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The Screaming Skull
What do you get when you throw The Lord of the Rings, Catch-22, Monty Python, and Hunter S. Thompson into a blender? An epic fantasy novel that goes to 11.
Low-level adventurer Elberon of the Isles has a problem. Through a chance encounter with a mysterious woman, he’s come into possession of a horned skull that keeps screaming at him—and whenever it screams, it summons hordes of monsters to kill him.Even worse, this screaming skull may in fact be the very skull of the Deathless One, the dark wizard who last appeared five hundred years ago to conquer the Free Kingdoms. Can Elberon and his friends learn the secret of the Screaming Skull before the evil forces arrayed against them can kill him dead? And more importantly, where can a simple fighter get a stiff drink around here?
The Screaming Skull is the first volume of the epic and hilarious heavy-metal fantasy trilogy The Chronicles of Elberon. If you like fantasy heroes who curse like sailors, party like rock stars, and battle vicious Hellspawn, time-traveling dragons, and a terrifying Rat King, then you’ll love Rick Ferguson’s epic tale of high adventure that turns the fantasy fiction genre on its head.
This e-book edition features four interior illustrations by renowned fantasy artist Obsidian Abnormal.
Order your copy of The Screaming Skull today and enter a hilarious world of heavy-metal fantasy!
512 pages, ebook
Published October 30, 2018
47 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Rick Ferguson
6 books8 followersRick Ferguson is a globally recognized marketing expert with appearances in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, and the Fox Business Channel. He has delivered keynote speeches on marketing principles and best practices on six continents. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife Allison, son Ian, and cat Penny.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 27, 2020
The screaming skull deals with the adventures of Elberion. Elberion is a old king who receives prophecy that he will outline most of his kin only to die on a toilet. Sounds weird? It is. It is insanely wonderful ride. Story is narrated to us in first person by Elberion himself, he gives us his strange opinion about everything which leaves is chuckling most of the times. Because he jumps from one scene to another so rapidly it is hard to keep tab of story. However, once you get hold of it, it is equally entertaining. Not a single thing bore us out, though not a page turner but narration made me come back every time.
March 17, 2019
While the story line can be quite confusing, trying to keep up with the jumping of the memories and to the present it's definitely kind of confusing. However, once you get with the program its really entertaining.
The novel follows Elberon through his life adventures, who is basically an older king who gets a prophecy. A neat book.
The novel follows Elberon through his life adventures, who is basically an older king who gets a prophecy. A neat book.
April 17, 2019
The story starts with ongoing preparations of the 65th birthday celebrations of the hero (who is predicted to live till 130 when he will die on the toilet) - an event which will be attended by his best friends and co adventurers and remembers the times with them and thinks "When I finally get them all together,I’m going to kill every last one of them.” With this cryptic remark the story delves into adventure and fantasy . The story moves fast (too fast for me) Fans of fantastical adventures will love it th0ugh, I did not love it so much , Then I am not a very big fan of Game of thrones and haven't yet finished Lord of the Rings. For me main shortcomings were the novel is too long, moves too fast, has too many characters and incidents and moves too many times back and forth to form a real connection. And of course the ending is a little abrupt owing to the fact that it is Volume 1.
The first time I tried to read, I couldn't finish it but when I couldn't stop thinking about it too. Only thing this that reading this requires patience. When I started reading again with great concentration it made an impact on me. I got this book from the author through @booktasters
The first time I tried to read, I couldn't finish it but when I couldn't stop thinking about it too. Only thing this that reading this requires patience. When I started reading again with great concentration it made an impact on me. I got this book from the author through @booktasters
March 9, 2019
This book is a chaotic ride through the life and times of Elberon - adventurer, king, husband, father, friend, and wayward son. If you like Dungeons & Dragons type adventure, irreverent humor, and time-jumping anachronisms then you will like this book.
October 19, 2019
If you read a lot of epic fantasies, you could do worse than reading Rick Ferguson's The Chronicles of Elberon. Of course if you were looking to read a serious epic fantasy, you could do a lot better. But if you are in the mood for a parody of the genre which mines the various standard characters and tropes for all their humorous worth, then this is definitely the right choice.
King Elberon, Lord of the Tradewind Isles, Defender of the Faith, President of the Southern Shield, High Admiral of the Seven Fleets, Protector of the Iron Coast, and Friend of the Dolphins is in despair. It is his birthday and he learns from a soothsayer that he will die at age 130 years old sitting on the toilet. Not exactly the heroic going out in a blaze- of-glory-warrior-death that any sword- wielding-Odin-worshipping King and Fighter dreams about but the next news is even worse. Lithaine, an elf and Elberon’s former friend and companion has an army and is heading straight for Elberon to kill him. With regret and remembering that he invited all of his other former companions to the party with the intent to kill them, Elberon decides to document his life.
From the moment that he stole a magical girdle which gave super strength and challenged his warlord father for his independence, Elberon's life has been one adventure after another. Along the way, he meets various allies all of which come from your standard fantasy series and are his True Companions. There is the aforementioned Lithaine, who looks like your typical handsome graceful romantic elf, but has a foul mouth and a sardonic sense of humor. Redulfo, a wizard who absorbed a dark spirit and therefore his status changed from Balanced Good to Disciplined Evil. Amabored, a warrior attached to his sword, Stormcrow and whom Elberon describes as “the most bloodthirsty son of a bitch (he) has ever met.” Malcolm, a paladin Lindar, a half elf, Androgen, a dwarf, and James, a ranger round out the team making the typical crew of humans, elves, wizards, and dwarves that can be found in these works.
Of course Our Heroes have to take on magical quests and face villains that are found in these works everything from dark wizards, to corrupt kings and warlords, to more dragons and monsters than you can wave Wun Wun, the Game of Thrones giant at.
Naturally, the adventurers also find love and with many of his journies, Elberon recalls the many mistresses and lovers that he had along the way. Two are the most important. Melinda, a thief who later becomes head of the Thieve's Guild assists Elberon a number of times before the two become lovers. Another woman in Elberon's adventurous past is Cassiopeia, a nubile warrior cleric priestess who becomes one of Elberon's True Companions as well as his lover. Among Elberon's many many regrets is stringing the two women along at the same time and jeopardizing their lives as well as his love for them and vice versa.
This book is a treat for any Fantasy lovers. It is littered with references that even the newest of fans of the genre will get. Elberon and co. Are constantly worried about gaining or losing Strength, Magic, Healing, or Luck points like players of a certain well known RPG game from the ‘80’s. To further add to the joke, there is a character called Gygax named in honor of Dungeons and Dragons creator Gary Gygax. Minor and supporting characters are rich with names like Sir Michael of Moorcock and Sir Jethro of Tull.
One of the more hilarious moments comes when during a dream, Elberon encounters a wise character called Joseph Ki-Rin who informs Elberon that he is taking The Hero's Journey as defined by Joseph Campbell's book, Hero with a Thousand Faces. He calls the various steps that Elberon like meeting the wise mentor-Joseph Ki-Rin-, descend into the underworld, confront his anima, and encountering his feminine side. When Elberon is confused, Joseph Ki-Rin tells him that he is following the step of Refusing the Call.
Ferguson clearly knows his fantasy works by allowing his characters to follow the various fantasy tropes while commenting on them. Elberon asks the Reader point blank if his adventures sound too much like Tolkien. Well he points out Tolkien was the translator of the Red Book of West March and not the author so how could you rip off history and Tolkien mostly cribbed his work from Celtic and Norse mythology anyway.
As for how Elberon, a fantasy character in a Medieval-esque land knows so much about Tolkien and how he can throw phrases like “pre-industrial” around and make references to Star Wars. Well, there is a reason for that and it is one of the cleverest running gags in the book. His world, Woerth is actually one of several alternate universes. He and the other people of Woerth are familiar with the various Earths and have borrowed facets of their history and culture including worshipping various deities. Characters have even been found in the various Earths. One of their dark wizards actually can be found by different familiar names in the other Earths-Voldemort, Saruman, Vladimir Putin-you know all the evil dark wizards.
Despite the humor, there is a sense of melancholy throughout the book that keeps The Chronicles of Elberon from being a series that is just joke after joke. Elberon is a character who knows his better days are behind him. He is like the former-hero-turned-outcast who looks on his glory days once hard as the best days of his life. He also looks back with deep sadness with the mistakes he made particularly with Melinda and Cassiopeia and in despair over the things that he learned and wished that he hadn't like many of his quests were orchestrated by a deeper conspiracy.
Even though he is king with untold wealth and power, and is married and has heirs, Elberon cannot connect with his present life because he is living in the past.
The first book in the Chronicles of Elberon is a brilliant book when it deconstructs the various fantasy elements, but sometimes it runs away with itself. There is no straight linear passage of time. Instead Elberon jumps from one adventure and goes to another one and then back to the present, then to a third adventure before going back to the first one. Several plots mix together so it's hard to tell when any of them take place. Elberon for example may casually mention a character died. Then after several quests involving the character only remember several chapters later to tell us how they died. The Reader has to really pay attention to the timeline (which thankfully Ferguson supplies us with one at the end of the book.)
In a way, the choice in narration makes sense. The book is written as though Elberon is chronicling his adventures to a scribe. So he is telling his story the way most people would when they talk about something that happened in their lives, then back track to an earlier event remembering some important detail that they left out. It could also be mocking the whole en media res storytelling device found in epic tales in which adventures often began in the middle of the action rather than at the chronological beginning. Either way it doesn't make it easy to read and if I were Elberon's scribe, I would throw down my quill in despair wondering how many pages that I have to blot out and redo.
The Chronicles of Elberon is a fun series that makes fun of Fantasy but it is clearly that it is also an homage abs tribute. Rick Ferguson wrote a love letter to the genre, a very silly, satiric and at times confusing love letter, but a love letter nonetheless.
King Elberon, Lord of the Tradewind Isles, Defender of the Faith, President of the Southern Shield, High Admiral of the Seven Fleets, Protector of the Iron Coast, and Friend of the Dolphins is in despair. It is his birthday and he learns from a soothsayer that he will die at age 130 years old sitting on the toilet. Not exactly the heroic going out in a blaze- of-glory-warrior-death that any sword- wielding-Odin-worshipping King and Fighter dreams about but the next news is even worse. Lithaine, an elf and Elberon’s former friend and companion has an army and is heading straight for Elberon to kill him. With regret and remembering that he invited all of his other former companions to the party with the intent to kill them, Elberon decides to document his life.
From the moment that he stole a magical girdle which gave super strength and challenged his warlord father for his independence, Elberon's life has been one adventure after another. Along the way, he meets various allies all of which come from your standard fantasy series and are his True Companions. There is the aforementioned Lithaine, who looks like your typical handsome graceful romantic elf, but has a foul mouth and a sardonic sense of humor. Redulfo, a wizard who absorbed a dark spirit and therefore his status changed from Balanced Good to Disciplined Evil. Amabored, a warrior attached to his sword, Stormcrow and whom Elberon describes as “the most bloodthirsty son of a bitch (he) has ever met.” Malcolm, a paladin Lindar, a half elf, Androgen, a dwarf, and James, a ranger round out the team making the typical crew of humans, elves, wizards, and dwarves that can be found in these works.
Of course Our Heroes have to take on magical quests and face villains that are found in these works everything from dark wizards, to corrupt kings and warlords, to more dragons and monsters than you can wave Wun Wun, the Game of Thrones giant at.
Naturally, the adventurers also find love and with many of his journies, Elberon recalls the many mistresses and lovers that he had along the way. Two are the most important. Melinda, a thief who later becomes head of the Thieve's Guild assists Elberon a number of times before the two become lovers. Another woman in Elberon's adventurous past is Cassiopeia, a nubile warrior cleric priestess who becomes one of Elberon's True Companions as well as his lover. Among Elberon's many many regrets is stringing the two women along at the same time and jeopardizing their lives as well as his love for them and vice versa.
This book is a treat for any Fantasy lovers. It is littered with references that even the newest of fans of the genre will get. Elberon and co. Are constantly worried about gaining or losing Strength, Magic, Healing, or Luck points like players of a certain well known RPG game from the ‘80’s. To further add to the joke, there is a character called Gygax named in honor of Dungeons and Dragons creator Gary Gygax. Minor and supporting characters are rich with names like Sir Michael of Moorcock and Sir Jethro of Tull.
One of the more hilarious moments comes when during a dream, Elberon encounters a wise character called Joseph Ki-Rin who informs Elberon that he is taking The Hero's Journey as defined by Joseph Campbell's book, Hero with a Thousand Faces. He calls the various steps that Elberon like meeting the wise mentor-Joseph Ki-Rin-, descend into the underworld, confront his anima, and encountering his feminine side. When Elberon is confused, Joseph Ki-Rin tells him that he is following the step of Refusing the Call.
Ferguson clearly knows his fantasy works by allowing his characters to follow the various fantasy tropes while commenting on them. Elberon asks the Reader point blank if his adventures sound too much like Tolkien. Well he points out Tolkien was the translator of the Red Book of West March and not the author so how could you rip off history and Tolkien mostly cribbed his work from Celtic and Norse mythology anyway.
As for how Elberon, a fantasy character in a Medieval-esque land knows so much about Tolkien and how he can throw phrases like “pre-industrial” around and make references to Star Wars. Well, there is a reason for that and it is one of the cleverest running gags in the book. His world, Woerth is actually one of several alternate universes. He and the other people of Woerth are familiar with the various Earths and have borrowed facets of their history and culture including worshipping various deities. Characters have even been found in the various Earths. One of their dark wizards actually can be found by different familiar names in the other Earths-Voldemort, Saruman, Vladimir Putin-you know all the evil dark wizards.
Despite the humor, there is a sense of melancholy throughout the book that keeps The Chronicles of Elberon from being a series that is just joke after joke. Elberon is a character who knows his better days are behind him. He is like the former-hero-turned-outcast who looks on his glory days once hard as the best days of his life. He also looks back with deep sadness with the mistakes he made particularly with Melinda and Cassiopeia and in despair over the things that he learned and wished that he hadn't like many of his quests were orchestrated by a deeper conspiracy.
Even though he is king with untold wealth and power, and is married and has heirs, Elberon cannot connect with his present life because he is living in the past.
The first book in the Chronicles of Elberon is a brilliant book when it deconstructs the various fantasy elements, but sometimes it runs away with itself. There is no straight linear passage of time. Instead Elberon jumps from one adventure and goes to another one and then back to the present, then to a third adventure before going back to the first one. Several plots mix together so it's hard to tell when any of them take place. Elberon for example may casually mention a character died. Then after several quests involving the character only remember several chapters later to tell us how they died. The Reader has to really pay attention to the timeline (which thankfully Ferguson supplies us with one at the end of the book.)
In a way, the choice in narration makes sense. The book is written as though Elberon is chronicling his adventures to a scribe. So he is telling his story the way most people would when they talk about something that happened in their lives, then back track to an earlier event remembering some important detail that they left out. It could also be mocking the whole en media res storytelling device found in epic tales in which adventures often began in the middle of the action rather than at the chronological beginning. Either way it doesn't make it easy to read and if I were Elberon's scribe, I would throw down my quill in despair wondering how many pages that I have to blot out and redo.
The Chronicles of Elberon is a fun series that makes fun of Fantasy but it is clearly that it is also an homage abs tribute. Rick Ferguson wrote a love letter to the genre, a very silly, satiric and at times confusing love letter, but a love letter nonetheless.
January 28, 2019
The Skreaming Skull is a fantasy book, focused on the story of Elberion and his magical girdle and skull, which provide him with many dangerous adventures. It's written in first person, recounting his memories. The storyline is sometimes a little bit confusing, because he makes some leaps in time jumping to tell of different events, which makes that the thread of the story is interrupted at times. The characters are described I a lively manner, so the reader can get to know their special characteristics. All in all, it has been an enjoyable read.
September 18, 2019
The sly black humour and sarcastic tone of the lead character combined with foul language and chaotic action make this book stand out from the rest in the fantasy fiction genre. It is the Metal of Music and the Deadpool of Marvel. A real find in my opinion. I was confused at times by the jumps around in time and constantly saw echoes from other, tamer, books in this genre: i.e. it starts with a old man's birthday party (LOTR) these odes to the great FF writers are quickly turned on their heads and given a Phabulous angle. The plot is quite simple: A woman gives Elberon a skull that screams. Elberon and his pals try to find out the origin of the skull before it's screaming drives them all mad. Evil forces try to stop them. Basically this is the plot of loads of FF books but what makes this one unique is the great characterisations, clever writing and improbably events that left me stunned. Elberon is a hero with shock value both from the use of bad language and in his actions and thoughts but I kinda liked the guy anyway. I don't want to give anything away as discovering the 'best bits' is the readers delight but look out for the brilliant one-liners. So many quotes I wanted to underline. So grateful for the timeline at the end but I wish it had been at the beginning. A book worth a second read and I shall await the next one in the series.
March 19, 2019
On behalf of booktasters, the author was kind enough to provide me a digi copy of his book.
Thank you booktasters, and thank you Rick! :)
For me personally, I like the challenge of long books. So I enjoyed the length of this book very much. Based on the cover and title alone, I really went in skeptic of how much I would really like the book. It LOOKED middle grade (the title and cover really gave me that feel)....it wasn't. At all. The scenes jumped back and fourth and I personally didn't feel confused or anything like that because: 1) the scenes were clearly written 2) I am used to reading historical fiction and time traveling type of books so you tend to find scenes jumping all over the place with those types of books.
Pros:
Funny
Underneath all the cussing, the way that the autor described the world and the character's feelings was poetic and so enchanting to read. Very few authors have enthralled me the way this author's writing style has captured me when reading.
The main character's journey was exciting. He had a snarky and sarcastic tone to him which made him pretty relatable.
I appreciated that there wasn't any "romance" (and I mean with a title like The Screaming Skill, you kinda expect there not to be) but there were very complex feelings underneath the character that I also could very much relate to and empathized with.
Giving this book 5 stars I think is fair and I really question the 5 star ratings I have given previous reads in the past months because of how much I really enjoyed this one.
Cons:
I mean, he's a flawed hero/character, and he knows it. He's not Snow White. He owns his mistakes and doesn't hide them. I don't think there is a 'con' to this book. I mean yeah there are F bombs and cussing in every single chapter and although I personally prefer my books without the cussing, simply because I live that on a day to day basis, I don't think that it's fair to give it a lower rating just for that.
Going into this book, people should just be aware that there is foul language and it's not for the religious types that are sensitive to read about religion in a negative light. I DO think that this book would have been BETTER if cussing wasn't used AS MUCH as it was... I mean I really enjoyed the writing style and it could be overshadowed by the character's grotesque choice of words. I don't know if the author did that purposefully though, the stark contrast between the beautiful description of the world and everything vs the character's foul mouth. If he did, he did a great job.
I started to write down quotes from the book, but I soon realized my review would be mostly quotes. Mostly were funny and sarcastic.
Anyway that was my review, I might be missing something else that I wanted to point out...
Enjoy the book guys!
Thank you booktasters, and thank you Rick! :)
For me personally, I like the challenge of long books. So I enjoyed the length of this book very much. Based on the cover and title alone, I really went in skeptic of how much I would really like the book. It LOOKED middle grade (the title and cover really gave me that feel)....it wasn't. At all. The scenes jumped back and fourth and I personally didn't feel confused or anything like that because: 1) the scenes were clearly written 2) I am used to reading historical fiction and time traveling type of books so you tend to find scenes jumping all over the place with those types of books.
Pros:
Funny
Underneath all the cussing, the way that the autor described the world and the character's feelings was poetic and so enchanting to read. Very few authors have enthralled me the way this author's writing style has captured me when reading.
The main character's journey was exciting. He had a snarky and sarcastic tone to him which made him pretty relatable.
I appreciated that there wasn't any "romance" (and I mean with a title like The Screaming Skill, you kinda expect there not to be) but there were very complex feelings underneath the character that I also could very much relate to and empathized with.
Giving this book 5 stars I think is fair and I really question the 5 star ratings I have given previous reads in the past months because of how much I really enjoyed this one.
Cons:
I mean, he's a flawed hero/character, and he knows it. He's not Snow White. He owns his mistakes and doesn't hide them. I don't think there is a 'con' to this book. I mean yeah there are F bombs and cussing in every single chapter and although I personally prefer my books without the cussing, simply because I live that on a day to day basis, I don't think that it's fair to give it a lower rating just for that.
Going into this book, people should just be aware that there is foul language and it's not for the religious types that are sensitive to read about religion in a negative light. I DO think that this book would have been BETTER if cussing wasn't used AS MUCH as it was... I mean I really enjoyed the writing style and it could be overshadowed by the character's grotesque choice of words. I don't know if the author did that purposefully though, the stark contrast between the beautiful description of the world and everything vs the character's foul mouth. If he did, he did a great job.
I started to write down quotes from the book, but I soon realized my review would be mostly quotes. Mostly were funny and sarcastic.
Anyway that was my review, I might be missing something else that I wanted to point out...
Enjoy the book guys!
March 19, 2019
If you're in the mood for playful fantasy that packs in action, adventure, humor, and a healthy dose of "wait, what?", you will love The Screaming Skull. Blazing a trail in humorous-but-legit fantasy, Elberon proves to be a formidable yet scatterbrained narrator. He does tend to jump around and offer his thoughts on anything and everything whenever they pop into his head (reminds me a bit of how Douglas Adams narrates in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"). It didn't bother me. I found it added to my understanding of the character. He would be the guy in the middle of a battle that would stop and yell "SQUIRREL!" The author's phrasing alone is beautifully satirical. Plus, he uses the word "shrubbery", which always reminds me of Monty Python.
Somehow, some way, the author also manages to make all of this into a real fantasy book that is well worth your time and attention. Nevermind the fantasy self-deprecation and language (although if you're language-sensitive, you may pass). It is kind of amazing to watch all of these elements successfully come together.
Somehow, some way, the author also manages to make all of this into a real fantasy book that is well worth your time and attention. Nevermind the fantasy self-deprecation and language (although if you're language-sensitive, you may pass). It is kind of amazing to watch all of these elements successfully come together.
April 24, 2019
What a long strange trip it’s been.
The Screaming Skull is a fantasy readers dream. It has fantastic characters, weapons, and settings.
In typical fantasy/sci-fi/time-traveling fashion, the story jumps around a bit. However, the author has thoughtfully provided a timeline at the end of the story. I naturally did not find this until the end of the book, but it was a nice touch to finish with a read through the timeline to put the entire book into perspective.
A word of warning, if you are offended by coarse language, this is not the book for you. But I think the typical reader of this genre is more than familiar with the language used in this book. I would probably rate it for ages 16+.
I would recommend The Screaming Skull to all lovers of RPG, fantasy, sci-fi, and particularly to older readers who can appreciate the nuances of an aging protagonist.
Well done Rick Ferguson
Thank you Booktasters for recommending this book. I read it through the Amazon KU program
The Screaming Skull is a fantasy readers dream. It has fantastic characters, weapons, and settings.
In typical fantasy/sci-fi/time-traveling fashion, the story jumps around a bit. However, the author has thoughtfully provided a timeline at the end of the story. I naturally did not find this until the end of the book, but it was a nice touch to finish with a read through the timeline to put the entire book into perspective.
A word of warning, if you are offended by coarse language, this is not the book for you. But I think the typical reader of this genre is more than familiar with the language used in this book. I would probably rate it for ages 16+.
I would recommend The Screaming Skull to all lovers of RPG, fantasy, sci-fi, and particularly to older readers who can appreciate the nuances of an aging protagonist.
Well done Rick Ferguson
Thank you Booktasters for recommending this book. I read it through the Amazon KU program
January 14, 2020
I usually start with a one liner about the hero or plot, but I am not sure how to summarize here.
This is a crazy fun fantasy story with lots of great action and laced with lots of humor. The story jumps around a bit, but there is a reason for that and it all makes sense eventually. In the meantime, we have a solid, well written story where crazy things happen including lots of humor and pop culture references. I found the setting to be well developed and detailed, making an excellent epic fantasy setting. Similarly, the characters are nicely done, particularly our hero who is in way over his head (and skull!). I found the overall effect to be mindbogglingly fun and hard to put down (although my laughing out loud made reading it in public sometimes embarrassing). Overall, an excellent story and I look forward to more from this author.
I received an ARC from Hidden Gems for review purposes.
This is a crazy fun fantasy story with lots of great action and laced with lots of humor. The story jumps around a bit, but there is a reason for that and it all makes sense eventually. In the meantime, we have a solid, well written story where crazy things happen including lots of humor and pop culture references. I found the setting to be well developed and detailed, making an excellent epic fantasy setting. Similarly, the characters are nicely done, particularly our hero who is in way over his head (and skull!). I found the overall effect to be mindbogglingly fun and hard to put down (although my laughing out loud made reading it in public sometimes embarrassing). Overall, an excellent story and I look forward to more from this author.
I received an ARC from Hidden Gems for review purposes.
September 17, 2021
I was given a free copy of this book and I decided to give it an honest review.
This book is well written and by reading it a person can tell the author put a lot of effort into writing it. But this book was not my cup of tea. I have no problem with characters breaking the fourth wall or jumping around in time. My problem is the amount of jumping around that was done. I would have needed a bulletin board, story points, and two skeins of red yarn to keep track of all the major and minor plots. In some cases, I would become very invested in the story to have that line dropped and then have it resume a hundred pages later when I no longer cared. In some cases, I was told something over and over again. Probably the author reminding me about significant points so I would know the importance of this particular scene. With over 500 pages, I had hoped for more development of the other characters. And then the major plots do not wrap up in this book, but continue into the next.
This book is well written and by reading it a person can tell the author put a lot of effort into writing it. But this book was not my cup of tea. I have no problem with characters breaking the fourth wall or jumping around in time. My problem is the amount of jumping around that was done. I would have needed a bulletin board, story points, and two skeins of red yarn to keep track of all the major and minor plots. In some cases, I would become very invested in the story to have that line dropped and then have it resume a hundred pages later when I no longer cared. In some cases, I was told something over and over again. Probably the author reminding me about significant points so I would know the importance of this particular scene. With over 500 pages, I had hoped for more development of the other characters. And then the major plots do not wrap up in this book, but continue into the next.
March 17, 2019
A fantasy adventure novel, that revolves around Elberon, a quest, a magical girdle, and a screaming skull.
This book ventures away from typical fantasy. It contains raunchy humor and very animated characters. It was entertaining, but I found it to be a tad bit confusing as it jumped from event to event. At times the story was hard to follow and I found myself having to go back and read sections over again.
If you enjoy wildly adventurous stories, this book is for you.
This book ventures away from typical fantasy. It contains raunchy humor and very animated characters. It was entertaining, but I found it to be a tad bit confusing as it jumped from event to event. At times the story was hard to follow and I found myself having to go back and read sections over again.
If you enjoy wildly adventurous stories, this book is for you.
February 3, 2021
So much fun it seems like multiple books in one
This story is interesting and covers multiple related times for the main characters, each blends well and there is enough detail that it is like reading several really good books at once but being able to keep it all straight and enjoy it more vs less. I recommend this book if you like magic, adventure, and lots of action.
This story is interesting and covers multiple related times for the main characters, each blends well and there is enough detail that it is like reading several really good books at once but being able to keep it all straight and enjoy it more vs less. I recommend this book if you like magic, adventure, and lots of action.
April 12, 2021
Such a dude book
This book is full of absolutely crazy adventures and guys being guys. The camaraderie between the adventurers is truly heartfelt and incredibly developed. I loved each of the characters and the bizarre situations they find themselves in. An absolute must read!!
This book is full of absolutely crazy adventures and guys being guys. The camaraderie between the adventurers is truly heartfelt and incredibly developed. I loved each of the characters and the bizarre situations they find themselves in. An absolute must read!!
November 16, 2023
This was an extremely entertaining and funny epic fantasy book. The characters and story were wonderful and I hope this series continues.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 3, 2022
Couldn't finish.
October 30, 2021
I really tried with this one, but just couldn't not get through it. Was it comical at times? Yes. Was it super confusing? Undoubtedly. The author goes off on tangents in the middle of a scene in nearly every chapter making it extremely hard to follow. After reading for nearly 3 weeks and not even making a dent...I decided to shelve it. I wish I could have enjoyed it more.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.
April 24, 2019
First of all, a huge thank you to Booktasters and Rick Ferguson for being amazingly kind and patient, be warned that this is a really long book and definitely not for someone under at least 15.
This book is great, the main character is hilarious and his feelings are described wonderfully, you experience it all with him. However, if you are expecting a superman type hero, you will be disappointed. The protagonist is one of dubious morality and some of the stuff he says and does is terrifying.
The world building might be a bit confusing to some but it is definitely well done, it's explained later so don't worry about the modern stuff colliding with the medieval stuff. If you don't know the rules of D&D you will be very confused, I didn't and had to familiarise myself before continuing because there are a lot of references to it.
Overall, if you like interesting characters, magic and adventures, you'll love this book.
This book is great, the main character is hilarious and his feelings are described wonderfully, you experience it all with him. However, if you are expecting a superman type hero, you will be disappointed. The protagonist is one of dubious morality and some of the stuff he says and does is terrifying.
The world building might be a bit confusing to some but it is definitely well done, it's explained later so don't worry about the modern stuff colliding with the medieval stuff. If you don't know the rules of D&D you will be very confused, I didn't and had to familiarise myself before continuing because there are a lot of references to it.
Overall, if you like interesting characters, magic and adventures, you'll love this book.
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