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Warder #2
The Blackmoon Shards
Having foiled a ransom payment that would have delivered an innocent princess to ocean raiders, rogue bladesman Kylac Kronus finds himself in the middle of a generations-old dispute between the land-dwelling Addarans and seafaring Grenarr—with enemies on both sides. To win the trust of Addaran King Kendarrion and atone for his own recklessness, Kylac has vowed to seek and retrieve the king s abducted heir, Prince Dethaniel.
A vow that proves easier to make than to keep.
Aboard a stolen Grenarr warship, crewed by a mistrustful regiment of Kendarrion s hand-picked sailors and soldiers, Kylac ventures forth into enemy-controlled seas. Lacking direction to an already uncertain destination, his company is forced to make a desperate call upon the Sea Scribe, a mad Elementer and ancient relic of the Mage Wars, if they are to have any hope of finding their way to the archipelago wherein they believe Dethaniel to be hidden.
But for every prospective ally, Kylac finds only new adversaries, and for every minor victory, a new snare is laid. While harried by vengeful Grenarr, primitive island natives, and bloodthirsty marauders, Kylac s perilous voyage is made even more treacherous by sabotage, betrayals, and secret alliances that care nothing for his skills with a blade, and endeavor to undermine everything he means to achieve.
A vow that proves easier to make than to keep.
Aboard a stolen Grenarr warship, crewed by a mistrustful regiment of Kendarrion s hand-picked sailors and soldiers, Kylac ventures forth into enemy-controlled seas. Lacking direction to an already uncertain destination, his company is forced to make a desperate call upon the Sea Scribe, a mad Elementer and ancient relic of the Mage Wars, if they are to have any hope of finding their way to the archipelago wherein they believe Dethaniel to be hidden.
But for every prospective ally, Kylac finds only new adversaries, and for every minor victory, a new snare is laid. While harried by vengeful Grenarr, primitive island natives, and bloodthirsty marauders, Kylac s perilous voyage is made even more treacherous by sabotage, betrayals, and secret alliances that care nothing for his skills with a blade, and endeavor to undermine everything he means to achieve.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published October 30, 2018
About the author
Eldon Thompson
14 books174 followersAfter surrendering his dream of playing pro football, Eldon Thompson set out to publish a fantasy adventure novel. In 2003, he sold his Legend of Asahiel trilogy to HarperCollins, which kicked off with The Crimson Sword in 2005. He is also a graduate of the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting, and in 2007 sold a feature adaptation of Terry Brooks's The Elfstones of Shannara (his favorite childhood novel) to Warner Bros. He has signed and dined with the likes of Robert Jordan, George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, and Patrick Rothfuss, but wrote chiefly for Hollywood until 2013, when "Unbowed," a short story featuring fan-favorite character Kylac Kronus, appeared in the Grim Oak Press anthology, Unfettered. Scratching that itch led to the long-promised delivery of Kylac's full-length return in the Warder trilogy, beginning with The Ukinhan Wilds in August of 2018.
Mostly, he continues to fantasize about being an NFL quarterback.
Mostly, he continues to fantasize about being an NFL quarterback.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 12, 2018
Very minor spoilers toward the end of this review, but I don't think them worth a full spoiler tag.
So. Thanksgiving being the busy season that it is, this book took me longer than I would have liked to finish. That said, I did find myself reading this whenever I wasn't with my family or working on my own writing.
I found it incredibly enjoyable.
The early bits run like a maelstrom, with Kylac and crew jumping from danger to danger with scarcely a moment to breathe. It's all a bit overwhelming to consider the pacing of the events, and only one with Kylac's unearthly stamina could hope to handle such things in truth.
Then, suddenly, the chaotic events start to lessen. Toward the middle of the book things start to have a slower pace and you think the worst may be over.
Oh boy is it ever not. There's some big time craziness just around the bend once they arrive at the titular Blackmoon Shards.
I was a bit let down by the identity of the "traitor"-- which I won't here reveal, of course-- but given the numerous plot twists that came to light just after that, I was blindsided. The traitor was a red herring, while the real twist was right in front of me the whole time. I loved that.
TLDR: It's action-packed and breathtaking, and at the last, surprising. If you need something to compare it to... well, I'd say it's Pirates of the Carribean with a younger, far more carefree Drizzt Do'urden at the proverbial helm.
So. Thanksgiving being the busy season that it is, this book took me longer than I would have liked to finish. That said, I did find myself reading this whenever I wasn't with my family or working on my own writing.
I found it incredibly enjoyable.
The early bits run like a maelstrom, with Kylac and crew jumping from danger to danger with scarcely a moment to breathe. It's all a bit overwhelming to consider the pacing of the events, and only one with Kylac's unearthly stamina could hope to handle such things in truth.
Then, suddenly, the chaotic events start to lessen. Toward the middle of the book things start to have a slower pace and you think the worst may be over.
Oh boy is it ever not. There's some big time craziness just around the bend once they arrive at the titular Blackmoon Shards.
I was a bit let down by the identity of the "traitor"-- which I won't here reveal, of course-- but given the numerous plot twists that came to light just after that, I was blindsided. The traitor was a red herring, while the real twist was right in front of me the whole time. I loved that.
TLDR: It's action-packed and breathtaking, and at the last, surprising. If you need something to compare it to... well, I'd say it's Pirates of the Carribean with a younger, far more carefree Drizzt Do'urden at the proverbial helm.
July 28, 2026
The Blackmoon shards is a great follow up to the first novel.
This time instead of being mainly focused on a singular island, we get more world exploration.
Eldon does a fantastic job with detail and world building, introducing even more fun creatures into the world.
The action sequences are intense and greatly detailed.
And again the characters are well written, however the same complaint about Kylac is still present.
He has a few moments where you could believe that he could die, but other moments where there is hardly any fear about his fate.
Overall a great follow up to the first book and highly recommended.
This time instead of being mainly focused on a singular island, we get more world exploration.
Eldon does a fantastic job with detail and world building, introducing even more fun creatures into the world.
The action sequences are intense and greatly detailed.
And again the characters are well written, however the same complaint about Kylac is still present.
He has a few moments where you could believe that he could die, but other moments where there is hardly any fear about his fate.
Overall a great follow up to the first book and highly recommended.
May 4, 2023
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
After being very pleasantly surprised at the first book in this series, I was looking forward to more of the same in the second book. Unfortunately, only the first and last 50 pages had me engaged. The rest of the 400 pages is endless back and forth on the boat with different groups attacking and retreating and on and on and on. I'm hoping the setup for the last novel in the trilogy proves to be far more interesting!
After being very pleasantly surprised at the first book in this series, I was looking forward to more of the same in the second book. Unfortunately, only the first and last 50 pages had me engaged. The rest of the 400 pages is endless back and forth on the boat with different groups attacking and retreating and on and on and on. I'm hoping the setup for the last novel in the trilogy proves to be far more interesting!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews