This is a fun coming of age story. Told from two POVs that don’t cross but their histories are intertwined, we get good vs evil, magic and interesting characters. Carol and her warlord father, Rafel, are on the run with all of their people because the new king is a puppet of a bad wielder (magician), even though he doesn’t know it quite yet. When the king sends his assassin, Blade, to kill Rafel he assumes that there is one less threat to his crown. But Blade was raised by Rafel and grew up with Carol so instead he warns them and that sets them on the run. We follow their travels as they try to protect their people. Carol goes through the Trial to become a wielder and succeeds and slowly grows into her immense power. Blade also goes on the run since he didn’t complete his last job and gets entangled in other plots. This book has interesting magic, and decent main characters. The secondary characters are a little flat, especially the main villain but I have hopes that some of them will be fleshed out in coming books. I can’t wait to see how Carol’s and Blade’s storylines interact in the next books.

Arrrrrrgh, its finished.  No.  I was so engrossed in this book I never saw the end coming.  Yes I know I must have realised at some level.  This book needs a warning, “So good will leave you panting for more”.  And who let me read this book before the sequel is released?  Now I walk around with the possible next part of the adventure in my head.

Just how I love my books, fast and furious and plenty left to my imagination rather than being led and fed.

All of the characters are well developed and soon tend to lope about your lounge and kitchen.  I also love the bear cub.  Carol and Arn are the two main characters, the story swings around them.  Arn is my favourite and we get to hear and see and feel  much of the story through him.

I am standing outside the bookshop waiting for the next book in this trilogy to be released, which is apparently Early 2018.

Its one of those rare books that ruins you for others, which is a problem, particularly when you review books.

Kevin

Sometimes you read a book and realise that it's just not for you for various reasons. For me this happened with Mark of Fire, the first book in the Endarian Prophecy by Richard Phillips.

At the beginning of the story, we get to know King Gilbert and his magic wielder Blalock, who controls the king. King Gilbert is new to the throne, doesn't trust his Lords and expects betrayal from everyone. Therefore, he sends his best assassin, Blade, to kill High Lord Rafel, the commander of the king's armies. But Blade was raised by Rafel and grew up with his children Carol and Alan. Therefore, he decides to just warn them of the king's intentions and goes into exil himself. During the whole story, we follow Carol and her family as they try to flee the kingdom of Tal and then we get to see Blade's journey west.

One thing that I really liked about the story was the fact that Philipps gradually builds up his world and explains it to the reader in congruency with the journey of Carol and her people. You can easily follow her and Blade's journey on the map that's included, which is always a plus for me. However, there is still a lot we don't get to know more about, for example the big Vorg War that seems to have happend before the events in the book or details about the kingdom of Tal itself. More information would've definitely benefited the rushed start into the story and the overall plasticity of the world.

I'm not that picky when it comes to writing style and often I don't see whether it's good or bad writing. But for the first time, I was a bit irritated by the way the author rather told us about the characters and their traits rather than let us see through their actions and words.

Sadly, I didn't really care for either of the main characters. Even though we get to see a bit of Arn's past, I couldn't really understand why he became the way he is. And then there's this inner monologue where he thinks about his love life and the typical "I'm not worthy because I'm an evil person and she deserves better" trope.
The thing that bothered me the most about Carol is the fact that she doesn't seem to have any big problems with wielding magic. Even though she starts using it at the beginning of the novel, she seems to be the most powerful sorceress in a long time. The magic system is rather fascinating because you have to control elementals to use their magical abilities, but there could have been some more explanations and rules to the system for my taste.

With 302 pages, this novel is rather on the smaller side when it comes to fantasy books. This isn't a bad thing by any means, but I felt the story and especially the characters could have been more fleshed out with more pages. This is even more evident when you look at the amount of pure traveling that occures in both Arn's and Carol's POVs. Additionally, the book just ends at some point amidst the travelling without any great showdown or climax that leaves you wanting more.

My highlight were definitely Ty and John, the two companions Arn meets during his travels. They reminded me a lot of Hadrian and Royce from The Riyria Chronicles by Michael J. Sullivan and were a great counterpart to Arn's sullen character.

Altogether a fantasy book that could be more appealing to readers that are new to the genre.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Mark of Fire was an interesting read. I thought it was going to be more of a science fiction read, but alas it was pure fantasy. That's probably my fault. However, the story was interesting nonetheless. It's great for people who love magic and fantasy worlds, but the characters and relationships fell a bit flat for me. GREAT for people that love magic and superb world-building, but for those of us who like unique, infectious relationships between are characters there are better choices.

Set in Medieval times, Mark of Fire introduces you to Kings and Lords, magic wielders and elementals, good and bad people, and the main characters Arn (Blade) and Lorness Carol.  The first few chapters set the stage, let you get to know everyone, and prepare you for the story to come.  Then you are plunged right into the action as the humans hastily abandon their homes and set off on a journey to escape the vorg army that threatens them.

There are two stories evolving, as the journey to flee the wrath of the vorg is hampered by forces of nature and their wielders ability to block the powers that would allow the vorg army to locate them.  He is losing the battle unless he can persuade Lorness Carol’s father to allow her to help the wielder’s efforts.

Arn, traveling alone with no destination, comes across two men fighting off a small army of vorg, joining them in the battle.  The three become traveling companions, encountering their own scuffles along the way, and eventually joined by a fourth traveling companion, Endarian princess Kim, who was on her way to visit Lorness Carol’s father before she was captured by a rogue band of traders.

There is lots of action, the characters are memorable, and the two story lines move unendingly toward each other as the tale unfolds.  You will find yourself engrossed in the people, the plot, and the magic as the story unfolds.

I received an advance copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Promising premise, weak story.  A prophecy to stop a madman—of course said madman must find and murder the main character of this prophecy.  Carol is the daughter of a nobleman and warrior.  Surprisingly she is a well of magic, and she masters this magic quickly and efficiently—this I found hard to believe, but of course if she is the woman of the prophecy this has to be so.  She is also in love with Blade, another integral part of this prophecy.  He is of course a tortured soul, his parents having been murdered when he was a young child.  Their stories diverge and run parallel to each other, making the story very disconnected.  I also did not like the language at all—it did not fit with the time period and felt forced (it also got on my nerves).

The author Richard.Phillips has a fantastic imagination. Such a departure from the Rho Agenda Series but every bit as enjoyable 
Highly recommended