The Black Crown

by John A. Douglas

It is the dying days of the Age of Adventures and the Orc Wars have ended.

The Crown Pantheon, authoritarian rulers of Allspire, slaughtered the marauding Orcs by the tens of thousands and returned peace to the continent of Evergrad. But among the many half-orc bastards left in the wake of the war, one was Prince Ragoth Brightsorn, son of the notorious Warlord Thorgoth and Seranna, Queen of Namaria, the sole human-ruled kingdom.

After seventeen years of isolation, Ragoth is cruelly forced out of his life of luxurious comfort and into exile on the eve of his royal Crowning before he can receive his gilded mark, the magic sigil that proves his royal birth. Unable to prove who he is or return home, he embarks on a quest to reach his father’s tribe, the Sunderfang, in the lawless wilds of Dreadmour.

But his venture is not taken alone. He earns the company of Cortland Lowhelm, a pugilistic human farmboy hellbent on finding a legend to fill, and Denith, a compassionate, if helpless, elvish goodwill worker. To ensure safe passage, they acquire the services of Val’Mora, a world-weary veteran adventurer down on her luck. Together, they cross the kingdoms of the Crown Pantheon with nefarious forces seemingly at every step.

The Black Crown is a coming-of-age epic fantasy packed to the brim with action & adventure, political intrigue, found family, vengeful dragons, dark abominations, and, most of all….ORCS!

“The Black Crown is a masterpiece of epic fantasy, delivering high intensity fun without neglecting the expectations of the genre.” – Katie Roome, Periapsis Press

A blistering debut, The Black Crown has everything you want in a hero's journey--dramatic world building, characters to root for, and twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. -Jeffrey Speight, Author of the Archives of Evelium

Genres: Fantasy

624 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 13, 2023

Reviews

[Martin Wakefield · Rating 1 out of 5]

This isn't a love letter to epic fantasy, its a suicide note
Dnf

[Jess Barnet · Rating 1 out of 5]

***Update 2*** The author harasses reviewers because he’s a man child who can’t comprehend that a random stranger doesn’t like his lackluster attempt at a novel. He also makes grammatical mistakes in his harassment, emphasizing that the mistakes in his work are par for the course.

**Update:** I’d like to start off saying that there are few authors as petty and spiteful as J.A. Douglas. Any criticism is a personal affront to him. He denounces the review as filled with lies and misinformation, but anyone with two eyes can see that Douglas has the talent and skill of a child who just learned what a story is.

Before I had posted my review, I had shown my friends snippets of his work in order to gauge whether I was being too harsh with my review. It was a general consensus that he was pat on the back and told what a good and special boy he was instead of told how to improve his prose and dialogue. His friends have led him astray, blatantly misguiding him. Or, worse, they are as ignorant as he is. While I am not this “Erwin”, I have only compassion for the man because, clearly, he was the only one to have cared enough to point out that Douglas’ work was subpar and needed refinement. I hope the pity sales were worth it for Douglas as his only support are the crabs that will tear him down when he does not do the same for them. He has proven once more that the indie industry is rife with spite, hatred, and, sadly, ignorance.

Now onto the review.

There are few indie voices as prominent as J.A. Douglas, and high hopes were given in the wake of his crusade against traditional publishing. For all his talk, he fails to walk the walk. From grammatical errors to poor dialogue to lackluster descriptions, it’s a comedy of errors that isn’t so much as funny as it is a disappointment.

Immediately off the bat, the reader is confronted with world building that would be better spent in the back. Clunky, childish names matched with an egregious lack of imagination make it pale in comparison to its clearly superior inspiration. The reader is both left in the dark and held by the hand with very little or overt description. In plain, it reads as a Dungeons & Dragons or Dragon Age fanfiction with very little understanding on how those worlds work and why they work in the medium that they do.

The dialogue is robotic with characters spending too much time on avoiding contractions when it would benefit them and using it where it wouldn’t. The style wants to be older without the inherent cadence that Shakespearean or, rather, medieval dialogue holds. The prose itself is an afterthought of description and action, failing to inform the reader of just who is talking, why they matter, and, more importantly, why they should matter to the reader. The first chapter is a back and forth between characters that don’t hold any weight and are used as exposition rather than any true storytelling. There lacks a significant catharsis, but more importantly it avoids the most important rule of storytelling as though it was a plague!

Indie publishing is riddled with big talkers and not enough doers. Douglas must learn what it means to move a story along before he talks his talk because his walk clearly doesn’t live up to his words. It was overall a disappointing performance, but it can be improved upon by a good editor who knows what they’re doing—something that a traditional publishing house would have on staff. Maybe Douglas should invest in one.

Edit: Apparently there was an editor.

Edit 2: Game of Thrones wannabe rather than Dragon Age.

[Bumex 4Breakfast · Rating 1 out of 5]

LMAOOOOO "ORC CITY" THIS IS ASS

[Janny]

This is a rough cut gem of a coming of age, action packed LitRPG told in the spirit of DnD, with a nerdy half orc protagonist prone to naiive mistakes and impetuous heart. This adventure tale has all the ingredients: intrigue, chases, dragons, monsters, travel through wild terrain, on a quest that picks up unlikely companions whose jaded experience and quick tempered impatience with youthful folly provides touches of humor and dynamic edges to the character work.

The read stands a few classic plots upside down and throws plenty of curves, and with the focus on an orc hero who powers through his adversaries with book learning and intelligence, what's not to love?

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an interesting book to review, because it literally gets better as it goes along. Here's how:

I thought the first hundred pages were just ok. I thought the dialogue was a little stilted and the descriptions a little much and the story a little slow.

However, then the story picks up in the next hundred pages, and I started getting more into it. By the second half of the book I was HOOKED and had to keep reading to find out what would happen.

The book is very much a D&D inspired story. There were exact points throughout where I could point out where the D&D elements were. This is not a bad thing, I love D&D stories, and if you're looking for that sort of thing, then this is an excellent book for you to read.

I thought Ragoth was a very relatable main character, and I really was invested to see what happened with his story. Some of it I pretty much saw coming far away, but some of it was a pleasant suprirse to read.

The standout character otherwise was Mora the Dwarf woman who joins Ragoth's company. She was probably the funniest and also the most fleshed out character to read in the company besides Ragoth.

Cortland was annoying throughout, but I thought he had a good story overall, particularly in the second half of the book.

Deni was...interesting. I'll leave that there.

I really liked the adventure of the book. It is very straightforward, but is refreshing to read a traditional style adventure that has some more modern prose.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Had a few issues in the first hundred pages, but otherwise thought it rebounded specatcularly in the second half to deliver a great ending. I'll give it a 9 out of 10 overall.

[lncvyz · Rating 1 out of 5]

take me down to new orc city where the elves destroy it and it's not that pretty

[James Harwood-Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreams of adventure & forging a brighter future are best not taken alone. The bravery & loyalty of companions will be tested. The gravest of danger looms.

Wonderful heroic action & witty camaraderie shine! Fun romp fittingly honours TSR D&D greats. Terrific!

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unoriginal, rambling, lacks character development. Such a disappointment, especially in a genre I usually love. Don’t waste your time.

[Jmortiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

And outstanding, burst-out-of-the-gate entry by Douglass that had me absolutely shocked I didn’t see those twists and turns coming. It’s a gorgeous coming of age tale in a fantasy setting with all the traditional fantasy fare such as elves, dwarves, magic, and taverns but this book gave me what I wanted. Sitting around a fire talking, bar fights, wizard-cities, slow burn crushes, and the ominous threat of really crappy leadership. I love these characters!!! What an ending!!

[Luís Magalhães · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m going to start this review in a radically different way from my usual ones because I want to give a PSA.

If I do my usual detailed review, you will likely be convinced this is a good book, and you may go and have a look at it without finishing the review. Then, you will read the sample, the prologue, decide that I was high, and drop the book.

You absolutely must not do this. Hence, my PSA: The prologue is not representative of the book's quality. This is a great book, and for the right reader, it will likely be a new favorite. But the prologue is atrocious, and I am sure it will make many stop reading the sample 10% and never buy/borrow. It made me drop it, and I count myself lucky I picked it back up on a whim and stuck with it.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about why the prologue is so bad, why the rest of the book is so good, and why you should get it and cherish it and, yeah, probably skim (but not skip) the prologue.

The prologue is, quite simply, a mess. It manages to be both overwhelming and meandering. It tries to be ultra-epic, the literary equivalent of a Rhapsody heavy-metal cover, introducing the aftermath of a massive battle whilst trying to describe the events of said battle at the same time. It feels like a huge exposition drop right at the beginning of the book. A couple of key points are revealed—I said it was a bad prologue, not useless—but overall, it overstays its welcome, and it will make you think the book is something that it is not.

It’s almost as if it was written by a wholly different person than the rest of the book, because as soon as the first chapter opens, and the author introduces us to exiled-in-his-own-family’s-castle prince Ragoth, there’s a considerable shift in tone and rhythm. Within a few pages, Ragoth endeared himself to me, and I had a good idea of the kind of character he was—although he managed to surprise and impress me throughout the book, as any great protagonist should.

Not only that, the action moves at a fantastic clip. Whereas some epic fantasy books—especially those on the larger side, like this one—plod through the first 20%, setting mood and world and characters, here we have barely met Ragoth, and he is running for his life, betrayed by those he trusted and faced with the prospect of being hunted by an ancient evil.

This is a coming-of-age story, then, but it is faster-paced and more epic than most I’ve read in the past few years. Ragoth’s growth never feels rushed, yet by the end of a single book, it feels complete. It is also surprisingly family-friendly. Yes, there are some raunchier references, and there is a bit of gore and violence, but nothing deal-breaking. I will pick up a physical version to read to my kid once he’s a bit older, much like I used to read the Magic the Gathering novelizations to my younger brother, years ago. In a world of grim darkness and dark fantasy, where every other novel wants to be Game of Thrones, this has a vintage cartoon feel, like The Black Cauldron or Master of The Universe.

Indeed, characters are a strength of author John A. Douglas. I can’t recall the last time I liked every character in a book. He’s crafted a band of adorable misfits (the book could well be called, tongue-in-cheek, “The Black Sheep”) of a kind that will leave you thinking about them when you aren’t reading the book, and well after that. They are all flawed, but unlike the dour grimdark fare that is so common in indie fantasy as of late, they are flawed in likable ways.

Douglas also knows how to keep his cards close to his chest. There are small mysteries, little odd things that keep you guessing, “Is there anything here, or not?” and he never fails to wait until the eleventh hour to pull the reveals, whereas a lesser writer would have pulled the curtain for the sake of their ego earlier on in the book.

It’s worth mentioning that I am a jaded reader, old as dirt. I have seen it all; I have read it all. I am no longer disappointed when I guess twists with perfect accuracy before they happen, because that is just the normal state of affairs. Well, Douglas pulled his twist much earlier in the book than usual — about 50-60% in—and it absolutely sucker-punched me. Well done, indeed.

Reading this book was fun. It made me happy. It brought me back to more cheerful times, times spent reading Dungeons & Dragons books and World of Warcraft novelizations. Oh, how I wish Activision-Blizzard would ditch Christie Golden and hire John A. Douglas to write the novel tie-ins in her stead. Perhaps then we would get stories that made justice to how fun that world and characters once were.

Having worked as a reviewer in games media for many years, I have a hard time not thinking about any media I consume in terms other than reviewing it. I constantly judge and rank—I can’t turn that part of my brain off. The Black Crown was quite a ride, and it’s the sort of book that just gets better and better. As I said before, the prologue almost threw me off. I was ready to DNF and 2-star it. But then, after the first few chapters, I was feeling it. I was teetering between 3 and 4 stars. But as Ragoth’s adventures progressed and the twists unfolded, I began seriously wondering if I would give it 4 or 5.

In the end, I can’t deny the book’s flaws. I’ve already dissed the prologue enough. The first half is a bit too meandering. There are a lot of lore dumps, and Ragoth’s situation and personality kind of justify it, but they fall flatter when coming from other characters.

I would give it four and a half stars, a mark I usually round down. I rarely hand five-starts; that must mean the book has become a favorite of mine, and is flawless in execution. Last year, I wrote a single five-star review. But reading this book just made me so happy, so satisfied by the end, that it deserves an exception.

Five stars it is, and a standing ovation for the author, for I have never read a better debut.

[Witcherie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Derivative fantasy slop by a white man who believes he is better than the industry with his subpar ideas. The prologue alone shows little care to in-universe etymology, let alone a racial allegory so overdone that there is no horse left to beat, only the rotten grass that once held a corpse.

Doesn't help that the author is a raging loser who perpetuates divisiveness in online spaces and upholds dangerous beliefs.

[Jim Scriven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional Fantasy Adventure

Haven’t enjoyed a fresh, new fantasy read like this to such a degree in quite awhile. John has created a rich and complex world, wonderful characters, and fascinating backstories that support a really engaging and fun adventure tale. Well-written and super entertaining. Recommend!

[Meishuu · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 10%

Author can’t tell the difference between “your” and “you’re”.

He also doesn’t know what fanfiction is going by some of his silly commentary.

[Joebot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid.

Felt like a classic D&D setting and a classic D&D campaign. Though the latter seemed to be a slight detriment, as the scope of the story was reduced to the scope of the 2 main POVs, who were often together.

But, ok, back to the good. This was fun. Found family, coming of age. It brought me back to being 15, and rolling dice with people who became life-long friends, to my own found family.
Lot of fun twists here. I was kinda upset, at first, with each big twist: "slow down, dear author, for this only book one."
But he showed an ability to concoct and execute further twists. Well done. Again, fun world and story. I'm going to buy book 2. I'm invested.

But, damn man, the colors on the cover felt very 2002. Step it up going forward.

[Tyler Bowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a different spin on the Fantasy Genre, a book told from a Half-Orcs point of view, this book (Book One in a Series) I believe should resonate with visual minorities in my opinion. As a queen is captured by a band of Orcs, she has a surprise in her belly when she is finally rescued. The novel is the story of her Bastard Son Rags, who is hidden from the world until he finally escapes from his room and sees the world for the first time as a young man.

You get to see human nature stripped bare, with its full prejudices from the masses, and the rare kindness from the most unexpected sources. As you watch Rags fall victim to prejudice and blamed for horrific acts that he took no part in, I guarantee your heart will go out to him.

Although there is the odd spelling mistake in the book, I found that it did not interrupt the flow of the story, or hinder the readability of the book. The plot and story outline is expertly crafted, with each event more pressing than the last. The best way I can explain it is Rags and his party are always finding themselves out of the pan and into the fire over and over again!

[Grace Dionne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Video review to come! This was a pleasant surprise for me, not having read much about Orc main characters before, but I had quite a good time with the book!

[Tim McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best revenge is a good read

"The best revenge is living well." - Great quote from an exceptional book.

Adventure fantasy as it was meant to be. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and not only was it fun cover to cover, but a few scenes in particular had me in awe. All I'll say is that cover (awesome as it is) doesn't do the dragon scenes justice. Brace yourselves.

One note: The first half or so was riddled with minor errors (mostly punctuation or missing words, small slips in spelling and grammar, etc.). I pushed past them for love of the story, though I could understand if others didn't.

Then, magically, the quality skyrocketed in the latter half. A few lingering errors remained, but hardly more than you'd catch in your average bestseller, and the writing kept me hooked to the end.

All I can say without spoilers is that this was an adventure that delivered. We need more stories like this. Keep 'em coming, John.

[T. Ratcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of fantasy with actual complicated political situations that don't shoe horn in modern politics. This is one of those books. While I can't fully agree with the decisions of the main characters It's still a believable and fun ride.

The book is well written and easy to get lost in. A first book any author would be proud of.

[Sandra]

I read this book as a part of SPFBOX on Covers with Cassidy's team, check out my full vlog of my 10 books here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irDBq...

I thought it was cool to follow a story with orcs! I just found that I struggled caring for more in the story than that so sadly this was not for me!

[Jeffrey Speight · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blistering debut, The Black Crown has everything you want in a hero's journey--dramatic world building, characters to root for, and twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

[Jason Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

EPIC!!!

I can’t think of a single negative thing to say about this book. I had so much fun reading it, from beginning to end, that it quickly dominated in my currently reading as the one book to read the most. The Black Crown is a story with so many well placed twists, and its timing with them is absolutely flawless even when you can predict a few. The pacing is enough that just when you think it will slow down it will build up a fast action explosion that will rip away any thought of walking away from each page. I thought I knew what kind of book I was looking at from its general ambience, but the turns this book takes.
And the mc…Ragoth! Before you ever think to dismiss orcs and half orcs in dnd, and use a run of the mill character backstory, I strongly suggest reading this book. He’s an mc that functions primarily on his intellect, and his biggest flaw is also his most endearing trait: his naivety.
Also, the character chemistry in this book is superb. This was a fun read from beginning to end, that made 614 pages seem too few. Awesome work John Douglas

[Arika Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great debut novel! This story kept me engaged, excited, and eager to find out what happened next. I enjoyed watching the characters develop and grow and deepen their bonds. I especially enjoyed the surprise towards the end and I am invested enough that I am annoyed that the next book isn't out yet!

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved The Black Crown. It's my new favorite D&D story. I'd recommend it to any fan of high fantasy, anyone into D&D, or anyone who just wants to open their mind to new worlds.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun! Found family, adventure, quest, magical beings, and so many twists and turns. The wrap up was so beautiful and then boom, another twist at the very end. I can’t wait for book number 2! I need a date for it! ❤️

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. I was intimidated by the page count but I’m glad I picked it up. It was great from start to finish. I’ve already recommended it to any of my friends into Harry Potter and LotR. I hope there’s more books in the future.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love. Hate. Friendship. Betrayals. Dragons. Minotaurs. Even coffee. All the ingredients for a good read.

NB: Low Goodreads score is not accurate as many review bombed the book due to a social media tussel.

Ragoth, or Rags to his friends, is the son of a queen and an orc chieftain who kindapped her years before being rescued. Raised in an isolated part of the Namarian Royal Palace with his half brother and sister, his only constant companions wee the books he read. After being cast out of his home by his siblings, and chased by a Dark Lord, Rags must make his way to Dreadmour, to the family of his slain father and find his future. On the way he meets Deni, an elf monk, Cortland, a hotblooded male fighter and Val'Mora, an Auroch warrioress who escourts them to their distant destination. On the way they meet many trials and tribulations, but Rags learns that the world outside the castle is a harsh place for everyone, particularly orcs.

The Black Crown is a story that plays the classic 1980s fantasy tropes straight but also subverts some others. It wears its inspirations on its sleeve but isn't weighed down by its love for the older post-Tolkien style of fantasy that is considered passé in 2025. It is easy to dismiss it as a throwback, but like any good book it has a heart at its core that makes it stand out from other fantasy. Good characters with depth and thrilling action helps as well.

It is also being set up as the first in a series, though it tells a story that is self contained while setting up some long term plot lines that may play out later.

I recommend this book for people looking for older style adventure fantasy where you see amazing sights, visit distant cities and have a protagonist carve out a destiny for himself.

[Erick Marrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an adventure

After a long for a away from fantasy, I came back and I picked up this novel because I followed the author on social media and YouTube and I must say what a book this is an adventure like the adventures of old characters you love characters you can really care for none of that Dystopian nonsense. There is darkness. There are horrible things that happens in this series or at least that is spoken over that happens here, but the book it provides hope and I can’t wait to pick up the next one.

[Tyler Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of Warcraft and D&D, this book offers a familiar yet distinct flavor, carving out its own niche without feeling derivative.

What Worked for Me:
The World-Building (everything felt vivid and distinct.)

What Didn’t Work for Me:
The Pacing (specifically in the final third of the book.)

Overall, The Black Crown was an enjoyable read.

[Melinda Zavala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done!

This was a very well written book with a good storyline character development adult themes. I'm looking forward to the next book. I can't wait to read it

[Ryan Lehman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic read for any fan of high fantasy

Finally got around to finishing! That had to be one of the longest books I've read in a long time. But, wow what a story! Well done!