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Book 1 in the Brotherhood of the Throne series When Duke Thorold murders her mother, indentured servant Brenna Trewen flees to Kingsreach. Forced to live in the shadows, she’s caught stealing from the Church of the One-God and comes to the attention of Kane Rowse. But Kane is more than the Captain of the Kingsguard, he’s also a senior member of the Brotherhood of the Throne, a secret society that follows the old gods and was formed generations ago to safeguard the bloodline of the first king. And with the childless king dying, the Brotherhood is convinced that Brenna is the one prophesied – the one they have waited two millennia for. Despite her new-found magical abilities, Brenna doesn’t believe in the Brotherhood’s prophecy. But when the Church of the One-God tries to kill her, she’s forced to accept their offer of a safe haven. After stealing her mother’s knife from Duke Thorold, Brenna realizes that it is made of the same old steel as the ancient weapons of the Brotherhood. Is she really the one prophesied? And can the Brotherhood keep her safe from both Duke Thorold and the church of the One-God?
- GenresFantasy
348 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 5, 2012
25 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 18, 2016
While I enjoyed Unguilded more, this was still an enjoyable read. I liked the main characters, though I did want someone to lock Brenna in her room on occasion ;)
It was a fun S&S, easy to read, and I look forward to the next in the series.
It was a fun S&S, easy to read, and I look forward to the next in the series.
December 6, 2020
Maybe the book itself isn't quite as unimaginative as its title, but it's not far either. It's easy to read and I could "see" what was going on, but that's likely less thanks to the writing and more because it's such a typical setting. The world and action are what you'd expect, the heroes are suitably heroic, with perhaps a bit of an exception for the lead character, the villains are suitably villainous, without being over the top but also without anything to make any element interesting. It's like a writer of perhaps passable skill but with pretty much no experience set her mind on checking the basic boxes for a fantasy series, or for the first book of one, in this particular case, without daring to even try to get to the more advanced parts of the list.
As a plain, basic, typical early effort, it can't really be said that it failed at anything. However, if it was to be published at all, it should have first gone through a massive editing process. And I'm not referring to typos, missing or misplaced words or punctuation problems, though there are some of those as well, but to how amateurish it all is. The writing is rather messy and the main problems are the structure, flow and story and character development. It's all rough, rushed, pretty much as plain and typical as you can get, without any actual tension, twists, surprises, bits of wisdom, touching moments or anything else that'd make it interesting, provoke an emotional response or otherwise make it memorable. I have read worse, and at least it's free, but it's the sort of early attempt that more accomplished authors either try to bury or, if it was rejected and they didn't self-publish back in the day, may only, and probably with some amount of embarrassment, get persuaded to release after they're sufficiently famous for the publishers to know that their fans will grab just about anything with their name on it.
As a plain, basic, typical early effort, it can't really be said that it failed at anything. However, if it was to be published at all, it should have first gone through a massive editing process. And I'm not referring to typos, missing or misplaced words or punctuation problems, though there are some of those as well, but to how amateurish it all is. The writing is rather messy and the main problems are the structure, flow and story and character development. It's all rough, rushed, pretty much as plain and typical as you can get, without any actual tension, twists, surprises, bits of wisdom, touching moments or anything else that'd make it interesting, provoke an emotional response or otherwise make it memorable. I have read worse, and at least it's free, but it's the sort of early attempt that more accomplished authors either try to bury or, if it was rejected and they didn't self-publish back in the day, may only, and probably with some amount of embarrassment, get persuaded to release after they're sufficiently famous for the publishers to know that their fans will grab just about anything with their name on it.
October 12, 2020
If you want something generic, perhaps as an entry point to the genre, there's better generic fantasy out there than what Glatt serves up*. Thief (Brotherhood of the Throne) is as bland in every respect (characters, prose, plot, world) as its title would suggest, and it doesn't even have the decency to be a complete story. It's not even one of those first books that can sort of stand alone if you squint. It's short, but feels long because it spends every page using stilted dialogue and exhausting repetition to set up predictable, straightforward plotlines, none of which are resolved by the arbitrary point at which the story ends. There is a very vague and clunky stab at a character arc for one character around the middle, but that's really the best you're getting here.
Don't waste your time or money.
*I'd recommend Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy, which is both far more competent and somehow feels more modern than this, despite being twice as old. But you could go for the Hobbit (barely less diverse), or even utter tripe like Eragon or Throne of Glass and still get something better than this.
Don't waste your time or money.
*I'd recommend Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy, which is both far more competent and somehow feels more modern than this, despite being twice as old. But you could go for the Hobbit (barely less diverse), or even utter tripe like Eragon or Throne of Glass and still get something better than this.
September 28, 2018
I read a few free Kindle books, but this one has actually tempted me to read the next of the series. Fantasy writing that is nicely realized isn't always easy to find. Add some well rounded characters, and an original idea or two and I for one am sold!
June 10, 2020
AN EXPERIENCE THAT IS WITHOUT EQUAL!😍
THIS AUTHOR HAS CREATED MASTERPIECE, BY WRITING THIS BOOK!😍 I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND THE CHARACTERS ARE SO WELL WRITTEN IN THIS STORYLINE!😍BUY THIS BOOK NOW!😍
THIS AUTHOR HAS CREATED MASTERPIECE, BY WRITING THIS BOOK!😍 I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND THE CHARACTERS ARE SO WELL WRITTEN IN THIS STORYLINE!😍BUY THIS BOOK NOW!😍
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June 2, 2020Enjoyed this series. Liked the story. However there are quite a few typos, some easy to sort out, others that take a bit more work.
December 5, 2019
When I read this novel, it was free on Amazon which, now I've finished it, blows my mind. I read it in one sitting, continually promising myself I'd put it down at the end of the next chapter, then the next...
The two main characters are engaging and develop throughout the story. The plot naturally fleshes out a fascination world. Really a great novel, with believable interactions and character motivations.
I read everything through a feminist lens, and I didn't once cringe or feel like I had to suspend my feminist sensibilities, which is unfortunately uncommon. The female lead had personal agency and her capability was never sidelined to make way for a romantic interlude. The romantic subplot felt realistic and mature, and I imagine it will be further developed in the sequel.
My only criticisms are that a) the female lead was the only prominent female character (though it looks like that will change in the sequel) compared with 3-4 prominent male characters, and b) there really only seem to be white characters. I realize that most characters are technically race-neutral but racial diversity has to be made explicit to be present. I also understand the first book was set in a single, possibly racially homogeneous location, but that kind of monochromatic population seems unlikely for a capital city.
The two main characters are engaging and develop throughout the story. The plot naturally fleshes out a fascination world. Really a great novel, with believable interactions and character motivations.
I read everything through a feminist lens, and I didn't once cringe or feel like I had to suspend my feminist sensibilities, which is unfortunately uncommon. The female lead had personal agency and her capability was never sidelined to make way for a romantic interlude. The romantic subplot felt realistic and mature, and I imagine it will be further developed in the sequel.
My only criticisms are that a) the female lead was the only prominent female character (though it looks like that will change in the sequel) compared with 3-4 prominent male characters, and b) there really only seem to be white characters. I realize that most characters are technically race-neutral but racial diversity has to be made explicit to be present. I also understand the first book was set in a single, possibly racially homogeneous location, but that kind of monochromatic population seems unlikely for a capital city.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews