Barrenworld: Curse of the Warlord's Chalice

by J. Edwards Holt

Long ago, an evil wizard rose to power and waged war on mankind. Few were willing to stand against the dark wizard, and those that did, fell. Desperate and determined to save his people, a king named Astilles traveled to a realm called Barrenworld, where he found the Warlord's Chalice, an ancient cup said to give infinite power to those who drink from it. Believing himself to have no other choice, Astilles drank from the chalice and gained the strength to defeat his enemies - but that strength came at a great cost, as the chalice only granted it in exchange for eternal servitude. Eventually, the story of Astilles faded into legend, until centuries later the chalice would return to claim its next victim.

374 pages, Paperback

Published February 27, 2021

About the author

J. Edwards Holt is an American author who has always harbored a passion for writing. After initially pursuing a degree in education, he followed his heart to become a novelist and children's author. Now celebrated as a bestselling author, Holt is also an ordained minister and a dedicated mental health advocate. In his free time, he enjoys reading and actively contributes to the well-being of the less fortunate in his community. His works often carry Christian messages and he delights in the realms of science fiction and superheroes, with a notable collection of comic books to his name.

Holt's literary contributions include the haunting tale "The Crossing: A Wayfarer’s Chronicles," and the award-winning children's book "The Jealous Little Ogre," which clinched the Golden Wizard Book Prize. He is also known for his Barrenworld series and his involvement in the anthology "Called to Intercede," which topped the Amazon Best Seller List. Beyond his novels, Holt has expressed his creativity through poetry and has been recognized for his efforts in translating important works to reach a wider audience.

Reviews

[Westveil Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was granted complimentary audiobook access to Barrenworld as part of my participation in a blog tour for this title with Audiobookworm Promotions. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Barrenworld is a classic high fantasy adventure/quest story with a rangy timeline and all the usual sorts of faces you expect to find in the genre. It's charming, quick to read, and has that refreshing, something new and unique feel despite also being quite familiar and true to form.

This book feels vaguely like a Tolkein adventure, but if Tolkein had partnered with George Lucas. We do end up with a slaves winning a race to earn their freedom situation that very much reminded me of Anniken's podracing storyline in The Phantom Menace.

Minor "this caught my attention and not in the best way" note: I'm not sure if it was the same character each time or different ones, but a woman gets described as "short and stout" multiple times in the same period of the story. At first it just caught my attention, but by the second or third time I found myself mentally reciting "I'm a Little Tea Pot."

Overall this was a quite, enjoyable read (listen) and as always with Holt's books, I had a lot of fun! His are the sort of books you pick up when you want something short and light but also Tolkein.

I reviewed this as an audiobook, so I do also need to comment on the narration. Joel Jackson does a great job conveying the events of this story with all the right emotions and pacing, and he brings every unique character to life with distinctions that make them stand out. I would definitely be happy to listen to more books Joel narrated for in the future.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barrenworld opens with an epic telling of the history of the Warlord’s Chalice worthy of great halls and mead. Then we get to see who currently has the Chalice and the decision made to seek out a way to destroy it before it destroys all he loves. Together, the elf siblings Uthar and Alora head out with their friend and advisor Alethenor. They really don’t have a clue of what to do but luckily they run into many allies along the way. Which is good because there are plenty of enemies.

So none of these elves have been on walk-about in the real world and all that they know comes from books. Right away, they fall for a trap and are sold into slavery (all after riding giraffes – ha!). But they are smart and fearless so they figure out a way to win their freedom from the mole people. It’s quite dangerous and involves large birds and flying knives.

After all that, they eventually end up on a pirate ship with Captain Mackard and his powerful zombie parrot named Lovey. Also they have gained a steady human ally, the warrior Bartemus. Yet all this time, the Chalice has been whispering horrible things to Uthar, who secretly carries it in an inside pocket. He decides he must leave the group for a time. Don’t worry! Their paths are soon crashing into one again.

My one real quibble with this story is that there is only a single female character, Alora. We’re often told that she’s a great fighter, etc, but mostly she spends her time posing in archer stances and pouting. Sometimes she’s being flirted with. Basically, Alora is there to as a token nod to women, and that’s not nearly enough.

The pacing moves along swiftly, always plenty to do and bad guys to defeat. I also liked that a few characters from the author’s other works get cameo appearances in this book. Though you can totally read this as a separate work without feeling like you missed something. I especially liked the new ally Grok, an orc… or a troll. I forget. Either way, he’s well-spoken, big, and has a moral compass.

The story winds up with a big fight scene – very exciting! It left me feeling satisfied. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Joel Jackson gave a good performance. He had a variety of voices for the characters. I was able to keep them all straight because each had a unique voice. His voice for Alora could have used a touch more femininity. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with this recording. 4.5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by J. Edwards Holt. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

[Hannah Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s like LOTR meets The Jungle Book meets Skyrim and then they all meet up at one of those open-air markets that sells knockoff designer purses. There are many typos throughout the book, and the author claims to be an editor. The writing style leaves a lot to be desired, and the blatant copying of characters and concepts from other major fantasy works is not for me.

[Rob Shackleford · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Barrenworld series is a triumph by J. Edwards Holt. Fantasy Lovers rejoice.