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Harbinger
Born into a feared royal family, and a bastard son of the infamous and immortal Harrowlord, Willem Harrow has proudly limped his way through the halls of the Hiltkeep his entire life. Within polished stones that more resemble a giant's broadsword than a true keep, lies are the building blocks of discussion… and ancient history bleeds into the present in more ways than Willem could imagine. This secrecy extends to the most pondered mystery that the Hiltkeep houses: the Harrowlord's motivation for famously, and on every birthday without fail, challenging his 21-year-old sons to a brief but deadly duel.
Despite his unwavering respect for the Harrow name, Willem has ever been at odds with his father. However, it seems that may change when he's entrusted with a special task: rooting out and beheading a traitor whose ideals he secretly embodies. But Willem's desperate plans could easily crumble around him even as he questions the very history he was taught; at the precipice of his understanding, an ancient evil lingers, eager to flourish once more...
Harbinger is the first book in The Harrows Series, and C. F. Bellairs' debut novel. This is a dark fantasy story with adult language and scenarios, and is not intended for children.
309 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 10, 2020
About the author
C.F. Bellairs
2 books2 followersA fantasy reader from Oregon with a desire to challenge the genre. When he's not focused on appeasing a demanding cat, Colin is surfing YouTube, playing video games on Steam, or writing a depressing fantasy story. Sometimes his evenings devolve into a combination of all three.
Facebook: http://www.fb.me/CFBellairs
Amazon Author Profile: https://www.amazon.com/author/cfbellairs
Facebook: http://www.fb.me/CFBellairs
Amazon Author Profile: https://www.amazon.com/author/cfbellairs
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 4, 2020
3.5 stars
Harbinger is a dark fantasy tale set in a vast castle filled with members of the Harrow family. As each male descendant reaches the age of twenty-one he must compete against the Harrowlord; most perish. Willem is desperate to find a way to survive the ordeal, and his search for an answer takes him deep into the bowels of the building where horror awaits.
The setting has a medieval tone. The short chapters each begin with a secondary narrative in italics, the idea being to give some outside perspective to the castle setting, but each time I found it took me out of the central story for too long a period.
The writing style is beautifully atmospheric, elaborate and showed off the author’s extensive vocabulary, but I felt it suffered from being over-written. I found it hard to find the story hidden behind all the adjectives and adverbs; it seemed that he chose not to use three words if he could stretch each sentence out to ten, which slowed the plot. It’s a shame because the writing itself and the storyline are basically very good, but areas of tension were diluted by the wordiness.
There were several intriguing characters with historical stories and backgrounds that I was eager to learn about in lots more depth, but in order to do so I did rather feel as though I had to plough through so much that was unnecessarily descriptive. I see this is his debut novel and the first in a series; I would advise seeking a professional manuscript assessor/editor's point of view before publishing the next episode.
Harbinger is a dark fantasy tale set in a vast castle filled with members of the Harrow family. As each male descendant reaches the age of twenty-one he must compete against the Harrowlord; most perish. Willem is desperate to find a way to survive the ordeal, and his search for an answer takes him deep into the bowels of the building where horror awaits.
The setting has a medieval tone. The short chapters each begin with a secondary narrative in italics, the idea being to give some outside perspective to the castle setting, but each time I found it took me out of the central story for too long a period.
The writing style is beautifully atmospheric, elaborate and showed off the author’s extensive vocabulary, but I felt it suffered from being over-written. I found it hard to find the story hidden behind all the adjectives and adverbs; it seemed that he chose not to use three words if he could stretch each sentence out to ten, which slowed the plot. It’s a shame because the writing itself and the storyline are basically very good, but areas of tension were diluted by the wordiness.
There were several intriguing characters with historical stories and backgrounds that I was eager to learn about in lots more depth, but in order to do so I did rather feel as though I had to plough through so much that was unnecessarily descriptive. I see this is his debut novel and the first in a series; I would advise seeking a professional manuscript assessor/editor's point of view before publishing the next episode.
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August 10, 2020Not much of a reviewer, but I'll express myself the best I can.
First off, I found the setting to be fairly interesting at the beginning of the story, becoming even more so as it went on. The Hiltkeep is a fantastic idea as far as fictional fortresses go and the Harrowlord is a great complement to it.
The visuals described are very stimulating to the imagination, although they often got overly descriptive. This tendency bogged down certain scenes that I would have preferred to be fast-paced. I think with some editing, the author's extensive vocabulary and his ability to describe sensations and textures so richly would be allowed to shine where needed.
Pacing is slow throughout the book, with scenes that go on for far too long or elements that have been previously described being mentioned multiple times in equal detail. The sections before each chapter are interesting on their own but they become way too long in some cases.
The protagonist, and main POV, is hated by everyone around him, save for a few people. As a reader, I didn't find a reason to feel a different way toward him initially. He is often winy and a jerk, which made me detached from him. His end goal being survival, I didn't care if he achieved it or not until I got halfway through the book. I was more interested in the mystery surrounding the antagonist. Luckily he is not oblivious to his shortcomings and work is done to show he is the result of having the father he has and living a life of abuse.
The magic system is very interesting and I'm eager to see the possibilities it offers in the hands of experienced and creative users.
Overall, it left me with a desire to keep reading about this world, which I can't say many books do.
First off, I found the setting to be fairly interesting at the beginning of the story, becoming even more so as it went on. The Hiltkeep is a fantastic idea as far as fictional fortresses go and the Harrowlord is a great complement to it.
The visuals described are very stimulating to the imagination, although they often got overly descriptive. This tendency bogged down certain scenes that I would have preferred to be fast-paced. I think with some editing, the author's extensive vocabulary and his ability to describe sensations and textures so richly would be allowed to shine where needed.
Pacing is slow throughout the book, with scenes that go on for far too long or elements that have been previously described being mentioned multiple times in equal detail. The sections before each chapter are interesting on their own but they become way too long in some cases.
The protagonist, and main POV, is hated by everyone around him, save for a few people. As a reader, I didn't find a reason to feel a different way toward him initially. He is often winy and a jerk, which made me detached from him. His end goal being survival, I didn't care if he achieved it or not until I got halfway through the book. I was more interested in the mystery surrounding the antagonist. Luckily he is not oblivious to his shortcomings and work is done to show he is the result of having the father he has and living a life of abuse.
The magic system is very interesting and I'm eager to see the possibilities it offers in the hands of experienced and creative users.
Overall, it left me with a desire to keep reading about this world, which I can't say many books do.
August 11, 2025
The story of the Hiltkeep and this world that the author built are a lot of fun to get lost in. Willem's journey from beginning to end are filled with magic, discovery, character growth and great story telling. I really enjoyed the world that the author built here, especially the "wurde-crafting," very cool concept. This book is filled with visual pictures and images and the author really shows their extensive vocabulary and skill of writing. If you like LOTR, you are going to like this book!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews