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Ascent Archives #1
Blood-Stained Heir
After the sudden death of his beloved wife, Rysh Trell struggles to keep his life together and devotes everything to raising their son. When the King of Ansaroth seeks vengeance for the murder of his father, Rysh is forced to defend his home and family again.
As an army pursues him across Ansaroth, Rysh fights to honor a promise he made to a dying friend. With little hope of survival, he searches deep inside to find the soldier he spent years burying away.
Will Rysh keep his promise, or will evil forces stop him from reaching his goal?
As an army pursues him across Ansaroth, Rysh fights to honor a promise he made to a dying friend. With little hope of survival, he searches deep inside to find the soldier he spent years burying away.
Will Rysh keep his promise, or will evil forces stop him from reaching his goal?
- GenresFantasy
344 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 2, 2017
17 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
T. Norman
7 books5 followersT. Norman, self-published author of the Ascent Archives, grew up in small town Minnesota where his passion for reading and immersing himself in to the fantasy worlds of his childhood grew in to creating and writing his own stories. T. Norman's series, the Ascent Archives, was first formed during his childhood playing toys with his brother, and now it is set to become a four part series. With experience in a variety of fields, writing has become his passion. T. Norman currently lives with his wife, two children, and dog in southeast Wisconsin.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 27, 2020
I enjoyed this adventure, though it had a lot of characters which made it a little difficult to follow at first. I really wanted to see where they were all going but the map in the book was too fuzzy, also emotions/gestures were often placed behind dialogue, which I had to get my head around. Nevertheless, there was plenty of action, some interesting twists and bloodshed, of course, but usually and thankfully not too gory (it makes me read too fast). This book is suitable for readers of any age - a bloodstained but otherwise clean read.
December 31, 2020
3.5 Stars
There are a lot of characters and a lot to chew on in Bood-Stained Heir. This makes it a double edged sword. I never felt bored with any one character but it also made it difficult to connect deeply with any one character. I felt that some of the relationships in the book were rushed (again T. Norman put forth quite an undertaking) and I wished he could have taken more time to develop some of those characters and their interactions with one another. There were some convenient plot saves and a few minor writing mistakes, but other than that the writing was clean, with straight forward prose, which I liked. The story was interesitng, moved at a wonderful pace, and the fight scenes were pretty good. The book as a whole was entertaining and worth the read.
There are a lot of characters and a lot to chew on in Bood-Stained Heir. This makes it a double edged sword. I never felt bored with any one character but it also made it difficult to connect deeply with any one character. I felt that some of the relationships in the book were rushed (again T. Norman put forth quite an undertaking) and I wished he could have taken more time to develop some of those characters and their interactions with one another. There were some convenient plot saves and a few minor writing mistakes, but other than that the writing was clean, with straight forward prose, which I liked. The story was interesitng, moved at a wonderful pace, and the fight scenes were pretty good. The book as a whole was entertaining and worth the read.
February 16, 2018
I very much enjoyed this fantasy, in the best sense – that I was keen to get back to it every time I had to stop reading.
It’s fairly typical of the genre in a Game of Thrones type way (and I suspect our author is a big George RR fan – nods in the names, like Tyrell and Pod! And a slave trade with fighting pits! No dragons though, so far – resisted that temptation). It’s set in a mediaeval world with knights and kings and princes, and bloodlines and true heirs. At first I suspected the main protagonist was going to be Alric, a lord and knight tasked with getting the newborn baby princess to safety when invaders attack. But then Alric takes a back seat in favour of Rysh, an ordinary guard guy in small town Ansaroth, with a handsome young archer son Gant who has rather taken the incognito princess’s eye. GOT like, there is a huge cast of characters. I do think some were probably unnecessary – mainly the ones who were introduced in detail only to die in the next scene – but by and large it was reasonably easy to keep track of them, which is a tribute to the coherence of the plot and the strength of the characters’ depiction. The only two I got briefly confused with shortly after their introduction were two young noblemen on the Ansaroth team, who are neither reckoned to be all that in the sword-fighting department: Dirk and Tyrell. Needless to say, the confusion didn’t last too long: one turns out to be a thoroughly unpleasant character, while the other has the potential to be quite interesting.
The plot is well thought out, with a variety of sub-plots and high machinations on the go at any one time, and people who we thought were lost turning up again. There are also a fine sprinkling of villains and villains in the making. The end is a victory, of course, but in the grand scheme of things a victory that is not important for the end game – that is still to come, in the way of all series. So satisfying enough, and our heroes are in a good place, but the reader knows there are still major trials to come.
There are a few things that could be improved, even though as I said I had no trouble powering through the story. And I am rather picky. The one that bugged me most was a tendency to telegraph and over-inform the reader excessively. This is true during conversations especially, but also in other details such as the order in which the people are walking, which we always know. Why? And the orders given on shipboard. They’re not especially authentic, and we don’t need most of them anyway.
Some details felt inauthentic to me. For instance, at the original small town where Rysh is a guard, all the townspeople rush to escape from a back gate from the approaching soldiers – and are of course cut down, and the soldiers gain entry. The point of strongholds, with walls and gates, was surely to offer a place of safety from enemies? Sieges were notoriously hard to break. The last thing you’d be inclined to do is try to run into the open where you can be easily cut down, and incidentally let the enemy in. Which is exactly what happened. Silly townspeople.
Plus the omniscient narrator thing didn't always work: we're told what one person thinks and then another... all in the same scene. A lot of the time, we didn't need to be told specifically how each person felt anyway, we could just infer.
But these are details: by and large the story rattled along, with plenty of action, and was more than exciting enough to hold my interest. Also, magic was used in just the right quantity – it’s out there, and can be powerful, but is around in small doses. So far.
For the next installment, I would hope for a slightly leaner writing style, and maybe for the female heroines to step up a bit. BTW – I very much like that it’s a Fellowship of the Ring type thing, a loyal band sticking together and helping each other out in their quest. Hopefully with no Boromir to create a fly in the ointment (one traitor was revealed early on, no spoilers).
Entertaining read. If you’re suffering from GOT withdrawal symptoms and the never-ending wait for The Winds Of Winter, you could do a lot worse. Give it a go.
For more of Brin's reviews, go to:
http://www.brinmurray.com/
It’s fairly typical of the genre in a Game of Thrones type way (and I suspect our author is a big George RR fan – nods in the names, like Tyrell and Pod! And a slave trade with fighting pits! No dragons though, so far – resisted that temptation). It’s set in a mediaeval world with knights and kings and princes, and bloodlines and true heirs. At first I suspected the main protagonist was going to be Alric, a lord and knight tasked with getting the newborn baby princess to safety when invaders attack. But then Alric takes a back seat in favour of Rysh, an ordinary guard guy in small town Ansaroth, with a handsome young archer son Gant who has rather taken the incognito princess’s eye. GOT like, there is a huge cast of characters. I do think some were probably unnecessary – mainly the ones who were introduced in detail only to die in the next scene – but by and large it was reasonably easy to keep track of them, which is a tribute to the coherence of the plot and the strength of the characters’ depiction. The only two I got briefly confused with shortly after their introduction were two young noblemen on the Ansaroth team, who are neither reckoned to be all that in the sword-fighting department: Dirk and Tyrell. Needless to say, the confusion didn’t last too long: one turns out to be a thoroughly unpleasant character, while the other has the potential to be quite interesting.
The plot is well thought out, with a variety of sub-plots and high machinations on the go at any one time, and people who we thought were lost turning up again. There are also a fine sprinkling of villains and villains in the making. The end is a victory, of course, but in the grand scheme of things a victory that is not important for the end game – that is still to come, in the way of all series. So satisfying enough, and our heroes are in a good place, but the reader knows there are still major trials to come.
There are a few things that could be improved, even though as I said I had no trouble powering through the story. And I am rather picky. The one that bugged me most was a tendency to telegraph and over-inform the reader excessively. This is true during conversations especially, but also in other details such as the order in which the people are walking, which we always know. Why? And the orders given on shipboard. They’re not especially authentic, and we don’t need most of them anyway.
Some details felt inauthentic to me. For instance, at the original small town where Rysh is a guard, all the townspeople rush to escape from a back gate from the approaching soldiers – and are of course cut down, and the soldiers gain entry. The point of strongholds, with walls and gates, was surely to offer a place of safety from enemies? Sieges were notoriously hard to break. The last thing you’d be inclined to do is try to run into the open where you can be easily cut down, and incidentally let the enemy in. Which is exactly what happened. Silly townspeople.
Plus the omniscient narrator thing didn't always work: we're told what one person thinks and then another... all in the same scene. A lot of the time, we didn't need to be told specifically how each person felt anyway, we could just infer.
But these are details: by and large the story rattled along, with plenty of action, and was more than exciting enough to hold my interest. Also, magic was used in just the right quantity – it’s out there, and can be powerful, but is around in small doses. So far.
For the next installment, I would hope for a slightly leaner writing style, and maybe for the female heroines to step up a bit. BTW – I very much like that it’s a Fellowship of the Ring type thing, a loyal band sticking together and helping each other out in their quest. Hopefully with no Boromir to create a fly in the ointment (one traitor was revealed early on, no spoilers).
Entertaining read. If you’re suffering from GOT withdrawal symptoms and the never-ending wait for The Winds Of Winter, you could do a lot worse. Give it a go.
For more of Brin's reviews, go to:
http://www.brinmurray.com/
February 17, 2018
Readers of epic fantasy who enjoy quests, magic, prophecies, and monsters may want to give The Blood-Stained Heir a try. A baby princess hidden away until her fourteenth year learns her identity and begins a journey home to her kingdom. She’s aided by a handful of resourceful companions led by a common man, Rysh, who risks everything to honor a promise to a dying friend. War is brewing and the princess is being hunted by her family’s enemies.
Like any quest, they meet a series of obstacles along the way, and there is plenty of action to keep the story moving. There is frequent violence and the fight scenes are engaging. The pace moved along despite a considerable amount of restating and over-explaining on the part of the author. An editing pass aimed at tightening would make this book a faster and even more enjoyable read.
The characters are interesting and fully realized, though the large cast of characters is a challenge to keep track of. This gets easier as the book progresses, but it’s a bit overwhelming in the beginning. There are a wide variety of personalities and many of them are flawed, which keeps the reader on their toes. Even in Rysh’s group, it’s not always clear who the good-guys are. Emotions felt authentic, and the dialog flowed naturally.
The book ends on a high note, but the journey is far from done. This book is definitely to be read as part of a longer series.
Like any quest, they meet a series of obstacles along the way, and there is plenty of action to keep the story moving. There is frequent violence and the fight scenes are engaging. The pace moved along despite a considerable amount of restating and over-explaining on the part of the author. An editing pass aimed at tightening would make this book a faster and even more enjoyable read.
The characters are interesting and fully realized, though the large cast of characters is a challenge to keep track of. This gets easier as the book progresses, but it’s a bit overwhelming in the beginning. There are a wide variety of personalities and many of them are flawed, which keeps the reader on their toes. Even in Rysh’s group, it’s not always clear who the good-guys are. Emotions felt authentic, and the dialog flowed naturally.
The book ends on a high note, but the journey is far from done. This book is definitely to be read as part of a longer series.
February 17, 2018
Readers of epic fantasy who enjoy quests, magic, prophecies, and monsters may want to give The Blood-Stained Heir a try. A baby princess hidden away until her fourteenth year learns her identity and begins a journey home to her kingdom. She’s aided by a handful of resourceful companions led by a common man, Rysh, who risks everything to honor a promise to a dying friend. War is brewing and the princess is being hunted by her family’s enemies.
Like any quest, they meet a series of obstacles along the way, and there is plenty of action to keep the story moving. There is frequent violence and the fight scenes are engaging. The pace moved along despite a considerable amount of restating and over-explaining on the part of the author. An editing pass aimed at tightening would make this book a faster and even more enjoyable read.
The characters are interesting and fully realized, though the large cast of characters is a challenge to keep track of. This gets easier as the book progresses, but it’s a bit overwhelming in the beginning. There are a wide variety of personalities and many of them are flawed, which keeps the reader on their toes. Even in Rysh’s group, it’s not always clear who the good guys are. Emotions felt authentic, and the dialog flowed naturally.
The book ends on a high note, but the journey is far from done. This book is definitely to be read as part of a longer series.
Like any quest, they meet a series of obstacles along the way, and there is plenty of action to keep the story moving. There is frequent violence and the fight scenes are engaging. The pace moved along despite a considerable amount of restating and over-explaining on the part of the author. An editing pass aimed at tightening would make this book a faster and even more enjoyable read.
The characters are interesting and fully realized, though the large cast of characters is a challenge to keep track of. This gets easier as the book progresses, but it’s a bit overwhelming in the beginning. There are a wide variety of personalities and many of them are flawed, which keeps the reader on their toes. Even in Rysh’s group, it’s not always clear who the good guys are. Emotions felt authentic, and the dialog flowed naturally.
The book ends on a high note, but the journey is far from done. This book is definitely to be read as part of a longer series.
February 4, 2018
It's been awhile since I've read a medieval type fantasy full of knights and battles, so I was anxious to dive into this one. I enjoyed the prologue, set up the story well. Only part which bugged me (which was a recurring issue throughout the book) was the number of names/characters thrown at the reader so quickly. The writing was a bit clunky at parts, where flow was disrupted, but it take away from the story too much. There were a multitude of plotlines/subplots, which all began to really be revealed, which was slightly disappointing, but I realize these will be stories in future books of the series. The main character Rysh, wasn't really a main character, in my opini0n. He played a big part in the story, don't get me wrong, but there was also a lot of the book he had no part it, where the reader is flooded with many other characters. I liked Rysh's character, there seemed to be a lot of bouncing in and out with him, and other characters. Though it came to kind of an abrupt ending, the story itself was good, the weaving of subplots and different point of views. Battles were fun and engaging. Overall, I enjoyed the read and would be interested to see how the story continues. I'd probably give it 3.5 stars, rounding it up to 4. I'd recommend anyone who enjoys fantasy, especially medieval time type stuff, give this a read.
April 8, 2018
A hunted princess hoping to get home, a band of companions helping in her journey because of honor, guilt and skill, and magical cynical villains in the midst of war, create this medieval fantasy that pays homage to great legends in this genre such as Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.
The story is jam-packed with well described fights, back-stabbings, and thoughts and obstacles that stay in your mind from chapter to chapter. Each character is well-developed and realistic. No one acted in a way that I wouldn't believe, based on the personality they were given, and you felt you were part of the camaraderie and stepped into the story with them.
The story threw a bunch of characters and names at you, some of which had no importance, and the Omniscient third person narration confused me at times, (too much head jumping), but the writing style, kick-butt fight-scenes and just overall plot kept me flipping the pages for more!
The story is jam-packed with well described fights, back-stabbings, and thoughts and obstacles that stay in your mind from chapter to chapter. Each character is well-developed and realistic. No one acted in a way that I wouldn't believe, based on the personality they were given, and you felt you were part of the camaraderie and stepped into the story with them.
The story threw a bunch of characters and names at you, some of which had no importance, and the Omniscient third person narration confused me at times, (too much head jumping), but the writing style, kick-butt fight-scenes and just overall plot kept me flipping the pages for more!
September 20, 2020
This is an excellent medieval fantasy with knights and kings and epic battles. There’s plenty of action and excitement which easily held my attention. There are several storylines, so while Rysh and his companions travel to escape Ansaroth, the king of Ansaroth and his advisors plan to invade the neighbouring country of Dusseldorf. There are a lot of characters but I was able to keep track of them fairly easily although sometime a character was introduced only to be killed off a few pages later. But the heroes didn’t remain completely unscathed either, so that was at least realistic. There’s clearly a lot more story to go which I’m excited about because I love a good epic fantasy! I’m excited to read the next book!
March 13, 2018
The action is fast paced and detailed as Blood-Stained Heir rolls across the countryside. Not only does Norma provide well thought out characters, but the story follows a logical progression fantasy authors should strive for. There is an issue with almost too many characters to keep up with however. As a former soldier, I can empathize with a man who is reluctant to be dragged back in to the world of violence.
March 13, 2018
This story is one of those fantasy novels that have knights that are bold, Lords that are evil and Mages learning to wield magic. There's a chase and narrow escapes, ss well as an escape from a watery grave.
An interesting journey, although this first book does not let us see the end of the saga.
An interesting journey, although this first book does not let us see the end of the saga.
January 3, 2023
Epic medieval fantasy at its finest
I enjoyed this book. Epic fantasy as you know and love. A man dealing with the death of his wife while raising his son is called into action. It's a timeless trope. If you like classic medieval epic fantasy with quests, adventure and Knights, you will not be disappointed with this one.
I enjoyed this book. Epic fantasy as you know and love. A man dealing with the death of his wife while raising his son is called into action. It's a timeless trope. If you like classic medieval epic fantasy with quests, adventure and Knights, you will not be disappointed with this one.
December 12, 2017
Overall it’s pretty good. Well written, enjoyable characters, believable script. It felt like everyone was a drunkard, though, and occasionally I couldn’t tell who was speaking. But that was like, twice in the entire story. I’m interested to see how the story ends.
January 7, 2021
The good, the bad, and the beautiful
Excellent adventure story with numerous story lines and very interesting characters, some very likable and some not so much. A great read for all ages.
Excellent adventure story with numerous story lines and very interesting characters, some very likable and some not so much. A great read for all ages.
April 15, 2021
An interesting start to a fantasy series, but this one is mostly background and character building with some major jumps between people and scenes.
May 10, 2022
Enjoyed reading.
This well written book covers all the points necessary to make a truly epic tale. It definitely makes you want to find out more of what will happen in the next book.
This well written book covers all the points necessary to make a truly epic tale. It definitely makes you want to find out more of what will happen in the next book.
March 26, 2023
The heir is not apparent
Really enjoyed the book. I very much enjoy varied and diverse characters and this delivers. I look forward to the next book
Really enjoyed the book. I very much enjoy varied and diverse characters and this delivers. I look forward to the next book
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews