Tammorack: The Chronicle Scrolls

by Gregory Stoakes

For ten thousand years the world has descended into a sickening madness, even darker and more dangerous than when Ishbun walked the earth. Civilizations have crumbled into chaos, new creatures prowl the night and the heavens are incomplete. The Gods that remain feud and struggle for dominion over the festering mortal realm. Who can bring balance and harmony back to the world? None… except perhaps the ten ‘heroes’ that fought against The Beast of Mortilas so long ago? Surely it would be foolish to think that they could do anything but create more disaster? But there is no one else to turn too. Humanity is tearing itself apart and this is the final gambit… a last resort. Continue on the adventures as our group of misfits, with questionable morals and bitter differences, try to recover the Tammorack; the key to bringing the world back from the edge of a dark abyss. As they battle another foe that holds the past, present and future in their hands and draws to them characters from the dawn of time. Can they still work together, or have they become to toxic to find common ground? Will they add to the chaos that is swallowing the world or heal its wounds? All hangs in the balance once more and only the Tammorack can restore order. Pray they are good enough.

530 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 2013

About the author

Born in Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, Gregory Stoakes was the youngest of three brothers. From an early age he wanted to be an artist; a trait acquired from his mother, and spent most of his childhood drawing. He grew up with movies, comic books and role-play games, but always had trouble reading books due to his dyslexia. Nevertheless, he loved being whisked away to fantastical worlds and looking for outlets to visualize these places.

Then, after five years of college studying art and design, Gregory Stoakes moved to London and became a model maker. He worked on movies, architectural projects and product prototyping for over eight years, exploring the creative side of that incredible profession. Towards the end of this period he began to teach himself web design and discovered another way to express his creative side.

Moving to Oxford, he jumped career tracks and for the next ten years worked for, and even built his own web design company. During this time Gregory Stoakes met, fell in love with and married Rose.

Now living in Florida with his wife and two wonderful children, Gregory Stoakes enjoys working as an instructor in the Department of Corrections. Conquering dyslexia and writing this book has brought him back to what he loves to do most; visit strange places, be creative and have fun.

Reviews

[Ian Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book two of a series which, I am informed, will number four at its conclusion and it is most definitely a worthy sequel to Death or Redemption, in fact it is written in a manner that strangely makes the first book seem more a prequel. Very cleverly it picks up the story in such a way that knowledge of the events contained within the first instalment are not needed and it could stand alone really well.

The author fills in the gaps and subtly refers to previous events without a need to rehash them or leave you feeling that you might be missing some vital piece of information, a technique I was able to appreciate all the more by not having re-read Death or Redemption prior to reading this second instalment.

As with the first book there are some editing issues, erroneous word substitution in the main, but overall it seems to have been more thoroughly checked and as before has very little impact on enjoying this work by Mr Stoakes.

The twists and turns are marvellously handled and the story is superb with little by way of predictability. The schemes of the gods are slowly revealed in greater detail and the direction of the convergent tales of the ancient past and the contemporary world begin to take shape and the historical sections at the fore of each chapter take a more prominent role in this volume. As a result of the more involved histories the overall story pace seems a little slower than in the first book but it still bristles along at a pleasing rate.

This time around the world seems more fleshed out and a map has been included, although it would appear to render somewhat poorly on my Kindle fortunately though the map really isn't needed.

The final chapter was a joy of revelation and story telling with my sole disappointment knowing that there will be quite some wait before book three will be unleashed and perhaps I should have read it a little slower...

Despite a somewhat generic writing style the epic feel of the lore, the cleverly handled redemption referenced in the first book and the direction of the story means I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a grand tale of fantasy and even to those who might not realise that they do. Roll on to Demon Sword!