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The Buried Goddess Saga - Nesilia's War: Books 4-6
They thought they'd won, but the war has only just begun...
Redstar is defeated. The Buried Goddess plans to return have been thwarted, but not for long. Nesilia has a new target. A woman whose power will allow her to breach the physical realm—the mystic, Sora.
While Sora struggles to resist, Whitney sets out on a quest across Pantego to find and bring her back. There's no gold in it, no grand treasure. Only saving the woman he loves, and oh... saving the world while he's at it.
Everything in Yarrington has changed since the Drav Cra were driven out. But while the rest of the court moves on, Torsten Unger resists the dark forces gathering. He knows Nesilia isn't finished and neither is the war in the Black Sands.
There, a new Shesaitju warrior rises up to fight in the name of her father, Muskigo Ayerabi. It will take everything she has to prove that the time of the Black Sands has come.
War plagues every corner of the Glass Kingdom. Heroes and villains abound. But as Nesilia gathers her final army for conquest, our heroes must all stand together, or die alone.
Included in the Redstar Rising Trilogy:
Book 4: Way of Gods
Book 5: War of Men
Book 6: Word of Truth
Redstar is defeated. The Buried Goddess plans to return have been thwarted, but not for long. Nesilia has a new target. A woman whose power will allow her to breach the physical realm—the mystic, Sora.
While Sora struggles to resist, Whitney sets out on a quest across Pantego to find and bring her back. There's no gold in it, no grand treasure. Only saving the woman he loves, and oh... saving the world while he's at it.
Everything in Yarrington has changed since the Drav Cra were driven out. But while the rest of the court moves on, Torsten Unger resists the dark forces gathering. He knows Nesilia isn't finished and neither is the war in the Black Sands.
There, a new Shesaitju warrior rises up to fight in the name of her father, Muskigo Ayerabi. It will take everything she has to prove that the time of the Black Sands has come.
War plagues every corner of the Glass Kingdom. Heroes and villains abound. But as Nesilia gathers her final army for conquest, our heroes must all stand together, or die alone.
Included in the Redstar Rising Trilogy:
Book 4: Way of Gods
Book 5: War of Men
Book 6: Word of Truth
1927 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2020
16 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Rhett C. Bruno
70 books648 followersRhett is happy to hear from his fans and can be reached at rcbruno44@outlook.com. Please subscribe to his newsletter for exclusive access to updates about his work and the opportunity to receive limited content and ARCs.
http://rhettbruno.com/newsletter/. Or join his facebook reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Rhett...
Rhett Bruno grew up in Hauppauge, New York, and studied at the Syracuse University School of Architecture where he graduated cum laude.
He has been writing since he can remember, scribbling down what he thought were epic short stories when he was young to show to his parents. When he reached high school he decided to take that a step further and write the “Isinda Trilogy”. After the encouragement of his favorite English teacher he decided to self-publish the “Isinda Trilogy” so that the people closest to him could enjoy his early work.
While studying architecture Rhett continued to write as much as he could, but finding the time during the brutal curriculum proved difficult. It wasn’t until he was a senior that he decided to finally pursue his passion for Science Fiction. After rededicating himself to reading works of the Science Fiction author’s he always loved, (Frank Herbert, Timothy Zahn, Heinlein, etc.) he began writing “The Circuit: Executor Rising”, The first part of what he hopes will be a successful Adult Science Fiction Series.
Since then Rhett has been hired by an Architecture firm in Mount Kisco, NY. But that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to work on “The Circuit” and all of the other stories bouncing around in his head. He is also currently studying at the New School to earn a Certificate in Screenwriting in the hopes of one day writing for TV or Video Games.
http://rhettbruno.com/newsletter/. Or join his facebook reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Rhett...
Rhett Bruno grew up in Hauppauge, New York, and studied at the Syracuse University School of Architecture where he graduated cum laude.
He has been writing since he can remember, scribbling down what he thought were epic short stories when he was young to show to his parents. When he reached high school he decided to take that a step further and write the “Isinda Trilogy”. After the encouragement of his favorite English teacher he decided to self-publish the “Isinda Trilogy” so that the people closest to him could enjoy his early work.
While studying architecture Rhett continued to write as much as he could, but finding the time during the brutal curriculum proved difficult. It wasn’t until he was a senior that he decided to finally pursue his passion for Science Fiction. After rededicating himself to reading works of the Science Fiction author’s he always loved, (Frank Herbert, Timothy Zahn, Heinlein, etc.) he began writing “The Circuit: Executor Rising”, The first part of what he hopes will be a successful Adult Science Fiction Series.
Since then Rhett has been hired by an Architecture firm in Mount Kisco, NY. But that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to work on “The Circuit” and all of the other stories bouncing around in his head. He is also currently studying at the New School to earn a Certificate in Screenwriting in the hopes of one day writing for TV or Video Games.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 25, 2021
4.5 stars.
What a ride! I really enjoyed this series as a whole! As large/long as it is, the pacing felt perfect; events and characters were allowed proper room to breathe, with enough time for the reader to understand the nuances, but without lingering overly long on the less important elements. (Like some authors [who shall not be named] taking 5 pages to describe the particular shade of green the heroines dress is.)
The characters feel fully fleshed out and realized, and I'd be hard-pressed to choose a favorite, as they all have their own distinct motivations and feels I can indentify with. And I love the way the POV's are handled in each chapter; I thought it was interesting (and arguably helpful) that the POV Chapter Titles use the characters designated ROLE in the story, rather than their name. A nice change of pace.
This is absolutely worth taking a chance on, especially at the very reasonable price they are asking for the Kindle version; great bang for your buck here!
What a ride! I really enjoyed this series as a whole! As large/long as it is, the pacing felt perfect; events and characters were allowed proper room to breathe, with enough time for the reader to understand the nuances, but without lingering overly long on the less important elements. (Like some authors [who shall not be named] taking 5 pages to describe the particular shade of green the heroines dress is.)
The characters feel fully fleshed out and realized, and I'd be hard-pressed to choose a favorite, as they all have their own distinct motivations and feels I can indentify with. And I love the way the POV's are handled in each chapter; I thought it was interesting (and arguably helpful) that the POV Chapter Titles use the characters designated ROLE in the story, rather than their name. A nice change of pace.
This is absolutely worth taking a chance on, especially at the very reasonable price they are asking for the Kindle version; great bang for your buck here!
December 1, 2020
Way of Gods #4 – This is the first book with ‘The Daughter’ Mahraveh Ayerahi, Muskigo’s Daughter, and after his failed attack on Torsten, we learn the fate of the people as a result of his loss, the missing Caleef, and the attacks by the North. Through Mahi’s eyes, we see how her lands have been ravaged, as their Men are taken elsewhere, but she decides no more, having been trained like no other Daughter, and we see the start of her incredible journey.
In this book, we finally start to see a change in Whitney, from the constant fool, to a more mature young man, gone is the drunken twit, replaced by a more cunning Thief and Strategist. Whitney’s story is full of fascinating characters, Talwyn, Lucindor and the rest of the Troupe, including young Gentry, who wants nothing more than to be Whitney.
Whitney’s hunt for Sora has made him change for the better.
Torsten, still reeling about the castle, recovering from his injuries, both physical and psychological, wanders the castle, still dressed as a knight, kept around for his actions atop the mountain.
But when a new snake slithers into the fold, in the form of Valin Tehr, a crime lord from the slums looking to rise above his station, Torsten knows he has to stop another Redstar.
This leads to a fascinating and engaging part of the story, in which we see many of the less Major characters King Pi, Lucas, Rand, Abigail, all take part, as Torsten and Valin go head to head to see who can win the ear to the throne,
This is were we really see the writing skill of Bruno and Castle at their best, with some incredible Character writing, as well as exceptional world building and creative descriptive work, to really bring the story to life. You can read some stories and the Author just fails to provide a comprehensive and intricate portrayal of what is occurring, maybe brushing over the event in a rush to tell the next part of the story. Not so here, with the Authors taking the time to vividly detail and craft their scenes so that you are living each and every moment, making this story so much more extraordinary, and captivating than other books.
The Authors have also paid the same amount of detail to their world building, this is a story of Epic proportions, and the world building is set to match it. From the details of the fighting pits of the Afhem, to the city streets of the Kingdom, there is just so much detail on every page, that you really feel like you are in the throne room, or sitting at the camp fire with Whitney, or in the dungeons with Torsten, the writing is just beyond outstanding.
The only character I haven’t mentioned so far is Sora, ‘The Mystic’, and I don’t want to say too much about her particular part of the story, as I really don’t want to give away any spoilers. This part of the story is incredibly powerful, and we learn some really interesting things about Sora, and the story. We are finally introduced to Nesillia in all her glory, which is a fascinating experience, and one well worth being a part of. The Mystic’s story is just outstanding.
Overall, this is probably the best book in the series, again, the Authors have outdone themselves, surpassing the other previous versions, which is saying something.
War of Men #5 – War of Men is the extraordinary 5th evolution of the Buried Goddess Saga, and is not only fast-paced, full of action, but it is also a powerful and emotive, character driven story, leaving you wanting more, as we go through the lives of Whitney, Torsten, Muskigo, Mahi, Kazimir, and of course, Rand. In this book, Nesilia finally starts to come into her own as well, having grasped Sora’s powers, and any that don’t fall to their knees willingly, soon wish they had.
One of the really fun things in this book is that there are all these little clues to her return, various creatures that no one has seen forever and things like this, all rising, or coming together as they know their God has returned, but no one else understands what it means. It is these little extras that show the depth of thought that has gone into this story, the world building surrounding the characters, it is just brilliant.
Meanwhile, Whitney continues his desperate mission to find Sora, with the help of Kazimir and what is left of the Troupe, but he will not relent as he knows that she is alive, and that her soul is within her body. Worse still, he knows that it is Nesilia that inhabits her, and he knows he has to do everything in his power to stop her.
On the Black Sands, Muskigo battles with Babrak for control in the absence of the Caleef. Muskigo is also fueled by grief and anger, thinking that his sand mouse is dead. Of course, she is not, Mahi is happily crushing Glassman wherever she goes, as well as any of her own people stupid enough to oppose her.
The sheer scale of the story, the world building, the culture and history that has gone into those of the Black Sands is just amazing, and makes for a fascinating part of this series. Each of the characters, from Babrak, to Muskigo, to the beautiful but deadly Mahi, and even all the minor characters, are just fascinating. This is one of the truly exceptional parts of this series.
One of the truly outstanding characters in this series has been Torsten Unger, who has gone from being the Wearer of White, and leader of the Knights, he has been a prisoner at times and never given up, he has lost his sight, and with it, his position, his ability to fight, and to a large extent, his entire ‘Self’, but he has continued, and even through it all, he has been true to Iam. As a reward, he is gifted with a cloth of sight from a Priest of Iam, someone who you would not expect to bestow such an honour, but none the less, he does, and when the cloth is tied around Torstens eyes, he can see again. For those that have played any DnD there is the Character of a Paladin, a Holy Knight who earns the favour of a God through their acts of virtue, honour, courage, and fighting evil, everything that Torsten is.
This series is only getting better with each book as we move towards the conclusion, in which the forces of good will bring down Nesilia (or the body she inhabits, casting her back to the divine realm), or Nesilia will conquer all of Pantego, and do as she sees fit.
Word of Truth #6 - This is the 6th and Final chapter in the Buried Goddess Saga, in which the forces of Light and Dark will come together for one final time, and decide the fate of Pantego.
Whilst this book does go through all the required elements to meet a successful conclusion (and boy, I really mean it meets everything, the end of this book is worth reading the enter series for, just for this book alone, it is extraordinary, and you will find yourself riveted to the pages, foregoing sleep to see what happens to each of the Main Characters in what can only be described as one of the best endings of a Fantasy series I have ever read, it was not only inspired, but just outstanding), but as I was saying, whilst it meets this conclusion, one of the fascinating things about this story is the introspective nature of the story, the very clever way it explores aspects of not just the reality of the characters, but in a way, how their social, cultural, and religious norms relate to the ‘Everyday Real World’ that we live in as well.
It doesn’t get bogged down in any great social debates or theological discussions, but the social and intolerances that plague Pantego are quite easily transferred to the real world. The Authors have cleverly disguised these intolerances within the story, but the underlying themes of acceptance, that fear and hatred only lead to war (Yoda Tells us – Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to the Dark Side, Hmmmm!!!). And it is quite clear in this story that Nesilia is not a happy Goddess.
I don’t really want to go into any great depths about the actual story, I don’t want to give away any spoilers (I mean, it is obvious that there are going to be a few battles, even a few deaths (there kind of has to be to end a series of this magnitude), but the real question is, who is going to win, because that is not a foregone conclusion.
Torsten and the Caleef, Mahraveh have arranged a marriage, in order to pull the Glass Kingdom and the people of the Sand together, uniting their armies and peoples under a single banner to stand against Nesilia. The Caleef (Mahi), is to marry King Liam, who at this stage, has grown old enough, to be considered a Man. Liam has actually come into his own, having gone through hell and back, and having done lots of training, he is now a wiry strong at will, young King, willing to do whatever it takes to protect his people. Initially, both parties are wary of the other, but quickly realise, that they feel a strong attraction to each other.
Torsten continues to command with the magical cloth around his eyes, allowing him to see, a gift from Iam. Having been gifted something like this, and having been saved by Iam on different occasions, Torsten, having never wavered in his faith that Iam is there, has really become a true Paladin for the God.
In the meantime, Whitney, Lucindur, and the recently freed Sora, along with Tum Tum, and a few others, are on a desperate mission of their own, believing that they may have a chance at being able to stop Nesilia, and if all else fails, Whitney figures they will die trying, so at least they will be dead before Nesilia unleashes whatever it is she is going to do to the rest of Pantego.
Nesilia meanwhile continues to devastate her way through wherever she likes, seemingly heading towards a goal, but all the while, savouring the destruction of anything and everything that she comes close to.
There are multiple other characters at play as well, as we see different aspects of the worlds plight from the view of the Caleef, Mahi, The Outcast – Tum Tum, The Knight – Torsten, The Mystic – Sora, The Traitor – Rand Langley, The Thief – Whitney Fierstown, and The Servant – Freydis.
The Character work continues to be extraordinary, from each of the 7 Main Characters to the dozens of other major characters and minor characters, each one is just so powerful, genuine, gritty, with dialogue that is so believable (given the circumstances), it makes the story so much more credible, grounding it real life. Whilst we know these aren’t real characters in a real world, this level of quality, reminds us of people that are real, or things that are real, making the story that much easier to engage with.
As well as the Characters, this is why the world building is so important, and again, why both these Authors are pure geniuses when it comes to it, creating these backdrops for the characters that are so lifelike that you want to go visit them, you can see them in your mind. Again, this level of uncompromising detail allows the reader to get totally lost in these magnificent places and thoroughly enjoy the story, leading to one of the best conclusions I have ever read. Masterful!!.
In this book, we finally start to see a change in Whitney, from the constant fool, to a more mature young man, gone is the drunken twit, replaced by a more cunning Thief and Strategist. Whitney’s story is full of fascinating characters, Talwyn, Lucindor and the rest of the Troupe, including young Gentry, who wants nothing more than to be Whitney.
Whitney’s hunt for Sora has made him change for the better.
Torsten, still reeling about the castle, recovering from his injuries, both physical and psychological, wanders the castle, still dressed as a knight, kept around for his actions atop the mountain.
But when a new snake slithers into the fold, in the form of Valin Tehr, a crime lord from the slums looking to rise above his station, Torsten knows he has to stop another Redstar.
This leads to a fascinating and engaging part of the story, in which we see many of the less Major characters King Pi, Lucas, Rand, Abigail, all take part, as Torsten and Valin go head to head to see who can win the ear to the throne,
This is were we really see the writing skill of Bruno and Castle at their best, with some incredible Character writing, as well as exceptional world building and creative descriptive work, to really bring the story to life. You can read some stories and the Author just fails to provide a comprehensive and intricate portrayal of what is occurring, maybe brushing over the event in a rush to tell the next part of the story. Not so here, with the Authors taking the time to vividly detail and craft their scenes so that you are living each and every moment, making this story so much more extraordinary, and captivating than other books.
The Authors have also paid the same amount of detail to their world building, this is a story of Epic proportions, and the world building is set to match it. From the details of the fighting pits of the Afhem, to the city streets of the Kingdom, there is just so much detail on every page, that you really feel like you are in the throne room, or sitting at the camp fire with Whitney, or in the dungeons with Torsten, the writing is just beyond outstanding.
The only character I haven’t mentioned so far is Sora, ‘The Mystic’, and I don’t want to say too much about her particular part of the story, as I really don’t want to give away any spoilers. This part of the story is incredibly powerful, and we learn some really interesting things about Sora, and the story. We are finally introduced to Nesillia in all her glory, which is a fascinating experience, and one well worth being a part of. The Mystic’s story is just outstanding.
Overall, this is probably the best book in the series, again, the Authors have outdone themselves, surpassing the other previous versions, which is saying something.
War of Men #5 – War of Men is the extraordinary 5th evolution of the Buried Goddess Saga, and is not only fast-paced, full of action, but it is also a powerful and emotive, character driven story, leaving you wanting more, as we go through the lives of Whitney, Torsten, Muskigo, Mahi, Kazimir, and of course, Rand. In this book, Nesilia finally starts to come into her own as well, having grasped Sora’s powers, and any that don’t fall to their knees willingly, soon wish they had.
One of the really fun things in this book is that there are all these little clues to her return, various creatures that no one has seen forever and things like this, all rising, or coming together as they know their God has returned, but no one else understands what it means. It is these little extras that show the depth of thought that has gone into this story, the world building surrounding the characters, it is just brilliant.
Meanwhile, Whitney continues his desperate mission to find Sora, with the help of Kazimir and what is left of the Troupe, but he will not relent as he knows that she is alive, and that her soul is within her body. Worse still, he knows that it is Nesilia that inhabits her, and he knows he has to do everything in his power to stop her.
On the Black Sands, Muskigo battles with Babrak for control in the absence of the Caleef. Muskigo is also fueled by grief and anger, thinking that his sand mouse is dead. Of course, she is not, Mahi is happily crushing Glassman wherever she goes, as well as any of her own people stupid enough to oppose her.
The sheer scale of the story, the world building, the culture and history that has gone into those of the Black Sands is just amazing, and makes for a fascinating part of this series. Each of the characters, from Babrak, to Muskigo, to the beautiful but deadly Mahi, and even all the minor characters, are just fascinating. This is one of the truly exceptional parts of this series.
One of the truly outstanding characters in this series has been Torsten Unger, who has gone from being the Wearer of White, and leader of the Knights, he has been a prisoner at times and never given up, he has lost his sight, and with it, his position, his ability to fight, and to a large extent, his entire ‘Self’, but he has continued, and even through it all, he has been true to Iam. As a reward, he is gifted with a cloth of sight from a Priest of Iam, someone who you would not expect to bestow such an honour, but none the less, he does, and when the cloth is tied around Torstens eyes, he can see again. For those that have played any DnD there is the Character of a Paladin, a Holy Knight who earns the favour of a God through their acts of virtue, honour, courage, and fighting evil, everything that Torsten is.
This series is only getting better with each book as we move towards the conclusion, in which the forces of good will bring down Nesilia (or the body she inhabits, casting her back to the divine realm), or Nesilia will conquer all of Pantego, and do as she sees fit.
Word of Truth #6 - This is the 6th and Final chapter in the Buried Goddess Saga, in which the forces of Light and Dark will come together for one final time, and decide the fate of Pantego.
Whilst this book does go through all the required elements to meet a successful conclusion (and boy, I really mean it meets everything, the end of this book is worth reading the enter series for, just for this book alone, it is extraordinary, and you will find yourself riveted to the pages, foregoing sleep to see what happens to each of the Main Characters in what can only be described as one of the best endings of a Fantasy series I have ever read, it was not only inspired, but just outstanding), but as I was saying, whilst it meets this conclusion, one of the fascinating things about this story is the introspective nature of the story, the very clever way it explores aspects of not just the reality of the characters, but in a way, how their social, cultural, and religious norms relate to the ‘Everyday Real World’ that we live in as well.
It doesn’t get bogged down in any great social debates or theological discussions, but the social and intolerances that plague Pantego are quite easily transferred to the real world. The Authors have cleverly disguised these intolerances within the story, but the underlying themes of acceptance, that fear and hatred only lead to war (Yoda Tells us – Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to the Dark Side, Hmmmm!!!). And it is quite clear in this story that Nesilia is not a happy Goddess.
I don’t really want to go into any great depths about the actual story, I don’t want to give away any spoilers (I mean, it is obvious that there are going to be a few battles, even a few deaths (there kind of has to be to end a series of this magnitude), but the real question is, who is going to win, because that is not a foregone conclusion.
Torsten and the Caleef, Mahraveh have arranged a marriage, in order to pull the Glass Kingdom and the people of the Sand together, uniting their armies and peoples under a single banner to stand against Nesilia. The Caleef (Mahi), is to marry King Liam, who at this stage, has grown old enough, to be considered a Man. Liam has actually come into his own, having gone through hell and back, and having done lots of training, he is now a wiry strong at will, young King, willing to do whatever it takes to protect his people. Initially, both parties are wary of the other, but quickly realise, that they feel a strong attraction to each other.
Torsten continues to command with the magical cloth around his eyes, allowing him to see, a gift from Iam. Having been gifted something like this, and having been saved by Iam on different occasions, Torsten, having never wavered in his faith that Iam is there, has really become a true Paladin for the God.
In the meantime, Whitney, Lucindur, and the recently freed Sora, along with Tum Tum, and a few others, are on a desperate mission of their own, believing that they may have a chance at being able to stop Nesilia, and if all else fails, Whitney figures they will die trying, so at least they will be dead before Nesilia unleashes whatever it is she is going to do to the rest of Pantego.
Nesilia meanwhile continues to devastate her way through wherever she likes, seemingly heading towards a goal, but all the while, savouring the destruction of anything and everything that she comes close to.
There are multiple other characters at play as well, as we see different aspects of the worlds plight from the view of the Caleef, Mahi, The Outcast – Tum Tum, The Knight – Torsten, The Mystic – Sora, The Traitor – Rand Langley, The Thief – Whitney Fierstown, and The Servant – Freydis.
The Character work continues to be extraordinary, from each of the 7 Main Characters to the dozens of other major characters and minor characters, each one is just so powerful, genuine, gritty, with dialogue that is so believable (given the circumstances), it makes the story so much more credible, grounding it real life. Whilst we know these aren’t real characters in a real world, this level of quality, reminds us of people that are real, or things that are real, making the story that much easier to engage with.
As well as the Characters, this is why the world building is so important, and again, why both these Authors are pure geniuses when it comes to it, creating these backdrops for the characters that are so lifelike that you want to go visit them, you can see them in your mind. Again, this level of uncompromising detail allows the reader to get totally lost in these magnificent places and thoroughly enjoy the story, leading to one of the best conclusions I have ever read. Masterful!!.
December 19, 2020
Way of Gods: I found it fascinating how the plot has developed since the earlier books, and really enjoyed reading this. Of particular note was the way that suddenly, we were seeing the story from different sides, both of these new sides being the 'bad guys' from the previous books. I imagine that this could be unpopular with some readers, but I found it very interesting. A long book, though!
War of Men: Wow. Where do I begin? Definitely the best book of the series so far! I absolutely loved reading this, and feel the world has evolved into a completely different creation to the more simple plot of the first book.
The previous world of goodies and baddies has become so complex, with everything shades of grey, yet so dark. I particularly enjoyed the story of Mahraveh, and find it captivating how her story has transformed that of her people from 'bad' to fascinating. And Sora... what happens to her... I can't even begin to describe it as there would be too many spoilers, which I won't do to you.
This is definitely part of a series, and you really do need to have read the previous ones, but you won't regret buying this! It is long, definitely, but such a lot happens that you will be entranced.
Word of Truth: I can't believe it is all over! What a fantastic conclusion to an epic series.
Each book in this series has just got better and better, the writing has improved, the stories have got more wonderful. This last book pulls no punches - there was one death that I really wasn't expecting - no spoilers as to which character! Fellow reader, I admit there were tears at that point.
And not the only time that happened! There were plenty more surprises later in the book. Certainly an ending that I wasn't expecting, but so much came before that. Well, at this number of pages each book, you get to expect a lot of action! I found one of the most memorable bits was the gorgeous description of Balonhearth - very evocative and quite wonderful.
This was a series that I wasn't so sure about at the beginning, I confess, but became a truly masterful thing by the end. Sad to see it go!
War of Men: Wow. Where do I begin? Definitely the best book of the series so far! I absolutely loved reading this, and feel the world has evolved into a completely different creation to the more simple plot of the first book.
The previous world of goodies and baddies has become so complex, with everything shades of grey, yet so dark. I particularly enjoyed the story of Mahraveh, and find it captivating how her story has transformed that of her people from 'bad' to fascinating. And Sora... what happens to her... I can't even begin to describe it as there would be too many spoilers, which I won't do to you.
This is definitely part of a series, and you really do need to have read the previous ones, but you won't regret buying this! It is long, definitely, but such a lot happens that you will be entranced.
Word of Truth: I can't believe it is all over! What a fantastic conclusion to an epic series.
Each book in this series has just got better and better, the writing has improved, the stories have got more wonderful. This last book pulls no punches - there was one death that I really wasn't expecting - no spoilers as to which character! Fellow reader, I admit there were tears at that point.
And not the only time that happened! There were plenty more surprises later in the book. Certainly an ending that I wasn't expecting, but so much came before that. Well, at this number of pages each book, you get to expect a lot of action! I found one of the most memorable bits was the gorgeous description of Balonhearth - very evocative and quite wonderful.
This was a series that I wasn't so sure about at the beginning, I confess, but became a truly masterful thing by the end. Sad to see it go!
October 19, 2020
4.5 stars might be more accurate
I loved reading these books and have recommended them to family.
But they are just fantasy. Fantasy at it's finest, but fantasy. I rarely want to give 5 stars, but feel this deserves more than 4.
This series just had some great characters, and stories that truly felt whole. Had I been waiting years for these, I might be pickier, but I was able to consume all 6 books in a short time, and the ending felt complete.
Whitney gives me feelings of The Wheel of Time's Mat Cauthon, and that feeling alone made me love these books.
If you like fantasy at all, you will like these. If you are looking for some life-changing, ground-breaking, and genre-defining books...this isn't it. But that's also why they were so easy to read.
These will leave you feeling good at the end. The good guys are good, but they also feel like people. And ones you feel like you're going to miss.
I loved reading these books and have recommended them to family.
But they are just fantasy. Fantasy at it's finest, but fantasy. I rarely want to give 5 stars, but feel this deserves more than 4.
This series just had some great characters, and stories that truly felt whole. Had I been waiting years for these, I might be pickier, but I was able to consume all 6 books in a short time, and the ending felt complete.
Whitney gives me feelings of The Wheel of Time's Mat Cauthon, and that feeling alone made me love these books.
If you like fantasy at all, you will like these. If you are looking for some life-changing, ground-breaking, and genre-defining books...this isn't it. But that's also why they were so easy to read.
These will leave you feeling good at the end. The good guys are good, but they also feel like people. And ones you feel like you're going to miss.
June 1, 2021
Great box set part two
I thoroughly enjoyed this complete series reading all six books continuously .
Great characters and storyline with a few plots along the way and excellent value for the price of a couple of cups of coffee.
I thoroughly enjoyed this complete series reading all six books continuously .
Great characters and storyline with a few plots along the way and excellent value for the price of a couple of cups of coffee.
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