Sanctum's Breach

Delver Magic #1

by Jeff Inlo

A rolling tremor passes through the land of Uton signaling the return of long absent magic as well as an ancient evil. Ryson Acumen, purebred delver, learns the Sphere of Ingar, a talisman that captured all magical energy long ago, is free from its tomb in Sanctum Mountain. As violent, evil creatures return to shred every notion of reality, the sphere gains awareness and chooses to spew corrupted magical power to obliterate all life.The sphere must be destroyed but it rests within Sanctum, a hollow mountain with a single path to its center. The way remains defended by devices crafted long ago, forged by members of each race to thwart entry into the inner core. Those that wish to defeat the sphere must not only overcome these barriers, they must conquer the mistrust which has flourished during the long period of separation. Human, elf, dwarf, algor and delver must reunite to face the secrets of the ages that once undone will change their lives forever.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction

451 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2009

About the author

Jeff Inlo spent several years in NJ with his wife, Joan, and their dogs. He wrote over twenty novels, focusing on fantasy and science fiction. Recently, he retired and moved to Pennsylvania. His last novel was the 15th book in the Delver Magic Series featuring the purebred delver Ryson Acumen. If you wish to contact him regarding his work, please send an email to jeffinlo@gmail.com

Reviews

[Jbarry900 · Rating 4 out of 5]

From me... I think this guy is worth a read. It may well be worth a buy... but there is a butt... READ BELOW

From Amazon:

"Product Description
A rolling tremor passes through the land of Uton signaling the return of long absent magic as well as an ancient evil. Ryson Acumen, purebred delver, learns the Sphere of Ingar, a talisman that captured all magical energy long ago, is free from its tomb in Sanctum Mountain. As violent, evil creatures return to shred every notion of reality, the sphere gains awareness and chooses to spew corrupted magical power to obliterate all life.

The sphere must be destroyed but it rests within Sanctum, a hollow mountain with a single path to its center. The way remains defended by devices crafted long ago, forged by members of each race to thwart entry into the inner core. Those that wish to defeat the sphere must not only overcome these barriers, they must conquer the mistrust which has flourished during the long period of separation. Human, elf, dwarf, algor and delver must reunite to face the secrets of the ages that once undone will change their lives forever."

My Review - and he is on GoodReads so I guess he'll read it...

Mr Inlo
Well this is the first thing that I wrote a half hour ago...
"Yeah, it's a mostly win/somewhat lose review. I was ready to rip and tear the crap out of it, but I actually kinda like the book and hope the author can get off the ground"... and then I went on to be funny and diss George Lucas. Always fun. ANYWHO...

I like it and will refer it to friends...

You sir are very, VERY good at a story plot. Your background and environment detailing are exceptional. Your characters are easily identifiable, well painted out.

I suggest you keep going... in fact, I hope you do...

BUT your dialogue. It's jarring.

It reads like the subtitles of an anime game. In all caps...

You set UP the scene, and I was ready to ride through a yipping and a hollering and applauding to the end, and then it goes on to hellish dialogue. This is the 'tone' is in my mind, it reads something like...

"THERE IS A BIG SPHERE"
"IT'S BIG!,LOOKS EVIL, WHAT ARE YOU SAYIN?"
"DUNNO, YOU ARE THE CHOSEN ONE"
"I MIGHT BE THE CHOSEN ONE!.!!"
"ARE YOU?"
"DUNNO!!!" BUT LOOK AT MY PANTS I'M A GOBLIN"
"PANTS? GOBLINS?... I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU! FORGET THAT! TOUCH THE SWORD"
"THIS IS AWKWARD WITH YOU IN THE NEXT URINAL THERE ARE EIGHT URINALS HERE, WHY ARE YOU STANDING NEXT TO ME?, DID YOU JUST TOUCH MY LEG?"
"WHY ARE YOU HERE??
"DUNNO, IT'S THE QUEST LEGOLAS'S GRANDDAD SENT ME ON ... YOU KNOW THE GUY WHO SHOWS UP IN THE MOVIE VERSION OF THE HOBBIT BUT NOT IN THE BOOK?!?!?'
HE TOLD ME THAT YOU HAVE TO TOUCH THE SWORD!!!"
"OK I'M NOT TOUCHING THAT!!!!"

and scene...

I suggest reading it out loud to your worst critic. My wife steered me away from water color... thank god. I'm decent at oils but the brush on paper makes a blob. It could be a cat. It could be a CAT dammit. She just told me it made her 'sad'.

You are great sir... I will def buy your next book...
J

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this was a fairly enjoyable book. It's a pretty standard high fantasy experience that you find so much of now. It has all the basic elements that were set by Tolkien: the journey and the coming together of different races to finish a task that is meant to save the world. The races are fairly standard as well (elves, dwarves, humans) but there are two different races that are fairly intriguing called the Delvers and the Algors. I can't say I understand what makes a Delver a Delver except for the ability to access things quicker and move quicker, apparently they appear human except for their height. The Algors are pretty cool and I wish there were more of an explanation to them. Sometimes the explanations of things were repetitive and far too detailed each time mentioned, but at the same time a lot of the details really brought parts of the story to life. Considering the severity of their quest I didn't expect it to be all in one book, however it was and there were times where the journey seemed rushed (time skips) which threw me off a little. Though it's not entirely original it was enjoyable and I didn't have trouble trying to finish it.

[Carol Bosselman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the story; however, it was way too wordy for my taste. Descriptions went on for pages. Every conversation, at least to me, went something like"

"I don't want to force you to believe. You might believe. You should believe, but I understand if you don't believe. However, I will constantly attempt to make you believe."

"Forgive me. I would like to believe, please understand. I cannot believe. I'm so sorry, and I am not against your attempts to make me believe, but at this time, I cannot. Know that it is not in my nature to believe. But perhaps you can persuade me to believe, and you are welcome to try."

And so on, and so on...overweeningly polite and repetitive. As much as I liked most of the characters, I had to force myself to keep reading in spots, simply because it was taking forever to get there.

I did get the second one, and plan to read it, but if it is as lengthy, I may end it there.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently about 2/3rds of the way through.

One minor but constant irritation is the author's problem with homophones. Past/passed, accept/except, etc - this kind of rookie error should be caught by a proof reader.

The book is fairly decent standard fantasy fare, and is worth a read if you like standard fantasy.

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not Great

The story itself was interesting. But the characters work very well rounded are flushed out. And I’m curious enough to want to try the next book in the series and see how that one is.

[Glenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

This story is Wonderful, the characters are believable and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the Delver books I hope that you enjoy them to

[Mayhem-RW · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wave of the land came from the west and rolled across the land like a wave in the ocean. It was an earthquake where such things did not happen. It tossed people and animals from their feet, caused minor damage to good buildings, and made badly maintained or poorly constructed buildings collapse. The people of Connel saw it come and go, and while it came, they were worried about what it would do. They were relieved to see that it did little to nothing and were glad to see it go, but the town council wanted to know if their neighboring towns needed help for a price. So, they hired a Delver. A Delver looked like a human but were not. They could move faster than any other creature, and their senses were keener than any other. Also, their nature, their very essence, was about finding the truth of something. An unknown smell, sound, or just about anything could call a Delver to solve its mystery. It’s just their nature to be inquisitive. That is why Ryson Acumen, a full-blooded Delver, was hired by the council to visit the towns of Burbon and Pinesway and to send back word of any need. For Ryson himself, he wanted to know if there were changes to the land and where the disturbance originated.

A new type of paranormal/supernatural character called a Delver, who is hardwired to delve into the secrets of the world. A Delver has the speed to outrun an Elf or Vampire, senses unequaled by any being or animal, and the stamina to travel great distances for more than a day. A lot of world to build but done well, and the ethereal part of world-building was done superbly in spots. The character interaction was disjointed in places. Then there is this new type of creature, an Algor, which is a sentient being able to use magic. They are lizard-like being with no tail. Able to walk upright or on all fours. They have a hive-like mind but also individualistic thoughts. Most of their magical talent is in healing, but they can also do other magic.

This series starter in an epic fantasy tale is a great start for the author Jeff Inlo. I give this adventure four stars out of five stars.

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the first three books in this series years ago very early on in my days of owning a kindle. Why I never started to read one before I am not sure...

I think the take on fantasy staples such as dwarves and elves is interesting - the dwarves here do tend to match their stereotypes, but the elves at least are portrayed as being far closer to humans - just with an affinity to trees and pointy ears. The delvers remind me of elves as well in a way - the speed they posses, the good eyesight are very reminiscent of the 'standard' elf features, so seeing them split across two races was different.

The story was a good one, though there were some 'twists' that were anything but. For the most part you could easily work out where the story was headed but it was still enjoyable. I did find that, on occasion, the writing style threw me out - either in the way people or things were described, or in the way the characters spoke to one another (for example, in LOTR when people spoke it felt fitting with the setting, in some circumstances here it feels more appropriate to say a modern setting).

As I already own the next two books I will read on, but this is a good stopping point to be honest. It leaves some mysteries unanswered so reading on feels natural, but it doesn't leave the big questions unanswered where you are forced to read on. This feels like it could be a satisfying end - I hope at least the next two books live up to it.

[Murray Gunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inlo has the making of a great storyteller. This may be a standard high fantasy, but he has built an interesting world and populated it with races beyond the standard. He writes with imagination and heart, though more enthusiasm than skill. This is easily forgivable for a free book, and I expect that he'll settle into a more graceful simplicity as his confidence grows. I look forward to reading more.

[Iona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. It was a very in depth tale and told with a lot of description and detail. However, it was easy to read despite that. Plenty of action and twists meant I was kept interested and found myself wanting more at the end. I have already downloaded part 2.

[Theron T Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read!

This was a well thought out story. Story line had a good flow with no gaps in plot. Great protagonist's and antagonist. The characters were believable and you could connect to them on a personal level. I look forward to more story's by this author.

[Tanya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not complete it

[Daniel J. Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent book. It takes the common elf/dwarf/human races and expands upon them adding delvers and algors. You classic high fantasy/save the world story, so if that's what you're into, it's great. The story is mostly told from the perspective of Ryson the delver, so even though the classic fantasy races are there, this still leaves the a sense of wonder. There has been no magic in the world, but not it is mysteriously returning, thus starting the delver's quest on a search for answers.

I enjoyed this book up until the end. I like the exploration with the delver, and the more I heard about the algors, the more wanted to visit them and see about this mysterious race. once all of the races meet for the final confrontation on sanctum I felt like the story and characterisation go stretched too thin. I didn't feel for the characters (Ryson and Holi were the exception) because there were too many to care for, yet they were all on the same quest. More character development for each of the races would have greatly aided the story and made the climactic ending that much more satisfying and heart-wrenching. Inlo is great as guiding the reader through his fantasy land and leading you to discover it's wonders, but I found his use of dialogue to be a bit dry. Much of it felt like it was trying to hard to inform the reader rather than enhance the characters in play (especially towards the end).

All in all, this book was great, and I felt myself drawn into the world that Jeff Inlo has created. Though not in my top 10, I still am compelled enough by the story to want to see how it progresses in the following books of the series. If you are a fantasy lover, this book is for you. If not, you probably won't be that interested in the world development and learning more about the lore of the world (which I feel is the books strongest draw).

[Nicky Cartwright Pashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a big book ~ Breaking Dawn has a download file of 729 KB, whereas this book has a download file of 758 KB. The book is very reminiscent of Lord of The Rings. A powerful sphere, containing tainted magic, had been entombed in a mountain many years before. However, it was now becoming self~aware and was trying to break free. Powerful dark magic was leaking, allowing the re~emergence of dark creatures such as Goblins, Vampires, Mountain Shags and River Rogues. During the intervening period of time, the Races had been living separately, with most humans no longer believing in other, mystical, creatures. However, in order to defeat the sphere, the Races ~ Delver, Human, Elf, Dwarf, Algor and Cliff Behemoth once more unite and work together, over coming distrust and prejudice.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the sequel. It is a surprise that such a well written book should be offered for free on Kindle but it is not the first book that I have discovered in this way. The characters are well developed and the story line moves smoothly and consistently. Every Race is well thought out and described in detail ~ the physical descriptions, personal and racial traits, strengths and weakness are all explored. The author takes the time to explore all aspects of the story, explaining all decisions and actions, thereby eradicating the niggly questions that sometimes arise in such tales. I was impressed with this author and will actively seek other work written by him.

[James Groenestein · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid paranormal/fantasy series reader, I really enjoyed this book. At the beginning we are introduced to Ryson Acumen, a Delver, as the main focal point for the story. The author does a great job of describing his character traits and floors right from start, the same can be said of the other characters too.
The story tells the tale of a world where magic has long been forgotten only to be forced back into it whether people like it or not.
As the story follows Ryson's path through the his struggles of accepting people and things that has long been considered myths and legends, we find him being drawn into a quest that defines the future for all that exists.
I must also state that the forming of the quest and it's beginnings reminded me of The Lord Of The Rings, in which they formed a kind of fellowship of different races to undertake the quest; the quest being not a million miles away from The Lord Of The Rings in terms of it involves an evil, magical weapon that needs to be destroyed!
Although the main storyline has been played out entirely in the first book of this series, I do look really forward to finding out what happens in the following books.
I would definitely recommend this book to those who want a different kind of paranormal/fantasy read.

[David Meiklejohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magic has been banished from the world for hundreds of years, captive in a sort of living ball, buried in a mountain and protected by layers of defences created by each of the five races. But now it has broken free, the magic is causing all sorts of nasty things to happen and the races must get together to destroy the sphere.
The races are typical fantasy lore up to a point, with humans dwarfs and elves. But then there are the delivers, who are really fast, and the algor, who seem to have a sort of hive mind. There's also a troll, though it's known in this book as a cliff behemoth for some reason.
We follow a delver, Ryson Acumen, as he seeks to find out what has happened to the sphere and gathers members of the five races to tackle it.
The idea is good, some of races are well imagined and the story runs fairly well. The writing could do with sharpening up though, there's too much description of how people are feeling, and there's a curious lack of jeopardy for a lot of the book. At one point Ryson is being chased by some sort of horrific creature. But he can easily outpace it, so he whole chase scene is reduced to the curiosity Ryson has to see what the creature does.
Overall it was quite enjoyable, but could have been much better.

[Edwin DeQuasie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was sometimes repetitive, like, I think that might have been a dead horse at some point in the past, but it has been beaten so badly that I can no longer be certain. Dialogue was a bit stiff. Overall story was a little predictable, but I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't entirely guess the ending. Even with all that said, I really enjoyed this book. I hope, though, that the rest of the series doesn't suffer from the dead horse issue. That was really what cost it the star. I can't stress that enough. REPETITIVE. I think he had a target number of words to meet in order to get published. If that bothers you, you should probably skip it. If not, you will probably enjoy it. Ryson is fast. We get it. Move on, already. Please?

[Arrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

aldiko and Inlo have done us a great service by providing this stunning e-novel absolutely free. Elves, dwarves, monsters, magic, glorious scenery are all hall marks of traditional fantasy and all feature here in the book. However the real breath of fresh air here is the creation of the Delver race. Ryson Acumen was a delight to read and the attributes of Inlo's new delver race poured through him. Normally I would turn my nose up at a book with no female main characters but here I barely noticed, the characters are whole, the story just happened to feature more males. A complete story in one way and an entire novel creating a spectacular first scene in another. I look forward to the saga continuing!

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read. I liked the most of the characters, the story of the sphere, and the various races. The storyline was interesting, although predictable in some places, and it ended exactly as I expected it would.

The prose was very long and descriptive, which was generally nice to read, although towards the end it got quite repetitive, and I found myself skipping sections where the same information was just repeated from a different characters point of view. Most of the characters were also way to understanding of each other and each others problems/issues, and I was told WAY to many times how fast/nimble/amazing/breathtaking the delver was.

But all in all an enjoyable read.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is a fairly standard "gather together a group of elves, dwarves, humans and whatever and go off on a quest to toss the evil talisman into Mount Doom". At this point I'm kind of wishing someone would do a Middle Earth version of "To Kill a Mockingbird". Really, no surprises in this one, and the plot rolled along in the predictable way to its inevitable conclusion.

This was on OK book though, within the confines of the very standard fantasy quest concept. The characters were interesting, although a little one dimensional and didn't really develop much through the story. The writing style fairly easy to read, although it felt a little stilted from time.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book that once I got past the midpoint, I just couldn't put down. I couldn't wait to get home from work to pick it up and begin reading again. I fell in love with so many characters, could understand viewpoints from all angles, didn't really see a "bad guy", which made it a really good read. And it was just the type of fantasy I like, where there's magic but more in the background instead of an ultimate hero type book. This is a series, so I'm definitely in for book two and probably the rest of the ride.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good start to a series for a sword socery type of storyline. The author sets up the plot very well, then sets up his characters by giving them believable origin stories for mythological/fantasy individuals, then throws in the quest aspect, and last but not least throws in the action part, which once it gets started takes off at a fast pace and doesn't end until you complete the story. There are several twists in the book that will catch you totally unawares and so will the ending. This is well worth a read.

[Justin Geary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good epic fantasy novel. It was along the lines of the lord of the rings and Terry Brooks Shannara series. I would say that Sanctums Breech was as good as the sword of Shannara. Of course, there is the elves and dwarves like rings and shannara but the plot was original and defintely worth reading. My only thing was that there were no humrous charicters in the story. I do reccomend this book. I'm going to read the next one soon, myself.

[Anita Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with most of the edits below-- but I've finished the entire series now (6boks) and believe me they takes turns even I didn't expect. Sometimes the author gets wordy, but the stories he tells are great! I like how the characters develop throughout the series--Won't tell much-- some things are worth finding out on your own! I actually was reading this for the second time with a friend-- so that is why I listed it as being read.

[Danny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the writing wasn't too bad, but much of it was inconsistent and downright silly. They don't have magic, but somehow these Delvers run at seemingly hundreds of miles per hour. There's a scene where one is fleeing from a monster and running all over the hills and valleys like the road runner in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It was complete nonsense. Won't be reading any more of this series.

[Uriah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent fantasy setting and story. The tale doesn't feel as epic as the story hopes it will be. Overall I did enjoy it and look forward to reading the next couple. All free so I've nothing to lose right?

One more pass from an editor would have been helpful though overall it isn't to bad from an editing perspective.

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first time I have ever heard of Jeff Inlo. I was looking for something to read and I chose at random. I've never been so happy at what I chose. It was a really interesting read. One can't help but like Ryson Acumen. I have a question though. Why don't they just call him Ryson? It's mostly always Ryson Acumen. Anyone?

[Chaevien Clendinen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but after struggling through the first 500 pages, I decided to give up. Overall, I think that the story is good, but the lack of character development and world building made this a very difficult read. I can understand why some people may like this book, but I just couldn't get through it.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book was not one of those that I could not just put down it was not bad. I enjoyed the character's and the writing style. It was a bit slow placed at times other wise it was medium paced book. Over all not bad at all. When I have the time I will read the others.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeff Inlo has more enthusiasm than talent. The writing quality of these books are barely competent, but the author's enthusiasm for his work and his world show in his writing, and that alone made these an enjoyable read.