What do you think?
Rate this book
The Brand
Ciel is one of the last Exorcists; powerful, mistrusted warriors that fight with spiritually imbued weapons. Using the power granted by a mystical brand, she channels electricity into her mechanical arm to combat the vicious creatures known as the daeryc.
Reikah is a Spirit Speaker, a spell caster that commands elemental spirits through symbols drawn in the air.
Ciel and Reikah are on different sides of old conflict between their two nations, but the two women share the same goal: the destruction of the daeryc. When an isolated town is captured by one of the monsters, they must ally to survive against the deadly foe.
-------
"The Brand" is a fast-paced, Fantasy action novel with steam-punk tendencies. It is the first book in the Order of Luminan series.
Cover Art by Aranda Dill.
Reikah is a Spirit Speaker, a spell caster that commands elemental spirits through symbols drawn in the air.
Ciel and Reikah are on different sides of old conflict between their two nations, but the two women share the same goal: the destruction of the daeryc. When an isolated town is captured by one of the monsters, they must ally to survive against the deadly foe.
-------
"The Brand" is a fast-paced, Fantasy action novel with steam-punk tendencies. It is the first book in the Order of Luminan series.
Cover Art by Aranda Dill.
- GenresFantasy
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 27, 2014
2 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 19, 2014
A self-published book by a first-time author, The Brand was the alternate pick for the Sword and Laser book club in April, 2014.
Let's start with the good. This book had some really neat ideas. Ostensibly, it was a story of good vs. evil. The trick is figuring out who's "good" and who's "evil." The prime suspects for being "evil" are the daeryc, demons. While many of the daeryc in the book are unquestionably evil, there's Saryn, a daeryc who seems to be a bit more...under control. He finds himself in the presence of humans or norians fairly regularly, and doesn't kill them--as a matter of fact, it seems like he wants to work with them.
Then there are the norians. They are non-humans with blue skin and some seem to have magical capabilities that enable them to commune with elemental spirits. They use these abilities to fight off/kill the daeryc when a town or village comes under attack. They appear to have a government separate from a monarchy, though both seem to factor into norian politics. The norians who can communicate with elemental spirits are called Spirit Speakers. The norians are ostensibly "good" but they also seem to have a storied tension with humans. Reikah is a norian Spirit Speaker who wields earth powers. Her family--her brother--is looked down upon by the community (I honestly can't remember why) but he has still earned himself a spot high within the government. This makes them both outcasts from the "normal" norians but also not quite fully engaged with the monarchy/government. It makes them pseudo-outsiders in general. Reikah further breaks boundaries by befriending and working with a human Exorcist, Ciel.
The humans are also ostensibly "good" though the line can be blurred. Human magic wielders are Exorcists who also use elemental magic, channeled through a brand on their body, to fight/kill the daeryc. Ciel is the main character here, and her element seems to be electricity. The human governing body is a religious order of sorts, The Order. Humans also distrust norians, again going back to historical tension. Ciel is one of the last of the Exorcists, and there seems to be a changing of the guard, a fundamental shift going on in The Order. Ciel breaks the rules by befriending and working with Reikah. But she's also not "normal" even amongst humans, since she was an orphan brought into the system, and also has a friend who is half human, half norian (ostracized by both races). So while humans/Exorcists might be considered "good," The Order is definitely "evil" in its new form...
So there are a lot of good ideas going on here. This is why I'm giving the book 3 stars, and I admit I'm probably being forgiving because it's a first-time author and a self-published book.
The book badly needs a real editor. There are grammatical errors, spelling errors, and word choices that are frankly puzzling/awkward. Every time I came across a sentence fragment, I was reminded of how I (and most people talk). This book was written like an engineer would talk. There are some full sentences/ideas, but then there are some that are just fragments. It works when speaking, not as much in writing. When I would come across this, or an awkward word choice (for example, using the word "prolonged" to describe very long arms doesn't quite make sense), I'd get pulled out of the book.
Another problem that an editor could have fixed was that the book didn't flow well. There was a story line that seemed interesting with Saryn that fell off completely in the middle of the book. I'm sure the second book will bring it back up, but it seemed weird to spend the first half of the book with this idea and then have it go nowhere. There was a new character introduced at around the 61% mark. This character became somewhat critical to move the story, but felt like a weird leap from the first half of the book. Worst of all, the central plot line that seemed to run through the book wasn't wrapped up. It got kind of muddled without resolution near the end...and then a different plot line was started...and then the book ended. It really didn't make a lot of sense, and left me feeling a bit let down. I understand books that are setup books and needing to do world-building, but it's always a problem for me when books don't have some arc that comes to an end. The end here was not satisfying.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the 2nd book, whenever it is written. The note from the author in the end of the book makes it seem like it's a way off. If he ever decides to finish it, I'd be happy to beta-read for him. I like the ideas in this book, and think I could offer some help with the editing (even though I am an engineer, not a professional editor).
Let's start with the good. This book had some really neat ideas. Ostensibly, it was a story of good vs. evil. The trick is figuring out who's "good" and who's "evil." The prime suspects for being "evil" are the daeryc, demons. While many of the daeryc in the book are unquestionably evil, there's Saryn, a daeryc who seems to be a bit more...under control. He finds himself in the presence of humans or norians fairly regularly, and doesn't kill them--as a matter of fact, it seems like he wants to work with them.
Then there are the norians. They are non-humans with blue skin and some seem to have magical capabilities that enable them to commune with elemental spirits. They use these abilities to fight off/kill the daeryc when a town or village comes under attack. They appear to have a government separate from a monarchy, though both seem to factor into norian politics. The norians who can communicate with elemental spirits are called Spirit Speakers. The norians are ostensibly "good" but they also seem to have a storied tension with humans. Reikah is a norian Spirit Speaker who wields earth powers. Her family--her brother--is looked down upon by the community (I honestly can't remember why) but he has still earned himself a spot high within the government. This makes them both outcasts from the "normal" norians but also not quite fully engaged with the monarchy/government. It makes them pseudo-outsiders in general. Reikah further breaks boundaries by befriending and working with a human Exorcist, Ciel.
The humans are also ostensibly "good" though the line can be blurred. Human magic wielders are Exorcists who also use elemental magic, channeled through a brand on their body, to fight/kill the daeryc. Ciel is the main character here, and her element seems to be electricity. The human governing body is a religious order of sorts, The Order. Humans also distrust norians, again going back to historical tension. Ciel is one of the last of the Exorcists, and there seems to be a changing of the guard, a fundamental shift going on in The Order. Ciel breaks the rules by befriending and working with Reikah. But she's also not "normal" even amongst humans, since she was an orphan brought into the system, and also has a friend who is half human, half norian (ostracized by both races). So while humans/Exorcists might be considered "good," The Order is definitely "evil" in its new form...
So there are a lot of good ideas going on here. This is why I'm giving the book 3 stars, and I admit I'm probably being forgiving because it's a first-time author and a self-published book.
The book badly needs a real editor. There are grammatical errors, spelling errors, and word choices that are frankly puzzling/awkward. Every time I came across a sentence fragment, I was reminded of how I (and most people talk). This book was written like an engineer would talk. There are some full sentences/ideas, but then there are some that are just fragments. It works when speaking, not as much in writing. When I would come across this, or an awkward word choice (for example, using the word "prolonged" to describe very long arms doesn't quite make sense), I'd get pulled out of the book.
Another problem that an editor could have fixed was that the book didn't flow well. There was a story line that seemed interesting with Saryn that fell off completely in the middle of the book. I'm sure the second book will bring it back up, but it seemed weird to spend the first half of the book with this idea and then have it go nowhere. There was a new character introduced at around the 61% mark. This character became somewhat critical to move the story, but felt like a weird leap from the first half of the book. Worst of all, the central plot line that seemed to run through the book wasn't wrapped up. It got kind of muddled without resolution near the end...and then a different plot line was started...and then the book ended. It really didn't make a lot of sense, and left me feeling a bit let down. I understand books that are setup books and needing to do world-building, but it's always a problem for me when books don't have some arc that comes to an end. The end here was not satisfying.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the 2nd book, whenever it is written. The note from the author in the end of the book makes it seem like it's a way off. If he ever decides to finish it, I'd be happy to beta-read for him. I like the ideas in this book, and think I could offer some help with the editing (even though I am an engineer, not a professional editor).
August 8, 2017
the author is confused on the meaning of some words (eg exhumed)
April 3, 2014
What to say about this book? There's stuff that I like, the basic premise, the world that is presented, some of the characters, and the overall direction that the story seems to follow.
What I don't like it's the delivery, for several reasons (example spoilers at the end)
First and most important is that the book gives away too much, you are presented with a lot of information that is best hidden or revealed later - I've read time and time again that the most difficult part of the writing process is deciding what NOT to tell, what should remain hidden until later, or forever.
Second, there are some characters that act... well, out of character
And third, narration seemed to go around in... bumps? Like a broken engines it picks some speed, coff and seems to die, gathers strenght again, throwing you back and forth. Too many points of view... the book could do without Eliza's POV, and maybe even Malcom. Ciel, Reikah and Syran and more than enough.
Read somewhere that it could use a re-write, and I would tend to agree. There's a lot of interesting stuff in this world... but in needs better structure.
SPOILERS - About giving too much
Example 1: (spoiler)Syran, we are presented with this strange daeryc at the beggining, and we have hints of his interest on Ciel... but halfway in the book he himself reveals that he wants her help to bring down the Council... effectively killing all the mistery and suspense. He also reveals that he keeps a small kid in his home, killing the mistery as to what the "witch" has agains him. (/spoiler)
Example 2: [spoiler]Malcom reveals way too early that the Order is sending Exorcist to die... I mean there was enough hints from the "witch" that she had one of her bodies within the Order with enough power to send Ciel here and there, we didn't need Malcom to hit the nail and make so obvious. Could not other plot be devised to send her to Eliza? [/spoiler]
About characters
Example 1: [spoiler] and most aggravating, Ciel. Starts out as badass, no time for frills, I'm gonna killa ya Daeryc... and then she is all sweet and cozy with Scotts, and so far I buy it... but then she goes into bitch mode, and then into buddy buddy with Reikah, and then adolescen angst and unsure of herlsef... and back again... with so many changes I'd rather hope she has spli personality. There were times that I just hated her; also including here the trust she has - or doesn't havewith Malcom... the guy recued her, brought her to ther Order, were partners for a time, and yet just by a suggestion of Reikah she goes into full suspicion mode... the "betrayal" later would go down better if she kept her trust intact. [/spoiler]
Example 2: [spoiler] Eliza is a good example, fierce and courageous, she goes into shock by the loss of her beloved... and then into rage tantrum, and more rational and subdued... all in 2 chapters. [/spoiler]
What I don't like it's the delivery, for several reasons (example spoilers at the end)
First and most important is that the book gives away too much, you are presented with a lot of information that is best hidden or revealed later - I've read time and time again that the most difficult part of the writing process is deciding what NOT to tell, what should remain hidden until later, or forever.
Second, there are some characters that act... well, out of character
And third, narration seemed to go around in... bumps? Like a broken engines it picks some speed, coff and seems to die, gathers strenght again, throwing you back and forth. Too many points of view... the book could do without Eliza's POV, and maybe even Malcom. Ciel, Reikah and Syran and more than enough.
Read somewhere that it could use a re-write, and I would tend to agree. There's a lot of interesting stuff in this world... but in needs better structure.
SPOILERS - About giving too much
Example 1: (spoiler)Syran, we are presented with this strange daeryc at the beggining, and we have hints of his interest on Ciel... but halfway in the book he himself reveals that he wants her help to bring down the Council... effectively killing all the mistery and suspense. He also reveals that he keeps a small kid in his home, killing the mistery as to what the "witch" has agains him. (/spoiler)
Example 2: [spoiler]Malcom reveals way too early that the Order is sending Exorcist to die... I mean there was enough hints from the "witch" that she had one of her bodies within the Order with enough power to send Ciel here and there, we didn't need Malcom to hit the nail and make so obvious. Could not other plot be devised to send her to Eliza? [/spoiler]
About characters
Example 1: [spoiler] and most aggravating, Ciel. Starts out as badass, no time for frills, I'm gonna killa ya Daeryc... and then she is all sweet and cozy with Scotts, and so far I buy it... but then she goes into bitch mode, and then into buddy buddy with Reikah, and then adolescen angst and unsure of herlsef... and back again... with so many changes I'd rather hope she has spli personality. There were times that I just hated her; also including here the trust she has - or doesn't havewith Malcom... the guy recued her, brought her to ther Order, were partners for a time, and yet just by a suggestion of Reikah she goes into full suspicion mode... the "betrayal" later would go down better if she kept her trust intact. [/spoiler]
Example 2: [spoiler] Eliza is a good example, fierce and courageous, she goes into shock by the loss of her beloved... and then into rage tantrum, and more rational and subdued... all in 2 chapters. [/spoiler]
April 14, 2014
I really liked this book.
It is a mix of fantasy and steampunk, maybe with a dash of science fiction, in a way that may sound a bit weird but actually works. The only things that was a bit jarring at times were a few glaring typos and the fact that the author used the word drug instead of dragged which through me out of the story a few times.
The story:
It's set in a world with at lest three sentient species: Humans, Norians and Daeryc, where the Daeryc are monster- or demon-like. They have a war going with the Erians (a human kingdom where most of the norians seem to live) but are also fighting the humans in the Order of Luminan, although on a smaller scale. Mostly one-on-one.
There is magic of sorts in this world. Some humans, called Exorcists, part of the Order of Luminan, can channel energy from the Creator which they use to fight the daeryc. And some of the norians are Spirit Speakers who can manipulate the spirits in rocks, earth, wood, water etc which they mainly (these days) use in the fight against the daeryc.
We follow Ciel, an Exorcist with a prosthetic arm which she can load with divine energy and use as a weapon against the lone daeryc she faces/seeks out in her work for the Order. As the book progresses it becomes clear to us, and Ciel, that everything is not right in the Orders upper hierarchy. More and more Exorcists are killed on mission while it has been years since they last found a human that would be able to channel the Divine Energy. The Exorcists, humanity's weapon against the dearyc, are dying out.
This is the first in a series and it does end without resolving much, but I definitely think it's worth the read and I personally look forward to when the author has time to write the next book.
Oh, and the short story about Grendel the Goblin, at the end of the book, is really worth your time as well!
It is a mix of fantasy and steampunk, maybe with a dash of science fiction, in a way that may sound a bit weird but actually works. The only things that was a bit jarring at times were a few glaring typos and the fact that the author used the word drug instead of dragged which through me out of the story a few times.
The story:
It's set in a world with at lest three sentient species: Humans, Norians and Daeryc, where the Daeryc are monster- or demon-like. They have a war going with the Erians (a human kingdom where most of the norians seem to live) but are also fighting the humans in the Order of Luminan, although on a smaller scale. Mostly one-on-one.
There is magic of sorts in this world. Some humans, called Exorcists, part of the Order of Luminan, can channel energy from the Creator which they use to fight the daeryc. And some of the norians are Spirit Speakers who can manipulate the spirits in rocks, earth, wood, water etc which they mainly (these days) use in the fight against the daeryc.
We follow Ciel, an Exorcist with a prosthetic arm which she can load with divine energy and use as a weapon against the lone daeryc she faces/seeks out in her work for the Order. As the book progresses it becomes clear to us, and Ciel, that everything is not right in the Orders upper hierarchy. More and more Exorcists are killed on mission while it has been years since they last found a human that would be able to channel the Divine Energy. The Exorcists, humanity's weapon against the dearyc, are dying out.
This is the first in a series and it does end without resolving much, but I definitely think it's worth the read and I personally look forward to when the author has time to write the next book.
Oh, and the short story about Grendel the Goblin, at the end of the book, is really worth your time as well!
April 16, 2014
Mainly a 3 star book with some 4 star scenes in it, but for me the problem was not so much with the story as a whole, but in the wording of some sections.
A creature described as having prolonged arms. I am a fan of using the simplest definition of a word, so prolonged is normally used as a term relating to time. An adjective.
It can also be used as a verb to mean to extend, but come on, why not just use extended.
In addition later some fists seem to be extending the distance between some characters, when it seemed that the opposite would have been closer the mark.
I have seen others referring to some of the general descriptive choices as well. I think having other proof readers or an editor to point out these things would have helped this book greatly as the general idea was fine, though the daeryc just read as Derek to me and again took me out of the story slightly.
I would read the next book if it ever got to the top of my reading list, but I think that after this it will be constantly superseded by other titles.
A creature described as having prolonged arms. I am a fan of using the simplest definition of a word, so prolonged is normally used as a term relating to time. An adjective.
It can also be used as a verb to mean to extend, but come on, why not just use extended.
In addition later some fists seem to be extending the distance between some characters, when it seemed that the opposite would have been closer the mark.
I have seen others referring to some of the general descriptive choices as well. I think having other proof readers or an editor to point out these things would have helped this book greatly as the general idea was fine, though the daeryc just read as Derek to me and again took me out of the story slightly.
I would read the next book if it ever got to the top of my reading list, but I think that after this it will be constantly superseded by other titles.
April 8, 2018
The awkward writing and strange word usage kept dragging me out of the story. This book could have used another re-write.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews