to the Throne, for I am anxious to find out what happens to my favourite characters. I just hope it won't be months before the final two books in the quartet are released.
One small niggle I did have with the book concerned the writing style. Until I got used to it, I found it a bit, well, stilted is the best description I can find. That quickly ceased to be a distraction, as the plot completely sucked me in.
A definite 4.5, rounded up to 5 stars.
It would be a waste of time to try and explain the plot giving any more detail than the information found in the publisher's blurb. There is simply too much plot happening in too many places starring too many characters to shrink it down to a couple of paragraphs. Suffice to say that I became totally enthralled with the lives of Eladar, Beryl, Alnas and Hardred (especially Hardred), Rion and even gruff Trader Oberas. The chapters (which at close to an average of 35 pages are very long), switch between one set of characters and another, and it is to the author's credit that when coming to the end of any chapter I cried Nooooo, for I desperately wanted to continue with the adventures of the characters in that chapter. Of course, at the end of the next chapter, I wanted to stay with THAT set of characters.
The novel is at times joyful, suspenseful, and sad. (Beware that characters you grow to like do die in this novel). Also, if you want long and vivid sex scenes, well, this is not the book for you. There is one couple (with a lot of promise for more), and their relationship is only mentioned a couple of times in passing. Oddly enough, although I enjoy well-written sex scenes as well as anyone, I didn't miss them at all here.
The last chapter of the novel flits back and forth between the cast of characters rapidly, as the suspense mounts in expectation of the tumultuous and deadly times that look to be ahead. My next purchase of books will have to include the next in the series, Heir to the Throne, for I am anxious to find out what happens to my favourite characters. I just hope it won't be months before the final two books in the quartet are released.
One small niggle I did have with the book concerned the writing style. Until I got used to it, I found it a bit, well, stilted is the best description I can find. That quickly ceased to be a distraction, as the plot completely sucked me in.
A definite 4.5, rounded up to 5 stars.
October 8, 2015
Great adventure story with Elves, Dwarves, Wizards and lots of fantastic creatures. Characters and scenes are well done. I deducted one star because there are so many, many characters and they all have two or three names they go by it gets confusing trying to remember who they are. Still, I highly recommend this series.
maybe-later
September 18, 2013It's rather exhausting to read, you know?
Want to read
April 22, 2021Need to figure out what is what.
November 1, 2022
At first, I was completely lost with the names, the places, the plots ! But I am glad I persevered ! It's a great saga !! Can't wait to read the next book !!!
Read
April 28, 2013This book needs a prologue and more world building. There were too many characters introduced in the first two chapters alone, not to mention the reader have to keep track of their aliases. It felt like being a new person in a party and I was introduced to a whole lot of people. It'll make your head spin.
I'll come back to this later.
I'll come back to this later.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews