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The Heartstrike Chronicles #1
Atlantis Fallen
A city hidden for five thousand years.
A man so ancient his early history is lost to time.
A woman who has nothing to lose...
Lorhen, oldest and most ruthless of the immortal Timeless, put aside the sword long ago for a quiet life. But peace doesn't last forever, especially for a man whose age can be counted in epochs, and the mortal life he's built unravels as the Keepers, a society of historians who record Timeless lives, learn that he's been hiding in their midst.
Then an archaeologist's claims of finding Atlantis brings back millennia-old memories, and Lorhen is drawn unwillingly into intrigues aeons in the making—and deadly enough that he may yet face the heartstrike blow that will unleash his power on the world….
A man so ancient his early history is lost to time.
A woman who has nothing to lose...
Lorhen, oldest and most ruthless of the immortal Timeless, put aside the sword long ago for a quiet life. But peace doesn't last forever, especially for a man whose age can be counted in epochs, and the mortal life he's built unravels as the Keepers, a society of historians who record Timeless lives, learn that he's been hiding in their midst.
Then an archaeologist's claims of finding Atlantis brings back millennia-old memories, and Lorhen is drawn unwillingly into intrigues aeons in the making—and deadly enough that he may yet face the heartstrike blow that will unleash his power on the world….
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 5, 2016
47 people are currently reading
267 people want to read
About the author
C.E. Murphy
97 books1,797 followersCE Murphy began writing around age six, when she submitted three poems to a school publication. The teacher producing the magazine selected (inevitably) the one she thought was by far the worst, but also told her–a six year old kid–to keep writing, which she has. She has also held the usual grab-bag of jobs usually seen in an authorial biography, including public library volunteer (at ages 9 and 10; it’s clear she was doomed to a career involving books), archival assistant, cannery worker, and web designer. Writing books is better.
She was born and raised in Alaska, and now lives with her family in her ancestral homeland of Ireland.
She also writes paranormal romance as Murphy Lawless and cozy mysteries as Catie Murphy.
She was born and raised in Alaska, and now lives with her family in her ancestral homeland of Ireland.
She also writes paranormal romance as Murphy Lawless and cozy mysteries as Catie Murphy.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 15, 2017
Does anybody recognize this guy?
What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say?
There can be only one
You Highlander geeks know where I'm going.
It's going to take me a while to get past my disappointment. I expected better from C.E. Shestole borrowed the cannon for The MC's foundation straight out Highlander. She added a couple small details of her own, but for the most part it's all there;Maybe it's intended as an homage, but it left me cold.
I don't think it was just the fact that I objected to the foundation for the story that left me disappointed. I didn't like the way it was structured either. The story sort of starts in the middle. Setting up an interesting premise. Then it starts jumping back and forth alternately flashing to the past to fill in the missing years then skipping forward to dole out a few current details to inch the story forward. It felt like more time is devoted to the back story than the actual story. And while how they got to where they are presently is good to know, It was pretty boring. And I think she could have done better with less.
What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say?
There can be only one
You Highlander geeks know where I'm going.
It's going to take me a while to get past my disappointment. I expected better from C.E. She
I don't think it was just the fact that I objected to the foundation for the story that left me disappointed. I didn't like the way it was structured either. The story sort of starts in the middle. Setting up an interesting premise. Then it starts jumping back and forth alternately flashing to the past to fill in the missing years then skipping forward to dole out a few current details to inch the story forward. It felt like more time is devoted to the back story than the actual story. And while how they got to where they are presently is good to know, It was pretty boring. And I think she could have done better with less.
January 23, 2017
As other reviewers have pointed out, this is really just a Highlander fanfic with the names changed. Really, it’s unnecessary for me to point out the many, many similarities in the world, characters, and backstory. Anyone familiar with Highlander: The Series will be able to spot them immediately and anyone unfamiliar with that series probably doesn’t care.
In addition to everything about Immortals, Watchers, and the individual characters being the same except for some name changes and occasional appearance differences, at times the story blatantly and directly references Highlander itself. There’s a bit where Methos/Lohren mentions something called a Lazarus Stone, which he then immediately admits doesn’t resurrect anyone, only keeps them alive, “But Methuselah Stone was taken, and I had to call it something.” The Methuselah Stone is an actual item from the Highlander show, which Methos went after at one point.
The author even has a blog post on her website where she refers to the original world of this story and filing off serial numbers. So, it’s not like she’s lying about it being totally fresh. Though the job she did of disguising it is basically slapping plastic mustaches on the characters.
So I knew going in that it’s fanfic (from seeing the reviews), and that’s actually part of what drew me to this book. I was a fan of Highlander, and Methos was my favorite character, so reading a book that was straight-up Highlander fanfic (with an Atlantis twist) sounded fun. My question was whether it was a true Highlander fanfic (meaning it uses established characters, world, and backstory and moves forward, telling a new story and throwing new twists and situations at us) or just a Highlander ripoff (meaning it retells all the same plot points as Highlander without going anywhere new and interesting with it).
Fortunately, it’s the former. I went into this thinking of it as Highlander fanfic, and as such, it was really pretty good. I’ll use Highlander terms to talk about it, since that’s obviously what the terms originally were anyway, except in cases where the author brought in actually new concepts/characters. And since the Joe character is a woman in this story, I’ll call her Jo.
This story takes place a few months after an altercation with rogue Watchers who wanted to find a magic rock to make themselves immortal, wherein Methos was ‘killed’. Jo, having witnessed this, now knows that this guy she’s been working with for a decade is one of the very people they’re studying. Worse, her other friend/subject, Duncan, knew about this all along. It’s a few months later now, and Jo’s still a bit sore about the whole thing, though she’s getting over it because they’re both so darn charming. Now, in the actual Highlander story, IIRC (it’s been a while since I watched the show), the news of Adam Pierson being Methos was spread around the Watchers pretty quickly after this event. In this story, however, the news hasn’t spread and Jo is still the only one within the Watchers who knows. In the first few chapters, she and Methos concoct a plan for him to be ‘killed’ in some dramatic way that all the other Watchers will see, then he’ll pretend to be shocked at this ‘first death’, thus keeping the secret that he’s the legendary Methos. I thought that was a nice way to play it, and a more interesting direction than the show actually took. (Unfortunately, the Atlantis storyline comes into play before their plan can really get off the ground, so that potential storyline is pretty much dropped. Since this is supposedly the first in a series, I’m hoping it gets picked up again later.)
The additional backstory is that way, way back in the day, Methos had an Atlantean fiancée who ‘went down with the ship’ and so he doesn’t know she’s still alive. Bringing in an OC with that kind of connection to Methos, as well as bringing in the additional Atlantis angle, added much of the original content of the story. This is the kind of stuff that I like to see in a fanfic (and what made it proper fanfic as opposed to merely a ripoff). Another thing I liked to see was the expansion/explanation (or in some cases, welcome changes) to the underlying lore of Highlander, which was enough to help make it more cohesive without changing it so much that it was no longer recognizably Highlander.
The mythology of Highlander is not exactly air-tight and logical. There is a lot of room for improvement, and this author makes a lot of small changes to tighten and expand that mythology in ways that I thought were quite good.
This series is called Heartstrike, and that’s a reference to one of the new bits of mythology, which is that before one Immortal kills another Immortal by taking their head, he must stab him through the heart with what they call a Heartstrike blade. (Apparently this isn’t a specific type of weapon, just any knife used for this purpose.) Only then is the power contained within that Immortal transferred to the other Immortal upon decapitation. Without the Heartstrike, the power simply releases into the world, and it’s theorized (apparently by some within the Watchers) that this released power is where new Immortals come from.
In a twist I found particularly amusing, Methos ends up accidentally inspiring the creation of the Watchers. I also liked how the author gave her own answer to the question, “So what if they do fight on holy ground?”
I did, however, think the book would have been better if she’d cut out the Four Horsemen part of the story when she converted it into an ‘original’ story. It was unnecessary, didn’t mesh well with what we saw of him in Atlantis, and was one of the way-too-obvious Highlander parts. She didn’t even change Cassandra’s name, for crying out loud. It just really didn’t add anything or help and it should have been excised.
The majority of the book takes place in the past, with Methos and Ghan (his OC Atlantean fiancée) in Atlantis. That part was interesting, but after the scenes at the beginning in the present time, I kinda kept wishing they’d get back to the present storyline. I’m not really sure if there was a way she could have written it that I would have liked better, though. It’s always tricky when you’ve got significant backstory as well as present story. The backstory parts did have quite a few OCs (that’s original characters, characters who aren’t Highlander characters), and I liked all of them (except the antagonist, but I rarely like antagonists). One thing that I was impressed with was the emotional impact of the destruction of Atlantis. Even though you know it’s coming from the very beginning, it’s still climactic and wrenching when it happens (largely because of the deaths of some of those OCs). So that was well done.
Some of the best scenes, I thought, were the ones showing the friendship between Methos, Duncan, and Jo. Having Joe reimagined as a black woman (still a middle-aged vet) provided an opportunity for some flirty joking, and Duncan’s teasing of Methos plays much better when unencumbered by Adrian Paul’s poor acting. I thought this trio worked very well to provide humor as well as to humanize the story.
There are some parts that could have used some fact-checking. In the beginning, Methos asks Jo for some unhealthy breakfast food, and she points him to eggs and bacon. While bacon isn’t exactly healthy, when eaten sparingly it can be a contributing part of a healthy diet, and eggs are hands-down one of the healthiest foods you can eat. And later, Methos feels uncomfortable in an all-pink hotel room and his 5,000-year-old Atlantean ex-girlfriend teases him because it’s girly—despite the fact that pink only became thought of as a ‘girly’ color in the 20th century, so I really doubt it would be engrained enough in either of them to think anything of it at all.
I got a free review copy of the audiobook from Audible. The narrator does a good job. There were times when I wasn’t sure which character was talking, but for the most part I’d say: didn’t love him, didn’t hate him, the narration was perfectly serviceable. Though of course I do wish they’d gotten Peter Wingfield to narrate because as long as you’re publishing Methos fanfic, you might as well try to get the actor who played Methos to narrate it.
Okay, so . . . like I said, pretty good Highlander fanfic. I enjoyed it as such. However, I do still have some mixed feelings about it being published as an original novel. The fanficcer side of me thinks the author should have had more respect for the original fandom and for fanfic as an art form and simply put it up on the internet in its original form, to be enjoyed for free as fanfic should be. The novelist side of me thinks it’s pretty exciting how authors can get away with such blatant copyright infringement with the barest, most surface of changes and become free to make money off of (and possibly reach a wider audience with) a story about other people’s worlds and characters, at least as long as there’s enough new, original content to make the story its own thing (though new, original content is a requirement for any fanfic to be considered good even as fanfic). And as a reader and semi-Highlander-fan who wishes Highlander was public domain because the people who own it haven’t really ever done it justice, I kinda wish the author (and everyone else) was free to simply publish it as the Highlander fanfic it obviously is, without the need for the fake mustaches.
In addition to everything about Immortals, Watchers, and the individual characters being the same except for some name changes and occasional appearance differences, at times the story blatantly and directly references Highlander itself. There’s a bit where Methos/Lohren mentions something called a Lazarus Stone, which he then immediately admits doesn’t resurrect anyone, only keeps them alive, “But Methuselah Stone was taken, and I had to call it something.” The Methuselah Stone is an actual item from the Highlander show, which Methos went after at one point.
The author even has a blog post on her website where she refers to the original world of this story and filing off serial numbers. So, it’s not like she’s lying about it being totally fresh. Though the job she did of disguising it is basically slapping plastic mustaches on the characters.
So I knew going in that it’s fanfic (from seeing the reviews), and that’s actually part of what drew me to this book. I was a fan of Highlander, and Methos was my favorite character, so reading a book that was straight-up Highlander fanfic (with an Atlantis twist) sounded fun. My question was whether it was a true Highlander fanfic (meaning it uses established characters, world, and backstory and moves forward, telling a new story and throwing new twists and situations at us) or just a Highlander ripoff (meaning it retells all the same plot points as Highlander without going anywhere new and interesting with it).
Fortunately, it’s the former. I went into this thinking of it as Highlander fanfic, and as such, it was really pretty good. I’ll use Highlander terms to talk about it, since that’s obviously what the terms originally were anyway, except in cases where the author brought in actually new concepts/characters. And since the Joe character is a woman in this story, I’ll call her Jo.
This story takes place a few months after an altercation with rogue Watchers who wanted to find a magic rock to make themselves immortal, wherein Methos was ‘killed’. Jo, having witnessed this, now knows that this guy she’s been working with for a decade is one of the very people they’re studying. Worse, her other friend/subject, Duncan, knew about this all along. It’s a few months later now, and Jo’s still a bit sore about the whole thing, though she’s getting over it because they’re both so darn charming. Now, in the actual Highlander story, IIRC (it’s been a while since I watched the show), the news of Adam Pierson being Methos was spread around the Watchers pretty quickly after this event. In this story, however, the news hasn’t spread and Jo is still the only one within the Watchers who knows. In the first few chapters, she and Methos concoct a plan for him to be ‘killed’ in some dramatic way that all the other Watchers will see, then he’ll pretend to be shocked at this ‘first death’, thus keeping the secret that he’s the legendary Methos. I thought that was a nice way to play it, and a more interesting direction than the show actually took. (Unfortunately, the Atlantis storyline comes into play before their plan can really get off the ground, so that potential storyline is pretty much dropped. Since this is supposedly the first in a series, I’m hoping it gets picked up again later.)
The additional backstory is that way, way back in the day, Methos had an Atlantean fiancée who ‘went down with the ship’ and so he doesn’t know she’s still alive. Bringing in an OC with that kind of connection to Methos, as well as bringing in the additional Atlantis angle, added much of the original content of the story. This is the kind of stuff that I like to see in a fanfic (and what made it proper fanfic as opposed to merely a ripoff). Another thing I liked to see was the expansion/explanation (or in some cases, welcome changes) to the underlying lore of Highlander, which was enough to help make it more cohesive without changing it so much that it was no longer recognizably Highlander.
The mythology of Highlander is not exactly air-tight and logical. There is a lot of room for improvement, and this author makes a lot of small changes to tighten and expand that mythology in ways that I thought were quite good.
This series is called Heartstrike, and that’s a reference to one of the new bits of mythology, which is that before one Immortal kills another Immortal by taking their head, he must stab him through the heart with what they call a Heartstrike blade. (Apparently this isn’t a specific type of weapon, just any knife used for this purpose.) Only then is the power contained within that Immortal transferred to the other Immortal upon decapitation. Without the Heartstrike, the power simply releases into the world, and it’s theorized (apparently by some within the Watchers) that this released power is where new Immortals come from.
In a twist I found particularly amusing, Methos ends up accidentally inspiring the creation of the Watchers. I also liked how the author gave her own answer to the question, “So what if they do fight on holy ground?”
I did, however, think the book would have been better if she’d cut out the Four Horsemen part of the story when she converted it into an ‘original’ story. It was unnecessary, didn’t mesh well with what we saw of him in Atlantis, and was one of the way-too-obvious Highlander parts. She didn’t even change Cassandra’s name, for crying out loud. It just really didn’t add anything or help and it should have been excised.
The majority of the book takes place in the past, with Methos and Ghan (his OC Atlantean fiancée) in Atlantis. That part was interesting, but after the scenes at the beginning in the present time, I kinda kept wishing they’d get back to the present storyline. I’m not really sure if there was a way she could have written it that I would have liked better, though. It’s always tricky when you’ve got significant backstory as well as present story. The backstory parts did have quite a few OCs (that’s original characters, characters who aren’t Highlander characters), and I liked all of them (except the antagonist, but I rarely like antagonists). One thing that I was impressed with was the emotional impact of the destruction of Atlantis. Even though you know it’s coming from the very beginning, it’s still climactic and wrenching when it happens (largely because of the deaths of some of those OCs). So that was well done.
Some of the best scenes, I thought, were the ones showing the friendship between Methos, Duncan, and Jo. Having Joe reimagined as a black woman (still a middle-aged vet) provided an opportunity for some flirty joking, and Duncan’s teasing of Methos plays much better when unencumbered by Adrian Paul’s poor acting. I thought this trio worked very well to provide humor as well as to humanize the story.
There are some parts that could have used some fact-checking. In the beginning, Methos asks Jo for some unhealthy breakfast food, and she points him to eggs and bacon. While bacon isn’t exactly healthy, when eaten sparingly it can be a contributing part of a healthy diet, and eggs are hands-down one of the healthiest foods you can eat. And later, Methos feels uncomfortable in an all-pink hotel room and his 5,000-year-old Atlantean ex-girlfriend teases him because it’s girly—despite the fact that pink only became thought of as a ‘girly’ color in the 20th century, so I really doubt it would be engrained enough in either of them to think anything of it at all.
I got a free review copy of the audiobook from Audible. The narrator does a good job. There were times when I wasn’t sure which character was talking, but for the most part I’d say: didn’t love him, didn’t hate him, the narration was perfectly serviceable. Though of course I do wish they’d gotten Peter Wingfield to narrate because as long as you’re publishing Methos fanfic, you might as well try to get the actor who played Methos to narrate it.
Okay, so . . . like I said, pretty good Highlander fanfic. I enjoyed it as such. However, I do still have some mixed feelings about it being published as an original novel. The fanficcer side of me thinks the author should have had more respect for the original fandom and for fanfic as an art form and simply put it up on the internet in its original form, to be enjoyed for free as fanfic should be. The novelist side of me thinks it’s pretty exciting how authors can get away with such blatant copyright infringement with the barest, most surface of changes and become free to make money off of (and possibly reach a wider audience with) a story about other people’s worlds and characters, at least as long as there’s enough new, original content to make the story its own thing (though new, original content is a requirement for any fanfic to be considered good even as fanfic). And as a reader and semi-Highlander-fan who wishes Highlander was public domain because the people who own it haven’t really ever done it justice, I kinda wish the author (and everyone else) was free to simply publish it as the Highlander fanfic it obviously is, without the need for the fake mustaches.
April 25, 2016
I adore C.E. Murphy and will happily read anything she writes. That being said, this could have used another pass with the editing brush, and it was challenging to get into. I put it down a lot over the course of reading it. I enjoyed it in the end though, and would like to know more about Lorhen, Emma and Cathal and their history.
June 13, 2017
Lorhen is quite possibly the oldest man alive, one of the Timeless. He can only be killed by losing his head after a heatstroke...and then only to another Timeless. Millenia ago, he was on Atlantis when it sank, and now it's been found again. Lucky to have made it out alive, he is drawn to the archaeologist who found it - only to discover she is another Timeless and one who has a past with Lorhen. Their reunion will be explosive and bittersweet.
Shadowed by his friends in enigmatic Keepers, it's up to Lorhen to keep Atlantis below the waves for the good of mankind.
Atlantis Fallen is a love letter to Highlander, plain and simple. It's also brilliantly written, and keeps you coming back for more. Don't miss this opening book of a trilogy.
Shadowed by his friends in enigmatic Keepers, it's up to Lorhen to keep Atlantis below the waves for the good of mankind.
Atlantis Fallen is a love letter to Highlander, plain and simple. It's also brilliantly written, and keeps you coming back for more. Don't miss this opening book of a trilogy.
November 28, 2017
I don't think anyone has missed the glaring similarities to Highlander. I'm just waiting for the Highlander 2 alien prince theme to pop up in the next book - that's one of the few films I've ever given up on at the cinema. I'm thinking that Lorhen is more Sean Connery than Christophe Lambert.
The Atlantis plot was quite fun and I was hoping for a twist whereby Ghean actually killed Lorhen and became super powerful but sadly not to be.
A surprisingly lack lustre effort from the normally reliable Murphy.
The Atlantis plot was quite fun and I was hoping for a twist whereby Ghean actually killed Lorhen and became super powerful but sadly not to be.
A surprisingly lack lustre effort from the normally reliable Murphy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2023
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/atlantis-fallen-by-c-e-murphy/
I enjoyed this tale of an immortal from Atlantis getting involved with an archaeological dig into his own past, and finding that past relationships come back to haunt him. Some online reviewers insist that it’s rather closely linked to the Highlander series, but I don’t know that particular show and to me it seemed pretty fresh and interesting; ancient secrets and relationships coming to the surface. Good fun.
I enjoyed this tale of an immortal from Atlantis getting involved with an archaeological dig into his own past, and finding that past relationships come back to haunt him. Some online reviewers insist that it’s rather closely linked to the Highlander series, but I don’t know that particular show and to me it seemed pretty fresh and interesting; ancient secrets and relationships coming to the surface. Good fun.
March 2, 2020
Highlander but with the names changed and a bunch of stuff about Atlantis wedged in. Also felt like the ending was a bit rushed most of it was this slow reveal of the characters past then bang an unsatisfying wrap up in a short number of pages. It was like the author spent all this time detailing the world and making the characters back story's then got bored of them so just wrapped it all up.
I enjoyed parts of it but it felt a little half baked in places
I enjoyed parts of it but it felt a little half baked in places
November 20, 2019
I really liked this book. I liked the plot, I liked the story, I liked the pacing. I also liked the nod to Highlander (I loved the original movie), using its premise and making it more of a fleshed out story with full characters, taking the time to develop it and leaving you with questions at the end. I'm looking forward to the next book.
May 25, 2017
Really enjoyed the story. Did not expect the ending. Looking forward to a continuation of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2019
This is a tough one. I'm still not sure I like Logan and there is a lack of humor in this book. But I guess I'll try the next book.
December 23, 2021
A little highlander with the serial numbers filed off but entertaining enough.
November 26, 2023
An enjoyable and fun read about who the Atlanteans were.
July 22, 2025
Basically Highlander with Atlantis and unicorns thrown into the mix. Nowhere near as good as some of her other books.
July 3, 2016
If you're a fan of Highlander in any way, you'll probably enjoy this one. And if you have no idea what Highlander is, you might still get a kick out of it. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!
I'm not sure if CE Murphy meant to draw such a direct line to the old movies/tv series, but I'm guessing she did, since this would not be her first revamp of a classic. Regardless, the theme is fun and allows for characters with deep rooted histories in their background that slowly unravel over the course of the book.
In Atlantis Fallen, CE Murphy plays with the mythical sunken city of Atlantis as a backdrop for her immortals, called Timeless. As a compelling backdrop comes to life as rich with history as the main characters themselves. CE Murphy shines in her vivid imaginings of what leaps in civilization Atlantians might have possessed before it's fall. The added ties to other mythical legends comes as a special treat and something to look forward to in future books.
There were some snags in the story telling. The frequent POV changes sometimes felt mid scene and forced me to go back and verify who we were currently following. Also, since the story is supposed to be told through Lorhen and one other Timeless, some of the POVs, in my opinion, should not have been allowed.
The names are also hard to follow if you're not very good with names. This is, I know, completely my own issue and not something to fault CE Murphy for. Her characters were born in a different time period so they obviously can't be named Joe. But it made it difficult for me to keep track of everyone since the story makes frequent jumps from past to present.
Overall, the strong characters and history developed in book one make it a thoroughly enjoyable read. The story arch completes itself, but there are enough threads left at the end of Atlantis Fallen to leave me eager to read the next in the series.
I'm not sure if CE Murphy meant to draw such a direct line to the old movies/tv series, but I'm guessing she did, since this would not be her first revamp of a classic. Regardless, the theme is fun and allows for characters with deep rooted histories in their background that slowly unravel over the course of the book.
In Atlantis Fallen, CE Murphy plays with the mythical sunken city of Atlantis as a backdrop for her immortals, called Timeless. As a compelling backdrop comes to life as rich with history as the main characters themselves. CE Murphy shines in her vivid imaginings of what leaps in civilization Atlantians might have possessed before it's fall. The added ties to other mythical legends comes as a special treat and something to look forward to in future books.
There were some snags in the story telling. The frequent POV changes sometimes felt mid scene and forced me to go back and verify who we were currently following. Also, since the story is supposed to be told through Lorhen and one other Timeless, some of the POVs, in my opinion, should not have been allowed.
The names are also hard to follow if you're not very good with names. This is, I know, completely my own issue and not something to fault CE Murphy for. Her characters were born in a different time period so they obviously can't be named Joe. But it made it difficult for me to keep track of everyone since the story makes frequent jumps from past to present.
Overall, the strong characters and history developed in book one make it a thoroughly enjoyable read. The story arch completes itself, but there are enough threads left at the end of Atlantis Fallen to leave me eager to read the next in the series.
June 21, 2020
I went into this book cold (my first book by this author). Five minutes into it, two things are obvious: one, there is a lot of backstory that is never explained (what the hell is the relation between Emma, Lorhen, and Cathal?) and two, this was an obvious ripoff of Highlander (not the movie, but the subsequent TV series with Adrian Paul). Except our hero, Lorhen (or Logan) plays the role of Methos who is hiding among the watchers. There are echoes of Jennifer Fallon's Tide Lords series. If you haven't seen Highlander, or not read the Tide Lords series, is there anything in this book? It is well-written, and you sort of care about Logan. But his insane Atlantean girl-friend? Not so much. And her motivation for finding Atlantis and killing Logan (not necessarily in that order) is not really thought through very well. Yes, she is crazy but that seems like a deus ex machina cop-out to me. Overall, well-written enough to merit 3 stars but not original enough to merit more than that.
October 6, 2024
I read about 30 pages when I first picked this up, I set it down, and then I didn't touch it for months. The story jumps about a good deal thru the first third of the book or so, which made it hard to get into. Then the flashbacks and jumps forward become less frequent, and you have the context to understand them when they do happen. With all the world building, this story ends up seeming like it's mostly setup for the 2 books that are planned to finish out the series. I'm mildly curious about what happens next, and we'll see if mildly curious is enough to get me to pick up the next book. I hate to say it because I usually enjoy this author, but I can see why this book ended up being self-published.
May 5, 2016
If I could review half the book in two different portions, it'd be 2 stars for the beginning, and 4 stars for the end. The book did so much 'show don't tell' at the beginning that I was actually not sure I was reading the first book in the series, and it felt very much like we were tossed in the middle of an ongoing story. I wish that there had been more details about the past relationships between the secondary characters (Emma and Logan, in particular).
By the middle half, I was really happy with the world, with the characters, and with how things were going and wanted to see more.
I will definitely read the next book in the series.
By the middle half, I was really happy with the world, with the characters, and with how things were going and wanted to see more.
I will definitely read the next book in the series.
January 9, 2017
I normally really like CE Murphy's books, but his one felt like there were books in this series that came before this one... it didn't feel like a #1... more like a 3 or 4. I hate when there is large chunks of backstory that I am not privy to. I actually checked the author's site multiple times to see if there were previous books in this series.
It was also very Highlander-esque. I kept hearing the theme song in my head as I was reading.
The writing style is good and the characters and story line are interesting, but I just couldn't get passed the Highlander/not the beginning of the series things.
It was also very Highlander-esque. I kept hearing the theme song in my head as I was reading.
The writing style is good and the characters and story line are interesting, but I just couldn't get passed the Highlander/not the beginning of the series things.
July 8, 2016
Basically a rip off of Highlander. Immortals who fight each other and can only be killed by beheading and are not allowed to fight on holy ground.....sound familiar! The story is ok, but the writing was very confusing as it appears to be a continuation of another book, but this is the first of a series? The author just jumped into scenes with no intro and this is confusing. I do like this author's Walker Papers series, but this and the Heart of Stone series is a bust for me.
September 28, 2016
Interesting world by a favorite author
I adore this author & devoured her Urban Shamen series. This book reads like it is part of a larger world, but I haven't read those. I'm not going to lie, the timeless mythos sounds like the Highlander series & I wouldn't have been surprised to see Connor McCloud show up.
Those similarities aside, it was an interesting story and I'd give it a shot.
I adore this author & devoured her Urban Shamen series. This book reads like it is part of a larger world, but I haven't read those. I'm not going to lie, the timeless mythos sounds like the Highlander series & I wouldn't have been surprised to see Connor McCloud show up.
Those similarities aside, it was an interesting story and I'd give it a shot.
May 7, 2016
There's not a lot I can say about this book after finishing it that I haven't already said in the progress updates.
Basically, it's the best Highlander fanfic I've ever read, and I can't wait to read the next two books in the series (hopefully, at least one of which will feature Lisse as a main character, because damnit, I've missed Amanda!)
Basically, it's the best Highlander fanfic I've ever read, and I can't wait to read the next two books in the series (hopefully, at least one of which will feature Lisse as a main character, because damnit, I've missed Amanda!)
September 11, 2016
CE Murphy's blend of all the fabulousness in Highlander improved via her mad skills and wicked imagination. This is written so the eaching scene unfolds cinematically in the minds eye, almost to the point of mentally pausing the dvd to catch more details by rereading bits.
Excited to see where books two and three lead!
Excited to see where books two and three lead!
May 23, 2016
Interesting story
An interesting story. Not sure I like it enough to read another one in this series. I put it down a couple of times.
An interesting story. Not sure I like it enough to read another one in this series. I put it down a couple of times.
December 22, 2016
I loved "Highlander," and this book unashamedly borrows that premise and builds on it. I hope she writes more in this series!
April 4, 2017
25% in....feel like i walked into a movie halfway thru and i hate that....also feel like i've read it before so similar the the highlander....i'm out
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