From former army officer William Stacey comes an exciting new blend of urban fantasy and military adventure. Now you can lose yourself in the complete trilogy—with more than 1500 pages of magic, monsters, and heroes in uniform.
The secret war begins.
When a secret government operation opens an inter-dimensional gateway, they unleash chaos...
Reawakening the forces of magic.
And letting in monsters of myth and their dark-elf masters.
Now, the fate of all falls upon two women gifted with magical powers and a veteran Special Forces soldier.
If they fail, it won’t just be the end of the Dark-Elf War.
It’ll be the end of all human life.
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- Book 1: Starlight
- Book 2: Gunz
- Book 3: Ranger
If you like Weston Ochse, Myke Cole, Jim Butcher, Michael Anderle, and Bob Meyer, you’ll love the Dark Elf War trilogy.
A former soldier, William Stacey served his country for more than thirty years, including multiple combat tours in Bosnia and Afghanistan. William loves exercise and all things martial and is a black belt in karate.
DNF at 30%. I really tried to see this through to the end. I appreciate that this is an indie author and the story premise is truly unique and interesting so I stuck through more than I would have just based on the writing alone but ultimately could not stick with it.
First issue is the absurd amount of unnecessary detail when it came to military jargon and street names. At every opportunity the author chooses to use a technical name over common name for military equipment and often takes extra sentences to have characters explain their use. If a gun is used the author tells you the caliber of bullet - almost every time. It's likely an attempt to mimic how people might actually talk about those things in the service but it's very weird to read in a narrative. It completely takes you out of the story and is often not useful information.
It seems like with the street names there's just an attempt to map everything according to real street. But again, it's just not important to the story and distracting. i.e. "Corporal Jean Alexis Groulx was driving down One Hundredth Avenue in downtown Fort St. John when the call came in." It shouldn't be an issue but what happens is that type of detail is included again and again and it starts to feel like a drinking game.
My second main issue is that many of the main characters are fairly one-dimensional. I could get over the merely annoying jargon issues but kept hoping to see deeper character development or growth that just wasn't there a third of the way in and didn't seem to be coming.
“...in the primeval forests of northern British Columbia, Cassie and Alex will fight alongside an elite Special Forces unit hunting mythical beasts with supernatural powers in an undeclared war they can’t afford to lose.”
And so it begins. I happen to really enjoy military action novels, from WEB Griffith to Tom Clancy and everything in between. Add in Sci Fi or fantasy elements (hello Robert A. Heinlein) especially in an urban fantasy setting (probably my favorite genre right now), and even more when there’s a bit of a potential for romance. So now we have poor college dropout Cassie, who happens to be in the wrong place (near a portal when it opens) at the wrong time, though at least she’s not one of the many who died and she did get some kick-a** Powers out of it. Add to this mix one dark elf princess, “...sent to our world to strike out at the pestilence that is humanity” along with a nasty beasty of a monster, plus the promised thrilling battles and non-stop action, and the result is a heady mix indeed. Pure fun if you are up for well written urban fantasy/military sci-fi. I definitely am and William Stacey’s The Dark Elf War Trilogy, Books 1-3 definitely worked well for me. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The trilogy definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the trilogy is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend.
One dimensional characters written by someone with a political leftist ax to grind. I don’t mind some political ax grinding, we all do it, but the racism was so in your face it grew weary. Seems that the author believes that the real enemy is any white male, especially if the are from the U.S. A real shame, because the story idea is an interesting premise. That being said, the biggest issue is that the story is bogged down with excessive detail; so much that you can skip a chapter or two and not miss anything -more like a daytime soap opera than a sci-fi novel. Finally threw in the towel about a third of the way through the 2nd book which is something I have not done in years.
Wanted to give 4.5 stars but can't. Was a great journey, with minor disappointments. Fish people really? Also no 5 star generals in America except during war times. Clearly you need better proof readers as well, found at least a dozen mistakes throughout. Even used the wrong names in one place which caused confusion. However I still found the story extremely enjoyable and look forward to more from you. This is the second trilogy I have read of yours and find myself looking through Amazon books to find more. Thank you William.
The Trilogy of Starlight, Gunz, and Ranger was a wonderful read. The great story ends in a solid conclusion. The characters evolve and grow in all three books, as they face challenges and tests. Non-stop action and intrigue to keep you up reading all night. It kept me reading long after I should have been sleeping. I was pleased to be able to read an ARC and this review is my own opinion. I look forward to buying the book.
I really liked this story. It was one of the few stories I have ever read that mixed SciFi and Fantasy together. Dark fantasy as well. I like that it was not an easy journey. Every time I thought things could not get worse, they did. So many main characters died. I swear it was more than GoT. Really good series.
I am at a loss for words. This series has become one of my favorite stories. A truly epic story filled with incredible characters. I just can't say enough about it. Thank you William Stacey for sharing this fantastic realm and masterful story, please write more.
Lost me a couple of times. The story is solid. The action was surprisingly well done. His depictions of the delta guys at the beginning almost made me stop reading the trilogy. Glad I stayed for the party. Good story. Gotta love a dwarven battle suit.
If you like magic, elves, dwarves, as well as many other otherworldly creatures, and war, I recommend this series. When mankind decides to travel to another dimension their meddling in forces they don't understand will have unexpected consequences.
I am voluntarily leaving an honest and nonincentivized review of these ARCs.
I really enjoyed this series, the growth of Elizabeth, from a unlikable character to someone who I really cared about was great. The whole trilogy worked for me. Sure there are parts that needed some editing, but so does every book. I'm awaiting more stories from that world, maybe the kids go looking for a dragon...just saying.
Book is definitely a movie material, good effort by the author with his research and knowledge. Would have liked it more with good editing, there are some unwanted writing where you feel it’s their only to fill the the page. But overall it’s a good book to read and would definitely recommend.
I found this series to be fast paced page turner I couldn’t put down. I am not sure why I found it so appealing given that so many of the story elements were re used from many of the books we have read before. I suppose it was the fun integration of magic and modern military. I am looking forward to finding more content from Mr. Stacey.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this saga. It was well written and full of suprizes. If you enjoy reading about other worlds, the fae, dwarves, dragons- lots of warfare and also getting lost in the journey of heroic beings as you read-then you will not be disappointed because this series has it all.
I liked this. A lot. It’s not often that I can’t put a book down. Or an iPad or iPhone 😎 This was a cracking read. Thoroughly enjoyed it all. I’ve always thought that fairytales must have been based on some reality... Excellent!
Great story, be prepared to stay up late reading! Purchased on a whim and no regrets! The characters are well developed, solid plot and nice length on the books.
These books were so different. Great trilogy especially the last book. Fighting scenes went on a bit too long for me but that’s just my opinion. Other than that I loved it especially when the bad guys got their comeuppance!
The book is well written and really hard to put down, fast paced but never rushed. Descriptions of locations, tactics, weapons, and characters make you feel like you're in the action. Absolutely happy to have it in my library.
I enjoyed these books. I love high fantasy and at first wasn’t sure on the mixing of fantasy and modern day/sci fi genres but it worked. I appreciated the military detail (being a veteran myself)
This trilogy is a remarkable tale. The first book is kind of slow but, then again, it takes time to detail a new world. Book Two is full of sadness and grief but also full of hope. Book Three rounds everything out quite nicely. I recommend this series.