Chaos Awakens

Dragons of the Nether #1

by Megg Jensen

For hundreds of years, the orcs and humans of Doros have shared an uneasy peace. It shatters in an instant with the botched assassination of a human priest in the orc capital. Hell bent on revenge, the humans take up arms as the orc monarchy crumbles from outside interference.

Now Tace, the unlucky assassin, is on the run. It's soon clear, however, that her mistake hasn't only precipitated a war. It's unleashed ancient powers, the stuff of legends and fireside tales—and not the cozy kind.

Tace has always worked solo, but to save Doros, she'll need to assemble the unlikeliest allies. Together, they'll unravel the mysteries of the orcs' cult of death, and in the process, Tace will come to question everything she's ever believed. Only one thing is certain: a great destiny awaits her—if she can live long enough to meet it.

Chaos Awakens is an epic fantasy spanning multiple continents where orcs, humans, elves, fauns, dwarves, and dragons fight for dominance.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Amazon, Young Adult, Ebooks, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

360 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 14, 2017

About the author

Megg Jensen is a two-time USA Today bestselling author of epic fantasy.

No stranger to top ten lists on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the iBookstore, Megg's novels have garnered millions of downloads, attracting fans from all over the world.

She lives in Chicago with her husband, kids, and two insane miniature schnauzers.

Reviews

[Pippa DaCosta]

A new series by Meg?! With dragons and orcs?! Why yes, I think I will be reading this.

[Matt aka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chaos Awakens by Megg Jensen is a great epic fantasy novel that I very much enjoyed. There are plenty of interesting characters with the main characters being a female orc assassin, a human male priest, and a female orc princess. They form an unusual team as humans and orcs head towards a war at a time they need to team-up against a godly enemy. There are plenty of intimate moments and character development mixed in with action and epic threats to the world.

This book is everything that a good fantasy novel should be and reminded me of the great dark elf stories about Drizzt Do'urden by R.A. Salvatore that ended up becoming a massive 23 books series due to the popularity of Drizzt, his companions, and their epic adventures. I can't guarantee that this series will be anywhere near as popular but I recommend it with five out of five stars for any fantasy genre fans.

[Isabel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Se veía venir.

Los personajes en Chaos Awakens están tan desconectados de una caracterización decente como el mundo que habitan de cualquier lógica, bases sólidas o coherencia. Hay demasiados puntos de vista y eso, además de distraer y confundir, solamente asegura que el lector note las fallas y hoyos en la obra. Ni hablar de la trama que hace uso excesivo de las profecías salidas de mis nalgas para impulsar a personajes a hacer cosas y ahorrarse el esfuerzo de tener que elaborar en ellos.

Un cúmulo de ideas cuestionables (ir a la guerra y hacer planes sobre la marcha, ¿en serio?) decorados con fantasía atrayente por la presencia de magia y diferentes especies de personajes (hay orcos, elfos, faunos, unicornios y dragones, ¿qué más se necesita? Además de calidad, claro). Estaba buscando salir del hueco que son los elfos populares ahora (humanos 2.0) y leer cosas más variadas visualmente pero este libro no lo vale.

Si bien esto es más asunto del responsable de la publicidad, que se presente con una protagonista en la forma de la fallida asesina orca Tace (tanto en descripción como portada) solamente crea falsas expectativas que, al enfrentarse con la discutible calidad de la obra, suma a los puntos negativos. Hubiera estado bien si la historia fuese buena además de inesperada, pero no lo fue.

No continuaré la serie, y acoto que obtuve una copia digital gratuita porque estaba a usd$0.00 en Amazon. Incluso con ese preciazo no podría recomendarlo, aunque no me arrepiento.

[A.M.]

I’m going to have write this down as I go - there are rather a lot of characters.

Tace, a female orc assassin, misses her target. He’s dead but the gods will know it wasn’t by her hand.
Hugh, a human priest working in the orc lands, was her target but he’s also the father of the queen, and his death sparks an invasion by her armies who have trained for ten years. [how is a celibate priest the father of the queen without being the king? It does say she married a nothing male so she’s not ruler through marriage. Oh, and he’s not celibate either… news to his acolyte.]
Ademar, his human acolyte, knows that Hugh’s suicide is a mortal sin, and a betrayal of their god but he is unable to speak the truth.
Nemia is an orc girl with magic gifts and a spiral birthmark on her face. She’s the true princess but they swapped her out with a prettier girl. [surely orcs don’t like pretty girls?] When she kills that girl in a fit of jealousy, the king abdicates, leaving the orc crown as a prize to be fought over at a time when orcs should be fighting together against their common enemy. [what? Why would he do that?]
Alyna, faun and forest spirit, leaps on her magic unicorn and goes to warn the orcs that she sees an army coming.
Her old orc lover, Vron is a deputy to General Dalgron, but he doesn’t believe her and only sends a small force. [but everyone knows there’s a war coming from the crows up…]
Human Queen Lissa of the golden hair, follower of the light, wants revenge for the death of her father. And she’s willing to use the priests led by Eldir, and a wizened dark evil magician, Damor.
Brax, her army leader is distracted as he tries to hide his half-orc brother, Ghrol, in the forest but he escapes.
Kindara, old orc seer, brings together Tace and Ademar, and tells them the future is in their hands. [why would they believe her?]
When Nemia sees a vision of the odd pair together, she decides to make amends by helping them. [or, I dunno… stay and fight for the throne?]
MAN. A whole heap of people have visions in this thing. Like, everybody does. And they don’t match up, and half of them aren’t even accurate.
But the dark elf, Kazrack steals the orc throne, and forces the queen to sit next to him and there is nothing General Dalgron can do about it. [who is this elf?]
Female elf hunter, Maysant, finds Grohl in the forest and thinks he’s human. [ what a coincidence that she doesn’t know what an orc looks like!] He saves her from a panther.
Damor sends a small girl, Sally, as a disease bomb to meet Alyna. [how close are these armies? A child can walk between them alone through wilderness?]
Sally walks alone through more wilderness and right into the orc camp to get Vron. Vron leaves the army to look for the faun, after they accuse him of cowardice. Sally then leads him to the sick faun, and they all head off together.
Tace rescues a baby dragon from a pit fight. [and nobody tries to stop her? ]
The orcs go to battle with an untried leader… and lose.
Queen Lissa wins her first battle and decides to keep going as she’d like the orc queen as a lover. [the WHAT now? She couldn’t start with an orc girl of slightly lower rank? Rather than start a WHOLE WAR to get laid?]
Kindara is shot just as Nemia shows up. [they stand around yanking arrows out of her body and wondering what her last words meant. Run you fools… no, those basically WERE her last words. And besides, HOW did Nemia get there so fast and find them?]
*whispers: I am getting rather annoyed with the convenient plot devices*
The dragon fishes for them and lights fires helpfully. [facepalms]
Orc seer Hacun and husband Crotus look for visions in the fire. [oh COME ON… it’s chapter 31 ffs stop introducing new vision seeing characters!] Crotus leads the village away leaving Hacun behind.
When Vron etc show up, the magic unicorn heals Alyna. [it couldn’t have done that BEFORE Vron left the orcs to die?? Were it’s magic unicorn batteries low? And what are the odds that they show up at this one cabin? Sighs… plus, Sally is riding the untouchable unicorn]
Alyna and Hacun join forces and set Damor on fire from a distance even though Hacun says she doesn’t like to kill people.
But he doesn’t die. The queen tosses out her unkillable dark mage like the trash, because she doesn’t believe he’s actually done anything, and Maysant and Grohl find him. He swears revenge.
*headdesk*
Oh, that’s it. I’m out.
Chaos is right.
I’m up to chapter 34 of 58.

Did not finish at 58%

[Jason Hubbard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Chaos Awakens" is said to appeal to fans of "Game of Thrones" (or, to all you book nerds out there, "A Song of Ice and Fire"). With its cast of morally-gray characters and a narrative that darts back and forth between great distances, it very well might. Of course, what "Song" fans love about those books is their depiction of people in power and people's very perception of power, as well as the deep philosophy within their pages. "Chaos" has only a little of that, focusing more on the might of magic and the allure of sex.

Although I liked this book well enough, I'm disappointed at how it's yet another fantasy story that's partially dependent on the overused fantasy troupe of "prophecy and vision." A few key characters make important decisions because they hear about some prophecy or receive some vision from an otherworldly being. I shall forever maintain that prophecy and visions are rather cheap and easy narrative devices. Just think, what if Frodo had decided to bear the One Ring not because he saw that no one else could be trusted with it but because he was told he was the Chosen One foretold by ancient texts written by soothsayers? It would rob him of the power of choice and ruin the suspense.

Still, "Chaos Awakens" is worth reading for its flawed heroes, pitiable villains, and a conflict of religions that eerily reflect real life ones.

[P. Bellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nearing mid point - will edit review when finished

I'm wondering if the book is written for a younger audience...?
So many scenes and situations are over simplified and lacking in depth and information, to the point where they seem unrealistic.
And the human army, having been in training for a decade, but seem to know little to nothing about going on campaign or acting like soldiers. And don't get me started on the General....
Also so many adults acting like bickering children - although that might be the more realistic part of the story...

EDIT: Sorry, just couldn't finish it. Got nearly to the halfway point, but there's way to many scenes lacking in depth and logic. Several of the characters seem interesting, which is probably what got me as far as I did.

As an example (slight spoiler): Two of the main characters are in the middle of an angry crowd of people - due to something they did - and wo helping each other (one having no fighting skills), they get out of the seemingly pretty nasty situation, wo any repercussions, wo any explanation as to how they got out or what happened to the crowd of people (chasing them).

[Micha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great ideas, good characters

This book started out really well, the writing is consistently good, the jump between different characters kept you wanting more from each one. The unusual outlook at the human-good/orc-bad narrative was excellent, especially when it included so many elements that could have easily kept it at that basic level (the different religious beliefs). However, about halfway through the book, the characters and the writing began to fall apart for me. The use of language that seemed too modern and not in fitting with the rest of the book so far gave the a bit of an amateurish feeling to the writing. Also, characters started to behave in ways that didn't seem consistent with how their personalities had been set up, and it didn't seem like it was part of natural character development.
That said, I still enjoyed the book and the many foreshadowing moments for more to come.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very underwhelming and disappointing read 2.5*

The premise for this book sounded extremely interesting and I was looking forward to an entertaining and enthralling read. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The majority of the characters have little to no depth to them and come across for the most part as being very naïve in their outlook and actions. The actual narrative is written in a simplistic manner while the events described contain little in the way of suspense or tension making this more of a slog than an entertaining read.
The write up compares this book to George R. R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice and Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, which I found to be totally misleading as it in no way comes close to encompassing the depth, vision or quality of either of those series first books.

[Tom Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and clean

Got a Kindle again after years of not having one and this was in my library. Don’t remember buying it, apparently it’s not on Amazon anymore, and the authors website linked at the end of the book no longer exists. Absolutely bizarre.

It’s a pretty brisk read. The prose is pretty simple and never gets bogged down with extensive descriptions. Chapters are short, making it easy to pick up and blast through an entire scene in between other things. It doesn’t do anything particularly incredible, and there are a lot of characters that we swap POVs to that is a bit overwhelming to start, but I was able to get into it and overall had a good time. Would probably give it a 3.5/5 if I could. I’ll read the next book at some point, if I can find it.

[Wonder Tre Reads -Tre Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great fantasy read that incorporates both humans and Orcs together as they head into a battle. We’re taken on the journey with the main characters for an unbelievable ride but the side characters are wonderful as well. The storyline flowed smoothly and at a consistent pace that kept me interested and wanting to know what will happen next. Although this is book one only, I feel as though we’re provided with a good amount of closure on these characters. I will definitely be looking into the next book in this series in the near future.

[Megan Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this story starts out quite flat. The characters are one-dimensional and there isn't distinct world building. We're told what exists in this fictional world and events that happen as they come and that's it.
But then later, the story picks up and becomes a lot more interesting, although there is still a big lack of character development.
Overall not that impressive, but I think I'll continue just to see where the story goes, as it does get very interesting. Besides, this is the first fantasy book I've read where there are orcs and fauns.

[Fiona Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always Megg Jensen delivers, a great start to a brand new series. The death of a human in an Orc town turns out to be the catalyst to a powerful enemy. Orcs, humans, elves, a faun, a unicorn and a dragon all come together to fight and d feat the first Xarlug who rises from beneath the Orc city. What will the future hold for all the races?

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. The take on orc culture was great and I also appreciated the varied cast of characters. However, near the end characters had too many premonitions out of nowhere for my taste, and the final battle was resolved by way of deus ex machina. Still, I'm curious to see what the next book in the series will hold.

[Thomas Huntley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun adventure with interesting characters

This is an adventure that keeps you wondering what will happen next. This was the first in a series. The only downside is this first book ends abruptly - like it wasn't well thought out. While it left me wanting to read more, I wanted a better transition. Overall, however, really enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

[Kevin Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Beginning of a Epic Adventure

I didn't know what to expect going into this novel, but it was much better than I expected. I enjoyed the different viewpoints, and that it's not just black & white, with neither the human nor the orcs totally good or evil. I'm looking forward to see how the trilogy progresses.

[Stephen Levesque · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those books that you really dislike at the beginning, but after a few chapters it grows on you and then you start loving the story and characters. You will be glad you stuck with it. Great Reading Everyone!

[Jim Pike · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this story!! Very well written, and characters that you learn to care for. I had a hard time stopping reading, so I could sleep. Immediately started reading the next book in the series. Great book, and I highly recommend it.

[Rob Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inventive, exciting, witty fantasy! Megg Jensen knows how to spin a tale that keeps the reader engrossed, surprised, laughing, and wanting more!

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyably unpredictable

A good book,heartfelt with regular believable human interactions.Megg does a good job at mixing the story line up to create a new adventure!

[Nancy Sennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book

I had a hard time putting down this book. A lot of characters to take in. Very enjoyable read. I highly recommend it.

[Keith Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with compelling story line.

[Jennifer Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me right back to my WoW days... All I can say is: FOR THE HORDE!!!

[Miriam Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start..more and more please!!

[Gay Deputee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victory is achieved when we all work together!

All the races and creatures band together to rid their world of evil. Good, adventurous story with varied and lovable characters.

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this was a really hard story to follow. Way too many people/creatures to keep track of with different storylines for each.

[JAMIE FRATES · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome!

Awesome book! Great read and keeps you going to the end. Would highly recommend to anyone who is a fantasy buff.

[Timothy C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff

Very interesting tale, many different characters and perspectives. I enjoyed the story but it all felt a bit rushed, I was wanting more development from the author.

[Andre Boone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy books with non-human characters, so this one was a lot of fun for me. Chaos Awakens delivers an action-filled story told with a straightforward writing style.

[Sedna Dragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Done with moderation

This was an alright book that was a good set up. I also found that everything was done in moderation.

[SR · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I just caught up on about forty years of post-Tolkien fantasyland in a couple hundred pages. That's enough of that.