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Tales from the Circle Volume 1: Rise of the Sorcerer King
...a sinister power was growing on the border between the High Kingdoms and the Giant Lands. Soon, the world would put a name to this The Mad Sorcerer… Immerse yourself in an epic journey across all the lands touched by the twisted magic of the Mad Sorcerer. Follow in the footsteps of those whose lives were changed by the Mad Sorcerer and those who sought to change the world by fighting him. Stories in this Wanderer Traveler of the Circle A Kingly Sword The Renegade King Wandering Storm. + bonus material about the Sorcerer King
210 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 18, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 27, 2019
Al-Shanti writes beautiful prose and her world-building is both vast and intricate. In this collection of 5 short stories/novelettes, the author introduces the reader to the world that forms the basis of her longer novel(s). I’ve read Children of the Dead City and recognized many aspects of the world, it’s politics and its people.
The stories are loosely connected through the world-building but otherwise don’t overlap. Each is a slice of life taken from characters in different parts of the map or belonging to different groups. For this reason, the stories don’t end like standard short stories. There’s a small conclusion, a new magic skill, a battle won, but in each case, the story must continue in defiance of the Mad Sorcerer.
The stories are complex, and I’m glad I read a previous book so that I had some familiarity with the world. The author provides backstory without bogging the individual tales down, but there is a lot of information to absorb and some is simply provided as a matter of fact without explanation. I highly recommend Al-Shanti’s stories to readers who love immersing themselves in exquisite world-building.
The stories are loosely connected through the world-building but otherwise don’t overlap. Each is a slice of life taken from characters in different parts of the map or belonging to different groups. For this reason, the stories don’t end like standard short stories. There’s a small conclusion, a new magic skill, a battle won, but in each case, the story must continue in defiance of the Mad Sorcerer.
The stories are complex, and I’m glad I read a previous book so that I had some familiarity with the world. The author provides backstory without bogging the individual tales down, but there is a lot of information to absorb and some is simply provided as a matter of fact without explanation. I highly recommend Al-Shanti’s stories to readers who love immersing themselves in exquisite world-building.
June 21, 2018
This is a hard book for me to review because there was so much I liked, but also so much I found incomprehensible. I like the author’s writing style: simple, direct descriptive language that creates vivid scenes. I also was fascinated by the rich culture she created: the Wanderers, the Travelers, the Renegades, and other castes in the sort-of medieval setting. But some of the stories were almost surreal, and I don’t think that was the intention of the writer.
My favorite story is “The Renegade King”. It is short, has tight plot, and has the feel of a traditional fairy tale told with a modern dry humor. I enjoyed “Wanderer”, too. Again, it is a relatively short story with a plot I could follow. I loved the sea and storm imagery and the poetic aspects of the prose.
I also liked most of “Nyarai: Traveler of the Circle.” However, the plot kind of rambled and one critical scene—a rescue—was skipped over, for some reason. Which leads me to the problem I had with this book: I often felt like important scenes or important parts of scenes were left out. For example, in the first story the heroine has been captured and is on the brink of rescue, when suddenly the story jumps to after the rescue. I could handle that jump, though I was disappointed (I wanted to read about how the rescue happened), but every few pages the story jumped again and again until I no longer understood the plot and lost interest in the story. Most of the narratives in the book have that flaw: sudden skips, almost like pages or sentences had been dropped from the text.
I regret saying this, because I found individual scenes and characters very interesting and compelling, and I really liked the strange cultural elements and social mores of the imaginary society. I hate to give negative feedback, especially when I kept getting glimpses of a unique vision and writing style. I felt like I was reading a book that teetered between “really good” and “needs to be revised”.
My favorite story is “The Renegade King”. It is short, has tight plot, and has the feel of a traditional fairy tale told with a modern dry humor. I enjoyed “Wanderer”, too. Again, it is a relatively short story with a plot I could follow. I loved the sea and storm imagery and the poetic aspects of the prose.
I also liked most of “Nyarai: Traveler of the Circle.” However, the plot kind of rambled and one critical scene—a rescue—was skipped over, for some reason. Which leads me to the problem I had with this book: I often felt like important scenes or important parts of scenes were left out. For example, in the first story the heroine has been captured and is on the brink of rescue, when suddenly the story jumps to after the rescue. I could handle that jump, though I was disappointed (I wanted to read about how the rescue happened), but every few pages the story jumped again and again until I no longer understood the plot and lost interest in the story. Most of the narratives in the book have that flaw: sudden skips, almost like pages or sentences had been dropped from the text.
I regret saying this, because I found individual scenes and characters very interesting and compelling, and I really liked the strange cultural elements and social mores of the imaginary society. I hate to give negative feedback, especially when I kept getting glimpses of a unique vision and writing style. I felt like I was reading a book that teetered between “really good” and “needs to be revised”.
June 21, 2018
This is a hard review to write. Mainly because of the subtitle and blurb. The subtitle and blurb make it seem like this is a collection of works surrounding the Rise of the Sorcerer King. I think it's this attempt to tie them together that is confusing reviewers of this book.
I read the reviews before I read the book, so when I started reading, I ignored the reviews, the subtitle, and the blurb and just read. If you read this as just a collection of short works with no intent to tie them together, they are actually very good. There's a rich culture and world building in each story. Some of them jump around plot wise and I wanted to see key plot points that just kind of just got skipped over.
The stories themselves are very good and I think this would work as just a collection of short stories. If this author's intent was to show the rise of this king in these stories, perhaps some clarification or additional information is needed in the stories to tie them all together
I read the reviews before I read the book, so when I started reading, I ignored the reviews, the subtitle, and the blurb and just read. If you read this as just a collection of short works with no intent to tie them together, they are actually very good. There's a rich culture and world building in each story. Some of them jump around plot wise and I wanted to see key plot points that just kind of just got skipped over.
The stories themselves are very good and I think this would work as just a collection of short stories. If this author's intent was to show the rise of this king in these stories, perhaps some clarification or additional information is needed in the stories to tie them all together
June 9, 2018
Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy of the book for an honest review.
Tales from the Circle Volume One is a collection of short stories that take place in a medieval world that involves magic, conflict, and a struggle to survive against the forces of evil.
The first story to be presented in this collection is the strongest out of the bunch, with a good atmosphere and raising of tensions, and good characterization. If the novel had been centered around the first short story then I feel the book overall would have been a good journey for me as a reader. Sadly, the the first story ends and is followed by the stories of those less interesting. It is here where the novel's main problem arises: a lack of narrative focus. I was hoping the stories would be related to one another and weave the characters from previous (or future) stories into the narrative, but instead the stories are disconnected from one another. This makes it very difficult to follow the novel and turns the experience of reading the book into a chore, as there is little to no connection and ultimately I'm left wondering what the point of the story is.
The writing in the novel has some errors here and there, but it is serviceable. The characterization is good within the first story, but afterwards the characterizations takes a noticeable hit in quality. This is in part due to the lack of focus on a set cast, and due to the story jumping to new characters frequently. It leaves me with little time to form a connection to the character, and without that time to do so, I am left with little emotional connection to the characters that come later in the story, and indifferent to the peril that they or their loved ones face.
I felt disappointed when story elements came out of nowhere or things just happened. Conversations were a mixed bag, in that some were good and engaging, and others were long, drawn out, and/or were expository in nature. I was also disappointed with how the Big Bad of the story was realized. I can't spoil the story, but I believe that others have covered this point.
Overall, I wanted to enjoy the novel but sadly the aforementioned issues took the wind out of the book's sails. Two out of five stars.
Tales from the Circle Volume One is a collection of short stories that take place in a medieval world that involves magic, conflict, and a struggle to survive against the forces of evil.
The first story to be presented in this collection is the strongest out of the bunch, with a good atmosphere and raising of tensions, and good characterization. If the novel had been centered around the first short story then I feel the book overall would have been a good journey for me as a reader. Sadly, the the first story ends and is followed by the stories of those less interesting. It is here where the novel's main problem arises: a lack of narrative focus. I was hoping the stories would be related to one another and weave the characters from previous (or future) stories into the narrative, but instead the stories are disconnected from one another. This makes it very difficult to follow the novel and turns the experience of reading the book into a chore, as there is little to no connection and ultimately I'm left wondering what the point of the story is.
The writing in the novel has some errors here and there, but it is serviceable. The characterization is good within the first story, but afterwards the characterizations takes a noticeable hit in quality. This is in part due to the lack of focus on a set cast, and due to the story jumping to new characters frequently. It leaves me with little time to form a connection to the character, and without that time to do so, I am left with little emotional connection to the characters that come later in the story, and indifferent to the peril that they or their loved ones face.
I felt disappointed when story elements came out of nowhere or things just happened. Conversations were a mixed bag, in that some were good and engaging, and others were long, drawn out, and/or were expository in nature. I was also disappointed with how the Big Bad of the story was realized. I can't spoil the story, but I believe that others have covered this point.
Overall, I wanted to enjoy the novel but sadly the aforementioned issues took the wind out of the book's sails. Two out of five stars.
December 15, 2017
This is a collection of short story vignettes set against the backdrop of a single world. I must admit it took me a while to realise that each story was a separate entity, as I was expecting all the disparate strands to be interwoven, and an overarching story arc to emerge. I was kind of hoping that we would learn more about the Mad Sorcerer King (how can you not like a tale about a Mad Sorcerer King??) through the eyes of all the various peoples that his tyranny affected, but this didn’t really pan out. However, some of the writing, particularly action scenes, and ship-based scenes were beautifully described, and had me immersed in the scene. At times I found the narratives were a little confusing, with jumps in time that could only be discerned from the context, so I was halfway through a scene before I realised that it didn’t continue directly from the preceding scene. Also, just as I was starting to get my head round who the characters were, and who to root for, I would reach the end of the short story, and not see those characters again. I think the author has created a rich world, full of possibilities, but at times it felt like I was exploring the scope and depth of the world along with the author, rather than reading the fully-plotted novel I was expecting. I would love to see the author go on to construct a fully integrated novel from this, possibly concentrating on the adventures of one or two of the main characters we were introduced to in this collection to allow me to get to know and understand these characters in more depth, and allow me to care more about their plight. For me, I would love to see more of the sea-based action sequences as well, as these were highlights for me. To summarise I found this a promising set of stories that I felt would benefit from melding into a full novel.
October 18, 2017
This book is basically 5 fantasy stories, each one with its own prologue.
These stories are explorations of this world, introducing different groups of people and different histories, different heroes and villains.
The first story is about how The Lords, who were the only ones allowed to perform magic in their lands, lost their control over their commoners because of Shapeshifter attacks. The second story is about the Wanderers taking to their ships and escaping from the lands. The third story is about a Giant who is also a traveler, and some of the evil of the sorcerers. The fourth story is about a Renegade who becomes a king. And the fifth story is about a Commander and a Wanderer Captain.
For me, these stories were very hard to follow. Although the worldbuilding and different magic systems were interesting and I wanted to know more, the stories never grabbed me. The prologues are mostly written in a very high-level narrative style, where broad swathes of history are laid down in broad strokes, hinting at stories that sound fascinating, but no details are given. In the stories, there’s rarely a real point-of-view character and the narrative jumps from one person to another, sometimes jumping years in a sentence, and changing locations and places in the middle of a conversation.
Although the book is called Rise of the Sorcerer King, there weren’t any actual stories about the Sorcerer King or his rise, just mentions of it in the prologues to the short stories. That was a letdown.
The editing also has issues, with some words being used incorrectly and at other times, character’s names changing. Some conversations seem incomplete.
These stories are explorations of this world, introducing different groups of people and different histories, different heroes and villains.
The first story is about how The Lords, who were the only ones allowed to perform magic in their lands, lost their control over their commoners because of Shapeshifter attacks. The second story is about the Wanderers taking to their ships and escaping from the lands. The third story is about a Giant who is also a traveler, and some of the evil of the sorcerers. The fourth story is about a Renegade who becomes a king. And the fifth story is about a Commander and a Wanderer Captain.
For me, these stories were very hard to follow. Although the worldbuilding and different magic systems were interesting and I wanted to know more, the stories never grabbed me. The prologues are mostly written in a very high-level narrative style, where broad swathes of history are laid down in broad strokes, hinting at stories that sound fascinating, but no details are given. In the stories, there’s rarely a real point-of-view character and the narrative jumps from one person to another, sometimes jumping years in a sentence, and changing locations and places in the middle of a conversation.
Although the book is called Rise of the Sorcerer King, there weren’t any actual stories about the Sorcerer King or his rise, just mentions of it in the prologues to the short stories. That was a letdown.
The editing also has issues, with some words being used incorrectly and at other times, character’s names changing. Some conversations seem incomplete.
November 2, 2017
There are elements of a lot of High Fantasy stories that turn me off from the Genre. In the past I've likened it to the sentence, "Because teachers see students using 'because' incorrectly at the beginning of a sentence, they tell students not to use the word 'because' to start a sentence."
One element I often see used badly is the long Prelude- World Building- Exposition beginning. (Sorry fans of Dune) Like many High Fantasy novels, Tales from the Circle, does need this to give the reader a grasp of where they are. Unlike many of those novels, this (or I should say, these as there are five of them) is concise and does what is needed and no more. One gets the sense that the author worked as hard making it readable and to the point as possible as they did fashioning the world. As a reader I say, "Thank You."
The stories move quickly and I found myself immersed in the action.
One thing I did find, and this might be me, even though got swept up in the action I would quickly forget why the action was taking place. In a few of the stories I found myself scanning forward to the next action scene. Then really not knowing why the action was taking place. Again, I don't know if it was me, or the writing that started this pattern.
These five stories do move quickly enough to keep the readers attention. As a quick read it was fine.
One element I often see used badly is the long Prelude- World Building- Exposition beginning. (Sorry fans of Dune) Like many High Fantasy novels, Tales from the Circle, does need this to give the reader a grasp of where they are. Unlike many of those novels, this (or I should say, these as there are five of them) is concise and does what is needed and no more. One gets the sense that the author worked as hard making it readable and to the point as possible as they did fashioning the world. As a reader I say, "Thank You."
The stories move quickly and I found myself immersed in the action.
One thing I did find, and this might be me, even though got swept up in the action I would quickly forget why the action was taking place. In a few of the stories I found myself scanning forward to the next action scene. Then really not knowing why the action was taking place. Again, I don't know if it was me, or the writing that started this pattern.
These five stories do move quickly enough to keep the readers attention. As a quick read it was fine.
November 9, 2017
This is a collection of 5 stories that introduce us to a fantasy world, magic, beings and the lives of several important players within each story.
I must admit that I had a really hard time reading this book, but not for the normal reasons that someone would have.
I liked the writing style and descriptions, but the lack of focus and the disorganization of the book as a whole was so distracting that I almost couldn’t read it.
Because each story was its own piece, there ended up being so many characters and places that I found myself backtracking on more than one occasion trying to figure out where I was and who was talking.
I really wanted more of each story and feel like it has the potential to break each short story away and make a book of it. I was lacking so much information that I felt needed to be added and conversations that seemed to jump around and be unfinished that I ended up just lost and unable to process what I was reading.
Again, the writing wasn’t bad and I enjoyed the idea of the worlds created. I like the characters and the idea of the different magics that were in play.
I’d love to reread these pieces as entire stories so that I can fall for the characters more, learn more about the setting and really dig into each story, instead of having a tiny glimpse of something that throws you into the action with no explanations and no further thoughts.
I must admit that I had a really hard time reading this book, but not for the normal reasons that someone would have.
I liked the writing style and descriptions, but the lack of focus and the disorganization of the book as a whole was so distracting that I almost couldn’t read it.
Because each story was its own piece, there ended up being so many characters and places that I found myself backtracking on more than one occasion trying to figure out where I was and who was talking.
I really wanted more of each story and feel like it has the potential to break each short story away and make a book of it. I was lacking so much information that I felt needed to be added and conversations that seemed to jump around and be unfinished that I ended up just lost and unable to process what I was reading.
Again, the writing wasn’t bad and I enjoyed the idea of the worlds created. I like the characters and the idea of the different magics that were in play.
I’d love to reread these pieces as entire stories so that I can fall for the characters more, learn more about the setting and really dig into each story, instead of having a tiny glimpse of something that throws you into the action with no explanations and no further thoughts.
July 13, 2018
Tales from the Circle, Rise of the Sorcerer King is a decent book. I like the format and the four short stories, each taking place in a different area of the world. The world itself is well-developed with a feeling that it’s been there for a long time, has history, and there are areas yet unexplored in this volume.
My biggest problem with the book was that I found myself getting confused and lost quite a bit. I’m not sure if it was in the transitions between the scenes within each story, or the number of characters, or what, but I had a hard time following it. Which is really a shame, because the parts I could follow were well-written, with interesting characters and a good story.
The only other problem I had was that I spent the entire book wishing the author had included a map, so that I could better visualize the various areas he was referring to. Then, I found a crudely drawn, but serviceable, map at the back of the book. I’ve seen this a few times and it always boggles me. Either put the map at the beginning, or at least a note saying, “hey, there’s a map on the last page”. So, if you find yourself wishing for one, turn to the last page.
Tales of the Circle is a good book that needs a little work to tighten up a bit, but I think the author shows a lot of promise. It’s worth giving a read. 3.5 stars
My biggest problem with the book was that I found myself getting confused and lost quite a bit. I’m not sure if it was in the transitions between the scenes within each story, or the number of characters, or what, but I had a hard time following it. Which is really a shame, because the parts I could follow were well-written, with interesting characters and a good story.
The only other problem I had was that I spent the entire book wishing the author had included a map, so that I could better visualize the various areas he was referring to. Then, I found a crudely drawn, but serviceable, map at the back of the book. I’ve seen this a few times and it always boggles me. Either put the map at the beginning, or at least a note saying, “hey, there’s a map on the last page”. So, if you find yourself wishing for one, turn to the last page.
Tales of the Circle is a good book that needs a little work to tighten up a bit, but I think the author shows a lot of promise. It’s worth giving a read. 3.5 stars
November 4, 2020
The story is well written and easy to read. The sorcerer King is evil personified and good people are easily swayed.
There are still good people who want the best for the people and will do their best to stop the evil.
There are still good people who want the best for the people and will do their best to stop the evil.
April 23, 2020
Actual rating 3.5
Tales from the Circle has good prose for the most part and several instances of wonderful worldbuilding. It's at its best when the various stories focus on a single culture and narrative because the actual world is quite complicated with numerous different regions, which are further separated into distinct kingdoms. So, when the stories deal with the world as a whole its often difficult to parse and locate all the names. When the stories are smaller, more focused, they are easier to invest in, more emotionally rich, and allow the author's creativity to manifest in more tangible, narrative-affecting elements like magic or culture. These stories are also the ones where the prose reaches its peak.
There are three main stories and several shorter, some barely longer than a page, and the first two of those majors stories read very well. The last one doesn't. I found that particular story more confusing as it bounced through scenes, character povs and time without transistion. I also found the prose distinctly weaker, both less emotive and more superficial with a greater reliance on passive voice and telling.
For a slightly more in-depth review, or just general shenanigans, you can check out the video review my brother and I foolishly recorded. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAxsm...
also available as podcast http://adventuresome.libsyn.com/tales...
Tales from the Circle has good prose for the most part and several instances of wonderful worldbuilding. It's at its best when the various stories focus on a single culture and narrative because the actual world is quite complicated with numerous different regions, which are further separated into distinct kingdoms. So, when the stories deal with the world as a whole its often difficult to parse and locate all the names. When the stories are smaller, more focused, they are easier to invest in, more emotionally rich, and allow the author's creativity to manifest in more tangible, narrative-affecting elements like magic or culture. These stories are also the ones where the prose reaches its peak.
There are three main stories and several shorter, some barely longer than a page, and the first two of those majors stories read very well. The last one doesn't. I found that particular story more confusing as it bounced through scenes, character povs and time without transistion. I also found the prose distinctly weaker, both less emotive and more superficial with a greater reliance on passive voice and telling.
For a slightly more in-depth review, or just general shenanigans, you can check out the video review my brother and I foolishly recorded. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAxsm...
also available as podcast http://adventuresome.libsyn.com/tales...
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews