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The Renegade Chronicles #1
Rebels and Fools
The greatest peace treaty in Altaerran history is unraveling. As civil war threatens the Continent United, two fallen Knights of Superius are forced to join the rebels they once condemned. Hounded by assassins and assailed by doubt, they flee to Capricon in search of answers — only to discover the island harbors dark secrets of its own.
Alongside a mostly reformed thief, a dethroned pirate king, a mysterious woman with a magical sword, and other would-be heroes, the fugitives encounter a sinister power that has taken root within the Alliance. If the Renegades and Knighthood can’t rise above their bitter rivalry, both factions — and the realm itself — are doomed.
"Rebels and Fools" is the first volume of The Renegade Chronicles.
Alongside a mostly reformed thief, a dethroned pirate king, a mysterious woman with a magical sword, and other would-be heroes, the fugitives encounter a sinister power that has taken root within the Alliance. If the Renegades and Knighthood can’t rise above their bitter rivalry, both factions — and the realm itself — are doomed.
"Rebels and Fools" is the first volume of The Renegade Chronicles.
450 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2016
2 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
David Michael Williams
16 books36 followersDavid Michael Williams has suffered from a storytelling addiction for as long as he can remember. With a background in journalism, public relations, and marketing, he also flaunts his love affair with the written word as an author of speculative fiction. His most recent books include the sword-and-sorcery trilogy The Renegade Chronicles and The Soul Sleep Cycle, a genre-bending series that explores life, death, and the dreamscape.
He lives in Wisconsin with the best wife on this or any other planet and their two amazing children.
He lives in Wisconsin with the best wife on this or any other planet and their two amazing children.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 17, 2018
3.5 Stars. Review to come :)
September 24, 2016
Let's be clear: I take stars seriously and, unless you are Terry Pratchett in his golden years, you aren't getting five of them.
This book is a great big step into a world that keeps you pleasantly off balance by feeling uncannily familiar and strange at the same time. While the description focuses on the Knights, the storyline quickly envelops them into a Renegade plot line. The plot twists and turns enough that, despite ample foreshadowing which usually ruins the final scenes of books and movies for me, I was still surprised at the final twist. The complexity of the different types of magic users was particularly compelling and included a whole new magical species that is equal parts snuggly cute and nose-wrinkling creepy upon first description.
This book is a great big step into a world that keeps you pleasantly off balance by feeling uncannily familiar and strange at the same time. While the description focuses on the Knights, the storyline quickly envelops them into a Renegade plot line. The plot twists and turns enough that, despite ample foreshadowing which usually ruins the final scenes of books and movies for me, I was still surprised at the final twist. The complexity of the different types of magic users was particularly compelling and included a whole new magical species that is equal parts snuggly cute and nose-wrinkling creepy upon first description.
June 3, 2019
Exciting plot in an intricately crafted world. Throughout this fast-paced book, there was foreshadowing and hints of further secrets that kept me interested and engaged. The twists throughout the last part of the book were surprising but believable.
Reason for 4/5 stars is that I found it difficult to get into the characters at first. There are a lot of POV characters, and the book greatly benefits from this in the latter half, but I would have preferred to spend more time in a single character’s mind at first in order to better bond with them. Nonetheless, I absolutely found characters to love and root for. David Michael Williams uses multiple POV’s to show the conflicting yet humanized perspectives on the book’s main conflict, and it kept me far more engaged than if we were only shown one side of the story.
This book has a detailed, believable world that brings fascinating twists to traditional fantasy stereotypes of wizards, elves, goblins, and other groups. Despite the fantastic setting, the characters’ actions and struggles are very real. We learn quickly that death is real (no “plot armor” for anyone!) and I end up desperately hoping for my favorite characters to make it out of each battle.
I can tell that there are so many more secrets to uncover in this series, and I will be jumping into book 2 right away!
Reason for 4/5 stars is that I found it difficult to get into the characters at first. There are a lot of POV characters, and the book greatly benefits from this in the latter half, but I would have preferred to spend more time in a single character’s mind at first in order to better bond with them. Nonetheless, I absolutely found characters to love and root for. David Michael Williams uses multiple POV’s to show the conflicting yet humanized perspectives on the book’s main conflict, and it kept me far more engaged than if we were only shown one side of the story.
This book has a detailed, believable world that brings fascinating twists to traditional fantasy stereotypes of wizards, elves, goblins, and other groups. Despite the fantastic setting, the characters’ actions and struggles are very real. We learn quickly that death is real (no “plot armor” for anyone!) and I end up desperately hoping for my favorite characters to make it out of each battle.
I can tell that there are so many more secrets to uncover in this series, and I will be jumping into book 2 right away!
October 4, 2016
This first volume of the trilogy sets up a fantastical world where humans coexist with all manner of fantastical creatures, and the intricate histories and plots that govern their world. There are many different characters introduced, and story jumps back and forth, and side to side, in showing the story from many different points of view. It does have a slow beginning as it takes its time telling these different stories and showing the different paths that end up bringing the trilogy's main cast of characters together, but once the central cast is assembled, the story starts to move along, and by the end you are firmly entrenched in what's happening, and eager to find out what will happen next!
Not a spoiler specifically:
I like that the author is not afraid to kill off seemingly important characters!
Not a spoiler specifically:
I like that the author is not afraid to kill off seemingly important characters!
August 29, 2017
Stage set for a high fantasy epic
The large cast allows us a peek behind the motivations and history from both sides of Williams' kingdom-wide conflict. Several opponents among the interesting characters become allies as we and their fellow characters get to know them. The author skillfully weaves an epic narrative throughout this first installment, promising adventure, camaraderie and intrigue in the next.
The large cast allows us a peek behind the motivations and history from both sides of Williams' kingdom-wide conflict. Several opponents among the interesting characters become allies as we and their fellow characters get to know them. The author skillfully weaves an epic narrative throughout this first installment, promising adventure, camaraderie and intrigue in the next.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews