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The Landkist Saga #3
The Midnight Dunes
Some say they never should have left. Others, that they should never go back.
For Talmir Caru, the world has left him little choice. With his people balanced on the knife-edge of a war beyond reckoning, the Captain of Hearth must brave the deserts of his ancestors to find the power left buried there - a power that could provide the Emberfolk their only hope should their wayward champions fail.
They say the Faey can hurt as easily as heal.
Iyana Ve'Ran, living legacy of the Faey Mother, is beginning to tap newly-discovered powers of her own. While her lost sister seeks to put an end to the War of Sages, Iyana just wants to put the world she loves back together again. But some things must be broken before they can mend.
They say only death waits beneath the sands.
Despite deep misgivings about returning to the Embers' ancestral home, Karin Reyna, First Runner of Last Lake, has sworn to keep his companions alive throughout their journey. In so doing, he will rediscover what made his a name for stories before their time.
For Talmir Caru, the world has left him little choice. With his people balanced on the knife-edge of a war beyond reckoning, the Captain of Hearth must brave the deserts of his ancestors to find the power left buried there - a power that could provide the Emberfolk their only hope should their wayward champions fail.
They say the Faey can hurt as easily as heal.
Iyana Ve'Ran, living legacy of the Faey Mother, is beginning to tap newly-discovered powers of her own. While her lost sister seeks to put an end to the War of Sages, Iyana just wants to put the world she loves back together again. But some things must be broken before they can mend.
They say only death waits beneath the sands.
Despite deep misgivings about returning to the Embers' ancestral home, Karin Reyna, First Runner of Last Lake, has sworn to keep his companions alive throughout their journey. In so doing, he will rediscover what made his a name for stories before their time.
- GenresFantasy
558 pages, Paperback
First published October 18, 2017
53 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Steven Kelliher
15 books197 followersSteven is a fighter-turned-writer who resides in the Boston area. A former sports and entertainment writer, he now focuses exclusively on his true passion: epic action fantasy and sci-fi. He wishes all disputes were still settled with a friendly game of hand-to-hand combat, is a fan of awesome things, and tries to write books he’d want to read.
He hopes you like them.
He hopes you like them.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 12, 2018
[3.75 Stars]
My Video Review:
https://youtu.be/twWis40RX88
My Video Review:
https://youtu.be/twWis40RX88
October 7, 2017
Epic :)
December 7, 2017
I was quite pleasantly surprised when Steven Kelliher emailed me about the third book coming out in November. I had not expected this book to be released so soon as it was on my anticipated releases for 2018. Luckily for me I did not have to wait.
The Midnight Dunes is already the third book in the Landkist saga. I have to say that this is growing to become a favorite fantasy series. While I might not rate this book 5 stars as I did the second book, this has absolutely nothing to do with the writing itself. Again this book is a solid read that alternates between action and some slower moments, keeping a relative quick pace throughout the book for a fantasy adult novel. The fight scenes were again stand out. They give a clear image of what is going on.
In book two the big group that set out on their quests, split their ways after 150 pages. In The Emerald Blade we follow Kole and his group to the Center after that, a more forest type setting. In this book we follow the other group who head out into the desert and to the place the Valley people originated from. Having the book not focus on others at all worked very well to focus this book. But I would have loved to have a better idea of the joining of the two groups or what was going on with Kole and the others in the end somehow.
The book focuses on Talmir and Iyana who we have had point of views of before. But there was also the addition of Karin, Kole’s father. I quite love Talmir. I loved his leadership right from the first book and how he tries to give others the benefit of the doubt. I have a bit more trouble with Iyana. She isn’t a bad character but just not a character that I am naturally very drawn to. I also wish that she had been able to learn more about her Faey powers. I feel it was a little dangled in front of us there but never fully grasped. I hope this will come more. Karin being a new character took some adjusting to his point of view and while he obviously added to the story I sometimes feel I would have liked a more contrasting character’s point of view. Or maybe an ember.
Okay I’m going to come out and say it. I wanted Creyath’s point of view. He is the second keeper of the Valley and the only Ember along in this group. Part of me feels that should have warranted a point of view for the whole book. Honestly, he was the best thing about this book. He was all kinds of epicness and slayed like nobody’s business.
While this book might not have captured me like The Emerald Blade, the world and the characters do stay with me after I finish the book. I think about them a lot. There is so much left to discover in this world and with these characters and I honestly can’t wait.
If you haven’t given the first book a chance please do as this series only gets better.
The Midnight Dunes is already the third book in the Landkist saga. I have to say that this is growing to become a favorite fantasy series. While I might not rate this book 5 stars as I did the second book, this has absolutely nothing to do with the writing itself. Again this book is a solid read that alternates between action and some slower moments, keeping a relative quick pace throughout the book for a fantasy adult novel. The fight scenes were again stand out. They give a clear image of what is going on.
In book two the big group that set out on their quests, split their ways after 150 pages. In The Emerald Blade we follow Kole and his group to the Center after that, a more forest type setting. In this book we follow the other group who head out into the desert and to the place the Valley people originated from. Having the book not focus on others at all worked very well to focus this book. But I would have loved to have a better idea of the joining of the two groups or what was going on with Kole and the others in the end somehow.
The book focuses on Talmir and Iyana who we have had point of views of before. But there was also the addition of Karin, Kole’s father. I quite love Talmir. I loved his leadership right from the first book and how he tries to give others the benefit of the doubt. I have a bit more trouble with Iyana. She isn’t a bad character but just not a character that I am naturally very drawn to. I also wish that she had been able to learn more about her Faey powers. I feel it was a little dangled in front of us there but never fully grasped. I hope this will come more. Karin being a new character took some adjusting to his point of view and while he obviously added to the story I sometimes feel I would have liked a more contrasting character’s point of view. Or maybe an ember.
Okay I’m going to come out and say it. I wanted Creyath’s point of view. He is the second keeper of the Valley and the only Ember along in this group. Part of me feels that should have warranted a point of view for the whole book. Honestly, he was the best thing about this book. He was all kinds of epicness and slayed like nobody’s business.
While this book might not have captured me like The Emerald Blade, the world and the characters do stay with me after I finish the book. I think about them a lot. There is so much left to discover in this world and with these characters and I honestly can’t wait.
If you haven’t given the first book a chance please do as this series only gets better.
November 12, 2017
Steven Kelliher has done a rare thing - a series that improves as it progresses from its premise, owing in part it seems from his very active engagement in feedback from his readers and the maturing of his Art. Looking back, you will see a pair of three star reviews from me for his previous two books, faintly damning the last with this line, "t wasn't bad, but it was never great. Standard fantasy fare, mostly - the various tropes were there there, and handled appropriately, but after the first book, there wasn't much new, surprising, or exciting for me."
While I was still able to put this book down, and did several times, it was much improved over the last two works. Imagery here was more evocative, in spite of the relative dearth of new scenery. Character focus was tighter, pacing (largely - more on that shortly) was better, and some new ideas were believably added to the Landkist myth he is creating in these works, while exposition (the bane of many new authors sharing their world with the reader) was largely absent. As well, every combat, contest, or meeting between persons did not result in each participant "blading" themselves to the other -a word (with its varients) which littered the pages of book Two as if he recieved financial bonus for each appearance. The author's fighting experience is evident, but his vocabulary has grown well beyond that oft-repeated pose.
Now, pacing. There was less combat in this books than the last, and many more ambiguous meetings where little was shared and less was learned, yet for the most part, the story was more steadily paced than the last, more combat-oriented works. This helped to develop the characters of some new personas introduced in this book, where the last books' over-abundance of characters and combat resulted in a certain bland sameness drawing a pall over all of the characters. Sadly, the resolution of this novel seemingly spanned chapters of fight and fight and fight and fight broken by exposition and a tense "stare down" among Sages. Some further paring of this extended melee in its print form would be appreciated, though it would no doubt be welcome in its current form on the big screen.
I can reccomend this book with the comments above, and hope that Kelliher continues to show similar improvements in future works - which I look forward to reading.
While I was still able to put this book down, and did several times, it was much improved over the last two works. Imagery here was more evocative, in spite of the relative dearth of new scenery. Character focus was tighter, pacing (largely - more on that shortly) was better, and some new ideas were believably added to the Landkist myth he is creating in these works, while exposition (the bane of many new authors sharing their world with the reader) was largely absent. As well, every combat, contest, or meeting between persons did not result in each participant "blading" themselves to the other -a word (with its varients) which littered the pages of book Two as if he recieved financial bonus for each appearance. The author's fighting experience is evident, but his vocabulary has grown well beyond that oft-repeated pose.
Now, pacing. There was less combat in this books than the last, and many more ambiguous meetings where little was shared and less was learned, yet for the most part, the story was more steadily paced than the last, more combat-oriented works. This helped to develop the characters of some new personas introduced in this book, where the last books' over-abundance of characters and combat resulted in a certain bland sameness drawing a pall over all of the characters. Sadly, the resolution of this novel seemingly spanned chapters of fight and fight and fight and fight broken by exposition and a tense "stare down" among Sages. Some further paring of this extended melee in its print form would be appreciated, though it would no doubt be welcome in its current form on the big screen.
I can reccomend this book with the comments above, and hope that Kelliher continues to show similar improvements in future works - which I look forward to reading.
November 13, 2017
To start with I got a copy for a honest review but I bought it and would have anyway mainly due to a love of the first two books and the continued development of Steven as a author.
Still I find it hard to get over the start of the first book which delved straight in to a battle .
So this journey has brought us here and taught us a lot over the course of three books , we have seen Steven grow in confidence and mature into a first class author. Right from the start in this book you feel comfortable with how the story has moved forward and links past events over the first two books . How this happens is down to Steven and how he crafted the world and main POVs that continues here feeling more relaxed as at times in the first book that sometimes he over complicated things by going to far when describeng things and am please to see it is thought out more here and makes for me a more flowing scene. I hate spoilers in reviews even sometimes people have spoiled the book for me in there reviews and I have just walked away from a interesting book so I will not go into any thing deeply .
Steven is one of those few names who over time will get better and have a real cult following and it will be well deserved so get here early and watch how he sprinkles his magic onto his books
Well deserved 5*
Still I find it hard to get over the start of the first book which delved straight in to a battle .
So this journey has brought us here and taught us a lot over the course of three books , we have seen Steven grow in confidence and mature into a first class author. Right from the start in this book you feel comfortable with how the story has moved forward and links past events over the first two books . How this happens is down to Steven and how he crafted the world and main POVs that continues here feeling more relaxed as at times in the first book that sometimes he over complicated things by going to far when describeng things and am please to see it is thought out more here and makes for me a more flowing scene. I hate spoilers in reviews even sometimes people have spoiled the book for me in there reviews and I have just walked away from a interesting book so I will not go into any thing deeply .
Steven is one of those few names who over time will get better and have a real cult following and it will be well deserved so get here early and watch how he sprinkles his magic onto his books
Well deserved 5*
October 28, 2017
Wow what another fantastic story to follow the other two. Just love these books and the author.
January 8, 2018
I am just going to start with I loved this book. In Midnight Dunes we follow Talmir, Iyana, and the group that split off during The Emerald Blade. The younger characters really grow and develop in this story. The story really helps to expand the world and we learn a lot more about the history of the Landkist and Valley people in general. I think the new characters introduced in this book are some of the best in the series and I found a favorite character that surprised me. It goes without saying the action and battle scenes were amazing (and there are several). I like this series overall and for any considering it, each book really does get better than the previous. I also really like that the main plot of each book is wrapped up within the book. There are overarching themes and mysteries, but each book has a satisfying conclusion.
November 12, 2017
Can't wait for the next one
Steven has hit his stride. I appreciated the story in the first two books, but did not feel the story of the characters were as well developed as this one. It was truly a pleasure to read. You feel the angst and internal conflict each character has. It defines the story and creates a connection to each of them. True to Steven's form, the ending is well crafted and unexpected.
Enjoy the read, you will be glad you did.
Steven has hit his stride. I appreciated the story in the first two books, but did not feel the story of the characters were as well developed as this one. It was truly a pleasure to read. You feel the angst and internal conflict each character has. It defines the story and creates a connection to each of them. True to Steven's form, the ending is well crafted and unexpected.
Enjoy the read, you will be glad you did.
November 1, 2017
The Landkist Saga series is a series that just keeps getting better and better, it draws you in and keeps you addicted to find out what else is going to happen! I received this as a advanced readers copy, and I wasn't disappointed! In my honest opinion I feel this was the best book out of the series so far! Great read!
September 13, 2018
Full review is here, on my blog!~
This may well be my favorite book in this series thusfar, to be honest. While I don’t at all dislike the exploits of Kole Reyna and Linn Ve’Ran, for some reason I found myself so much more engaged in the exploits of Linn’s sister Iyana and Kole’s father Karin, and those in their caravan traveling into their people’s ancestral homeland.
While Kole, Linn, and their company are off in another part of the world trying to end a war, a caravan of Emberfolk (and some of the Faeykin, like Iyana and a mysterious man named Sen) are traveling into the desert to look for a hidden power that may help save everyone in case Kole’s team fails in their quest.
In the desert they find a man named Pevah, who is one of the Sages, and it is his self-given task to guard a mysterious and dangerous part of the desert called the Midnight Dunes, which houses… something bad. Something very bad.
Among Pevah’s people, desert nomads and some refugees from a country in the north, is a man named Ceth, who is a Landkist unlike any that they’ve seen before, and he uses his power quite well as Pevah’s right hand man.
What is in the Midnight Dunes? To find out, there must surely be… shenanigans!
This book was really well written, and has some really lovely prose, I must say. It’s as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside, for sure. I really ended up liking a lot of these characters, perhaps moreso than some of the more present protagonists in the two previous volumes. I have always found Iyana interesting, but I found myself really latching on to her and to Creyath Mit’Ahn in this one, and wondering about the mysterious Sen. Ceth was another really interesting character that I found mysterious and interesting as well. But Talmir Caru and Karin Reyna stole the show here for me, the two people on this journey that are not Landkist but are still some of the most badass guys around. You really get to see them bring their all in this volume, and I really enjoyed that.
The plot twisted and turned, and while there were both slow and fast paced parts, I never found myself bored with it or wanting to set it aside for something else. It was quite long, and I did find myself having to take breaks, but not in a way that made it a slog or a chore to read or anything suchlike.
The last 10% of this book or so was riveting AF and I couldn’t be convinced not to read it all in one go, despite it being around dinner time. Well, dinner will have to wait! *reads* The plot wrapped up really well and completed this story arc, leaving me with questions, but not cliffhangery ones.
All told, this one was a nice romp in the world of the Landkist, and though it followed an entirely different set of characters from the first two books, was a pleasant deviation from that plotline into another, in my opinion, probably because I really liked this set of characters. I’m still excited to get back to Kole and Linn though and find out what’s happening on their end. I had 4/5 stars of a great time with this one!
Thanks to the author for the review copy. :)
This may well be my favorite book in this series thusfar, to be honest. While I don’t at all dislike the exploits of Kole Reyna and Linn Ve’Ran, for some reason I found myself so much more engaged in the exploits of Linn’s sister Iyana and Kole’s father Karin, and those in their caravan traveling into their people’s ancestral homeland.
While Kole, Linn, and their company are off in another part of the world trying to end a war, a caravan of Emberfolk (and some of the Faeykin, like Iyana and a mysterious man named Sen) are traveling into the desert to look for a hidden power that may help save everyone in case Kole’s team fails in their quest.
In the desert they find a man named Pevah, who is one of the Sages, and it is his self-given task to guard a mysterious and dangerous part of the desert called the Midnight Dunes, which houses… something bad. Something very bad.
Among Pevah’s people, desert nomads and some refugees from a country in the north, is a man named Ceth, who is a Landkist unlike any that they’ve seen before, and he uses his power quite well as Pevah’s right hand man.
What is in the Midnight Dunes? To find out, there must surely be… shenanigans!
This book was really well written, and has some really lovely prose, I must say. It’s as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside, for sure. I really ended up liking a lot of these characters, perhaps moreso than some of the more present protagonists in the two previous volumes. I have always found Iyana interesting, but I found myself really latching on to her and to Creyath Mit’Ahn in this one, and wondering about the mysterious Sen. Ceth was another really interesting character that I found mysterious and interesting as well. But Talmir Caru and Karin Reyna stole the show here for me, the two people on this journey that are not Landkist but are still some of the most badass guys around. You really get to see them bring their all in this volume, and I really enjoyed that.
The plot twisted and turned, and while there were both slow and fast paced parts, I never found myself bored with it or wanting to set it aside for something else. It was quite long, and I did find myself having to take breaks, but not in a way that made it a slog or a chore to read or anything suchlike.
The last 10% of this book or so was riveting AF and I couldn’t be convinced not to read it all in one go, despite it being around dinner time. Well, dinner will have to wait! *reads* The plot wrapped up really well and completed this story arc, leaving me with questions, but not cliffhangery ones.
All told, this one was a nice romp in the world of the Landkist, and though it followed an entirely different set of characters from the first two books, was a pleasant deviation from that plotline into another, in my opinion, probably because I really liked this set of characters. I’m still excited to get back to Kole and Linn though and find out what’s happening on their end. I had 4/5 stars of a great time with this one!
Thanks to the author for the review copy. :)
October 29, 2018
This is even better and more thrilling than the first two books. This book attains an epic standard which I found somewhat lacking in the previous books. I enjoyed this more. This book tells about the journey of Talmir Caru and his group into their ancestral desert home. The new setting was a refreshing one, and it added further depth to the world that Kelliher is creating.
The worlbuilding is solid, and it was good to see and know the desert where the Embers gained their power. The ambience of the aridness and mystery of the desert finds evocative description in Kelliher's writing. The Sage of the Red Waste, the Bloodseers, and the Skyr revealed more about the Landkist and their role in the world. The tension is high here, and the macabre horror keeps gripping the edges.
The writing has improved, and the characters are more rounded. I was drawn to the Red Waste who has an awesome power, and who appears more human. His was a character to whom I was more drawn into, because, he embodied the fundamental flaws of a human with his coveting power, a sense of loss, guilt, and regret. I loved his interactions with Talmir and others, and the way he acts like a father to his remaining desert people. Karin is another whom I was interested in, and his sense of practicality along with Talmir was quite commendable. His bravery and empathy I rooted for. Iyana here is conflicted like Kole, as she is beginning to discover new sides to her Faey power. She is disoriented at times, but, her courage and compassion makes her one of the most enduring characters. Ceth, the Skyr was awesome, and I would like to see more of him. His strength and power is amazing, unlike any other. I hope that he gets to play his part in the later novels.
The action is relentless, and it is a sight once we get to see the Red Waste in action. More so, Ceth is a sight to watch. He controls the very force of gravity, and this makes him devastating. I only felt that Creyath should have gotten more of his part to play. But, his fight with the greatest of 'Night Lords' at the end was like a tale of legend. I want to see a scene like this in a movie. There is a lot of gory action here, and readers who love action-packed fantasy will delight in reading this book.
Kelliher in his third book has achieved the epic scope, with more control and precision to the story adding layers and depth to it. I enjoyed this wildly. I'm now reading 'The Frostfire Sage' and enjoying it in equal measure. I hope that Kelliher gets a publishing deal, and with this instalment he has shown the potential of this series, and it's a very strong vibe I'm getting.
The worlbuilding is solid, and it was good to see and know the desert where the Embers gained their power. The ambience of the aridness and mystery of the desert finds evocative description in Kelliher's writing. The Sage of the Red Waste, the Bloodseers, and the Skyr revealed more about the Landkist and their role in the world. The tension is high here, and the macabre horror keeps gripping the edges.
The writing has improved, and the characters are more rounded. I was drawn to the Red Waste who has an awesome power, and who appears more human. His was a character to whom I was more drawn into, because, he embodied the fundamental flaws of a human with his coveting power, a sense of loss, guilt, and regret. I loved his interactions with Talmir and others, and the way he acts like a father to his remaining desert people. Karin is another whom I was interested in, and his sense of practicality along with Talmir was quite commendable. His bravery and empathy I rooted for. Iyana here is conflicted like Kole, as she is beginning to discover new sides to her Faey power. She is disoriented at times, but, her courage and compassion makes her one of the most enduring characters. Ceth, the Skyr was awesome, and I would like to see more of him. His strength and power is amazing, unlike any other. I hope that he gets to play his part in the later novels.
The action is relentless, and it is a sight once we get to see the Red Waste in action. More so, Ceth is a sight to watch. He controls the very force of gravity, and this makes him devastating. I only felt that Creyath should have gotten more of his part to play. But, his fight with the greatest of 'Night Lords' at the end was like a tale of legend. I want to see a scene like this in a movie. There is a lot of gory action here, and readers who love action-packed fantasy will delight in reading this book.
Kelliher in his third book has achieved the epic scope, with more control and precision to the story adding layers and depth to it. I enjoyed this wildly. I'm now reading 'The Frostfire Sage' and enjoying it in equal measure. I hope that Kelliher gets a publishing deal, and with this instalment he has shown the potential of this series, and it's a very strong vibe I'm getting.
November 13, 2017
I've got an ARC in exchange of a honest review.
I've been debating between 3 and 4 stars, and I would give it 3.5 actually. It was better than Valley of Embers, but I liked The Emerald Blade more. Now that I read all three books published so far I can say this series is not really my cup of tea. I think I'll continue though, because I really want to know what's going to happen to T'alon Rane and Shadow.
To be honest, I struggled with this book, and I can't decide if it's because I am in a reading slump or because I was just bored with it. The plot is promising, though a bit slow at times, the world building is strong as ever and the characters... It maybe just me but I can't seem to care about them much. And that's a pity, because this story has so much potential. This series is bound to be good, but I can't seem to find the appeal. It might be the writing style. Toward the end I just skipped some pages so I could get over it sooner. The lengthy descriptions just slowing the pace down. Some more action and less talking/wandering around while nothing happens would make good to this book.
I'm quite confused, because it seems so far everyone liked this book pretty much and while I can see why, I just don't feel that enthusiastic about the story at all.
I've been debating between 3 and 4 stars, and I would give it 3.5 actually. It was better than Valley of Embers, but I liked The Emerald Blade more. Now that I read all three books published so far I can say this series is not really my cup of tea. I think I'll continue though, because I really want to know what's going to happen to T'alon Rane and Shadow.
To be honest, I struggled with this book, and I can't decide if it's because I am in a reading slump or because I was just bored with it. The plot is promising, though a bit slow at times, the world building is strong as ever and the characters... It maybe just me but I can't seem to care about them much. And that's a pity, because this story has so much potential. This series is bound to be good, but I can't seem to find the appeal. It might be the writing style. Toward the end I just skipped some pages so I could get over it sooner. The lengthy descriptions just slowing the pace down. Some more action and less talking/wandering around while nothing happens would make good to this book.
I'm quite confused, because it seems so far everyone liked this book pretty much and while I can see why, I just don't feel that enthusiastic about the story at all.
January 11, 2018
This is not a review on this book, but on all the books to this point and it is indeed not as much a review as my personal opinion up to this point.
The first book engaged me quite well, interesting world, intriguing magic system. Characters that were .... Worth reading about. I went through that book quickly and easily.
By the second book I was ready to jump in head first and indeed proceeded to do just that, I started becoming increasingly distracted while reading and didn't know why. Until I realized I just read about 180 pages and nothing really happened. I mean there was a lot of character interaction but all of said interaction seemed to lead to not much, at all. The book certainly picks up with some characters getting God powers and just winning at life it seemed, but I enjoyed the end, not quite like the first though.
Now the 3 book did something that I personally don't care for and that is completely omitting about half of the characters we've been with until this point, for the entire book. I understand why this is but it is still something I've never cared for. To be honest I finished about 1/3 of this book before deciding I don't care about any of these characters at all, being completely apathetic to their whole cause and everything they are going through. Needless to say I skimmed the rest of the book to at least get the idea of what transpired.
The whole thing I found I was personally missing was any meaningful character development and growth, even getting characters povs you still don't know what it is they may be thinking, especially kole or Linn as they often just stare at each other and think (he/she knows what I'm thinking) and character interaction for me always felt .... off, like kole and his father, I get their both introspective people but there interaction always felt strangely apathetic. Kole and Linn where even worse, I believe there in the early 20s and I'm not sure if there written to act like 15 year old lovers or if they may just be good friends or something but the interaction between them was just. Bland. I certainly don't need romance, but reading through there interaction felt so vague and pointless.
Also I still don't really know what most characters look like as their is an absence of any character detail, are they muscular, bulky, lean, athletic, tall, slender, average, is there hair waist length, shoulder length ear length ect.
I know this sound like petty ridicule from a bitter soul but it is just MY personal opinion. Honestly I wanted to love this series, especially after book 1 but for my own reasons I don't know if I'll continue on. I do believe there is a mass of potential in this series and hope more people read it. I believe most people will find immense enjoyment herein, I hate ridiculing something author's work so very hard for and for that I apologize, I do sincerely hope more people read this as I believe it would be worth there time.
The first book engaged me quite well, interesting world, intriguing magic system. Characters that were .... Worth reading about. I went through that book quickly and easily.
By the second book I was ready to jump in head first and indeed proceeded to do just that, I started becoming increasingly distracted while reading and didn't know why. Until I realized I just read about 180 pages and nothing really happened. I mean there was a lot of character interaction but all of said interaction seemed to lead to not much, at all. The book certainly picks up with some characters getting God powers and just winning at life it seemed, but I enjoyed the end, not quite like the first though.
Now the 3 book did something that I personally don't care for and that is completely omitting about half of the characters we've been with until this point, for the entire book. I understand why this is but it is still something I've never cared for. To be honest I finished about 1/3 of this book before deciding I don't care about any of these characters at all, being completely apathetic to their whole cause and everything they are going through. Needless to say I skimmed the rest of the book to at least get the idea of what transpired.
The whole thing I found I was personally missing was any meaningful character development and growth, even getting characters povs you still don't know what it is they may be thinking, especially kole or Linn as they often just stare at each other and think (he/she knows what I'm thinking) and character interaction for me always felt .... off, like kole and his father, I get their both introspective people but there interaction always felt strangely apathetic. Kole and Linn where even worse, I believe there in the early 20s and I'm not sure if there written to act like 15 year old lovers or if they may just be good friends or something but the interaction between them was just. Bland. I certainly don't need romance, but reading through there interaction felt so vague and pointless.
Also I still don't really know what most characters look like as their is an absence of any character detail, are they muscular, bulky, lean, athletic, tall, slender, average, is there hair waist length, shoulder length ear length ect.
I know this sound like petty ridicule from a bitter soul but it is just MY personal opinion. Honestly I wanted to love this series, especially after book 1 but for my own reasons I don't know if I'll continue on. I do believe there is a mass of potential in this series and hope more people read it. I believe most people will find immense enjoyment herein, I hate ridiculing something author's work so very hard for and for that I apologize, I do sincerely hope more people read this as I believe it would be worth there time.
August 21, 2018
This is the 3rd book in the series and it carries on right where the 2nd book left off but this time we followed the group who left the valley into the desert where they went either to dig up the past or a part of the future. They were looking for their long abandoned homeland but they found more than they bargained for when they came upon the red waste himself, the sage now known as Pevah. They went seeking power and the hope for change in the desert which was a land of lessons to be learnt. Our heroes and the people they meet and join up with in their caves below the sand endure so much, we get to see them fighting with witches, painted warriors and the pale men, a dark lord and sentinels and finally the eastern dark himself. Steven Kelliher's style of writing is so poetic, so detailed even when he is writing about the most brutal of battles his turn of phrase is so alluring, his books are such a pleasure to read. The desert, it's sand, dunes, heat and foxes are so beautifully depicted and so realistic with the night sky full of stars, the nomadic life and the harsh reality which is the desert being brought to life for us the reader. The final battle was one between the landkist against a titan of the world apart. The war of sages had been going on for so long, waged by the eastern dark on his brothers however the eastern dark had not always been evil, maybe he too had been lured! Seems that Lyana Ve'Ran has started to think so! The sages were bound in power and in misdeed, not in blood and maybe as the eastern dark has said all along they all had to go! This was a great epic fantasy book, full of sword and sorcery and magnificent battle scenes. This series is a must read for sure and I just have to read the next book!
December 22, 2019
I was hoping my dislike for the second book was just a case of early middle book syndrome but I fear this author may not be for me…
In this book, something is done that I generally don’t care about; for 2 books I’ve been following a certain set of characters and now I’m suddenly supposed to follow another set of characters that I don’t know and care about their story and struggles? I’m sorry, but I just didn’t care one bit. Iyana, while an interesting character, is a side-character and the same goes for Talmir Caru. I understand why Kelliher did this, but I just found myself caring extremely little about everything transpiring. I did find it interesting to see a different portrayal of these all powerful and evil sages, but that was about it.
My biggest struggle with this series is the characters. I find myself lacking some real character growth and meaningful interaction between characters. I keep noticing situations where that goes along these lines:
He looked at her, and he could see she knew what he was thinking…
Sorry, would be mind letting me in on the secret here? And would you mind actually making it clear what these characters’ relations actually are? What is going on between Linn and Kole? It seems like there is something there, but their interactions are so “meh”….
In this book, something is done that I generally don’t care about; for 2 books I’ve been following a certain set of characters and now I’m suddenly supposed to follow another set of characters that I don’t know and care about their story and struggles? I’m sorry, but I just didn’t care one bit. Iyana, while an interesting character, is a side-character and the same goes for Talmir Caru. I understand why Kelliher did this, but I just found myself caring extremely little about everything transpiring. I did find it interesting to see a different portrayal of these all powerful and evil sages, but that was about it.
My biggest struggle with this series is the characters. I find myself lacking some real character growth and meaningful interaction between characters. I keep noticing situations where that goes along these lines:
He looked at her, and he could see she knew what he was thinking…
Sorry, would be mind letting me in on the secret here? And would you mind actually making it clear what these characters’ relations actually are? What is going on between Linn and Kole? It seems like there is something there, but their interactions are so “meh”….
November 27, 2018
This book (#3 in the series) follows the group that broke off from the main characters in Emerald Blade. The continued world building and history of this land continues to be outstanding. However I did find the pace to be different then the other novels, which was refreshing for a short time (different characters, different pace) but seemed to lag just a bit at a certain point in the book. The action scenes were again well described. I really enjoyed the new characters introduced and can see a great epic conclusion on the horizon.
In short great world build, great action, wonderful new characters introduced and as always excellent fight scenes. Following the different characters seems to have given this book a different pace, but all in all a real good read.
In short great world build, great action, wonderful new characters introduced and as always excellent fight scenes. Following the different characters seems to have given this book a different pace, but all in all a real good read.
May 1, 2018
Another perfect book
Just like books 1 and 2, and the novella, I have thoroughly enjoyed every sentence, nay every word, of this book. Steven is a great author with such a wide imagination and vocabulary that each sentence shows you exactly what was in his minds eye in crystal clarity when he wrote it. Each swing of a sword is animated within my mind, each twitch of a face is noticed, the only thing lacking is the audio of their voices.
Just like books 1 and 2, and the novella, I have thoroughly enjoyed every sentence, nay every word, of this book. Steven is a great author with such a wide imagination and vocabulary that each sentence shows you exactly what was in his minds eye in crystal clarity when he wrote it. Each swing of a sword is animated within my mind, each twitch of a face is noticed, the only thing lacking is the audio of their voices.
November 20, 2017
Thoughts: I loved this book. I always think the books in the Landkist Saga are amazing, but this one just blew me away. Each book keeps getting better and better. At first I was uncertain if I wouldn't like this book as much as the first two, because this one follows different characters. But I was wrong: this book was as good, if not better, than the first two. I loved how Steven Kelliher added the twists about the Faey's powers. Another thing that I loved about this book is the ending. The ending had all the components needed in my opinion to make the perfect conclusion: some sadness, a huge battle in which the main characters defeat someone or something, and a path for the characters to continue on in the next books. Overall, this is one of my favorite series and an amazingly awesome book.
Note: this book was given to me for free in exchange for a review.
Note: this book was given to me for free in exchange for a review.
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July 19, 2019Another great book. I like the way this one describes the ocean of sand. It was like a whole world of sand in the dessert.
January 5, 2018
Fantastic writing
Wow, what an experience. This story was a slow burn that really delivered. Although it took me a few chapters to get involved, the characters were very interesting and engaging. The plot turned out to be creative with a few helpful insights sprinkled throughout. The author, I felt, has really hit his creative stride in this book. The balance between word building and moving forward was perfect. To top it off, the last few chapters really delivered on the action. Looking forward to the next installment.
Wow, what an experience. This story was a slow burn that really delivered. Although it took me a few chapters to get involved, the characters were very interesting and engaging. The plot turned out to be creative with a few helpful insights sprinkled throughout. The author, I felt, has really hit his creative stride in this book. The balance between word building and moving forward was perfect. To top it off, the last few chapters really delivered on the action. Looking forward to the next installment.
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