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The Eye of Eternity #1
The Blood of the Spear
Two brothers. One prophecy. A world in peril.
When Kaiel loses his chance to become part of the legendary Daemon Hunters, joining the Bronze Guard mercenaries seems like the logical alternative. It is an opportunity to put his training to use and, more importantly, as the company is currently in the employ of Prince Alesandr, it will allow him to keep an eye on his younger brother, Darien, who’s determined to follow his dream of becoming a Ciralys magic-user.
But the broken continent of Athmay still bears the scars of the war between the Summoners some three-thousand years ago, and an unexpected battle with a daemon – a remnant of that ancient war – reveals the brothers’ connection to a forbidden bloodline. Soon they find themselves on the run from the prince, daemonic hordes, and a prophecy that could break the world anew.
When Kaiel loses his chance to become part of the legendary Daemon Hunters, joining the Bronze Guard mercenaries seems like the logical alternative. It is an opportunity to put his training to use and, more importantly, as the company is currently in the employ of Prince Alesandr, it will allow him to keep an eye on his younger brother, Darien, who’s determined to follow his dream of becoming a Ciralys magic-user.
But the broken continent of Athmay still bears the scars of the war between the Summoners some three-thousand years ago, and an unexpected battle with a daemon – a remnant of that ancient war – reveals the brothers’ connection to a forbidden bloodline. Soon they find themselves on the run from the prince, daemonic hordes, and a prophecy that could break the world anew.
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First published May 10, 2021
31 people are currently reading
920 people want to read
About the author
Mark Timmony
2 books114 followersMark Timmony grew up on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. He's wanted to write for as long as he can remember and has several notebooks filled with illegible scribblings from childhood to prove it.
The desire to write led to work as a bookseller in Sydney’s oldest genre specialist bookshop. There he began to make headway on his dreams of becoming a writer. Working with books he was lucky enough to meet many Australian fantasy authors – Karen Miller, Tony Shillitoe and Jennifer Fallon, to name a few – and was invited to be a beta-reader for a number of them. This unique experience offered him a peek ‘behind the scenes’ of novel writing with professionals, and went a long way in giving him the hands-on experience needed in how to structure a story, develop characters and build fantastic worlds, as well as offering insights into the business side – publishing and retail – of writing.
These days you can still find him on the Northern Beaches, and when he's not writing the sequel to ‘The Blood of the Spear’, or reading, he's likely working at Australia’s local bookstore, or playing World of Warcraft.
The desire to write led to work as a bookseller in Sydney’s oldest genre specialist bookshop. There he began to make headway on his dreams of becoming a writer. Working with books he was lucky enough to meet many Australian fantasy authors – Karen Miller, Tony Shillitoe and Jennifer Fallon, to name a few – and was invited to be a beta-reader for a number of them. This unique experience offered him a peek ‘behind the scenes’ of novel writing with professionals, and went a long way in giving him the hands-on experience needed in how to structure a story, develop characters and build fantastic worlds, as well as offering insights into the business side – publishing and retail – of writing.
These days you can still find him on the Northern Beaches, and when he's not writing the sequel to ‘The Blood of the Spear’, or reading, he's likely working at Australia’s local bookstore, or playing World of Warcraft.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
February 25, 2022
A great classic fantasy tale!
I was fortunate to receive a copy of The Blood of the Spear from Mark Timmony himself! I am absolutely in love with the cover art. Moreover, the synopsis intrigued me. So what did I think?
Firstly, the world-building is excellent! The world is rich with lore and history going back centuries and has different races and kingdoms! Timmony does a wonderful job at slowly adding more layers to the world, which greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the story! I am also impressed by how much happens in this book! The main cast goes on an epic journey throughout the story travelling through lots of different locations and meeting interesting characters on the way. Moreover, Timmony’s prose is accessible, making the story easy to follow!
However, I had a difficult time getting fully immersed in this story since I didn’t feel that invested in these characters. Although The Blood of the Spear is a chunky book, I wish that Timmony had spent a bit more time fleshing out the main characters before taking them on this journey. Timmony does a great job of letting the reader get insight into the characters’ struggles and motivations. Still, unfortunately, I didn’t feel like there was enough reason for me to fully care about the cast.
That being said, it is worth considering adding this book to your tbr! I can imagine many readers enjoying this book – especially if you are looking for a classic fantasy tale.
A special thanks to Mark Timmony for sending The Blood of the Spear in exchange for an honest review!
I was fortunate to receive a copy of The Blood of the Spear from Mark Timmony himself! I am absolutely in love with the cover art. Moreover, the synopsis intrigued me. So what did I think?
Firstly, the world-building is excellent! The world is rich with lore and history going back centuries and has different races and kingdoms! Timmony does a wonderful job at slowly adding more layers to the world, which greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the story! I am also impressed by how much happens in this book! The main cast goes on an epic journey throughout the story travelling through lots of different locations and meeting interesting characters on the way. Moreover, Timmony’s prose is accessible, making the story easy to follow!
However, I had a difficult time getting fully immersed in this story since I didn’t feel that invested in these characters. Although The Blood of the Spear is a chunky book, I wish that Timmony had spent a bit more time fleshing out the main characters before taking them on this journey. Timmony does a great job of letting the reader get insight into the characters’ struggles and motivations. Still, unfortunately, I didn’t feel like there was enough reason for me to fully care about the cast.
That being said, it is worth considering adding this book to your tbr! I can imagine many readers enjoying this book – especially if you are looking for a classic fantasy tale.
A special thanks to Mark Timmony for sending The Blood of the Spear in exchange for an honest review!
August 26, 2021
This was another solid indie epic fantasy that although weighty, really scratched my itch for the nostalgic bricky fantasy tomes that I loved so much in the 90's. Mark Timmony's opening book in The Eye of Eternity series is a truly promising start to what I believe will be an entertaining and action-packed story arc up to the final climax.
I want to touch on a couple of elements that really worked for me with this book if I may. First, the characters are very well written and incredibly relatable. Being relatable isn't make or break, but I'm always way more invested if I can understand the motivations of the characters and almost feel what they are feeling as I turn the pages. Timmony does an excellent job conveying the tight bond of the brothers Kaiel and Darien and how their relationship is central to the story as they become embroiled in the overall conflict.
The other thing that I found really enjoyable about THE BLOOD OF THE SPEAR was the wonderful world-building. Anyone who knows me is aware that world-building is one of my top elements in what I usually look for in an entertaining fantasy read, and Timmony definitely received stellar marks from me in that area especially. I was completely mesmerized by the fantastic world that these characters inhabited and it lent a wondrous aspect to the story that made it that much better in my opinion.
The only aspect that sort of took away a bit of my enjoyment of the book was that at times it felt to me that there were a few stretches of inaction and slowness where I felt myself getting distracted. I quickly found myself back on track however, as Timmony always seemed to have a surprise or a cool battle scene around each corner. But I can't deny the fact that there were some moments where I wasn't completely sucked into the story as much as I would have liked.
All that being said, I had a fun time with this book and I'm glad that I got a chance to experience this absorbing world. If you enjoy fantasy with intriguing ancient prophecies, engaging characters, deep world-building, and magical artifacts, then you should pick up THE BLOOD OF THE SPEAR and give it a go. This was an entertaining journey that I'm so grateful that I took and I look forward to seeing where this story goes in future books. Put this one on your TBR, you won't be sorry!
I want to touch on a couple of elements that really worked for me with this book if I may. First, the characters are very well written and incredibly relatable. Being relatable isn't make or break, but I'm always way more invested if I can understand the motivations of the characters and almost feel what they are feeling as I turn the pages. Timmony does an excellent job conveying the tight bond of the brothers Kaiel and Darien and how their relationship is central to the story as they become embroiled in the overall conflict.
The other thing that I found really enjoyable about THE BLOOD OF THE SPEAR was the wonderful world-building. Anyone who knows me is aware that world-building is one of my top elements in what I usually look for in an entertaining fantasy read, and Timmony definitely received stellar marks from me in that area especially. I was completely mesmerized by the fantastic world that these characters inhabited and it lent a wondrous aspect to the story that made it that much better in my opinion.
The only aspect that sort of took away a bit of my enjoyment of the book was that at times it felt to me that there were a few stretches of inaction and slowness where I felt myself getting distracted. I quickly found myself back on track however, as Timmony always seemed to have a surprise or a cool battle scene around each corner. But I can't deny the fact that there were some moments where I wasn't completely sucked into the story as much as I would have liked.
All that being said, I had a fun time with this book and I'm glad that I got a chance to experience this absorbing world. If you enjoy fantasy with intriguing ancient prophecies, engaging characters, deep world-building, and magical artifacts, then you should pick up THE BLOOD OF THE SPEAR and give it a go. This was an entertaining journey that I'm so grateful that I took and I look forward to seeing where this story goes in future books. Put this one on your TBR, you won't be sorry!
Read
July 28, 2021If you are looking for classic style epic fantasy with solid characters, loads of action, a quick pace and varied factions with clashing agendas, exciting corsairs, strange powers and magical objects, meaty prophecies, and plenty of fights - this book has the works! No rape/great female characters. A promising debut.
February 22, 2022
You ever do that mental exercise of what if this author wrote that book! This book is one of those. Somehow Mark Timmony has written just such a book. Picture this what if Steven Erickson rewrote Robert Jordan’s Eye of the world. This is a fascinating first book from a very talented author.
I loved how the WoT inspiration and elements appeared in this story. You can tell that the author loves WoT but it’s never distracting and doesn’t feel ripped off. Instead it feels inspired by. So many elements are borrowed and reworked into this story that it felt like coming home but with a new twist.
I would def recommend this book to not only WoT fans but also fans of Malazan book of the Fallen. The magic, lore, characters and the pacing remind me heavily of Erikson’s writing style.
My biggest critique is the world building and lore are a bit heavy handed. There is a lot of it. With this being a 550 page book. It kept me from being able to connect with the characters and sometimes broke my story immersion.
Pacing 3.5/5
Characterization 4/5
Enjoyment 4/5
World building 3.75/5
Story 4/5
Overall 4/5
I look forward to more stories from this author!
I loved how the WoT inspiration and elements appeared in this story. You can tell that the author loves WoT but it’s never distracting and doesn’t feel ripped off. Instead it feels inspired by. So many elements are borrowed and reworked into this story that it felt like coming home but with a new twist.
I would def recommend this book to not only WoT fans but also fans of Malazan book of the Fallen. The magic, lore, characters and the pacing remind me heavily of Erikson’s writing style.
My biggest critique is the world building and lore are a bit heavy handed. There is a lot of it. With this being a 550 page book. It kept me from being able to connect with the characters and sometimes broke my story immersion.
Pacing 3.5/5
Characterization 4/5
Enjoyment 4/5
World building 3.75/5
Story 4/5
Overall 4/5
I look forward to more stories from this author!
August 12, 2022
As I continued through my #IndieAugust reads, I encountered a book that favourably reminds me of entries from Robert Jordan's esteemed "Wheel of Time" series.
That book is "The Blood of the Spear" - "The Eye of Eternity" Book One, by Mark Timmony. With an intriguing assembly of characters, fantastic action, a fast-moving plot, and immersive worldbuilding, this first installment of a series had loads of upside to become a VERY popular saga in years to come.
The novel is set in the continent of Athmay, which is a broken place, sunderered primarily into the Western Realms, and the Eastern Half. Hundreds of years prior to the events of the book, great sorcerers known as Summoners - for their power to summon demons at their behest to serve their will - tore the land apart in their conflicts, nearly destroying the world.
Since that time, though the Summoners have been vanquished, and disappeared from the face of the earth, their demon servants still wander in small numbers, causing mayhem and death wherever they go.
There is such trepidation among humankind that the Summoners could return, causing another apocalypse, that any child born with the Summoner's mark (a distinct birthmark that appears on the back of the right hand), or any adult found bearing the mark, is executed.
Enter two brothers, Kaiel and Darien. Kaiel, the older, aspires to become a demon fighter, while Darien is resolved to be a sorcerer. When Kaiel fails at his opportunity to join the elite Bronze Guard, he returns home to find his brother plans to pursue his own ambitions, despite Kaiel's wishes to keep him safe.
Kaiel's life is also complicated by the fact his love interest - Sevanni - is the sister of his greatest rival, who has taken Kaiel's place in the Bronze Guard. Eventually Kaiel enters the service of a distinguished nobleman, Prince Alesandr, as a sellsword.
But Kaeil's new employment will lead to disaster, as secrets about the brothers' ancestry are revealed, and competing dark forces, including the Prince, want to either use the brothers for their own purposes, or destroy them.
Now when I assert Timmony's work reminds me of Jordan's, for me that means, by necessity, there will be present in the novel what many fantasy fans will consider well-used tropes. But these tropes are done expertly.
Hidden heirs, reluctant heroes, scheming magicians, magic talismans, band of underdogs, dire prophecies of doom, and many more elements that you may have read in other great fantasy classic novels, you will find in "The Blood of the Spear". They will feel comfortingly familiar, and yet fresh and vibrant with Timmony's take on these popular conventions.
The magic system is the way I like it - with enough detail to seem plausible, and enough mystery to keep me engaged, and wanting more. Demons, sorcerers, giant spiders, and all kinds of monsters abound. The different regions, realms, cultures, noble houses, histories and races Timmony has compiled is quite impressive in terms of overall worldbuilding, as evidenced by the glossary at the end of the novel.
I loved the aspect of all the Borderlanders always checking - even on people they have known for years - to see if they are hiding the Summoner mark. It was a great feature, illustrating how pervasive the fear is of the Summoners coming back, and wrecking havoc, that suspicions hovering over one's friends, neighbours, even family, is a constant facet of daily life in Timmony's world.
The writing was VERY smooth, flowed incredibly well, and the prose was very efficient, accessible, and polished.
The pace is fast, sometimes breakneck, with plenty of blistering action for those who like their fight scenes intense, and featuring a good dose of magic or fantastical creatures as the opponents.
What I wanted a bit more was a personal taste thing. As I noted, Timmony has assembled a truly intriguing cast of characters, including clear goodies, clear villains, and some appropriately morally grey ones. They all felt distinct, and there was a lot of nuance to them - I just wanted to know a bit more about them, hence the .5 score away from a full five star rating. Credit to Timmony that I was so interested in the players he had brought to the stage.
I will definitely be picking up future books in the series, and am yearning to get a bit more depth to some of the wonderful characters Timmony has created. But if you prefer your fast paced books, there is certainly more than enough character development that will no doubt very much please those types of readers who want to keep burning through pages.
Many things make "The Wheel of Time'' series so iconic. Here are some of them for me: Jordan's storytelling is amazing, and one does not necessarily have to be a swords and sorcery fan to enjoy the books; the magic system is fabulous; it's a true coming of age tale as we see characters grow and evolve over a long period of time; finally the worldbuilding is rich, and combined with the lore gives it a feeling of grandeur.
I see a lot of these characteristics in Timmony's craft, and I mean that as a compliment. While it is clear Timmony has drawn inspiration from Jordan, his work is no imitation, yet the fact I mention the two authors together tells you how highly I think of Timmony's potential as a writer.
Timmony is setting a very tall bar with his debut, and I have no doubt that as he evolves as an author he has the potential to ascend even higher.
"The Blood of the Spear" was an excellent debut, by an author who writes like a veteran wordsmith. Definitely recommended! 4.50 stars!
That book is "The Blood of the Spear" - "The Eye of Eternity" Book One, by Mark Timmony. With an intriguing assembly of characters, fantastic action, a fast-moving plot, and immersive worldbuilding, this first installment of a series had loads of upside to become a VERY popular saga in years to come.
The novel is set in the continent of Athmay, which is a broken place, sunderered primarily into the Western Realms, and the Eastern Half. Hundreds of years prior to the events of the book, great sorcerers known as Summoners - for their power to summon demons at their behest to serve their will - tore the land apart in their conflicts, nearly destroying the world.
Since that time, though the Summoners have been vanquished, and disappeared from the face of the earth, their demon servants still wander in small numbers, causing mayhem and death wherever they go.
There is such trepidation among humankind that the Summoners could return, causing another apocalypse, that any child born with the Summoner's mark (a distinct birthmark that appears on the back of the right hand), or any adult found bearing the mark, is executed.
Enter two brothers, Kaiel and Darien. Kaiel, the older, aspires to become a demon fighter, while Darien is resolved to be a sorcerer. When Kaiel fails at his opportunity to join the elite Bronze Guard, he returns home to find his brother plans to pursue his own ambitions, despite Kaiel's wishes to keep him safe.
Kaiel's life is also complicated by the fact his love interest - Sevanni - is the sister of his greatest rival, who has taken Kaiel's place in the Bronze Guard. Eventually Kaiel enters the service of a distinguished nobleman, Prince Alesandr, as a sellsword.
But Kaeil's new employment will lead to disaster, as secrets about the brothers' ancestry are revealed, and competing dark forces, including the Prince, want to either use the brothers for their own purposes, or destroy them.
Now when I assert Timmony's work reminds me of Jordan's, for me that means, by necessity, there will be present in the novel what many fantasy fans will consider well-used tropes. But these tropes are done expertly.
Hidden heirs, reluctant heroes, scheming magicians, magic talismans, band of underdogs, dire prophecies of doom, and many more elements that you may have read in other great fantasy classic novels, you will find in "The Blood of the Spear". They will feel comfortingly familiar, and yet fresh and vibrant with Timmony's take on these popular conventions.
The magic system is the way I like it - with enough detail to seem plausible, and enough mystery to keep me engaged, and wanting more. Demons, sorcerers, giant spiders, and all kinds of monsters abound. The different regions, realms, cultures, noble houses, histories and races Timmony has compiled is quite impressive in terms of overall worldbuilding, as evidenced by the glossary at the end of the novel.
I loved the aspect of all the Borderlanders always checking - even on people they have known for years - to see if they are hiding the Summoner mark. It was a great feature, illustrating how pervasive the fear is of the Summoners coming back, and wrecking havoc, that suspicions hovering over one's friends, neighbours, even family, is a constant facet of daily life in Timmony's world.
The writing was VERY smooth, flowed incredibly well, and the prose was very efficient, accessible, and polished.
The pace is fast, sometimes breakneck, with plenty of blistering action for those who like their fight scenes intense, and featuring a good dose of magic or fantastical creatures as the opponents.
What I wanted a bit more was a personal taste thing. As I noted, Timmony has assembled a truly intriguing cast of characters, including clear goodies, clear villains, and some appropriately morally grey ones. They all felt distinct, and there was a lot of nuance to them - I just wanted to know a bit more about them, hence the .5 score away from a full five star rating. Credit to Timmony that I was so interested in the players he had brought to the stage.
I will definitely be picking up future books in the series, and am yearning to get a bit more depth to some of the wonderful characters Timmony has created. But if you prefer your fast paced books, there is certainly more than enough character development that will no doubt very much please those types of readers who want to keep burning through pages.
Many things make "The Wheel of Time'' series so iconic. Here are some of them for me: Jordan's storytelling is amazing, and one does not necessarily have to be a swords and sorcery fan to enjoy the books; the magic system is fabulous; it's a true coming of age tale as we see characters grow and evolve over a long period of time; finally the worldbuilding is rich, and combined with the lore gives it a feeling of grandeur.
I see a lot of these characteristics in Timmony's craft, and I mean that as a compliment. While it is clear Timmony has drawn inspiration from Jordan, his work is no imitation, yet the fact I mention the two authors together tells you how highly I think of Timmony's potential as a writer.
Timmony is setting a very tall bar with his debut, and I have no doubt that as he evolves as an author he has the potential to ascend even higher.
"The Blood of the Spear" was an excellent debut, by an author who writes like a veteran wordsmith. Definitely recommended! 4.50 stars!
July 21, 2023
This was a really fun take on classic fantasy. I loved the dynamic of the two brothers. And I also loved the magic system, and how fear really developed in this society. I think the world building was fun, filled with demons and political factions. Man I loved but hated those spiders. And I just overall really enjoyed this story.
I struggled with separating the two brothers at times. They didn't have as different voices and tones as I would have liked. Often they became in character to me. I did listen to the audio(which is really well done) but it is often harder to separate povs in audio format.
But overall I did enjoy this story.
More thoughts in my spfbo vlog
https://youtu.be/rQLXS8FdJuw
I struggled with separating the two brothers at times. They didn't have as different voices and tones as I would have liked. Often they became in character to me. I did listen to the audio(which is really well done) but it is often harder to separate povs in audio format.
But overall I did enjoy this story.
More thoughts in my spfbo vlog
https://youtu.be/rQLXS8FdJuw
October 20, 2022
4.25*
I am not going to lie, I was intimidated by this book from the get-go, not because it is particularly long, but because we have an intricate map at the front and a full glossary of terms in the back. I am pleased to say, although I did take a little longer than a standard 500 – 600 book to read this one, I had a really great time within these pages.
We are dropped into a trial of sorts between Kaiel and Rolan as they race against the other to become a renowned deamon hunter. The reader is Immediately thrown into a world full of monsters, and the stakes are set super high from page one. The fast-paced trial leaving Kaiel at a loss is only the beginning.
It becomes apparent that our buddy Kaiel is going to need a plan B, and his brother Darien just so happens to be planning to leave to join the Ciralys; A group of people who can use this worlds magic (the Asai) to wield the light of the eye. Although sceptical about Darien’s knew life path, there is a case of if you can’t beat em, join em. Their departure becomes desperate when rumours of an ancient bloodline begin to surface, rumours focusing on the two brothers, and suddenly they are being hunted.
This is an action packed, sometimes terrifying travelling adventure, full of intriguing characters that hold their own, daemons who will not quit, and a 3000-year-old battle that has come back to follow these two brothers.
There were a few stand outs for me in Mark Timmony’s work the first being the world building and prose.
While it took me a fairly long time to get into the language of the novel, the descriptions and technicalities of the prose bought this world to life. There is obvious inspiration from Wheel of Time, but the author has taken great care into making this world his own. The prose here is not flowery at all, but as a visual reader, I was able to see the daemons as they were described, and there were many of them! Timmony has taken the time to craft a world at every turn of the page, there was not one creature or aspect that I felt was just written for the sake of it.
The world is also explained slowly throughout the book, namely through action and conversation between the characters. The world, the magic and the relationships are all layered and interwoven to give the reader a full view over the course of the book. We aren’t handed the ins and outs of this world on a platter, as a reader this book invites us to pay attention, look closer and piece the larger picture together for ourselves.
The Characters also felt real, there were real quarrels between the group we follow, it felt authentic, nothing was done as a placeholder for another event. The way our team interacted helped to move the story forward every step of the way. The author has very cleverly given us some side characters at the beginning of the book and build them up throughout the pages to become more and more important as time went by, leading into a very promising (and epic) part two.
I will say I think some of the more technical aspects of this book were lost on me initially being fairly new to fantasy, and there were a few pages that I had to re-read to grasp. I believe this would be well suited to those who love being thrown into the thick of it when it comes to an epic fantasy adventure.
I am not going to lie, I was intimidated by this book from the get-go, not because it is particularly long, but because we have an intricate map at the front and a full glossary of terms in the back. I am pleased to say, although I did take a little longer than a standard 500 – 600 book to read this one, I had a really great time within these pages.
We are dropped into a trial of sorts between Kaiel and Rolan as they race against the other to become a renowned deamon hunter. The reader is Immediately thrown into a world full of monsters, and the stakes are set super high from page one. The fast-paced trial leaving Kaiel at a loss is only the beginning.
It becomes apparent that our buddy Kaiel is going to need a plan B, and his brother Darien just so happens to be planning to leave to join the Ciralys; A group of people who can use this worlds magic (the Asai) to wield the light of the eye. Although sceptical about Darien’s knew life path, there is a case of if you can’t beat em, join em. Their departure becomes desperate when rumours of an ancient bloodline begin to surface, rumours focusing on the two brothers, and suddenly they are being hunted.
This is an action packed, sometimes terrifying travelling adventure, full of intriguing characters that hold their own, daemons who will not quit, and a 3000-year-old battle that has come back to follow these two brothers.
There were a few stand outs for me in Mark Timmony’s work the first being the world building and prose.
While it took me a fairly long time to get into the language of the novel, the descriptions and technicalities of the prose bought this world to life. There is obvious inspiration from Wheel of Time, but the author has taken great care into making this world his own. The prose here is not flowery at all, but as a visual reader, I was able to see the daemons as they were described, and there were many of them! Timmony has taken the time to craft a world at every turn of the page, there was not one creature or aspect that I felt was just written for the sake of it.
The world is also explained slowly throughout the book, namely through action and conversation between the characters. The world, the magic and the relationships are all layered and interwoven to give the reader a full view over the course of the book. We aren’t handed the ins and outs of this world on a platter, as a reader this book invites us to pay attention, look closer and piece the larger picture together for ourselves.
The Characters also felt real, there were real quarrels between the group we follow, it felt authentic, nothing was done as a placeholder for another event. The way our team interacted helped to move the story forward every step of the way. The author has very cleverly given us some side characters at the beginning of the book and build them up throughout the pages to become more and more important as time went by, leading into a very promising (and epic) part two.
I will say I think some of the more technical aspects of this book were lost on me initially being fairly new to fantasy, and there were a few pages that I had to re-read to grasp. I believe this would be well suited to those who love being thrown into the thick of it when it comes to an epic fantasy adventure.
August 28, 2021
A promising start to an epic series!
Storytime first! When reading on Kindle, I have this habit of checking my progress so my clown self is so shookt that after two hours of reading, I was barely halfway 😂. Of course, I was alarmed 'coz why then I learned it was 600 pages and went back to reading like I wasn't daunted by its size 🥴. What I mean is, this was an unputdownable read despite it being long and thanks to Kindle my arm wasn't a bit tired from carrying the ebook 😂
The Blood of the Spear is well-paced, action-packed, and full of characters that are so easy to root for. It has that classic fantasy feel to it that I just love which reminds me a bit of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (in length too 🙈) and Mark Timmony's writing style is akin to John Gwynne's.
The world-building is top tier and complex. The magic system is intriguing and unique. There are runes and magical artifacts from the old civilization. I have to admit that I struggled a bit with the magic system. It's complex and confusing at the beginning but so worth it when I finally understood.
My favorite in this book is the characters. They are relatable, flawed, and well-written. Everyone is distinct and has their own motivation. I'M SO INVESTED IN THEM. It's easy to make a character likable or relatable, but getting your readers invested in them? That takes skill, so kudos to the author! So many amazing and competent female characters, too.
Overall, The Blood of the Spear is impressive and everyone who loves fantasy should give it a try. I can't wait to see what the author has in store on the second book!
Thank you so much Mark Timmony and Storytellers on Tour for my copy. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
Storytime first! When reading on Kindle, I have this habit of checking my progress so my clown self is so shookt that after two hours of reading, I was barely halfway 😂. Of course, I was alarmed 'coz why then I learned it was 600 pages and went back to reading like I wasn't daunted by its size 🥴. What I mean is, this was an unputdownable read despite it being long and thanks to Kindle my arm wasn't a bit tired from carrying the ebook 😂
The Blood of the Spear is well-paced, action-packed, and full of characters that are so easy to root for. It has that classic fantasy feel to it that I just love which reminds me a bit of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (in length too 🙈) and Mark Timmony's writing style is akin to John Gwynne's.
The world-building is top tier and complex. The magic system is intriguing and unique. There are runes and magical artifacts from the old civilization. I have to admit that I struggled a bit with the magic system. It's complex and confusing at the beginning but so worth it when I finally understood.
My favorite in this book is the characters. They are relatable, flawed, and well-written. Everyone is distinct and has their own motivation. I'M SO INVESTED IN THEM. It's easy to make a character likable or relatable, but getting your readers invested in them? That takes skill, so kudos to the author! So many amazing and competent female characters, too.
Overall, The Blood of the Spear is impressive and everyone who loves fantasy should give it a try. I can't wait to see what the author has in store on the second book!
Thank you so much Mark Timmony and Storytellers on Tour for my copy. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
December 31, 2022
This is a great example of one of my favourite types of book – a classic fantasy feel, with a modern writing style and approach.
It’s very quickly paced without feeling rushed, and I feel it takes a good amount of skill to cover the amount of ground in character and story development that Mark Timmony achieved here, without the book being two or three times the size.
It’s a very good story, with characters who are easy to get along with and root for – even when they’re being idiots – and there’s a lot of great worldbuilding on show as well. All in all, it’s a great opening book, and I can’t wait to continue the adventure.
It’s very quickly paced without feeling rushed, and I feel it takes a good amount of skill to cover the amount of ground in character and story development that Mark Timmony achieved here, without the book being two or three times the size.
It’s a very good story, with characters who are easy to get along with and root for – even when they’re being idiots – and there’s a lot of great worldbuilding on show as well. All in all, it’s a great opening book, and I can’t wait to continue the adventure.
June 11, 2021
I found this just browsing while looking for a book for my birthday present. I liked the cover and wondered what it was about. You can really tell that he was an admirer of Robert Jordan throughout this book. I don't think he follows Jordan's writing style but has his own so if you liked the Wheel of Time you may like this one too. The magic system is sort of confusing just like some other things when you step into new fantasy worlds like this. Keeping track of what is what and where is where can be a little confusing. A lot of characters and places will written about but I try to focus on the main characters mostly. There seem to be a few different ways to power and they have runes and things that come from the old civilizations everywhere it seems. The threats are coming from multiple sources and the forces that are supposedly good are in different groups as well. They appear to be in opposition to each other as much as the evil they are fighting against. There is some political stuff that I didn't really focus on but some may like. Some will find the characters annoying, arrogant and just stupid at times. None of them really bothered me that much but neither did I feel any great connection with any of them as well. This is just one of the things the author could improve on perhaps. Others may get something completely different from these characters though. I did enjoy reading this and am looking forward to my next read of this book like every book that makes me happy I read it. Will be ready to read the next in the series when it comes out. I was hoping for a five star book but this was still pretty good.
October 22, 2023
What an amazingly epic ride. When you think of classic epic fantasy you think of prophecies, millenia of history, multitudinal pantheons, all kinds of wild beasts and monsters, magic, the whole works.
This truly has it all.
Whilst at times the worldbuilding could be a little overwhelming, and the characters a little underdeveloped, Mark has formed a world full of magic and chaos. Every chapter is filled with intrigue and mystery, i was like an addict for the lore dumps we get!
Some fantastic and horrific dungeon crawls along with much needed levity in the form of Sim round this one out.
More readers need to discover this absurdly expansive world Mark has gifted us readers
Full RTC
This truly has it all.
Whilst at times the worldbuilding could be a little overwhelming, and the characters a little underdeveloped, Mark has formed a world full of magic and chaos. Every chapter is filled with intrigue and mystery, i was like an addict for the lore dumps we get!
Some fantastic and horrific dungeon crawls along with much needed levity in the form of Sim round this one out.
More readers need to discover this absurdly expansive world Mark has gifted us readers
Full RTC
June 20, 2022
DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary e-copy from Storytellers on Tour, in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.
https://www.instagram.com/sot_tours/
There are two very specific things that will most likely capture your attention: 1.) the ridiculously talented and sought after talent of cover artists Felix Ortiz and Shawn T. King, and 2.) the premise of two brothers caught in the precarious trappings of a Chosen One, end of the world prophecy.
I rarely emphasize cover art, because judging books on a superficial basis is something I try not to do. I'm not saying I don't. The truth is, I judge books by the cover more often than I should, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Aesthetically pleasing covers sell books. That's not a secret. But there's a reason that the talents of Ortiz and King are coveted by so many authors. The sheer quality of product consistently churned out by the duo never ceases to astonish me. I'm very thankful that Mark Timmony was able to acquire their talents for his debut novel, as it might not have gained the traction it has in a relatively short amount of time. It's also a delight to gaze at.
The ebook, however, doesn't do it justice. I wasn't able to fully appreciate the cover art until I saw Petrik Leo's passionate reaction to the book's majestic appearance, via his cover reveal video, which you can check out HERE:
https://youtu.be/Lfll_r-rTuA
I really wish I had a physical copy.
Regarding the synopsis, I don't recall if I was initially skeptical of whether or not the author could execute such an admittedly used trope – a trope written about so frequently that it's practically a cliche. Nevertheless, I'm thankful to have taken a chance with The Blood of the Spear because Mark's a fine writer. In my opinion, he painstakingly lavished said trope with creativity and attention to detail consistently throughout its six hundred pages. He clearly put a lot of thought behind his characters and the extensive history of Athmay, which is best described as a "broken continent," lovingly enriched with lore and myth. Timmony also enhanced the daemons themselves, thus giving his demonic creatures various appearances and mentalities, depending on the specific species encountered.
In other words, it felt very nostalgic, and I think if you're relatively new to fantasy and you're looking for a jumping off point, The Blood of the Spear might be the way to go. Likewise, if you're an experienced fantasy reader who's looking for a promising new series with likeable characters, very high stakes, and a story clearly influenced by the likes of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, or numerous other high fantasy novels from the last sixty years. Unfortunately, I haven't read enough of the genre to definitively determine if Timmony brought anything new to the proverbial table, but I'm also not implying that his book is a rehashing of his influences, either. Earnestly, I don't think that's reality. Rather, I think of The Blood of the Spear as the author's homage, or love letter, to said books and the genre specifically. I think there's enough creativity and clever elements to make his debut stand on its own.
The granite rock face rose twenty feet before them, casting the cave at its base in shadow despite the morning sunlight shifting through the conifers, firs and the white-barked, silver-leafed moonleaf trees of the Borderland Wilds.
As to be expected from fantasy, Timmony brought with it plenty of fast-paced action, adventure and intrigue. To his credit, it never felt underwhelming or overwhelming. On display was a firm sense of balance and narrative control. I thought those elements were executed well, and having the ability to tautly control any given scene were qualities fully and consistently on display here. Those aren't skill sets that every author possesses.
But it's not always about progression. Sometimes, a writer needs to pull back and let the characters breathe and vent. Some internal rumination isn't just refreshing, it's downright necessary. It was those brief slices of life scenes that particularly stood out for me. They were, in fact, some of my favorite parts of the whole novel, which is saying a lot, given just how good the rest of the book is. There was something deeply affecting about several scenes that took place, for instance, between Darien and Kaiel; Meghara and Sevaani; and amongst others, Captain Jaric Daynar and Simeon Ravenson. I wouldn't have been disappointed if Timmony had included more of them, yet I realize that part of what made them so special was their sparseness.
The immediate entrance of the cave was black as pitch, but less than fifteen feet ahead dusty light shone down on old mining cart tracks. Clumps of cave weed grew where the wall met the floor, their white, grass-like stems ended in bulbs that glowed with a soft blue light.
The hiss of steel was the only warning Kaiel had as Rolen drew his sword.
Following a group of motley men and women (each with their own ambitions, values and morals,) it would be disingenuous to say that the characters were fully realized or that their personalities were distinctive from one another. Some of them stood out a lot. Characters like Sim and Iana the Shaluay, for example, shared the distinction of standing out as being instantly recognizable. Captain Daynar and Lihon, the legendary blademaster, stood out as well.
By contrast, the others felt too similar (though they weren't without their own virtues and flaws,) to the point that I still found myself having to stop and think: how were they described again? Which one was the scholar and who's the fighter? I think that, by the end of a book (especially one as long as this,) the reader should have a very clear understanding of the core set of characters. And maybe the fault there is entirely my own, as I struggle on a regular basis to concentrate. I cannot say for sure. Maybe it's a combination of the two, in addition to its large cast. At the least, though, incorporating one very distinctive personality trait per character would have stood out significantly.
The worldbuilding was particularly impressive. In fact, it's Timmony's strongest element. It was completely immersive, fascinating and a little strange. Contrary to a lot of world development, he mostly relied on character dialogue to inform the reader, which is how it should be. It's worldbuilding done right, a testament to his life-long pursuit of fantasy novels. You won't find any info dumping here. It all came across as natural and seamless. There was just enough description to render it mysterious and vivid, without spelling everything out for the reader. That's a quality that I respect the hell out of, and which not enough writers are implementing. In genre's where it tends to either be descriptive overkill or entirely too vague, Timmony rides the perfect balance.
Aside from the aforementioned character distinction, the only other constructive criticisms I have concern grammatical errors. They were very minor, but things like comma splices and using semicolons instead of a comma were there, and they were just enough to temporarily pull me out of the story. Ordinarily, I wouldn't mention it, but they were sporadic factors through most of the book.
They started walking the horses down the road. Darien looked up, through the blurring canopy of swiftly moving trees, to eye the sun as it raced across the sky. It would be night before they knew it, but then he supposed that wouldn’t last particularly long either. He couldn’t comprehend the artistry of the Sahrin, to be able to craft such a thing as this White Road. Invisible to the eye, and untouched by the forest around it, moving through time like an arrow. Even if the Ciralys only held a fraction of the power that the Sahrin had wielded, he had to join them. He had to. If this thing in his head stayed quiet, and if the Ciralys of the Fifth Circle didn’t sense it within him maybe he’d be able to find a way to get rid of it himself.
He released a shuddering breath, his stomach a knot of anxiety.
That ending, though, was COLOSSAL and everything I wanted out of an already impressive novel. It wasn't just satisfying or even extremely satisfying. Timmony took all my expectations and superseded the overall direction of the plot and subplots, while also taking some of the character arcs in places wholly unexpected. Some of them were downright shocking, though not in an inorganic or forced manner. The risks he took were genuinely admirable. I cannot stress enough how much I respect his decision not to play it safe; to essentially give the characters free rein and let the elements land where they may. As a result, I felt pulled in six different directions and I'm left wandering around Athmay, aimless and forlorn; anxiety-riddled and enthusiastic. I need Book II as soon as possible.
With such praises, it's no wonder the author's book was a semifinalist in the seventh annual SPFBO competition (2021.)
Meg climbed out behind Sevaani, shielding her eyes with her palm. The sun was higher in the sky, and she judged that it was no more than an hour from noon.
Behind the wagon, the street stretched east, lined with old trees set before richly appointed shopfronts, and beside it stretched a tall wall of gleaming white everstone. The great blocks used to construct it merged seamlessly; neither age nor weather had marked them, and as clean as if they had just been laid. Meg stared. She had never seen so much everstone statues in one place.
***
Thank you again to the author and Storytellers on Tour. Your kindness, generosity and understanding are appreciated more than I can express.
August 27, 2021
This book kind of took me back to some old school classic fantasy feeling that I didn’t expect it would!
I think it’s because there is the usual tropes that we’re used to seeing. However I still really enjoyed it.
It took me a while to grasp the magic system in here but I think that’s due to it being new and a little complex, but I did get there in the end.
The world building was very well done and I really loved the creatures in this world. They were so well written it was easy to picture them, as well as that they had similarities to real life animals.
The characters took me a while to connect with at the start but I really loved the brother dynamic in this.
I do think it was longer than it probably needed to be but at the same time I didn’t feel like it dragged.
Also the action sequences were so epic and felt really intense which I loved!
I gave this one 4⭐️.
I think it’s because there is the usual tropes that we’re used to seeing. However I still really enjoyed it.
It took me a while to grasp the magic system in here but I think that’s due to it being new and a little complex, but I did get there in the end.
The world building was very well done and I really loved the creatures in this world. They were so well written it was easy to picture them, as well as that they had similarities to real life animals.
The characters took me a while to connect with at the start but I really loved the brother dynamic in this.
I do think it was longer than it probably needed to be but at the same time I didn’t feel like it dragged.
Also the action sequences were so epic and felt really intense which I loved!
I gave this one 4⭐️.
August 13, 2022
The Blood of the Spear is the type of fantasy book that will remind you why you love this epic genre so much. It is reminiscent of the traditional epic fantasies from the 90’s (particularly Wheel of Time), but still manages to include enough fresh and new elements that it will undoubtedly keep a new audience glued to the page.
This story starts off with a bang, which immediately sets the tone for the rest of the story. We mainly follow two brothers, both of whom have a very clear view of what they want their futures to look like.
The oldest, Kaiel, aspires to become a demon fighter, while his younger brother Darien wants nothing more than to become a sorcerer and join the Ciralys. However, their lives are brutally flipped on their heads when secrets about their ancestry are unveiled and suddenly they find themselves at the centre of a 3000-year-old battle. What follows is an action-packed adventure with high stakes, immersive worldbuilding, captivating prophecies and a cast of flawed, but very intriguing characters.
The main appeal of this story is without a doubt the world building. If you are a reader who likes to sink their teeth into a new fantasy world with a rich history and intriguing lore, then you will have a blast with this book. There are prophecies, noble houses, various fantasy races, daemons, millennia-long plots, multiple magic systems and just a whole lot of mystique and wonder.
You can clearly see the effort and care that has gone into crafting this world and I think all the hard work really paid off. This was an incredibly immersive reading experience and I constantly found myself getting completely lost (in the best way possible) in all the rich lore and magic.
Now, that is not to say that the other aspects of the book are lacking. The story is engaging, the writing flows super nicely and is very transportive, and we have a nice cast of characters that feels very well-developed. Seriously, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this series saying: Wheel of Time vibes, but without the infuriating characters. (Sorry not sorry.)
I mean, these characters were definitely flawed, but to me it just felt like they behaved as was natural for their situations and I was very intrigued by the character development that we got here.
Now, I wasn’t as connected to them as I maybe would’ve liked (what with me being such a character driven reader), but then this is only the start of an epic fantasy series, so I am hoping that that connection will come with time.
The only thing that I struggled with at times was the pacing. On the one hand, I really liked that the plot moves forward at a quick pace, because that made it easy to fly through this fairly chunky book. But there were some moments where the action scenes happened so quickly that I didn’t feel the emotional impact of them. That, combined with the lack of deep connection to the characters, made this story feel a little bit less impactful than I personally like.
Also, there were some other moments in between all the action that actually felt a tiny bit too slow for me and I found my mind starting to wander. This happened especially in places where the worldbuilding got just a tiny bit too dense and overwhelming for me.
All that said, I was never bored and constantly wanted to keep reading this book, so that’s always a sign of a good reading experience for me!
Overall, I had a really good time with this story and I am very eager to see where this story goes next. This was an incredibly ambitious and promising start to the Eye of Eternity series. I highly recommend giving this book a shot if you want some good ol’ epic fantasy.
This story starts off with a bang, which immediately sets the tone for the rest of the story. We mainly follow two brothers, both of whom have a very clear view of what they want their futures to look like.
The oldest, Kaiel, aspires to become a demon fighter, while his younger brother Darien wants nothing more than to become a sorcerer and join the Ciralys. However, their lives are brutally flipped on their heads when secrets about their ancestry are unveiled and suddenly they find themselves at the centre of a 3000-year-old battle. What follows is an action-packed adventure with high stakes, immersive worldbuilding, captivating prophecies and a cast of flawed, but very intriguing characters.
The main appeal of this story is without a doubt the world building. If you are a reader who likes to sink their teeth into a new fantasy world with a rich history and intriguing lore, then you will have a blast with this book. There are prophecies, noble houses, various fantasy races, daemons, millennia-long plots, multiple magic systems and just a whole lot of mystique and wonder.
You can clearly see the effort and care that has gone into crafting this world and I think all the hard work really paid off. This was an incredibly immersive reading experience and I constantly found myself getting completely lost (in the best way possible) in all the rich lore and magic.
Now, that is not to say that the other aspects of the book are lacking. The story is engaging, the writing flows super nicely and is very transportive, and we have a nice cast of characters that feels very well-developed. Seriously, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this series saying: Wheel of Time vibes, but without the infuriating characters. (Sorry not sorry.)
I mean, these characters were definitely flawed, but to me it just felt like they behaved as was natural for their situations and I was very intrigued by the character development that we got here.
Now, I wasn’t as connected to them as I maybe would’ve liked (what with me being such a character driven reader), but then this is only the start of an epic fantasy series, so I am hoping that that connection will come with time.
The only thing that I struggled with at times was the pacing. On the one hand, I really liked that the plot moves forward at a quick pace, because that made it easy to fly through this fairly chunky book. But there were some moments where the action scenes happened so quickly that I didn’t feel the emotional impact of them. That, combined with the lack of deep connection to the characters, made this story feel a little bit less impactful than I personally like.
Also, there were some other moments in between all the action that actually felt a tiny bit too slow for me and I found my mind starting to wander. This happened especially in places where the worldbuilding got just a tiny bit too dense and overwhelming for me.
All that said, I was never bored and constantly wanted to keep reading this book, so that’s always a sign of a good reading experience for me!
Overall, I had a really good time with this story and I am very eager to see where this story goes next. This was an incredibly ambitious and promising start to the Eye of Eternity series. I highly recommend giving this book a shot if you want some good ol’ epic fantasy.
August 29, 2021
4 1/2 Stars
Blood of the Spear is an excellent epic fantasy debut novel from Mark Timmony. He has all the ingredients: well-developed characters, excellent world building, different magic systems and plenty of action. Mix them all together, and Blood of the Spear is everything this reader wants in epic fantasy.
As a debut novel, Blood of the Spear, is a spot-on epic fantasy. The pacing is excellent. The action was spread evenly throughout, and it was page turning action right from the first chapter. There are no lagging parts where that seem like plot “filler”. When there is no action, the focus becomes the development of the characters, which is essential to any story. This makes for well developed, 3-dimensional characters the reader cares about. We also see what I read as LGBTQIA+ representation. Mr. Timmony also writes excellent, well thought out action scenes. From Kaiel’s trial to become a daemon hunter, the battle in the catacombs, the escape from Prince Alesandr and the travel across many realms, they keep the reader engaged and wanting more. The prose was excellent, all told from the third person narrative. Chapters often focus on one character, but it is never confusing. It gives the reader a glimpse into each character’s personality and what they are thinking. Chapters often left off on great cliffhangers, which is something I really love-those surprise twists at the end.
The Blood of the Spear, Book One of the Eye of eternity is a unique and wonderful debut epic fantasy from Mark Timmony. The characters were well developed, the prose was excellent, and the world building was on par with the best of the genre. As we get to know some of the characters that I did not mention, I felt that some are morally ambiguous and others will surprise you. I liked the twists and turns that the characters took. The action scenes were excellent and also on par with the best of the fantasy genre. The action was well paced throughout the book and keeps the reader on edge and engaged. The world building is excellent, as Mr. Timmony takes us through many worlds and cities. They are vivid and illustrated so well for the reader. The ending is fantastic and will certainly keep you wanting to know more. I highly recommend Blood of the Spear. I highly recommend it and I eagerly await the next book.
See full, in-depth review on my blog: https://bookandnatureprofessor.com/20...
Blood of the Spear is an excellent epic fantasy debut novel from Mark Timmony. He has all the ingredients: well-developed characters, excellent world building, different magic systems and plenty of action. Mix them all together, and Blood of the Spear is everything this reader wants in epic fantasy.
As a debut novel, Blood of the Spear, is a spot-on epic fantasy. The pacing is excellent. The action was spread evenly throughout, and it was page turning action right from the first chapter. There are no lagging parts where that seem like plot “filler”. When there is no action, the focus becomes the development of the characters, which is essential to any story. This makes for well developed, 3-dimensional characters the reader cares about. We also see what I read as LGBTQIA+ representation. Mr. Timmony also writes excellent, well thought out action scenes. From Kaiel’s trial to become a daemon hunter, the battle in the catacombs, the escape from Prince Alesandr and the travel across many realms, they keep the reader engaged and wanting more. The prose was excellent, all told from the third person narrative. Chapters often focus on one character, but it is never confusing. It gives the reader a glimpse into each character’s personality and what they are thinking. Chapters often left off on great cliffhangers, which is something I really love-those surprise twists at the end.
The Blood of the Spear, Book One of the Eye of eternity is a unique and wonderful debut epic fantasy from Mark Timmony. The characters were well developed, the prose was excellent, and the world building was on par with the best of the genre. As we get to know some of the characters that I did not mention, I felt that some are morally ambiguous and others will surprise you. I liked the twists and turns that the characters took. The action scenes were excellent and also on par with the best of the fantasy genre. The action was well paced throughout the book and keeps the reader on edge and engaged. The world building is excellent, as Mr. Timmony takes us through many worlds and cities. They are vivid and illustrated so well for the reader. The ending is fantastic and will certainly keep you wanting to know more. I highly recommend Blood of the Spear. I highly recommend it and I eagerly await the next book.
See full, in-depth review on my blog: https://bookandnatureprofessor.com/20...
September 4, 2022
4/5 Stars
I received a review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
A classic fantasy, with one adventure after the next. The Blood of the Spear is book one in the self-published series, The Eye of Eternity. It quickly pulled me into an intricate world, rich with lore, magical creatures, daemons, magic wielders, and warriors.
I had read Starbinder, a loose prequel novella, prior to reading The Blood of the Spear. Even in the novella’s short page count, I thoroughly enjoyed the world, lore, and main character. As a result, I was eager to start The Blood of the Spear.
For centuries, the Summoners strove to lead humanity to new heights but in their pursuit of power, they fell prey to daemonic possession. This led to war and left a broken world behind.
Three Thousand Years later, we follow the story of two brothers, Kaiel and Darien Toranth. These brothers are different in many ways and their differences in personality, and choices, along with their overall connection to the story made for interesting situations.
We’re thrown right in with a fast-paced opening, and Mark Timmony does an excellent job with keeping the reader engaged while building the world and introducing the characters.
This had a mix of likeable and unlikeable characters. The unlikable character was well written, in a way that didn’t cross the line into a hate-able character. I did struggle to connect with some of the characters personally. This did make it difficult to get invested in the characters, however their arcs, struggles and developments kept me intrigued. We also get a nice mix of flawed characters and self-discovery.
The worldbuilding was the star of the book for me. The world is complex, and rich, filled with a variety of cultures, different races of people, magical creatures, lore, Nobel Houses, prophecies, and magic. Not to mention the political intrigue that follows due to the varying magic wielders, Nobel Houses, and lands. Just one look at the map for the world of Athmay can give you an idea of how large this world is. It was easy to tell how much time and effort Mark Timmony put into crafting this world and the intricacies of its history.
The pace of the book felt like a slow burn in some areas, mixed with lots of fast paced scenes throughout. At 600 pages, this made for a chunky read with an accessible prose. I also appreciated the detailed Glossary at the back of the book (paperback and ebook) to help keep track of the various creatures, and terminologies.
The Blood of the Spear sets up for book 2 in The Eye of Eternity series. I’m looking forward to continuing the adventures in Athmay and learning more about the world.
I’d highly recommend this for fans of classic fantasy or readers who love intricate worlds. Overall, a spellbinding world, that left me theorizing.
I received a review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
A classic fantasy, with one adventure after the next. The Blood of the Spear is book one in the self-published series, The Eye of Eternity. It quickly pulled me into an intricate world, rich with lore, magical creatures, daemons, magic wielders, and warriors.
I had read Starbinder, a loose prequel novella, prior to reading The Blood of the Spear. Even in the novella’s short page count, I thoroughly enjoyed the world, lore, and main character. As a result, I was eager to start The Blood of the Spear.
For centuries, the Summoners strove to lead humanity to new heights but in their pursuit of power, they fell prey to daemonic possession. This led to war and left a broken world behind.
Three Thousand Years later, we follow the story of two brothers, Kaiel and Darien Toranth. These brothers are different in many ways and their differences in personality, and choices, along with their overall connection to the story made for interesting situations.
We’re thrown right in with a fast-paced opening, and Mark Timmony does an excellent job with keeping the reader engaged while building the world and introducing the characters.
This had a mix of likeable and unlikeable characters. The unlikable character was well written, in a way that didn’t cross the line into a hate-able character. I did struggle to connect with some of the characters personally. This did make it difficult to get invested in the characters, however their arcs, struggles and developments kept me intrigued. We also get a nice mix of flawed characters and self-discovery.
The worldbuilding was the star of the book for me. The world is complex, and rich, filled with a variety of cultures, different races of people, magical creatures, lore, Nobel Houses, prophecies, and magic. Not to mention the political intrigue that follows due to the varying magic wielders, Nobel Houses, and lands. Just one look at the map for the world of Athmay can give you an idea of how large this world is. It was easy to tell how much time and effort Mark Timmony put into crafting this world and the intricacies of its history.
The pace of the book felt like a slow burn in some areas, mixed with lots of fast paced scenes throughout. At 600 pages, this made for a chunky read with an accessible prose. I also appreciated the detailed Glossary at the back of the book (paperback and ebook) to help keep track of the various creatures, and terminologies.
The Blood of the Spear sets up for book 2 in The Eye of Eternity series. I’m looking forward to continuing the adventures in Athmay and learning more about the world.
I’d highly recommend this for fans of classic fantasy or readers who love intricate worlds. Overall, a spellbinding world, that left me theorizing.
November 25, 2023
The Blood of the Spear by Mark Timmony is a new epic fantasy, that will appeal to fans of the classic series.
It has a lot of the typical tropes, but does avert some of them as well, which made it feel a bit fresher, while staying comfortably familiar.
I liked the characters, though at times I didn't connect with them as much as I would have liked. I can't exactly put my finger on why, as they all did have agency and the dialogue was mostly well done, but something was missing for me.
The world is definitely a strong suit, with plenty things to keep the reader hooked and a well developed world. Lots of magic, politics, prophecies, creatures, races as well as different cultures and locations. So much to explore!
The plot and pacing were both engaging, though not always perfect. I did read the whole chunker in just a couple of sittings though, so it definitely managed to grab me!
It has a lot of the typical tropes, but does avert some of them as well, which made it feel a bit fresher, while staying comfortably familiar.
I liked the characters, though at times I didn't connect with them as much as I would have liked. I can't exactly put my finger on why, as they all did have agency and the dialogue was mostly well done, but something was missing for me.
The world is definitely a strong suit, with plenty things to keep the reader hooked and a well developed world. Lots of magic, politics, prophecies, creatures, races as well as different cultures and locations. So much to explore!
The plot and pacing were both engaging, though not always perfect. I did read the whole chunker in just a couple of sittings though, so it definitely managed to grab me!
August 20, 2021
https://fanfiaddict.com/2021/08/20/re...
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review. This the debut novel for Australian author Mark Timmony and let me tell you that The Blood of the Spear is a smashing success. Epic fantasy centered around a prophecy in relation to two brothers during a time of great peril. With fast paced action scenes, ancient magic, and the fear of evil from the past returning, this novel is sure to keep you on your toes to the very end. It packs multiple punches the whole way through.
Centuries ago the continent of Athmay was shattered by the war between the Summoners for control of the land. Summoners are magic wielders who can bring forth daemonic beings to fight their battles. After the war, the Summoners were all but extinct but Athmay still bears the scars and the daemons summoned during that time still roam free, but are hunted by the Daemon Hunters. In present day, everyone is so fearful of the Summoners returning that they great each other showing the back of their hands, lest the Summoners mark turn the whole continent asunder.
Kaiel is in training to become a member of the Daemon Hunters and during his initiation trial, he is betrayed and loses his place in the band. Wanted for his strength and courage, Kaiel decides to join the Bronze Guard for the protection of Prince Alesandr and to be close to his brother Darien. Darien is in training to become a Ciralys magic user when he is called away to search for missing mercenaries at one of the three citadels. The search leads the group into a dark cavern where a host of daemons have gathered performing a dark ritual. I will leave it here as to not spoil the fun but the story from here takes off like a runaway train and will not let you jump off until the end.
Let me quickly discuss one or two short comings with the debut as the rest will be positive. The prologue and parts of chapter one will be a little clunky and seem like something out of left field. I was confused but it will all makes sense later. The story is so fast paced that some scenes can feel a little rushed and the names of the creatures had me checking the glossary quite a few times to start. Push past this, the story will be easy to understand and the characters will drive in the winning run. Mark’s character are the shinning star with the different motivations, fears, and each one is distinctively unique. My favorite character was Kaiel and his fight to protect even if he doesn’t understand all of the implications of his choices. Also, the side character Sim is a lot of fun and his fascination with munitions brought a smile to face.
The story is more in-depth and complex than I am describing here but nothing overly difficult to enjoy. The writing style I found to be similar to John Gwynne in the smooth deliverance and things evolving organically. This is a fantastic debut novel for Mark Timmony and I look forward to continuing this series. Hopefully real soon!
Cheers!
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review. This the debut novel for Australian author Mark Timmony and let me tell you that The Blood of the Spear is a smashing success. Epic fantasy centered around a prophecy in relation to two brothers during a time of great peril. With fast paced action scenes, ancient magic, and the fear of evil from the past returning, this novel is sure to keep you on your toes to the very end. It packs multiple punches the whole way through.
Centuries ago the continent of Athmay was shattered by the war between the Summoners for control of the land. Summoners are magic wielders who can bring forth daemonic beings to fight their battles. After the war, the Summoners were all but extinct but Athmay still bears the scars and the daemons summoned during that time still roam free, but are hunted by the Daemon Hunters. In present day, everyone is so fearful of the Summoners returning that they great each other showing the back of their hands, lest the Summoners mark turn the whole continent asunder.
Kaiel is in training to become a member of the Daemon Hunters and during his initiation trial, he is betrayed and loses his place in the band. Wanted for his strength and courage, Kaiel decides to join the Bronze Guard for the protection of Prince Alesandr and to be close to his brother Darien. Darien is in training to become a Ciralys magic user when he is called away to search for missing mercenaries at one of the three citadels. The search leads the group into a dark cavern where a host of daemons have gathered performing a dark ritual. I will leave it here as to not spoil the fun but the story from here takes off like a runaway train and will not let you jump off until the end.
Let me quickly discuss one or two short comings with the debut as the rest will be positive. The prologue and parts of chapter one will be a little clunky and seem like something out of left field. I was confused but it will all makes sense later. The story is so fast paced that some scenes can feel a little rushed and the names of the creatures had me checking the glossary quite a few times to start. Push past this, the story will be easy to understand and the characters will drive in the winning run. Mark’s character are the shinning star with the different motivations, fears, and each one is distinctively unique. My favorite character was Kaiel and his fight to protect even if he doesn’t understand all of the implications of his choices. Also, the side character Sim is a lot of fun and his fascination with munitions brought a smile to face.
The story is more in-depth and complex than I am describing here but nothing overly difficult to enjoy. The writing style I found to be similar to John Gwynne in the smooth deliverance and things evolving organically. This is a fantastic debut novel for Mark Timmony and I look forward to continuing this series. Hopefully real soon!
Cheers!
May 30, 2021
Disclaimer no. 1: Mark is a dear friend and I had the privilege of reading some of the earlier drafts. I freely admit my bias and as I would with my favourite authors, will round up a rating. This is balanced by me being distracted looking for events, conversations and characters that either no longer exist, have moved or been changed.
While I miss some of these very much the work is now a more cohesive whole, a true epic in its themes, world building and characters.
Choice versus destiny, or is destiny just the consequence of other people's choices? This is a modern version of the epic fantasy, not afraid to use those tropes, even laughing at itself a little along the way. Will our heroes succumb to their destiny, will they deny it or will they choose to forge their own path?
Two brothers, two destinies?... I'm not going to detail the plot, if I had to work it out you should too. For me the core of this work is the relationships between all the characters, and how those relationships move and evolve and stretch out to other people and impact their choices and their understanding of their own and each other's motivations.
I now feel an emotional connection with the brothers. I need to find out and care about what happens next, the choices they make and the men they become.
Disclaimer no. 2: Meg is still my favourite character.
Five stars - a solid four stars + 1/2 a star to balance my own confusion with previous drafts + 1/2 a star because I love Mark.
PS: Did I mention this book is actually very well written.
Love Kathryn.
While I miss some of these very much the work is now a more cohesive whole, a true epic in its themes, world building and characters.
Choice versus destiny, or is destiny just the consequence of other people's choices? This is a modern version of the epic fantasy, not afraid to use those tropes, even laughing at itself a little along the way. Will our heroes succumb to their destiny, will they deny it or will they choose to forge their own path?
Two brothers, two destinies?... I'm not going to detail the plot, if I had to work it out you should too. For me the core of this work is the relationships between all the characters, and how those relationships move and evolve and stretch out to other people and impact their choices and their understanding of their own and each other's motivations.
I now feel an emotional connection with the brothers. I need to find out and care about what happens next, the choices they make and the men they become.
Disclaimer no. 2: Meg is still my favourite character.
Five stars - a solid four stars + 1/2 a star to balance my own confusion with previous drafts + 1/2 a star because I love Mark.
PS: Did I mention this book is actually very well written.
Love Kathryn.
December 19, 2022
Solid 4.5/5.0
This was one of only 3 remaining authors that have been on my short list the last couple of months that I wanted to get to soon as I could. I really enjoyed the first book I've read by Mark Timmony. I was chatting with a friend briefly when I found out he too was currently reading it. I really only had one major issue in the first half of the book which I'll mention in the pacing in just a moment. But overall I really liked it. I had a strong vibe like the Dragonlance Chronicles or Twins series. This is clearly due to the similarities (not copies by any means) with our brothers in this story compared to those in the DL series. Not to mention that relationship and those characters are my two favorites in the DL world. I think the big difference for me was even though there were some similarities between these two, The Blood of the Spear just seemed a bit deeper and more fleshed out.
The world building was done really well in the first book of The Eye of Eternity. Mark does a great job in describing our environments throughout the book making us feel like we are right there in the story ourselves. We also explore several different locations and cultures throughout book one, extending from small villages which seem normal at the beginning to very large cities later on. Not to mention a pirate cove and the deadlands where all sorts of monsters may dwell.
The character development was nicely done as well. I certainly found myself irritated by a couple of characters through the majority of this book but I feel that was done on purpose so we can see their potential growth at some point. The way our original party interacts with each other is rather comical and relatable at times. We also have some really interesting and entertaining reveals as we learn more about our characters and the world throughout book one.
The pacing wasn't bad. The Blood of the Spear was a fairly smooth and easy read for sure. The only part that got me twisted a few times in the first half of the book was the decision to refer to a character by name several times but also by title several times as well. This was the conversation I had with my friend who was reading as I was trying to confirm this was the same person or if it was supposed to be two different people. Other than that, the pacing was great. We certainly had some building up in the first half of the book but even that portion was still full of plenty of action or intrigue. The second half really picked up though and the last 20% or so was difficult to put down as things really took off from there. The ending was great! I can't wait to see where the story goes from here.
All in all this was a great read and I am truly looking forward to reading some more of Mark's works in the future. I do have my hands on The Eye of Eternity novella Starbinder which I'm hoping to get to early in 2023.
I'd recommend this to just about any fans of epic fantasy. The magic is familiar but still unique enough in it's own right. As previously mentioned I think fans of the early Dragonlance series would also enjoy this read as well.
This was one of only 3 remaining authors that have been on my short list the last couple of months that I wanted to get to soon as I could. I really enjoyed the first book I've read by Mark Timmony. I was chatting with a friend briefly when I found out he too was currently reading it. I really only had one major issue in the first half of the book which I'll mention in the pacing in just a moment. But overall I really liked it. I had a strong vibe like the Dragonlance Chronicles or Twins series. This is clearly due to the similarities (not copies by any means) with our brothers in this story compared to those in the DL series. Not to mention that relationship and those characters are my two favorites in the DL world. I think the big difference for me was even though there were some similarities between these two, The Blood of the Spear just seemed a bit deeper and more fleshed out.
The world building was done really well in the first book of The Eye of Eternity. Mark does a great job in describing our environments throughout the book making us feel like we are right there in the story ourselves. We also explore several different locations and cultures throughout book one, extending from small villages which seem normal at the beginning to very large cities later on. Not to mention a pirate cove and the deadlands where all sorts of monsters may dwell.
The character development was nicely done as well. I certainly found myself irritated by a couple of characters through the majority of this book but I feel that was done on purpose so we can see their potential growth at some point. The way our original party interacts with each other is rather comical and relatable at times. We also have some really interesting and entertaining reveals as we learn more about our characters and the world throughout book one.
The pacing wasn't bad. The Blood of the Spear was a fairly smooth and easy read for sure. The only part that got me twisted a few times in the first half of the book was the decision to refer to a character by name several times but also by title several times as well. This was the conversation I had with my friend who was reading as I was trying to confirm this was the same person or if it was supposed to be two different people. Other than that, the pacing was great. We certainly had some building up in the first half of the book but even that portion was still full of plenty of action or intrigue. The second half really picked up though and the last 20% or so was difficult to put down as things really took off from there. The ending was great! I can't wait to see where the story goes from here.
All in all this was a great read and I am truly looking forward to reading some more of Mark's works in the future. I do have my hands on The Eye of Eternity novella Starbinder which I'm hoping to get to early in 2023.
I'd recommend this to just about any fans of epic fantasy. The magic is familiar but still unique enough in it's own right. As previously mentioned I think fans of the early Dragonlance series would also enjoy this read as well.
September 8, 2022
I truly enjoyed this book! I came across the title through an instagram book blogger that I follow (who in turn had accidentally come across the title during a scouting amongst Amazon's new books in the Fantasy category).
The book has many of the features that I like in a good epic fantasy read. Interesting and relatable characters, good pacing, a new type of magic system and good world-building. The plot is a bit of a classic (two brother's, one prophecy, a world in peril) but that is OK. I was never bored and I never experienced any info-dumps. I really look forward to the reading the next book. I bought this one on sale for 0.99 dollars on amazon (the day I decided to purchase the book it was on sale, which otherwise never happens to me) but I would gladly have bought it at full price, it's worth it! Hopefully I will have the opportunity to get a signed hardback copy in the future here in Sweden :)
Non of the fears I normally have when reading a self-published novel came true in this case. I have tried reading self-published novels on several occasions in my life but I have always been heavily disappointed. The blood of the spear is the first self-published book that I can truly say I do not understand why it did not catch a publishers attention (I know from research online that the author did submit the book to several, though I do not know in which stage of the writing process he did this). I truly hope he now finds a good publisher and editor for the second and third books in the trilogy. Not because I think he will necessarily fail otherwise, but because I do notice stuff in his writing that he can work on to improve so he can match other master storytellers out there like Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson. Why is this important? Because this story deserves that. It deserves to be told in the best possible way because the plot/setting/characters are very good, and based on the first instalment the writing potential is there (hence 4 stars). I truly hope the author goes all-in and tries finding a good editor/publisher for book 2, because after reaching a certain skill level it is hard to improve something on your own without good qualified constructive feedback/coaching (I talk from experience).
Of course there are specific things to mention that I did not like in the book, but overall the good outweighed the bad (I just never trust a book review that's 100 % positive and mine tend to be if I don't watch it):
1) Like I said above I did not experience any info-dump but I did experience a glossary-dump, especially in the beginning (the learning curve for names of places/creatures/magic etc was too high even for me). I really appreciated that the author has an online glossary and map on his webpage :)
2) I didn't like that the only "wimp" in the group of main characters in the book is a beautiful blonde woman (too stereotype, but that's maybe just me). Also at times, one of the characters was just too annoying (you'll know which one I mean, but maybe that's just me too).
3) I hate that there is a spoiler in the book outline / plot synopsis: "When Kaiel loses his chance to become part of the legendary Daemon Hunters, joining the Bronze Guard mercenaries seems like the logical alternative. /.../" I would have preferred not to know, the first part of the book would have been much more entertaining since I wouldn't know the final outcome before even starting to read.
If you like the works of Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn), Chris Wooding (The Ember Blade, The Weavers of Saramyr amongst other great works) and Tolkien or the like you will enjoy this read. I've recommended the blood of the spear to my friends and family who otherwise read books from the genre.
P.S. I do not know the author, this is an independent and honest review.
The book has many of the features that I like in a good epic fantasy read. Interesting and relatable characters, good pacing, a new type of magic system and good world-building. The plot is a bit of a classic (two brother's, one prophecy, a world in peril) but that is OK. I was never bored and I never experienced any info-dumps. I really look forward to the reading the next book. I bought this one on sale for 0.99 dollars on amazon (the day I decided to purchase the book it was on sale, which otherwise never happens to me) but I would gladly have bought it at full price, it's worth it! Hopefully I will have the opportunity to get a signed hardback copy in the future here in Sweden :)
Non of the fears I normally have when reading a self-published novel came true in this case. I have tried reading self-published novels on several occasions in my life but I have always been heavily disappointed. The blood of the spear is the first self-published book that I can truly say I do not understand why it did not catch a publishers attention (I know from research online that the author did submit the book to several, though I do not know in which stage of the writing process he did this). I truly hope he now finds a good publisher and editor for the second and third books in the trilogy. Not because I think he will necessarily fail otherwise, but because I do notice stuff in his writing that he can work on to improve so he can match other master storytellers out there like Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson. Why is this important? Because this story deserves that. It deserves to be told in the best possible way because the plot/setting/characters are very good, and based on the first instalment the writing potential is there (hence 4 stars). I truly hope the author goes all-in and tries finding a good editor/publisher for book 2, because after reaching a certain skill level it is hard to improve something on your own without good qualified constructive feedback/coaching (I talk from experience).
Of course there are specific things to mention that I did not like in the book, but overall the good outweighed the bad (I just never trust a book review that's 100 % positive and mine tend to be if I don't watch it):
1) Like I said above I did not experience any info-dump but I did experience a glossary-dump, especially in the beginning (the learning curve for names of places/creatures/magic etc was too high even for me). I really appreciated that the author has an online glossary and map on his webpage :)
2) I didn't like that the only "wimp" in the group of main characters in the book is a beautiful blonde woman (too stereotype, but that's maybe just me). Also at times, one of the characters was just too annoying (you'll know which one I mean, but maybe that's just me too).
3) I hate that there is a spoiler in the book outline / plot synopsis: "When Kaiel loses his chance to become part of the legendary Daemon Hunters, joining the Bronze Guard mercenaries seems like the logical alternative. /.../" I would have preferred not to know, the first part of the book would have been much more entertaining since I wouldn't know the final outcome before even starting to read.
If you like the works of Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn), Chris Wooding (The Ember Blade, The Weavers of Saramyr amongst other great works) and Tolkien or the like you will enjoy this read. I've recommended the blood of the spear to my friends and family who otherwise read books from the genre.
P.S. I do not know the author, this is an independent and honest review.
November 18, 2025
I rate this a 4.25.
I went into The Blood of the Spear not really knowing what to expect, and ended up enjoying it a lot. The pacing is steady from start to finish—just a consistent, confident build that gives the world real depth.
The characters are honestly what won me over. They are young and very flawed, and normally I’m not a fan of young characters—but Timmony did a great job keeping me engaged and entertained, making them one of the most enjoyable parts of the story. Their constant questions, their bickering, the way they navigate and discover who they are—it all had me laughing because it reminded me so much of my own kids. There’s something genuinely charming about that kind of energy in a fantasy story.
The world is layered with detail, the magic system is unique, the prophecy threads are intriguing, and the whole book feels like the first careful step into a much larger tale. It’s a confident and engaging story that’s easy to sink into.
If you enjoy character-driven fantasy with a measured pace and flawed young characters, this one is absolutely worth picking up. I’m excited to dive into his novella Starbinder, which is already out, and I can’t wait to continue the journey with his next book.
I went into The Blood of the Spear not really knowing what to expect, and ended up enjoying it a lot. The pacing is steady from start to finish—just a consistent, confident build that gives the world real depth.
The characters are honestly what won me over. They are young and very flawed, and normally I’m not a fan of young characters—but Timmony did a great job keeping me engaged and entertained, making them one of the most enjoyable parts of the story. Their constant questions, their bickering, the way they navigate and discover who they are—it all had me laughing because it reminded me so much of my own kids. There’s something genuinely charming about that kind of energy in a fantasy story.
The world is layered with detail, the magic system is unique, the prophecy threads are intriguing, and the whole book feels like the first careful step into a much larger tale. It’s a confident and engaging story that’s easy to sink into.
If you enjoy character-driven fantasy with a measured pace and flawed young characters, this one is absolutely worth picking up. I’m excited to dive into his novella Starbinder, which is already out, and I can’t wait to continue the journey with his next book.
January 31, 2023
A fast-paced debut with incredibly deep worldbuilding, rich with lore and history, and authentic, flawed and relatable characters.
This indie fantasy tale follows a crew of characters as they journey through striking locations, find magical artifacts, meet various people and learn about ancient prophecies.
I really enjoyed my time reading the first book in this series and eagerly await news on the next book.
This indie fantasy tale follows a crew of characters as they journey through striking locations, find magical artifacts, meet various people and learn about ancient prophecies.
I really enjoyed my time reading the first book in this series and eagerly await news on the next book.
May 6, 2022
The Blood of the Spear is the debut high fantasy novel by Mark Timmony and I wish i had read this sooner. Two brothers. One prophecy. A world in peril. When Kaiel loses his chance to become a Daemon Hunter, he seeks out alternatives. He seeks out the Bronze Guard which puts his training to use and allows him to keep an eye on Darien, his younger brother, who wants to follow his dream of becoming a Ciralys magic-user. The continent of Athmay still bears the scars of the war between the Summoners. A daemon reveals the brothers connection to a forbidden bloodline and Kaiel and Darien find themselves on the run from the prince, hordes and a prophecy that could break the world anew.
The Blood of the Spear starts in typical fantasy fashion. There are numerous names, places, magic, lore etc. that creates a complex world straight from the start. As with most fantasy series, there was initial confusion with all of these newly introduced places and people but once things got heated up and started, these fell into place. Timmony's writing style was surprisingly soothing, making the complex feel simply comfortable. It can be hard to balance multiple POV characters outside the scope of the "main" characters but Timmony was able to differentiate characters emotions and feelings whilst also showing different perspectives of the same thing.
The characters are incredibly well-written and at times addictive. Timmony has wrote these characters to be completely relatable yet addictive. The dialogue feels authentic and the story itself is steady and entertaining. There was an investment in every part of this as Timmony conveys the relationships and world-building to stellar effect which truly cements the basis of a great fantasy series. I only wish that the story was tighter as some points it felt drawn-out and lacking those high moments I know Timmony can produce.
This was an absorbing read and I'm glad I picked this up. The journey was mesmerising and I look forward to seeing where this goes in future books.
The Blood of the Spear starts in typical fantasy fashion. There are numerous names, places, magic, lore etc. that creates a complex world straight from the start. As with most fantasy series, there was initial confusion with all of these newly introduced places and people but once things got heated up and started, these fell into place. Timmony's writing style was surprisingly soothing, making the complex feel simply comfortable. It can be hard to balance multiple POV characters outside the scope of the "main" characters but Timmony was able to differentiate characters emotions and feelings whilst also showing different perspectives of the same thing.
The characters are incredibly well-written and at times addictive. Timmony has wrote these characters to be completely relatable yet addictive. The dialogue feels authentic and the story itself is steady and entertaining. There was an investment in every part of this as Timmony conveys the relationships and world-building to stellar effect which truly cements the basis of a great fantasy series. I only wish that the story was tighter as some points it felt drawn-out and lacking those high moments I know Timmony can produce.
This was an absorbing read and I'm glad I picked this up. The journey was mesmerising and I look forward to seeing where this goes in future books.
August 31, 2021
A solid start of an epic fantasy series! The Blood of the Spear by Mark Timmony revolves around two brothers tied to a prophecy that could tip the world over. Loaded with incredible action scenes, excellent ancient magic and world building, and well-crafted characters, this book pierces one's interest from the beginning to the end.
The broken continent of Athmay still couldn't forget the ancient war between the Summoners; magical wielders who could bring forth daemonic beings to fight their battles. Even when these Summoners were now extinct, some of daemonic beings still roamed the continent which prompted in creating a group of people to hunt them: the Daemon Hunters. Kaiel trained to become one of them, but he failed his initial trial. He joined the Bronze Guard mercenaries instead so he could use his training as well as to keep close to his younger brother Darien, whose aim was to become a Ciralys magic-user. However, this led them to uncovering secrets and their connections to the Ancient War.
This novel had this old, classic fantasy feeling but it was fast-paced and easy to read. It had a rich and complicated world-building that took me a while to grasp everything. This was a pretty common thing for me especially when reading fantasy books. Also, there was a glossary that helped me with the pronunciation and who was who. What I liked the most in this novel was definitely the characters. Each had definite personalities and motivations which made me emotionally invested in them. They were flawed yet it wasn't hard to root for them.
Overall, The Blood of the Spear by Mark Timmony is a sharp, gripping fantasy read. Readers should better watch out for this since it is a promising series.
4/5 stars!
A big thanks to Storytellers on Tour for the review copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The broken continent of Athmay still couldn't forget the ancient war between the Summoners; magical wielders who could bring forth daemonic beings to fight their battles. Even when these Summoners were now extinct, some of daemonic beings still roamed the continent which prompted in creating a group of people to hunt them: the Daemon Hunters. Kaiel trained to become one of them, but he failed his initial trial. He joined the Bronze Guard mercenaries instead so he could use his training as well as to keep close to his younger brother Darien, whose aim was to become a Ciralys magic-user. However, this led them to uncovering secrets and their connections to the Ancient War.
This novel had this old, classic fantasy feeling but it was fast-paced and easy to read. It had a rich and complicated world-building that took me a while to grasp everything. This was a pretty common thing for me especially when reading fantasy books. Also, there was a glossary that helped me with the pronunciation and who was who. What I liked the most in this novel was definitely the characters. Each had definite personalities and motivations which made me emotionally invested in them. They were flawed yet it wasn't hard to root for them.
Overall, The Blood of the Spear by Mark Timmony is a sharp, gripping fantasy read. Readers should better watch out for this since it is a promising series.
4/5 stars!
A big thanks to Storytellers on Tour for the review copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
August 9, 2025
The Blood of Spear it the first book in a classic epic high fantasy, that will fit right into The Wheel of Time fans.
Filled to the top with witches, monsters, and other magical stuff. You are definitely in for a ride.
What Mark did a great job with in this one, is the characters. For me with many fantasy books I feel especially towards female pov characters with magic, that they can be super annoying characters. But here all the characters from the men to the female was highly enjoyable to read about. With multiple povs from both the brothers to their friends, you will get a great mix with personalities.
One of the things I like the best here is the magic system. It's so good, with so many possibilities in the future books. And I'm here for it. Due to that, my favorite character is probably Darien. With all he can do, non the less he's an idiot to be honest. But we will love him anyway.
With every pages being addictive and enjoyable. It was never a dull moment, and was flipping the page in excitement for more to come. This is a big and fantastic world, with many places that has different danger in every corners and new mysteries to discover. And the last 200 pages, perfection.
Can't wait to see what new and exciting stuff will happen in the next book!
Filled to the top with witches, monsters, and other magical stuff. You are definitely in for a ride.
What Mark did a great job with in this one, is the characters. For me with many fantasy books I feel especially towards female pov characters with magic, that they can be super annoying characters. But here all the characters from the men to the female was highly enjoyable to read about. With multiple povs from both the brothers to their friends, you will get a great mix with personalities.
One of the things I like the best here is the magic system. It's so good, with so many possibilities in the future books. And I'm here for it. Due to that, my favorite character is probably Darien. With all he can do, non the less he's an idiot to be honest. But we will love him anyway.
With every pages being addictive and enjoyable. It was never a dull moment, and was flipping the page in excitement for more to come. This is a big and fantastic world, with many places that has different danger in every corners and new mysteries to discover. And the last 200 pages, perfection.
Can't wait to see what new and exciting stuff will happen in the next book!
September 19, 2023
I have no doubt that fans of world building will love this book. But it went too deep into the world building too often for my tastes. I never got into the plot and was never excited to pick this book back up because the story was constantly being interrupted with world building or info dumping.
At one point there's a line in the book that says "Sim was already bored with the talking and had stopped listening." That line pretty much sums up my thoughts.
At one point there's a line in the book that says "Sim was already bored with the talking and had stopped listening." That line pretty much sums up my thoughts.
August 7, 2022
well done
A well written coming of age fellowship with sci-fi elements and heavy foreshadowing of the inception of the dark one all in one book. I enjoyed it.
Rating : 4.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Narration: NA
Favorite Line: Do not allow humility to guide you into passivity.”
A well written coming of age fellowship with sci-fi elements and heavy foreshadowing of the inception of the dark one all in one book. I enjoyed it.
Rating : 4.5/5
Cover: 5/5
Narration: NA
Favorite Line: Do not allow humility to guide you into passivity.”
June 5, 2023
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For more reviews, go to: https://wolfmantula.com/recent-posts/
MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.75/5
FORMAT: Physical/eBook Review Copy
🚨 I was given a copy of this by the author as a review request, to which, that did not affect my opinion in any way. 🚨
My goodness, this was such a fantastic debut that actually took me by surprise a little bit. I knew coming in that this was going to be good based on other reviews and word of mouth, but I didn’t let those other reviews or people affect the way I was going in to this. But wow, once I started reading, I knew accepting the review request was the right decision and that I was in for something spectacular. If this is not on your TBR, you need to add it. If it is, then you need to move it up. If you only do audiobooks, that is in the works, so add it to your TBR anyways. No excuses. ADD IT.
I have to start with the fact that this is a character driven story and that the characters are just phenomenal! I love a story about brothers, especially one that has seeds of dissension. I guess it’s because Kaiel and Darien remind me a bit of my brother and I who are two hard headed dudes that come to disagreements a lot and believe our way is the right way, even to the description of the two, Kaiel reminds me of my brother and Darien of myself, aside from the height. So to see that on paper was pretty cool to see in a fantasy setting. And then you have the comedic relief type of character that is Sim, who definitely adds quite a bit of flavor to the mix. There are other characters as well, like Savaani and Meg who are going to play a major role in what is to come.
“Hope, while necessary, is by its very nature a wish. Do not spend gold on what hard work will get you for free.”
This story was so good, Timmony had me in the palm of his hand the moment this started. It’s such a fast-paced and exhilarating story that just keeps building and building, delivering constant action with some hair-raising scenes that are both brutal and bloody. If you’re a fan of classic fantasy and classic fantasy tropes, then this is going to be right up your alley. Speaking of the tropes, there’s a part that made me giggle a little more than it should’ve, and it’s when the author uses a character to poke a little fun of his own story being a cliché of classic fantasy. One thing that I thought was really cool that he added in to this is that there is a planet that exists/existed in this world, that is in the real world.
Timmony does a great job of world-building, it’s very intricate and creates a picture that’s easily seen in your mind as it’s being described on paper, and you can’t ask for anything more than that. The only area I had an issue with, was that some of the names of people, places, gods and other things were a bit tough at times, and took a bit to get used to them. With that said, it didn’t take me out of the story, but it was something that slowed me down at times. I’ll say this though, with the fact that an audiobook is currently in the works, I am 100% doing a re-read of this once that is available because hearing the voices and some of these scenes deserves good narration. After sampling a few of Eric Bryan Moore, specifically The Federation Trilogy, I’m excited to see how he brings this to life!
For more reviews, go to: https://wolfmantula.com/recent-posts/
MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.75/5
FORMAT: Physical/eBook Review Copy
🚨 I was given a copy of this by the author as a review request, to which, that did not affect my opinion in any way. 🚨
My goodness, this was such a fantastic debut that actually took me by surprise a little bit. I knew coming in that this was going to be good based on other reviews and word of mouth, but I didn’t let those other reviews or people affect the way I was going in to this. But wow, once I started reading, I knew accepting the review request was the right decision and that I was in for something spectacular. If this is not on your TBR, you need to add it. If it is, then you need to move it up. If you only do audiobooks, that is in the works, so add it to your TBR anyways. No excuses. ADD IT.
I have to start with the fact that this is a character driven story and that the characters are just phenomenal! I love a story about brothers, especially one that has seeds of dissension. I guess it’s because Kaiel and Darien remind me a bit of my brother and I who are two hard headed dudes that come to disagreements a lot and believe our way is the right way, even to the description of the two, Kaiel reminds me of my brother and Darien of myself, aside from the height. So to see that on paper was pretty cool to see in a fantasy setting. And then you have the comedic relief type of character that is Sim, who definitely adds quite a bit of flavor to the mix. There are other characters as well, like Savaani and Meg who are going to play a major role in what is to come.
“Hope, while necessary, is by its very nature a wish. Do not spend gold on what hard work will get you for free.”
This story was so good, Timmony had me in the palm of his hand the moment this started. It’s such a fast-paced and exhilarating story that just keeps building and building, delivering constant action with some hair-raising scenes that are both brutal and bloody. If you’re a fan of classic fantasy and classic fantasy tropes, then this is going to be right up your alley. Speaking of the tropes, there’s a part that made me giggle a little more than it should’ve, and it’s when the author uses a character to poke a little fun of his own story being a cliché of classic fantasy. One thing that I thought was really cool that he added in to this is that there is a planet that exists/existed in this world, that is in the real world.
Timmony does a great job of world-building, it’s very intricate and creates a picture that’s easily seen in your mind as it’s being described on paper, and you can’t ask for anything more than that. The only area I had an issue with, was that some of the names of people, places, gods and other things were a bit tough at times, and took a bit to get used to them. With that said, it didn’t take me out of the story, but it was something that slowed me down at times. I’ll say this though, with the fact that an audiobook is currently in the works, I am 100% doing a re-read of this once that is available because hearing the voices and some of these scenes deserves good narration. After sampling a few of Eric Bryan Moore, specifically The Federation Trilogy, I’m excited to see how he brings this to life!
January 16, 2023
The Blood of the Spear is the 1st book in the epic fantasy series The Eye of Eternity by indie author Mark Timmony.
Blood of the Spear is a fast-paced book, with intricate world-building. From the start, the reader sees that the author dedicated a lot of thought, time and attention to every aspect of Athmay (the world of The Eye of Eternity series). Despite the book's fast pace and action-packed plot, the world-building manages to shine through and for me is the star of the show.
When it comes to the characters of Blood of the Spear flawed and lacking are the best words to describe them. As I already mentioned, Blood of the Spear is a fast-paced action-packed adventure fantasy book. Those types of books don't generally have long breaks between actions so the author can show you how the characters reflect on their actions, learn from their mistakes etc. It would break the pace of the book.
As I was reading, I felt like there was hardly any character development from start to finish for most of the characters. A lot happened to them during the course of the book (and I truly mean a LOT), and some of those things were deeply traumatic, however, (most) of the characters stayed the same throughout the book which was disappointing and frustrating. Especially since the world-building was excellent, the plot and writing engaging and the book was hard to put down.
Despite the lack of character development and disregarding my personal frustration with it, Blood of the Spear was an enjoyable page-turner, with excellent world-building and an engrossing plot that urged you to read on. An enjoyable, solid 3 ⭐ read.
Blood of the Spear is a fast-paced book, with intricate world-building. From the start, the reader sees that the author dedicated a lot of thought, time and attention to every aspect of Athmay (the world of The Eye of Eternity series). Despite the book's fast pace and action-packed plot, the world-building manages to shine through and for me is the star of the show.
When it comes to the characters of Blood of the Spear flawed and lacking are the best words to describe them. As I already mentioned, Blood of the Spear is a fast-paced action-packed adventure fantasy book. Those types of books don't generally have long breaks between actions so the author can show you how the characters reflect on their actions, learn from their mistakes etc. It would break the pace of the book.
As I was reading, I felt like there was hardly any character development from start to finish for most of the characters. A lot happened to them during the course of the book (and I truly mean a LOT), and some of those things were deeply traumatic, however, (most) of the characters stayed the same throughout the book which was disappointing and frustrating. Especially since the world-building was excellent, the plot and writing engaging and the book was hard to put down.
Despite the lack of character development and disregarding my personal frustration with it, Blood of the Spear was an enjoyable page-turner, with excellent world-building and an engrossing plot that urged you to read on. An enjoyable, solid 3 ⭐ read.
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