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Dynasty of Storms #1
Rising Thunder
PARENTAL ADVISORY: MATURE CONTENT
Book 1 of the Warrior's Trilogy
Elias is no ordinary elf. A giant amongst his kind, he dwarfs not only his fellow elves but the taller, stronger humans as well. Cast out by his own kind, he was sent to live amongst the Northmen at a young age, learning their ways and culture, but never wholly accepted by them. When his oldest friend, King Brynjar, dies in his old age, Elias's position among the volatile men of the Northlands becomes tenuous, and he sets out to make his place in the world.
Far to the south, a war is brewing between his homeland of Lonwick, and the demonic Felle, an army of orcs, ogres, trolls, and men. Should he stay to the north and avoid the conflict, or should he travel south and join the forces that are defending his homeland? Who is the shadowy dark knight that hunts him? And will he ever find people in this world that see him for who he is, and not the freak he appears to be?
From the warm, forested slopes of coastal mountain ranges, to the tropical shores of exotic islands, author Brandon Cornwell leads us on an adventure filled with battles, magic, love, and loss. As Elias faces the journey before him, rich characters and vivid settings transport us into a world that feels as real as it does fantastical.
Book 1 of the Warrior's Trilogy
Elias is no ordinary elf. A giant amongst his kind, he dwarfs not only his fellow elves but the taller, stronger humans as well. Cast out by his own kind, he was sent to live amongst the Northmen at a young age, learning their ways and culture, but never wholly accepted by them. When his oldest friend, King Brynjar, dies in his old age, Elias's position among the volatile men of the Northlands becomes tenuous, and he sets out to make his place in the world.
Far to the south, a war is brewing between his homeland of Lonwick, and the demonic Felle, an army of orcs, ogres, trolls, and men. Should he stay to the north and avoid the conflict, or should he travel south and join the forces that are defending his homeland? Who is the shadowy dark knight that hunts him? And will he ever find people in this world that see him for who he is, and not the freak he appears to be?
From the warm, forested slopes of coastal mountain ranges, to the tropical shores of exotic islands, author Brandon Cornwell leads us on an adventure filled with battles, magic, love, and loss. As Elias faces the journey before him, rich characters and vivid settings transport us into a world that feels as real as it does fantastical.
- GenresFantasy
506 pages, ebook
Published April 3, 2017
168 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 14, 2017
While at times the book did seem somewhat predictable, falling into a general trope, over all it was still an enjoyable read. The cover art was what drew me in initially, and the story kept me there for the rest of the book. I do look forward to seeing what else the author has in store for his sophomore release. Considering this is his first outing, I thought it was rather well put together. Always room for improvement, but well done enough that I'll likely purchase what comes next.
May 2, 2017
This started off okay and then I just kept drifting...so I sin skimmed to the end...meh.
March 30, 2018
An interesting enough story for another star but was held back by the need for a better editor to help with poor grammar. I'm not being a snob here. My grammar is actually pretty bad. But even I noticed a lot of points which needed help.
That and well I wasn't looking for a romance with a focus on sex scenes and this mostly wasn't that.... Except for the few sex scenes that were needlessly graphic, added nothing to the story, and are a bit off putting to someone who wasn't looking for that in a book.
That and well I wasn't looking for a romance with a focus on sex scenes and this mostly wasn't that.... Except for the few sex scenes that were needlessly graphic, added nothing to the story, and are a bit off putting to someone who wasn't looking for that in a book.
January 25, 2018
Not terribly bad
While the story isn't a bad tale, there are plenty of sentences which are either painful to read or are interrupted by misspellings of simple words. While descriptions are used to describe characters as they are first introduced, these descriptions are rarely used later on in the book to continue to bring the reader and characters together. That being said, I enjoyed reading the book and plan to continue with the rest of the series.
While the story isn't a bad tale, there are plenty of sentences which are either painful to read or are interrupted by misspellings of simple words. While descriptions are used to describe characters as they are first introduced, these descriptions are rarely used later on in the book to continue to bring the reader and characters together. That being said, I enjoyed reading the book and plan to continue with the rest of the series.
November 30, 2017
I have to admit, the premise of this book, the idea of a giant outcast elf, really spoke to me. Unless we are talking Drow, most elves are the Tolkien ideal: A graceful, wise elder race set on the world to guide the younger races, or at least to look down on the short lived fools. Only in more recent works like Paul Lavender's The Eighth God has a new, more callous approach to elves been taken. This writer takes it to an even greater length.
Elias is a giant of an elf. at over seven feet tall, he towers over both elves and humans. in fact, other than giants and ogres, you won't find many creatures taller than he is. He is also strongly built, not the lithe, graceful elf that is typical of his kind. Exiled to the mountain humans in the North (this worlds analogs to Vikings) He has lived there for over 60 years, although in elf years, at 167 years of age. he is hardly more than an older teen. While he is accepted as a ward of the King, he is not trained any more as a warrior than he was with the elves. He goes on no raids and is not an advisor to the king, just a friend.
As the current king dies, a power play takes place, and Elias is forced to leave for at least a year by the King's son a he sorts out the potential usurpers. He can come an reclaim a place in a year, assuming the new king is still on the throne.
After leaving and deciding to head to the human lands, Elias is accosted on the road by a huge man wearing armor and wielding dark magic. He is only saved by the intervention of a mercenary troop that happened to be passing on the way to a job. Elias then joins the group, who specialize in guarding caravans and nobles. Their next job involves guarding a noble on a trip, but this goes horribly awry when he betrays them and sells them to pirates as galley slaves!
Leading a breakout by the rest of the slaves, Elias and the slaves finish the ships journey to the islands they were headed to. Elias finds out one of his fellow slaves, a sea elf (blue skinned elf), is a local chieftain, who invites him to stay with his village, since he suspect Elias is the answer to a prophecy. That prophesy involves an outsider saving the islanders from the pirates who have been preying on the islanders for decades. Elias also meets the chiefs daughter Coral, who he is told is part of the prophesy as she is slated to bear the chosen ones son. The young elves relationship grows from there.
What follows is a few seasons of mayhem and chaos, as Elias and the crew of mercenaries and islanders he recruits go after the pirates, both on the sea and on their island strongholds. They survive many battles and ambushes, and after a huge and tragic setback, they finally have the forces and a plan to attack the Pirates main base. The attack also brings out the mystery man who attacked Elias so many seasons ago, and they finally face off and some painful revelations are made to Elias. After the battle, Elias has some difficult decisions to make about where to go with the rest of his life, and with his men. He makes a decision that will have long lasting repercussions for much of the world.
I really enjoyed this book, the characters, especially Elias and Coral, are really well drawn out. The plot is fast paced, but takes time to flesh out and give interesting story lines to the various characters. The various locations are well described, and you really get a good feeling about how they appear, as well as the character descriptions, such as the difference in elf sub-types, like the sea elves having blue skin and Elias's tribe having reddish. There are also a few surprise elements to the plot, and they are quite fun for a pretty grimdark story. The ideal about the injustice of prejudice, overcoming odds, and finding happiness are all at play throughout the story, and are excellently portrayed.
One warning. This book does have some graphic sex scenes between Elias and Coral. They are integral to the story, not just tacked on, or so it seemed to me, but this may be a turn off for a few readers, so be forewarned. I didn't see anything objectionable about them, since it is consensual sex between two elves, both over 150 years old.
Ralph Lister is in top form on this one, bringing his substantial chops to bear on a complicated story with many different characters, with multiple accents. He handles them all well, and his narrative pacing is great. He really kept the story moving along, and gets the listener really into each of the characters.
This is one of those stories that will appeal to a broad variety of fantasy readers, whether they like epic fantasy, swords and sorcery or grimdark. I can't recommend it highly enough, because it is a fantastic novel for a debut writer, and things will only be getting better from here!
Elias is a giant of an elf. at over seven feet tall, he towers over both elves and humans. in fact, other than giants and ogres, you won't find many creatures taller than he is. He is also strongly built, not the lithe, graceful elf that is typical of his kind. Exiled to the mountain humans in the North (this worlds analogs to Vikings) He has lived there for over 60 years, although in elf years, at 167 years of age. he is hardly more than an older teen. While he is accepted as a ward of the King, he is not trained any more as a warrior than he was with the elves. He goes on no raids and is not an advisor to the king, just a friend.
As the current king dies, a power play takes place, and Elias is forced to leave for at least a year by the King's son a he sorts out the potential usurpers. He can come an reclaim a place in a year, assuming the new king is still on the throne.
After leaving and deciding to head to the human lands, Elias is accosted on the road by a huge man wearing armor and wielding dark magic. He is only saved by the intervention of a mercenary troop that happened to be passing on the way to a job. Elias then joins the group, who specialize in guarding caravans and nobles. Their next job involves guarding a noble on a trip, but this goes horribly awry when he betrays them and sells them to pirates as galley slaves!
Leading a breakout by the rest of the slaves, Elias and the slaves finish the ships journey to the islands they were headed to. Elias finds out one of his fellow slaves, a sea elf (blue skinned elf), is a local chieftain, who invites him to stay with his village, since he suspect Elias is the answer to a prophecy. That prophesy involves an outsider saving the islanders from the pirates who have been preying on the islanders for decades. Elias also meets the chiefs daughter Coral, who he is told is part of the prophesy as she is slated to bear the chosen ones son. The young elves relationship grows from there.
What follows is a few seasons of mayhem and chaos, as Elias and the crew of mercenaries and islanders he recruits go after the pirates, both on the sea and on their island strongholds. They survive many battles and ambushes, and after a huge and tragic setback, they finally have the forces and a plan to attack the Pirates main base. The attack also brings out the mystery man who attacked Elias so many seasons ago, and they finally face off and some painful revelations are made to Elias. After the battle, Elias has some difficult decisions to make about where to go with the rest of his life, and with his men. He makes a decision that will have long lasting repercussions for much of the world.
I really enjoyed this book, the characters, especially Elias and Coral, are really well drawn out. The plot is fast paced, but takes time to flesh out and give interesting story lines to the various characters. The various locations are well described, and you really get a good feeling about how they appear, as well as the character descriptions, such as the difference in elf sub-types, like the sea elves having blue skin and Elias's tribe having reddish. There are also a few surprise elements to the plot, and they are quite fun for a pretty grimdark story. The ideal about the injustice of prejudice, overcoming odds, and finding happiness are all at play throughout the story, and are excellently portrayed.
One warning. This book does have some graphic sex scenes between Elias and Coral. They are integral to the story, not just tacked on, or so it seemed to me, but this may be a turn off for a few readers, so be forewarned. I didn't see anything objectionable about them, since it is consensual sex between two elves, both over 150 years old.
Ralph Lister is in top form on this one, bringing his substantial chops to bear on a complicated story with many different characters, with multiple accents. He handles them all well, and his narrative pacing is great. He really kept the story moving along, and gets the listener really into each of the characters.
This is one of those stories that will appeal to a broad variety of fantasy readers, whether they like epic fantasy, swords and sorcery or grimdark. I can't recommend it highly enough, because it is a fantastic novel for a debut writer, and things will only be getting better from here!
April 15, 2018
2.5/5
Like this book because it was down to earth. Most fantasy is an epic quest and there is that in the book near the end, but for the most part, MC is dealing with local crisis with local people. MC is a giant elf no longer able to stay at his home because he is a freak, he teams up with some mercenaries and ends up fighting slavers. Of course a girl comes into his life and we get the default reactions, he stutters, she puts her hand on hips and gets angry at him, she lies to him about important stuff and he is the one who is sorry, we get alot of the "women are mysteries" stuff as well.
It annoyed the hell out of me cause I see it so much. This is done in order to make a "strong female character" but usual it just comes out as odd; at least she didn't go ninja princess. The problem is not so much her character but how MC reacts to her and others like her in books. It make MC unlikable. In the big fight they have he is the one who is sorry and of course due to tragedy and to setup future brooding, he is made to look like the one in the wrong.
Like this book because it was down to earth. Most fantasy is an epic quest and there is that in the book near the end, but for the most part, MC is dealing with local crisis with local people. MC is a giant elf no longer able to stay at his home because he is a freak, he teams up with some mercenaries and ends up fighting slavers. Of course a girl comes into his life and we get the default reactions, he stutters, she puts her hand on hips and gets angry at him, she lies to him about important stuff and he is the one who is sorry, we get alot of the "women are mysteries" stuff as well.
It annoyed the hell out of me cause I see it so much. This is done in order to make a "strong female character" but usual it just comes out as odd; at least she didn't go ninja princess. The problem is not so much her character but how MC reacts to her and others like her in books. It make MC unlikable. In the big fight they have he is the one who is sorry and of course due to tragedy and to setup future brooding, he is made to look like the one in the wrong.
August 8, 2017
Very good read
This book has it all. A fantasy adventure with more than its fair share of differences from other books. Author has an 11 book contract and I can't wait for the rest. This one was self published so there are a bit more mistakes than usual, but hang in there as it is well worth the struggle.
This book has it all. A fantasy adventure with more than its fair share of differences from other books. Author has an 11 book contract and I can't wait for the rest. This one was self published so there are a bit more mistakes than usual, but hang in there as it is well worth the struggle.
September 23, 2017
A great start for a new series!
This feels like the bastard offspring of Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth," and Terry Brooks' " Shannara. " A thoroughly enjoyable story that takes a lot of epic fantasy tropes and has its way with them. A very quick read that also sets the stage for more to come. Hurry up with book 2 already!
This feels like the bastard offspring of Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth," and Terry Brooks' " Shannara. " A thoroughly enjoyable story that takes a lot of epic fantasy tropes and has its way with them. A very quick read that also sets the stage for more to come. Hurry up with book 2 already!
January 22, 2018
This was the best fantasy novel I’ve read in a long time! It broke away from some of the stereotypes of the genre and I will absolutely be following the series. This book and it’s sequels will continue to make waves in the years to come, as they get circulated and ever more popular. I have no doubt that this author will be one of the greats of my lifetime.
May 11, 2017
Don't bother with this book
To predictedable what is going to happen alot of background building that was not necessary.Could not tell if the story was a romance novel or adventure D & D novel.
To predictedable what is going to happen alot of background building that was not necessary.Could not tell if the story was a romance novel or adventure D & D novel.
May 23, 2017
Good at the macro level, but suffers from a very tell heavy narrative at the micro level and lacks the gravitas it seems to be trying to convey. Will probably give the second book a look depending on price.
February 22, 2018
An exciting story that quickly jumps into the action. A solid start to a series that is going somewhere epic. A very grounded fantasy novel with believable characters, a plot that keeps the reader interested, and detailed combat.
June 29, 2017
Excellent ride
A giant elf that gets hooked up with mercenaries who wouldn't be captured in such a adventure ,brings out the characters as if your really there
A giant elf that gets hooked up with mercenaries who wouldn't be captured in such a adventure ,brings out the characters as if your really there
August 8, 2017
nice adventure with a hint of mystery, drama and fansity But hot your normal fairy tale with a happy ending more slice of life.
September 25, 2017
Good Story
Nothing extravagant but it was a good story and solidly executed. PG18 sex scenes and violence but nothing too disturbing.
Nothing extravagant but it was a good story and solidly executed. PG18 sex scenes and violence but nothing too disturbing.
March 20, 2018
Sorry DNF,
I could not get into this book, not sure why but I just found it predictable and not very entertaining.
I could not get into this book, not sure why but I just found it predictable and not very entertaining.
May 16, 2018
Average, definitely a new writer
Not a bad book but average in every way. The writer is obviously new and could use some creative writing classes. Standard plot, uninspired vocab.
Not a bad book but average in every way. The writer is obviously new and could use some creative writing classes. Standard plot, uninspired vocab.
May 3, 2017
Not so good
The story line is poorly plotted out. The characters are not well drawn out. They have very illogical thought processes.
The story line is poorly plotted out. The characters are not well drawn out. They have very illogical thought processes.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews