Children of Shadows

by A.M. Hall

Disturbing dreams are nothing new for Kyra. But her nightmares become reality when the enigmatic assassin, Emerald, pursues her across the Broken Lands. Led by the mysterious Watcher, the Morkai threaten to overwhelm the Broken Lands and she and her friends are the key to their success. The strange visions offer hope, but at a price. Can she control the elemental powers she needs to defeat the Watcher?

Children of Shadows is the first book of The Seer, a new epic fantasy series. Follow Kyra and her friends as she fights against the rise of the Shadow Queen.

Visit www.theseer.online

314 pages, ebook

First published October 25, 2018

About the author

Andrew Hall is the author of The Seer epic fantasy series. His debut novel ‘Children of Shadows’ was published in 2018 to positive reviews. He works full time as a scientist and holds an honours degree in Cell Biology and a PhD in Immunology. His English teacher once told him he should write novels so, after a couple of decades, he decided to follow that advice. He is not a quick thinker.

Writing takes up much of his spare time, the remainder of which he spends with his ever-patient wife and daughter. His favorite author is Terry Pratchett and he enjoys books and films that make him smile. He tries to play tennis. Occasionally he watches football and posts irate messages about the performance of his teams. The rest of the time he is relatively calm.

Reviews

[Mihir · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another of those books whose mysterious blurb drew me in. The book deals with four characters mainly Kyra, Emerald, Tom and Sam who deal with various events and are taken away from their rural lives. This story was an interesting one and had quite a slow start.

Overall this story had a mix of high fantasy and a YA feel to it. The story takes a while to get going and takes nearly half of its length before we find out what it is it about. This aspect didn’t quite work for me as I was hoping that the pace would pick up soon. Alas that didn’t quite happen as soon as I hoped it would. The ending though is quite an action packed one and it helped me to enjoy the book a lot more than I thought I would.

[Miss A E Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. The kind of book you go to bed early to get reading!
Totally invested in the characters and the adventure. Excellent story telling and setting the scene so that I now cannot wait for the next book. First class.

[Mihir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall rating - 2.5 stars

Review to come soon.

[Rosetta Overman · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

This book is fantastic. While written like High Fantasy, the language is modern, which makes it flow smoothly. I adore the characters, Namely Kyra, Sam, Tom and Emerald, all of whom are well fleshed out. They each had their POVs within the chapters (a warning for those of you not fond of head hopping) that not only added to the story, but also helped to understand character motivations. The first head hop is a bit abrupt and I hadn’t anticipated it, so that was a bit of a jolt. After the initial confusion, I found I quite enjoyed it and couldn’t imagine it being written any other way. I loved having a peek at what made them tick, something often missing from stories, regardless of third or first person.

The world building is rich with details and names, the kind of book that would be served well by a map at the beginning detailing the placement of cities and places of interest.

I took away half a star because sometimes sentences were missing words, which had me rereading to figure out what belonged there. Other than that, Children of Shadows is a wonderful beginning to a tale of intrigue and betrayal. I’m looking forward to the next book.

[Christophe Debruyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable YA read, but the number of typos was annoying. Some girly tropes were not necessary, IMHO. The author would be a great dungeon master. Actually, I bet he already is... Looking forward to the release of the second volume.

[Lindsay Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The characters and their relationships are the strength of the book, following their journey and understanding their motivations keeps you engaged. The pace of the storytelling is ideal, describing events and scenery perfectly. It’s a great start to what will hopefully be a rewarding series of books but entirely satisfying as a stand-alone piece.

[Kady Monroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fantasy book follows a number of characters throughout the plot. Each have their own goals or mysteries to solve. I found the world building and characters to be very good and the plot moved along at a reasonable pace.
Well worth a read.
I was given a copy of this book for an honest and unbiased review.

[Lorraine Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book from start to finish, although I am slightly sad to have finished it! It was very well written, drawing me in to the challenging world of the 4 main characters. I picked it up at every opportunity, intrigued to find out their fate. A first for me to read this genre but I can't wait for the rest of the series. I would highly recommend, well done to author!

[Lindsay Cairns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having had a revamp of the cover and an edit to iron out some kinks, this book is well worth a 2nd read. Squares it up more appropriately into the YA category so hopefully some keen readers will pick it up.

[Cherie Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. It has a good fantasy world, interesting characters, and an intriguing story. Also, it rekindled my joy of epic fantasy settings as it tells the story without overblown wordiness.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

Excellent first novel from this author. Loved the development of the characters, and the twists within the story.
Can't wait for the next one.

[Jennifer Shepard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I read from this author and let me tell you that I loved it! Such a good book with great characters that keeps you obsessed with every page since the first one. The ending of this book.. come on! I just didn´t expect it! Can´t wait to read other books from this great writer! Amazing job! a must-read! A fantastic book that has it all! I happily endorse this story to any and all who are looking for a fantasy enjoyable read and a completely different experience than anyone could imagine on their own. ¡Great book!