Epic Fantasy
Date Published: November 10, 2013
Kalen’s
throne is his saddle, his crown is the dirt on his brow, and his right
to rule is sealed in the blood that stains his hand. Few know the truth
about the one-armed Rift King, and he prefers it that way. When people
get too close to him, they either betray him or die. The Rift he rules
cares nothing for the weak. More often than not, even the strong fail to
survive.
When
he’s abducted, his disappearance threatens to destroy his home, his
people, and start a hopeless and bloody war. There are many who desire
his death, and few who hope for his survival. With peace in the Six
Kingdoms quickly crumbling, it falls on him to try to stop the conflict
swiftly taking the entire continent by storm.
But
something even more terrifying than the machinations of men has
returned to the lands: The skreed. They haven’t been seen for a thousand
years, and even the true power of the Rift King might not be enough to
save his people — and the world — from destruction.
My Review:
I love me some riveting fantasy! I have a few things that nag me as I read when I open up a brand new series, and one of them is the great big info dump! It takes me right out of the action and kind of bogs me down and pulls me back to reality. Everyone first book of a series, no matter the genre, has an introduction to the world you are about to walk into. The BEST writers do with without jarring you out of the story. It takes a LOT of talent and skill to get all the info out and not make it so glaringly obvious what you are doing.
R.J. Blain made me a happy camper. YES, there was a bit of info lobbed at you as you started to read the book. Was it a lot, yes, BUT..and here's where it made me happy..I *WANTED* to know this stuff. I felt like all the information was relevant to diving into this new world. I never thought the book just dumped everything out all at once. In SWE (storm without end..since I'm lazy) everything counted. Everything I found out mattered. It felt like the start of something very special and very intersting.
Onwards to the characters!
Here is where this book really shines! All of the characters, emphasis on ALL, of them are important or so it seems. R.J.Blain makes you take note of everyone she introduces you to and gives you subtle hints that all of them might be important. I like that as you don't want to forget anyone just in case they may pop back up at any moment and be all SURPRISE..remember me!?
Ugh..I cannot say anything else without getting spoilery here. I really liked this book! There is so much potential for this series, so yeah..I'll be checking out the next one!
R.J. Blain made me a happy camper. YES, there was a bit of info lobbed at you as you started to read the book. Was it a lot, yes, BUT..and here's where it made me happy..I *WANTED* to know this stuff. I felt like all the information was relevant to diving into this new world. I never thought the book just dumped everything out all at once. In SWE (storm without end..since I'm lazy) everything counted. Everything I found out mattered. It felt like the start of something very special and very intersting.
Onwards to the characters!
Here is where this book really shines! All of the characters, emphasis on ALL, of them are important or so it seems. R.J.Blain makes you take note of everyone she introduces you to and gives you subtle hints that all of them might be important. I like that as you don't want to forget anyone just in case they may pop back up at any moment and be all SURPRISE..remember me!?
Ugh..I cannot say anything else without getting spoilery here. I really liked this book! There is so much potential for this series, so yeah..I'll be checking out the next one!
R.J. Blain
RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
When
she isn't playing pretend, she likes to think she's a cartographer and a
sumi-e painter. In reality, she herds cats and a husband. She also has a
tendency to play MMOs and other computer games.
In
her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Should that fail, her
contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels
and quoting James Bond villains until she is satisfied.
RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
When
she isn't playing pretend, she likes to think she's a cartographer and a
sumi-e painter. In reality, she herds cats and a husband. She also has a
tendency to play MMOs and other computer games.
In
her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Should that fail, her
contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels
and quoting James Bond villains until she is satisfied.
Website: http://rjblain.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rj_blain
Website: http://rjblain.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rj_blain
Thank you so much for your review and thoughts. I'm the same way as you when it comes to dreaded info dumps in the start of novels. You have really made my day!
ReplyDelete