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The Endarian Prophecy #1
Mark of Fire
An ancient prophecy. A young woman’s destiny.
Lorness Carol, coming of age in the kingdom of her warlord father, Lord Rafel, aspires to wield magic. But she’s also unknowingly become the obsession of Kragan, an avenging wielder as old as evil itself. He’s waited centuries to find and kill the female prophesied as the only human empowered to destroy him. However, dispatching the king’s assassin, Blade, to Rafel’s Keep, ends in treason. For Blade arrives not with a weapon but rather a warning for the woman he’s known and loved since he was a child. With a price on his head, Blade flees—as Carol and her family are urged away on their own desperate route of escape.
Now, traversing the lawless western borderlands, Carol struggles to understand the uncanny magic she possesses and must learn to master. Though separated, Carol and Blade are still united—not only by the darkness pursuing them both but by a quest toward destiny, revenge, and the revelations of an ancient prophecy that signal the ultimate war between good and evil.
Lorness Carol, coming of age in the kingdom of her warlord father, Lord Rafel, aspires to wield magic. But she’s also unknowingly become the obsession of Kragan, an avenging wielder as old as evil itself. He’s waited centuries to find and kill the female prophesied as the only human empowered to destroy him. However, dispatching the king’s assassin, Blade, to Rafel’s Keep, ends in treason. For Blade arrives not with a weapon but rather a warning for the woman he’s known and loved since he was a child. With a price on his head, Blade flees—as Carol and her family are urged away on their own desperate route of escape.
Now, traversing the lawless western borderlands, Carol struggles to understand the uncanny magic she possesses and must learn to master. Though separated, Carol and Blade are still united—not only by the darkness pursuing them both but by a quest toward destiny, revenge, and the revelations of an ancient prophecy that signal the ultimate war between good and evil.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2017
2868 people are currently reading
3396 people want to read
About the author
Richard Phillips
15 books574 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Richard Phillips is the million copy bestselling author of the Rho Agenda scifi series, the Jack 'The Ripper' Gregory series, and the epic fantasy series, The Endarian Prophecy. He is a retired Army Officer, West Point graduate, and has a Master of Science degree in Physics from the Naval Post Graduate School. He was a researcher at Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories for the U.S. military, a software project leader at General Electric, Lockheed Martin Space Operations, and General Dynamics before becoming a full-time writer.
Richard Phillips is the million copy bestselling author of the Rho Agenda scifi series, the Jack 'The Ripper' Gregory series, and the epic fantasy series, The Endarian Prophecy. He is a retired Army Officer, West Point graduate, and has a Master of Science degree in Physics from the Naval Post Graduate School. He was a researcher at Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories for the U.S. military, a software project leader at General Electric, Lockheed Martin Space Operations, and General Dynamics before becoming a full-time writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
December 17, 2021
I would probably have loved this if the narrator was better.
As it was, still a solid, enjoyable fantasy with some fun characters.
I enjoyed the magic system, even though I definitely zoned out through some important bits. Did I mention the narration is pretty terrible? Inflections in all the wrong places and she can make battle scenes sound like just another dull day. So I would kinda zone out and then hear something important and be like, 'wait, what?!' and then have to rewind. So that was frustrating. This story definitely deserved a more excited narrator.
I really liked the characters, and may even go back and just read the e-book so I can get to know them better. I really liked Ty and that lil band of three so I want to go back and properly appreciate their adventures.
The names put me off to start with because you've got all these cool, fantasy-esque names and then the main heroine is named Carol?! But then I discovered Carol is the author's wife's name and I can't argue with that. There's enough creativity elsewhere for me to overlook something as little as a name or two.
The villain seems like a straight up a-hole so he made things fun!
Honestly, I really did zone out for a fair bit of the story but it was way more entertaining than I expected it to be so I'll probably go back and re-read then continue on with the series.
Highly recommend for fantasy lovers, but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T LISTEN TO THE AUDIO.
Sorry to the narrator.
As it was, still a solid, enjoyable fantasy with some fun characters.
I enjoyed the magic system, even though I definitely zoned out through some important bits. Did I mention the narration is pretty terrible? Inflections in all the wrong places and she can make battle scenes sound like just another dull day. So I would kinda zone out and then hear something important and be like, 'wait, what?!' and then have to rewind. So that was frustrating. This story definitely deserved a more excited narrator.
I really liked the characters, and may even go back and just read the e-book so I can get to know them better. I really liked Ty and that lil band of three so I want to go back and properly appreciate their adventures.
The names put me off to start with because you've got all these cool, fantasy-esque names and then the main heroine is named Carol?! But then I discovered Carol is the author's wife's name and I can't argue with that. There's enough creativity elsewhere for me to overlook something as little as a name or two.
The villain seems like a straight up a-hole so he made things fun!
Honestly, I really did zone out for a fair bit of the story but it was way more entertaining than I expected it to be so I'll probably go back and re-read then continue on with the series.
Highly recommend for fantasy lovers, but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T LISTEN TO THE AUDIO.
Sorry to the narrator.
November 13, 2017
Arrrrrrgh, its finished. No. I was so engrossed in this book I never saw the end coming. Yes I know I must have realised at some level. This book needs a warning, “So good will leave you panting for more”. And who let me read this book before the sequel is released? Now I walk around with the possible next part of the adventure in my head.
Just how I love my books, fast and furious and plenty left to my imagination rather than being led and fed.
All of the characters are well developed and soon tend to lope about your lounge and kitchen. I also love the bear cub. Carol and Arn are the two main characters, the story swings around them. Arn is my favourite and we get to hear and see and feel much of the story through him.
I am standing outside the bookshop waiting for the next book in this trilogy to be released, which is apparently Early 2018.
Its one of those rare books that ruins you for others, which is a problem, particularly when you review books.
Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for the advance digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
(less)
Kevin
Just how I love my books, fast and furious and plenty left to my imagination rather than being led and fed.
All of the characters are well developed and soon tend to lope about your lounge and kitchen. I also love the bear cub. Carol and Arn are the two main characters, the story swings around them. Arn is my favourite and we get to hear and see and feel much of the story through him.
I am standing outside the bookshop waiting for the next book in this trilogy to be released, which is apparently Early 2018.
Its one of those rare books that ruins you for others, which is a problem, particularly when you review books.
Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for the advance digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
(less)
Kevin
October 1, 2017
Right from the first page of “Mark of Fire,” author Richard Phillips begins the hard-charging pace that could describe this entire book. This is definitely an action-oriented story, neatly wrapped inside a world that also has its share of magic wielders and evil half-men called vorgs.
The author trades description for story. Although providing the least amount of words forces the reader to ingest more imagination into the book’s world, Mr. Phillips focuses on moving the characters forward. This propels the tale, sometimes at a breakneck pace. For those looking for a fast read versus a lush background, this book will suit your taste.
I liked the two main characters, Carol and Arn. Carol is developing her study of magic, battling the elementals she must learn to control as well as the men and beasts that hunt her. The author shares just enough about Arn to keep the reader guessing about his nature (is he good? bad? cold-hearted?), although right from the start we are allowed peeks into his nature. All characters could be more developed, but there is enough offered to describe the main characters that it is not bothersome. Once again, action provides momentum and reason for what the characters do, and readers are pulled into the story despite any descriptive shortcomings.
The plot develops quickly, and plot and pace are the author’s five-star qualities. The king’s magic wielder has his own plans for the kingdom and manipulates the king into believing Carol’s father wishes to become the next king. This sets in motion the entire story as Carol’s father Rafel must decide what to do in order to save his family as well as the people who follow him. The telling of two separate tales at once (Carol’s and Arn’s) helps to keep tension in the book and prods the reader to continue turning pages.
If I was bothered by anything, it was by the passage of time as indicated by the chapter headings. While the chapters themselves talked of days or weeks going by, the seasons passed quicker than any I have ever seen (although perhaps on this planet that is the norm...who is to say). The other was the author's mention of tanning and leather reins and such, granting his characters the ability to make these sorts of things within hours, which is not possible.
I was about 25% into the tale when one of the characters said the word “damn,” at which point I realized this was the strongest language I had heard up to that point. In this day and time, it is wonderful to find an author who doesn’t feel he has to rely on vulgarities to add color to his novel.
I knew ahead of time that this was a three-book saga, but I note here that for those who find the book engrossing, the next two books will be released in the first two months of 2018. I found this story enjoyable and refreshing, and recommend this to those who love reading sword and sorcery tales. The book was good enough to help me decide to purchase the next one. Four stars.
Note to GR readers: Kindle First book, available to Amazon Prime members now, released on 11/1
The author trades description for story. Although providing the least amount of words forces the reader to ingest more imagination into the book’s world, Mr. Phillips focuses on moving the characters forward. This propels the tale, sometimes at a breakneck pace. For those looking for a fast read versus a lush background, this book will suit your taste.
I liked the two main characters, Carol and Arn. Carol is developing her study of magic, battling the elementals she must learn to control as well as the men and beasts that hunt her. The author shares just enough about Arn to keep the reader guessing about his nature (is he good? bad? cold-hearted?), although right from the start we are allowed peeks into his nature. All characters could be more developed, but there is enough offered to describe the main characters that it is not bothersome. Once again, action provides momentum and reason for what the characters do, and readers are pulled into the story despite any descriptive shortcomings.
The plot develops quickly, and plot and pace are the author’s five-star qualities. The king’s magic wielder has his own plans for the kingdom and manipulates the king into believing Carol’s father wishes to become the next king. This sets in motion the entire story as Carol’s father Rafel must decide what to do in order to save his family as well as the people who follow him. The telling of two separate tales at once (Carol’s and Arn’s) helps to keep tension in the book and prods the reader to continue turning pages.
If I was bothered by anything, it was by the passage of time as indicated by the chapter headings. While the chapters themselves talked of days or weeks going by, the seasons passed quicker than any I have ever seen (although perhaps on this planet that is the norm...who is to say). The other was the author's mention of tanning and leather reins and such, granting his characters the ability to make these sorts of things within hours, which is not possible.
I was about 25% into the tale when one of the characters said the word “damn,” at which point I realized this was the strongest language I had heard up to that point. In this day and time, it is wonderful to find an author who doesn’t feel he has to rely on vulgarities to add color to his novel.
I knew ahead of time that this was a three-book saga, but I note here that for those who find the book engrossing, the next two books will be released in the first two months of 2018. I found this story enjoyable and refreshing, and recommend this to those who love reading sword and sorcery tales. The book was good enough to help me decide to purchase the next one. Four stars.
Note to GR readers: Kindle First book, available to Amazon Prime members now, released on 11/1
November 11, 2017
Full spoiler-free review now on my blog
Sometimes you read a book and realise that it's just not for you, for various reasons. For me this happened with Mark of Fire, the first book in the Endarian Prophecy by Richard Phillips.
At the beginning of the story, we get to know King Gilbert and his magic wielder Blalock, who controls the king. King Gilbert is new to the throne, doesn't trust his Lords and expects betrayal from everyone. Therefore, he sends his best assassin, Blade, to kill High Lord Rafel, the commander of the king's armies. But Blade was raised by Rafel and grew up with his children Carol and Alan. Therefore, he decides to just warn them of the king's intentions and goes into exil himself. During the whole story, we follow Carol and her family as they try to flee the kingdom of Tal and then we get to see Blade's journey west.
One thing that I really liked about the story was the fact that Philipps gradually builds up his world and explains it to the reader in congruency with the journey Carol and her people have to make. You can easily follow her and Blade's progression on the map that's included, which is always a plus for me. However, there is still a lot we don't get to know more about, for example the big Vorg War that seems to have happend before the events in the book or details about the kingdom of Tal itself. More information would've definitely benefited the rushed start into the story and the overall plasticity of the world.
I'm not that picky when it comes to writing style and often I don't see whether it's good or bad writing. But for the first time, I was a bit irritated by the way the author rather told us about the characters and their traits rather than let us see through their actions and words.
Sadly, I didn't really care for either of the main characters. Even though we get to see a bit of Arn's past, I couldn't really understand why he became the way he is. And then there's this inner monologue where he thinks about his love life and the typical "I'm not worthy because I'm an evil person and she deserves better" trope.
The thing that bothered me the most about Carol is the fact that she doesn't seem to have any big problems with wielding magic. Even though she starts using it at the beginning of the novel, she seems to be the most powerful sorceress in a long time. The magic system is rather fascinating because you have to control elementals to use their magical abilities, but there could have been some more explanations and rules to the system for my taste.
With 302 pages, this novel is rather on the smaller side when it comes to fantasy books. This isn't a bad thing by any means, but I felt the story and especially the characters could have been more fleshed out with more pages. This is even more evident when you look at the amount of pure traveling that occures in both Arn's and Carol's POVs. Additionally, the book just ends at some point amidst the travelling without any great showdown or climax that leaves you wanting more.
My highlight were definitely Ty and John, the two companions Arn meets during his travels. They reminded me a lot of Hadrian and Royce from The Riyria Chronicles by Michael J. Sullivan and were a great counterpart to Arn's sullen character.
Altogether a fantasy book that could be more appealing to readers that are new to the genre.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sometimes you read a book and realise that it's just not for you, for various reasons. For me this happened with Mark of Fire, the first book in the Endarian Prophecy by Richard Phillips.
At the beginning of the story, we get to know King Gilbert and his magic wielder Blalock, who controls the king. King Gilbert is new to the throne, doesn't trust his Lords and expects betrayal from everyone. Therefore, he sends his best assassin, Blade, to kill High Lord Rafel, the commander of the king's armies. But Blade was raised by Rafel and grew up with his children Carol and Alan. Therefore, he decides to just warn them of the king's intentions and goes into exil himself. During the whole story, we follow Carol and her family as they try to flee the kingdom of Tal and then we get to see Blade's journey west.
One thing that I really liked about the story was the fact that Philipps gradually builds up his world and explains it to the reader in congruency with the journey Carol and her people have to make. You can easily follow her and Blade's progression on the map that's included, which is always a plus for me. However, there is still a lot we don't get to know more about, for example the big Vorg War that seems to have happend before the events in the book or details about the kingdom of Tal itself. More information would've definitely benefited the rushed start into the story and the overall plasticity of the world.
I'm not that picky when it comes to writing style and often I don't see whether it's good or bad writing. But for the first time, I was a bit irritated by the way the author rather told us about the characters and their traits rather than let us see through their actions and words.
Sadly, I didn't really care for either of the main characters. Even though we get to see a bit of Arn's past, I couldn't really understand why he became the way he is. And then there's this inner monologue where he thinks about his love life and the typical "I'm not worthy because I'm an evil person and she deserves better" trope.
The thing that bothered me the most about Carol is the fact that she doesn't seem to have any big problems with wielding magic. Even though she starts using it at the beginning of the novel, she seems to be the most powerful sorceress in a long time. The magic system is rather fascinating because you have to control elementals to use their magical abilities, but there could have been some more explanations and rules to the system for my taste.
With 302 pages, this novel is rather on the smaller side when it comes to fantasy books. This isn't a bad thing by any means, but I felt the story and especially the characters could have been more fleshed out with more pages. This is even more evident when you look at the amount of pure traveling that occures in both Arn's and Carol's POVs. Additionally, the book just ends at some point amidst the travelling without any great showdown or climax that leaves you wanting more.
My highlight were definitely Ty and John, the two companions Arn meets during his travels. They reminded me a lot of Hadrian and Royce from The Riyria Chronicles by Michael J. Sullivan and were a great counterpart to Arn's sullen character.
Altogether a fantasy book that could be more appealing to readers that are new to the genre.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 15, 2017
I bought this book from Amazon, the Fantasy book of the month for October in the Kindle First program. I'm going to be completely honest on this, I accidentally pressed the buy now button, but since it was $1.99, I figured no harm no foul.
I love fantasy books, but starting a new series, especially one without a following already, is always a roll of the dice for me. Not only is this a new series, but I have never even heard of the author, Richard Phillips. I was pretty skeptical starting out, and quite honestly was not impressed through the first quarter of the book. Not that it's a bad thing, but you're kind of thrown right into the story. There was no character or world building done prior to the start. You're introduced to the main cast of characters as they are presently, without any detail or history as to the "why" of the events unfolding. You're to just accept that things are happening to people.
As the story progressed, I found myself more invested in the characters and the story. The world becomes richer with the turn of each page, and the main cast of characters end up with minor development. I became more and more hooked with each reading session, and by the end, I've become fully immersed and drawn in. I'm eagerly anticipating the release of the next book, Prophecy's Daughter, this coming January.
I ended up giving the book 3 stars because of how long it took to get immersed. If you're a fan of fantasy, this one's definitely worth the read. The Endarian Prophecy is a series to keep an eye on this year.
I love fantasy books, but starting a new series, especially one without a following already, is always a roll of the dice for me. Not only is this a new series, but I have never even heard of the author, Richard Phillips. I was pretty skeptical starting out, and quite honestly was not impressed through the first quarter of the book. Not that it's a bad thing, but you're kind of thrown right into the story. There was no character or world building done prior to the start. You're introduced to the main cast of characters as they are presently, without any detail or history as to the "why" of the events unfolding. You're to just accept that things are happening to people.
As the story progressed, I found myself more invested in the characters and the story. The world becomes richer with the turn of each page, and the main cast of characters end up with minor development. I became more and more hooked with each reading session, and by the end, I've become fully immersed and drawn in. I'm eagerly anticipating the release of the next book, Prophecy's Daughter, this coming January.
I ended up giving the book 3 stars because of how long it took to get immersed. If you're a fan of fantasy, this one's definitely worth the read. The Endarian Prophecy is a series to keep an eye on this year.
October 19, 2017
Did Not Work for Me
I got this book as a Kindle First book, it comes out in November, with the remainder of the trilogy out in early 2018.
Maybe this book would work for younger readers, or those less versed in fantasy, or someone along those lines. It has heroes and villains established rather quickly, and action gets going relatively early to get the plot moving.
That said, though some passages were descriptive, I felt more like I was being told things that mattered rather than being shown them. The villains seemed naturally mustache-twirling before even speaking, and the heroes do not develop early with delicate paint strokes early on so much as get revealed through big splats from the paint can.
If that wasn't enough, the naming conventions really threw me off. It shouldn't matter, and in a better developed story, it probably would be less of a blip, but here it drew me out of the story each time.
In short, maybe this book (and trilogy) will work better for other readers, but it made me not able to sit and read for over a week.
I got this book as a Kindle First book, it comes out in November, with the remainder of the trilogy out in early 2018.
Maybe this book would work for younger readers, or those less versed in fantasy, or someone along those lines. It has heroes and villains established rather quickly, and action gets going relatively early to get the plot moving.
That said, though some passages were descriptive, I felt more like I was being told things that mattered rather than being shown them. The villains seemed naturally mustache-twirling before even speaking, and the heroes do not develop early with delicate paint strokes early on so much as get revealed through big splats from the paint can.
If that wasn't enough, the naming conventions really threw me off. It shouldn't matter, and in a better developed story, it probably would be less of a blip, but here it drew me out of the story each time.
In short, maybe this book (and trilogy) will work better for other readers, but it made me not able to sit and read for over a week.
March 18, 2020
whaaaaatt it ended like THAT I get its a series but ughhh man I was really getting into the story! I don't want to say that a lot didn't happen in this book, because a lot of things did but also quickly? like ngl I wasn't sure of this book, started it, still wasn't that into it but by the 5th chapter I was really starting to like it. Im sure this will be a good series.
October 19, 2017
I downloaded this title as my Kindle First October Book. I enjoyed it, but I knew I was going to get myself into trouble reading the first of a series that isn't fully published yet!
My overall impression is that this book has a classic but compelling fantasy plot, but I wish everything had been more fully developed. There wasn't much world-building in the beginning and the characters are not very complex, but I can feel their potential. I hope that the second and third books in the series add to the world's depth more effectively and make the characters nice and round. However, the book's simplicity does make it a quick read.
I also felt like the "action" scenes were well-written and engaging, but the slower scenes that were meant to develop the plot were not. There was so much blase description of unimportant activity. For example, the main character, Carol, would wake up, eat something for breakfast, go wash up in the stream, chat with an acquaintance, take a nap, then have a four-sentence conversation with her mentor, say she'd be right back after she packed her wagon, go pack the wagon, return for six more sentences with her mentor, and then go to bed. I really didn't need any of that—could they not just have had the conversation? Do I care that she took a nap or had to pack her wagon? No, I do not.
When men try to write feminist lead characters, there's often something just slightly off about it, and this is no exception. Nothing seems wrong, per se, but maybe it's just because the characters are still so flat. I just felt like Carol's thoughts and emotions were stated to plainly and left for face-value. Sometimes Phillips felt the need to write her internal monologue in a way that reiterated important things that happened, almost as though he was afraid you hadn't caught them the first time. But...yeah...we got it, thanks.
All in all, I read this book quickly and did enjoy it. I'm intrigued by the story and certainly want to know what happens next, so I'll keep my eyes out for the next one. I just need to remember that it's going to be a quick and not-too-deep type of read.
My overall impression is that this book has a classic but compelling fantasy plot, but I wish everything had been more fully developed. There wasn't much world-building in the beginning and the characters are not very complex, but I can feel their potential. I hope that the second and third books in the series add to the world's depth more effectively and make the characters nice and round. However, the book's simplicity does make it a quick read.
I also felt like the "action" scenes were well-written and engaging, but the slower scenes that were meant to develop the plot were not. There was so much blase description of unimportant activity. For example, the main character, Carol, would wake up, eat something for breakfast, go wash up in the stream, chat with an acquaintance, take a nap, then have a four-sentence conversation with her mentor, say she'd be right back after she packed her wagon, go pack the wagon, return for six more sentences with her mentor, and then go to bed. I really didn't need any of that—could they not just have had the conversation? Do I care that she took a nap or had to pack her wagon? No, I do not.
When men try to write feminist lead characters, there's often something just slightly off about it, and this is no exception. Nothing seems wrong, per se, but maybe it's just because the characters are still so flat. I just felt like Carol's thoughts and emotions were stated to plainly and left for face-value. Sometimes Phillips felt the need to write her internal monologue in a way that reiterated important things that happened, almost as though he was afraid you hadn't caught them the first time. But...yeah...we got it, thanks.
All in all, I read this book quickly and did enjoy it. I'm intrigued by the story and certainly want to know what happens next, so I'll keep my eyes out for the next one. I just need to remember that it's going to be a quick and not-too-deep type of read.
February 22, 2018
I'm not even sure how to shelve this book. While it is written for a YA audience (no swear words, no intimate scenes or mention of sex at all, and overall clean content), the MCs are adults- the h is 22 and the H is 27.
This book shouldn't be shelved under romance since there is absolutely no interaction between the MCs. They think back on their shared history, but at the beginning of the story, haven't spent any time together in five years.
The magic is a little odd and it never felt fully explained. Maybe that was the intention of the writer- to make the magic of the world inaccessible and esoteric. If that was his aim, he succeeded. Unfortunately, while I can suspend disbelief to enjoy a story, I need to be able to feel like I understand it a little or I can't connect at all. And that was the case with this story.
The writing style was also a little hard to get into. By the end of this book, I could decisively state that it wasn't for me. There's a lot of narrating and the author jumps from action to action, with very few segues, and that made for a rather disjointed reading experience. However, reviews have said that the second one is better than the first one, so I think I'll give it a try. If anything, I'd like to see if the MCs are ever reunited, and my curiosity at that must mean that this book wasn't totally bad.
This book shouldn't be shelved under romance since there is absolutely no interaction between the MCs. They think back on their shared history, but at the beginning of the story, haven't spent any time together in five years.
The magic is a little odd and it never felt fully explained. Maybe that was the intention of the writer- to make the magic of the world inaccessible and esoteric. If that was his aim, he succeeded. Unfortunately, while I can suspend disbelief to enjoy a story, I need to be able to feel like I understand it a little or I can't connect at all. And that was the case with this story.
The writing style was also a little hard to get into. By the end of this book, I could decisively state that it wasn't for me. There's a lot of narrating and the author jumps from action to action, with very few segues, and that made for a rather disjointed reading experience. However, reviews have said that the second one is better than the first one, so I think I'll give it a try. If anything, I'd like to see if the MCs are ever reunited, and my curiosity at that must mean that this book wasn't totally bad.
January 15, 2023
This YA fantasy book takes place on a world with three species living together: the Vorgs, the Endarians and the Humans. There is a king who rules over all of the humans who sets a prophecy in motion by ordering the assassination of one of his lords. His lord's life is spared by the assassin but they all must flee because the king will not stop with just the one attempt. The Lord's daughter is the chosen one in the magic realm but she doesn't know it and she was forbidden from practicing magic until they were forced on the run. She now has to take a crash course in magic in order to keep her people safe. Meanwhile the assassin, who is also on the run for not killing his target, encounters an Endarian princess in a slave auction. He rescues her and they discover a dark secret hidden from the world and must warn everyone. Overall the book was fine but the ending was abrupt and I feel lacked a major climax/ resolution cycle but it is also book one of a series so I guess all that comes later.
April 23, 2018
It's not often I desert a book consciously. Sure, I'll leave a book if I burn out, and I'll even forget something I was reading (or worse, where I was) and just not feel invested enough to pick it up again. But this book frustrated me so much I had to just put it away. Please feel free to skip this if you want the experience of someone who made it to the end.
I made only a few chapters before I had to quit. Random changes in character telling their entire backstories in their own head with little to no provocation drew me so far out of the experience of reading or storytelling that I couldn't accept what was happening at all. Characters thinking in painstaking detail about a war they want to start and how they got there, then switching to a king establishing exactly what happens what they die--and the predictable reactions of those involved--made me realize that such plain-told foreshadowing meant that efforts towards any sort of twist or change would have to be ridiculously jarring or back-handed in order to be remotely interesting. Getting there was going to be such a trial; with little promise of it actually coming, I decided I was better off just stopping where I was.
I made only a few chapters before I had to quit. Random changes in character telling their entire backstories in their own head with little to no provocation drew me so far out of the experience of reading or storytelling that I couldn't accept what was happening at all. Characters thinking in painstaking detail about a war they want to start and how they got there, then switching to a king establishing exactly what happens what they die--and the predictable reactions of those involved--made me realize that such plain-told foreshadowing meant that efforts towards any sort of twist or change would have to be ridiculously jarring or back-handed in order to be remotely interesting. Getting there was going to be such a trial; with little promise of it actually coming, I decided I was better off just stopping where I was.
November 8, 2017
Struggled with what rating to give this, I read it all, but unlikely to bother with the next book when it is published.
Hard to say what was wrong with it, it just felt like “fantasy by numbers” if that makes sense... once upon a time this happened , then this , and this but it all turned out okay ... everything felt rushed, no detail, no history, no character building.. and when anyone got in any sort of mishap, it was always resolved with no fuss within a few paragraphs .
I also struggled with the character names, Carol just didn’t do it for me ( I know it’s the authors wife’s name.. ).. derek was another one!!
Hard to say what was wrong with it, it just felt like “fantasy by numbers” if that makes sense... once upon a time this happened , then this , and this but it all turned out okay ... everything felt rushed, no detail, no history, no character building.. and when anyone got in any sort of mishap, it was always resolved with no fuss within a few paragraphs .
I also struggled with the character names, Carol just didn’t do it for me ( I know it’s the authors wife’s name.. ).. derek was another one!!
October 16, 2017
Endarian equals engrossed.
The book was very well written. I gave a 4 rating because, well it was almost superb. But as much reverence the author has for his wife, having the names Carol for a great and powerful wielder that was professed from thousand years back, I felt like Carol was not a very apt name for a such setting of magic and time. Neither is Kim for an Endarian princess. Anyway, story was really good all in all. Can't wait for the next books.
The book was very well written. I gave a 4 rating because, well it was almost superb. But as much reverence the author has for his wife, having the names Carol for a great and powerful wielder that was professed from thousand years back, I felt like Carol was not a very apt name for a such setting of magic and time. Neither is Kim for an Endarian princess. Anyway, story was really good all in all. Can't wait for the next books.
October 7, 2017
Fun light read. Character development very light but nice plot. Classic hero's journey
This is a fun fast read, not a complete story to itself. If you want to read all the books in the series, then dive in. Good for young teens, nice female character.
This is a fun fast read, not a complete story to itself. If you want to read all the books in the series, then dive in. Good for young teens, nice female character.
January 8, 2018
The book was good enough to want to continue the series.
The description is somewhat misleading, because though Blade (or Arn) and Carol have feelings for each other, there was no interaction between them in this book. Rather, the King believed that Rafel, Carol's father was being treasonous and sent Blade to kill the family. Blade warned Rafel and then went on his way. beginning his repayment of Rafel for raising him after his parents were killed - and he wants to find their murderers.
Carol:
Blade,
The ancient enemy, Kragan,
The description is somewhat misleading, because though Blade (or Arn) and Carol have feelings for each other, there was no interaction between them in this book. Rather, the King believed that Rafel, Carol's father was being treasonous and sent Blade to kill the family. Blade warned Rafel and then went on his way. beginning his repayment of Rafel for raising him after his parents were killed - and he wants to find their murderers.
Carol:
Blade,
The ancient enemy, Kragan,
December 30, 2017
Wow. Not worth it even tho it was free
I wanted to say that this was one of the worst books I’ve read but I couldn’t make it through to the end so I will say that it just was not worth the effort. It read like a boring D&D adventure. I seriously googled the gist of it to see if it matched an actual adventure because it sounded so much like a straightforward battle/collect treasure group. Tedious. I got through the first 15-20 chapters by reading a chapter a night to put myself to sleep (no easy task as I am an insomniac). Then it just became way too stagnant and plotless. The main heroine had a spark of a story in the beginning then that just disappeared. Enter the D&D barbarian, assassin, and comic relief foreign character. And that was it. About all I could take. I think the storyline could have gone somewhere if the writing was a little better but I’ll never really know.
I wanted to say that this was one of the worst books I’ve read but I couldn’t make it through to the end so I will say that it just was not worth the effort. It read like a boring D&D adventure. I seriously googled the gist of it to see if it matched an actual adventure because it sounded so much like a straightforward battle/collect treasure group. Tedious. I got through the first 15-20 chapters by reading a chapter a night to put myself to sleep (no easy task as I am an insomniac). Then it just became way too stagnant and plotless. The main heroine had a spark of a story in the beginning then that just disappeared. Enter the D&D barbarian, assassin, and comic relief foreign character. And that was it. About all I could take. I think the storyline could have gone somewhere if the writing was a little better but I’ll never really know.
May 14, 2018
A writeup of some teenage boys D&D campaign. While the sentences were properly constructed, they jumped around too much; enough time was spent describing food and routine actions, and yet the characters would randomly jump over obvious monumental things. That of course on top of a great collection of tropes, wish-fullfilment and characters mostly motivated by joining the party, or otherwise conveniently happening to be there.
It wasn't the worst book ever, and it even had a certain entertaining energy to it, but eventually I had to admit defeat.
It wasn't the worst book ever, and it even had a certain entertaining energy to it, but eventually I had to admit defeat.
August 1, 2019
The first in an epic fantasy series starts in the kingdom of Tal and follows its two main protagonists, Carol and Arn. Arn is an orphan whose parents were killed years ago by a wielder (a mage) and a vorg (wolf-human hybrid). A few years later he was taken in by the High Lord Rafel, Carol's father, an raised as his son. When Carol confessed her love for him, he left them behind and entered the king's service eventually becoming an assassin. As a reward for saving the prince's life, he received a blade that made him immune to all magic.
After the king's death, the weak price starts executing everyone that is more popular than him. Given that a chamberpot is probably more popular, he has a lot to do. As Rafel is highly regarded since he led Tal to victory in the vorg war, the new king orders his death and sends out Arn to perform the deed. He warns Rafel instead and leaves Tal behind to avoid execution.
Rafel gathers his people and also leaves Tal to avoid a confrontation. Thus he unwittingly plays into the hands of the king's adviser, Blalock, who got the king to order his execution in the first place, as he is a powerful wielder who wishes to use his vorg army to usurp the throne. He also searches for a child of prophecy, a strong female wielder, who is the only person able to stop him.
The first two chapters (not including the prologue) of the book were a little unusual as the author compresses a lot of information into them. All the facts listed above are mostly from these chapters. It isn't bad to read, but when Carol stands at her window and muses about her relationship with Arn providing us more backstory, it starts feeling a little like an info dump. After those initial chapters, however, the pacing evens out and the book becomes quite interesting.
This is classical fantasy, which refreshingly doesn't follow the current trend for grimdark. Though not all protagonists meet in the first book, they have the features of a classical fantasy party. There is a sorceress, a healer, a bowman, an assassin and a barbarian. If there were a dwarf and an elf present, I would resemble an RPG like Dragon Age. Technically the Endarians are similar to elves, so it is. There are also other species such as the vorg or the murgos (reptilian race).
The first book is mostly about how the party members meet and the heroes becoming aware of the danger of the dark wielder. And since the author refrained from using 1st person, we also get to see the perspective of Blalock and aren't limited to events happening in close proximity to the main characters.
While I think that the first three books of the Song of Ice and Fire are brilliant, I've become a little disenchanted with epic fantasy that all try to copy George R.R. Martin. Especially as in the wake of the television series, which was basically Rome with Dragons, the author's try to outdo themselves with shock values (child abuse seems to be a must-have these days). As such I find it refreshing that the author returned to classic fantasy more akin to Tolkien than Martin. I'm cautiously hopeful that in future books he can refrain himself from killing someone every two pages and keeps people bantering instead of howling in despair. For now, I will continue reading this series.
After the king's death, the weak price starts executing everyone that is more popular than him. Given that a chamberpot is probably more popular, he has a lot to do. As Rafel is highly regarded since he led Tal to victory in the vorg war, the new king orders his death and sends out Arn to perform the deed. He warns Rafel instead and leaves Tal behind to avoid execution.
Rafel gathers his people and also leaves Tal to avoid a confrontation. Thus he unwittingly plays into the hands of the king's adviser, Blalock, who got the king to order his execution in the first place, as he is a powerful wielder who wishes to use his vorg army to usurp the throne. He also searches for a child of prophecy, a strong female wielder, who is the only person able to stop him.
The first two chapters (not including the prologue) of the book were a little unusual as the author compresses a lot of information into them. All the facts listed above are mostly from these chapters. It isn't bad to read, but when Carol stands at her window and muses about her relationship with Arn providing us more backstory, it starts feeling a little like an info dump. After those initial chapters, however, the pacing evens out and the book becomes quite interesting.
This is classical fantasy, which refreshingly doesn't follow the current trend for grimdark. Though not all protagonists meet in the first book, they have the features of a classical fantasy party. There is a sorceress, a healer, a bowman, an assassin and a barbarian. If there were a dwarf and an elf present, I would resemble an RPG like Dragon Age. Technically the Endarians are similar to elves, so it is. There are also other species such as the vorg or the murgos (reptilian race).
The first book is mostly about how the party members meet and the heroes becoming aware of the danger of the dark wielder. And since the author refrained from using 1st person, we also get to see the perspective of Blalock and aren't limited to events happening in close proximity to the main characters.
While I think that the first three books of the Song of Ice and Fire are brilliant, I've become a little disenchanted with epic fantasy that all try to copy George R.R. Martin. Especially as in the wake of the television series, which was basically Rome with Dragons, the author's try to outdo themselves with shock values (child abuse seems to be a must-have these days). As such I find it refreshing that the author returned to classic fantasy more akin to Tolkien than Martin. I'm cautiously hopeful that in future books he can refrain himself from killing someone every two pages and keeps people bantering instead of howling in despair. For now, I will continue reading this series.
September 12, 2019
I found this book to be rather generic and uninteresting after a sort while. Nothing in this book felt like a really original idea, and it wasn't all that well put together with his method of writing. It felt like he had a list of places, ideas, and people he wanted in the book. Than tried to fill in the space between them to put things together.
The ideas never felt like they escaped the realm of generic fantasy tropes I've read many times before. We have a prophecy that involves a dark lord with a massive army and this has happened before in the past. We have the romance trope of not being good enough for the other. The cast runs into a haunted evil castle that has some back story, never does get explained, in order to escape a threat. The dark lords city stays hidden via magical macguffin for thousands of years without issue, until the heros stumble upon it.
At times the characters will escape an event through complete deus ex machina. It feels like he created this location and wanted to use it. But once he wrote the characters into it, he didn't know how to extract the characters. So he just kinda made something work, regardless of it being something that really works logically.
The characters didn't impress me really, Carol grows in her abilities way too fast with very little restrictions. And Blade felt like he was so much more powerful than any of the other characters he was around, an assassin shouldn't be all powerful rushing through a large crowd of enemies and in fact should be struggling. And the side characters felt underdeveloped and just doing the same things over and over.
I would have to say that while the book had good editing and didn't discover any issues with that. It doesn't really do much to make it original or interesting to a fantasy fan. It uses all the same tropes and ideas that fantasy has been using for years, but doesn't give you any interesting curve balls or characters to make it feel new and interesting.
The ideas never felt like they escaped the realm of generic fantasy tropes I've read many times before. We have a prophecy that involves a dark lord with a massive army and this has happened before in the past. We have the romance trope of not being good enough for the other. The cast runs into a haunted evil castle that has some back story, never does get explained, in order to escape a threat. The dark lords city stays hidden via magical macguffin for thousands of years without issue, until the heros stumble upon it.
At times the characters will escape an event through complete deus ex machina. It feels like he created this location and wanted to use it. But once he wrote the characters into it, he didn't know how to extract the characters. So he just kinda made something work, regardless of it being something that really works logically.
The characters didn't impress me really, Carol grows in her abilities way too fast with very little restrictions. And Blade felt like he was so much more powerful than any of the other characters he was around, an assassin shouldn't be all powerful rushing through a large crowd of enemies and in fact should be struggling. And the side characters felt underdeveloped and just doing the same things over and over.
I would have to say that while the book had good editing and didn't discover any issues with that. It doesn't really do much to make it original or interesting to a fantasy fan. It uses all the same tropes and ideas that fantasy has been using for years, but doesn't give you any interesting curve balls or characters to make it feel new and interesting.
February 4, 2023
First of all, I hope the 2nd book treats the female lead character better because in this one her characterization was inexplicable. And we spent way too much time with the male character. There's a chapter where the main woman character spent the entire chapter pining over a dude. I'd like to blame the reading for a lot of what went wrong with this book, but it was way more then that. You ever listen to a five to seven-year-old try to describe the plot of a movie, show or book? They get a lot of the broad details, but only the big strokes. The major plotlines. They missed a lot of the subtle details and nuances. And they jump from one thing to another because children are visual creatures first so they get the big stuff but miss a lot in between. That's who this book read. Jumping from one thing to another and you keep asking "How the hell did we get here?" The big-bad, for example. He went from evil wizard king's advisor to Thanos at the speed of light. One minute he's just they powerful baddie, the next he's eating planets. And one minute he's limited by time and distance, the next he's Storm of the X-Men on super steroids. Not to mention the sudden expositions. The author made a water search try to feel like Lord of the Rings compacted into a story no one needed. This book had a lot of good ideas, but so many misteps prevent me from reading the 2nd.
February 2, 2018
There were some good lines and fun imagery, but there wasn’t enough to this story for me to really get into it. I think there was too much exposition and not enough action or dialog. The whole time I found myself pushing myself to read it rather than being eager to get back to it.
Phillips’ world building was quite good, but the characters seemed lacking in interest. Sometimes I had trouble figuring out a character’s motivation or logic. I also had trouble keeping track of how time was flowing in the story, and it seemed like there was a lot of inconsistency. Overall, the primary plot arc was moderately interesting, but I still don’t understand much of the motivation behind the villian’s actions, moreso at the end than at the beginning.
I’m not sure I would recommend this one to many people. I think it would need to be someone who was a die hard epic fantasy lover intent on exploring some different world building techniques.
Phillips’ world building was quite good, but the characters seemed lacking in interest. Sometimes I had trouble figuring out a character’s motivation or logic. I also had trouble keeping track of how time was flowing in the story, and it seemed like there was a lot of inconsistency. Overall, the primary plot arc was moderately interesting, but I still don’t understand much of the motivation behind the villian’s actions, moreso at the end than at the beginning.
I’m not sure I would recommend this one to many people. I think it would need to be someone who was a die hard epic fantasy lover intent on exploring some different world building techniques.
June 28, 2018
Confusing mess
I fell absolutely no drive to even get the second book. This thing is a huge mess. The only interesting character is the assassin and even then, a lot of his personality is so knotted that it's conflicting of itself. The jumping around of the story is unnecessary. I mean I get needing to cover all your characters, but even the time lapses is extravagant. Pretty much nothing was accomplished by any character. The main female character got really good at magic. Then it stopped. Why not just have her have a really hard time accomplishing magic in general? Main Male character is an assassin and the only interesting character, but you get no time to view anything fun going on.
Topping this off with the audio book reader being boring as all get up, emphasizing the wrong syllable of words, ending simple sentences like they are questions, and really only 3 voices that can be distinguished, I can't fathom the idea of the other books being any better.
I fell absolutely no drive to even get the second book. This thing is a huge mess. The only interesting character is the assassin and even then, a lot of his personality is so knotted that it's conflicting of itself. The jumping around of the story is unnecessary. I mean I get needing to cover all your characters, but even the time lapses is extravagant. Pretty much nothing was accomplished by any character. The main female character got really good at magic. Then it stopped. Why not just have her have a really hard time accomplishing magic in general? Main Male character is an assassin and the only interesting character, but you get no time to view anything fun going on.
Topping this off with the audio book reader being boring as all get up, emphasizing the wrong syllable of words, ending simple sentences like they are questions, and really only 3 voices that can be distinguished, I can't fathom the idea of the other books being any better.
October 1, 2024
A decent start to a fantasy series. Pre-written destinies, hidden love, kingdoms betrayed and saved, magic (an interesting system I haven't read before). At times a little over detailed, and physically impossible (even in fantasy land, "normal" bodies can't bend in certain directions.)
A very big story in a very large world, a good example of epic fantasy. While the world is big, the story focuses mostly on two groups, which makes the story much easier to follow than when the party splits into dozens of different places. The elemental magic was an interesting spin - having to use actual elemental creatures to perform it - and the concept behind the Endarian magic was interesting as well. The fight scenes got to be a bit much, with things not quite possible because physics still holds true to warriors on horseback. A great first book that ends with definitely more to come, but in a place you can breathe a bit as well.
A very big story in a very large world, a good example of epic fantasy. While the world is big, the story focuses mostly on two groups, which makes the story much easier to follow than when the party splits into dozens of different places. The elemental magic was an interesting spin - having to use actual elemental creatures to perform it - and the concept behind the Endarian magic was interesting as well. The fight scenes got to be a bit much, with things not quite possible because physics still holds true to warriors on horseback. A great first book that ends with definitely more to come, but in a place you can breathe a bit as well.
October 12, 2017
I received an advance copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Promising premise, weak story. A prophecy to stop a madman—of course said madman must find and murder the main character of this prophecy. Carol is the daughter of a nobleman and warrior. Surprisingly she is a well of magic, and she masters this magic quickly and efficiently—this I found hard to believe, but of course if she is the woman of the prophecy this has to be so. She is also in love with Blade, another integral part of this prophecy. He is of course a tortured soul, his parents having been murdered when he was a young child. Their stories diverge and run parallel to each other, making the story very disconnected. I also did not like the language at all—it did not fit with the time period and felt forced (it also got on my nerves).
Promising premise, weak story. A prophecy to stop a madman—of course said madman must find and murder the main character of this prophecy. Carol is the daughter of a nobleman and warrior. Surprisingly she is a well of magic, and she masters this magic quickly and efficiently—this I found hard to believe, but of course if she is the woman of the prophecy this has to be so. She is also in love with Blade, another integral part of this prophecy. He is of course a tortured soul, his parents having been murdered when he was a young child. Their stories diverge and run parallel to each other, making the story very disconnected. I also did not like the language at all—it did not fit with the time period and felt forced (it also got on my nerves).
October 26, 2022
Not half bad a start to this series. Seems to be just laying some groundwork for future books.
I am curious why (as I look forward) we have in Audible format a female narrator for the first 3 books and then a male narrator for the following 3 books. Perspective?
It was strange for me that near the beginning of this book they spoke so much of elementals when I had just finished the 1981 novel by Michael McDowell (narrated by R.C. Bray) "The Elementals". Of course however each books manifestations of the word comes in very different beings.
Well, onto book 02 in this series, "Prophecy's Daughter". Hope it picks up some. I seem to recall really enjoying the Rho Agenda series (all 9 books within 3 related series). I'd like to not be feeling generous giving even 4 star ratings. And at the least maybe generous with giving 5 star ratings. Or well founded even better.
I am curious why (as I look forward) we have in Audible format a female narrator for the first 3 books and then a male narrator for the following 3 books. Perspective?
It was strange for me that near the beginning of this book they spoke so much of elementals when I had just finished the 1981 novel by Michael McDowell (narrated by R.C. Bray) "The Elementals". Of course however each books manifestations of the word comes in very different beings.
Well, onto book 02 in this series, "Prophecy's Daughter". Hope it picks up some. I seem to recall really enjoying the Rho Agenda series (all 9 books within 3 related series). I'd like to not be feeling generous giving even 4 star ratings. And at the least maybe generous with giving 5 star ratings. Or well founded even better.
January 9, 2018
I found this epic fantasy book captivating and it's the first of a trilogy, so the second is pre ordered and I am waiting for it to fly onto my kindle on January 9th 2018.
There are several tribes who have developed different powers that they use to defend their kingdoms. This story is about the need for one tribe to venture out and seek a safer place to live and help from other kingdoms. The weather is changing as winter sets in and they only have carts pulled by horses to take them through the snow. The writing of this book kept me hooked; the danger the 'wagon train' of citizens and the advance party rider groups faced and the obstacles they encountered were fantastic and exciting but believable
There are several tribes who have developed different powers that they use to defend their kingdoms. This story is about the need for one tribe to venture out and seek a safer place to live and help from other kingdoms. The weather is changing as winter sets in and they only have carts pulled by horses to take them through the snow. The writing of this book kept me hooked; the danger the 'wagon train' of citizens and the advance party rider groups faced and the obstacles they encountered were fantastic and exciting but believable
February 20, 2022
This was an enjoyable book that follows three storylines working throughout the novel to finally cross at a common point just as the first book ends. The plot moves forward with plenty of development and action, as well as intrigue. Fantasy lovers will appreciate the use of magic, alternate planes, various races, and interestingly diverse realms. The characters are fun and distinct, providing a wide range for a reader to appreciate. I can tell that these will be developed in future installments, and I am committed to them already. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series and already bought all the books in anticipation. I'm glad to have stumbled across this in my Kindle First reads and highly recommend it for Sci Fi Fantasy lovers.
November 4, 2017
Plot! Yay!
I can't stand turning a page to see what happens next and finding to my risk surprise that I had just finished the last page. Boo!
Those are my more obvious reactions.
What intrigues me more is that I wish I knew what made the writing seem pedestrian rather than great. It was not _bad_, but that would have been easier to detect. But from the first pages, I felt something 5 cents out of tune. If I could explain why, I would be a better writer myself. My best guesses at this point are that the author spent time describing the wrong things, or that every few pages a sentence seemed to have missed le mot juste.
I can't stand turning a page to see what happens next and finding to my risk surprise that I had just finished the last page. Boo!
Those are my more obvious reactions.
What intrigues me more is that I wish I knew what made the writing seem pedestrian rather than great. It was not _bad_, but that would have been easier to detect. But from the first pages, I felt something 5 cents out of tune. If I could explain why, I would be a better writer myself. My best guesses at this point are that the author spent time describing the wrong things, or that every few pages a sentence seemed to have missed le mot juste.
November 27, 2017
One of my free picks from amazon, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but have to admit I had trouble putting it down. Unlike most books, the first half is action-packed and fast-paced while the second half is spent more in setting the scene for the ongoing series. Since most books tend to do this in reverse, I was pleasantly surprised. The characters are interesting and I felt invested enough to immediately order the next book in this series which sadly is not going to be out for another few months. For those who enjoy fantasy and science fiction, they might want to try this one.
January 5, 2018
3.5-4 stars. This was a long book, but overall a good read. It follows 2 main people. Carol is the daughter of a Lord who has been targeted by the king (who was influenced by an evil sorcerer). Her father and his people flee across a desert to escape the king and his army. The other main character is Arn, who was raised by Carol's father after his parents were killed by vorgs, evil wolf-human type things. Arn became the king's assassin and is sent to kill Carol's father, but instead warns him to flee. He himself must then flee, and he teams up with a few other characters, run into conflict etc.
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