God, this book. This reads like someone's first novel - and like it hasn't seen the touch of a proofreader. Not worth it, honestly. DNF'd at about page 60.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

I found it a bit slow at the benning, but I get it because you're getting to know this universe. This book is a good choice for those who like dragons, vampire, dwavers and all stuff in one place.

This book was OK, it has all your typical fantasy elements, wizards, elves, dwarves, humans, orcs, dragons but something just felt missing for me and I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would

So I rate this book 4.5 stars. The book was filled with battles, bloodshed, and magic. Not to mention awesome characterization, 3 demensional villains, and a very imaginative setting.

So the battles of this book were ferocious, dangerous, and killed off alot of characters. It definitely gave me a major Lord of the Rings feel with Dwarves, Dragons, and magical swords and warlocks.

I think the characters were all very strong willed and intelligent, and I actually enjoyed the lack of romance in this book. It kept the reader more focused on the plot wondering what would happen next. It also personally kept me more interested in the progressions of the individual characters. And it's definetly a tie between Prince Tarquin and Morganna on who my favorite character is as both are very intelligent, loyal, and good natured.

Now for this book all the characters have the capacity for great good or great evil, but what's so interesting about this book is the major baddy actually believes he's cleansing and helping the world. In actuality all he's doing is creating more chaos and danger.

Now the setting is very Middle Earth feel to it and the magic and warlocks give me a combo feeling of Gandalph The White and Merlin from King Arthur. Both very powerful but battle savy in weapons as well as magic.

The book as a whole was a terrific read but I had to cut off half a star only because of the strange formatting of the book.

I received this for free from netgalley, for a honest review.

This was a pretty good fantasy book with a few new elements. One that intrigued me was the vampiric elves. I've never saw this concept and wish the book had spent more time with them. There's lot going on and it's easy to get overwhelmed. The timeline is pretty fuzzy, I'd like to see the passage of time be mentioned. Pretty basic fantasy boy wizard and a quest. If it had been more clear with the time and hadn't had so much going on I'd have given a higher rating.

War of the Staffs
Book #1 of 2

Steve Stephenson & K.M. Tedrick

Black Rose Writing, Jul 2016

367 pages, Kindle, paperback

Fantasy, YA

Provided, NetGalley

My apologies for this long-overdue review. The fact that this book was provided by the publisher and that I am apologizing for its tardy review have absolutely no impact on my review. My review is an honest one based on my reading of the manuscript provided and the total enjoyment I got out of the experience.

✮✮✮✮✮

The cover is almost comic book art like in its dramatic confrontation between the dragon and the man with the staff below him. The colors of the background lend to the drama making it all seem rather otherworldly. I’m not sure if this would draw my attention or not. Typically, I am drawn to more polished covers, but this will certainly catch the attention of young fantasy readers. Besides, there is a lovely golden dragon and a wizard with an evil red fire that shoots from his staff in the story.

The story has lots of elements of Tolkein’s The Hobbit and LOTR. We have dwarves and elves as well as wizards and orcs. There are nasty things that live down in the deep dark underworld and things that come from other worlds. There are gods loose in these worlds as well. We’ve got it all here. And almost everyone has a little or a lot of magic, except the humans. Well, even they do if they have a magical sword or something like that.

It seems like about half of the characters are of some royal family or other, but no one seems too puffed up about being royal. They just go about their lives doing the jobs they’ve been assigned and getting along with people for the most part. There’s the Parthian royal family with three sons. The father, the King, thinks he’s in charge. He’s sent Prince Kaleb, his oldest, to the Parthian lancers and he’s now a captain. Prince Timmons, his middle son, he sent off to become a master trader and he’s done very well. Now, he has plans for his youngest, Prince Tarquin, to become the ambassador to the Elven Court. Not exactly the life his weapons-crazy youngest son has in mind. Nor is it the life others need him to take up. Tarquin’s cousin and childhood buddy, Alonz, is abruptly killed. He’s killed because Taza, a vampire warlock expelled from another world wants to create peace on Muiria by making everyone a vampire. However, there is a prophecy about the young royal stopping him. He sends an assassin, Despres, to kill Prince Tarquin, but Alonz is killed in a case of mistaken identity. Despres is the nephew of the King of illannan elves, cousin to the King’s daughter, Morganna. The King is a staunch follower of Taza, but his daughter is rebelling against Taza’s plan to convert her people to vampirism. The King has put a price on Morganna’s head and Despres is the assassin determined to bring her down. He comes close to being successful. However, Morganna has a watchful god looking out for her and with his help and much effort on her own part, eventually, she and Prince Tarquin connect and realize that they should be working together to stop this evil. Throughout this all is our hero wizard, Celedant. Celedant is a very powerful wizard with friends in many high and low places who is determined to beat this evil.

The characters are developed as needed. The primary characters are, of course, more well-rounded than the minor characters. But the authors have done great things with characters as well as action and description. You see everything and get to know everyone in this book. It’s great. It’s the type of book I really enjoy with its description of everyone so that I can see them all. You know what color hair everyone has and who has a beard or mustache or is bald. You know who is skinny or fat, and in this story, it makes a big difference. Certain races just aren’t skinny. Only slaves are skinny, so skinny assistants are suspect. They could be spies rather than real countrymen.

I found the pace and the tension worked well for the story. There were times when I wanted to meander along and it did. But there were most times when the story charged on into the next crisis or the next battle. Getting through the underworld about had me skipping pages to cheat and find out what happened when they got to the gate, but I stuck it out and stayed patient. Not because it wasn’t interesting, but because I was dying to get there and I almost couldn’t take another problem in the dark tunnels! And they were creepy! Lots of description to creep you out!

But this is a really fun fantasy with lots of great types of “people” and creatures and magic. Lots of wonderful artifacts from long ago. A prophecy to keep safe or break, a handsome young prince, and a valiant young princess. No, no romance in this book. But I’m ready for book 2, Wraith Lords of Zeiglon 295 pages.

Highly recommended to YA or Adult Fantasy readers.

I love a good fantasy, and this one was such an interesting read! This story is definitely worth checking out.

I am thrilled to have a new series. This book left me wanting more details, more of the story, and more of this world.

Anyone out there love Lord of the Rings? If so, this is the book for you. Wizards, elves, dwarves, humans, orcs, dragons, and (a new twist)…vampires!

As legend goes, there existed siblings, one good and one evil. Adaman, the good god died at the hands of Adois, the evil goddess. Many years later, Adois sends a powerful, vampiric wizard, Taza, to bring evil upon a new planet. The only way to defeat Taza, along with the influence of Adois, is to assemble the two pieces of Ancient Staff of Adaman. Prophecy states that a young Prince may have the power to overthrow Taza and the grueling influence of Adois.



So, I feel like the easiest way for me to review this novel is to compare it to Lord of the Rings when describing the protagonists:

Tarquin: He is our youngest little prince of Partha who happens to be our focal point of the prophecy. Raised to be an Elven diplomat since birth, Tarquin disappoints his father when deciding to join the armed forces of the Borderers, which happens to consist mainly of dwarves. As our prince climbs up the ranks, he is then tasked with leading a unit into the Underground to recover a Dwarven city, Brackas, lost to the evil while assisting Celedant uncover ones of the missing pieces of Adaman’s staff. To me, he will one day be like my beloved Aragorn.
Celedant: Comparable to Gandalf, he is there when you need him and has the potential to do more harm, but stands by as the others perform the greater deeds. Finding it his duty to restore the balance between good and evil, he is tasked with reuniting the two parts of the Staff of Adaman. One thing that surpasses Gandalf is his relationship with his dragon!
Morganna: Illanni rebel, her father put a warrant out for her head after she showed her disgust with her family being turned into vampires. Approached by her long-time friend, Kalsti, she decides to help the rebels free the human slaves. Barely surviving a critical injury, Dolgar, the god of the dwarves and healer, saves Morganna and provides her with the power to heal. With her new power, she heals Tarquin after a deadly blow when the two first meet.
Taza: The War of the Staffs version of Saruman…except for a vampire. With his ultimate goal being of working for Adois (through her staff) to bring evil upon Muiria, he has turned all of the dark elves into vampires to do his bidding.

Let me just say, there has to be another book! I need to know how Celedant and the others recover the last piece of the Staff of Adaman! Please, please, bring some more dragon action! And, while there wasn’t any romance in this novel (what a relief!), I’m feeling some sexual tension between Tarquin and Morganna (didn’t see that coming since the beginning of the novel…not!). Besides for a few grammatical errors and the beginning being confusing with keeping the characters straight, this was a great read that was even-paced, exhilarating, and sucked you into the story.

A great classic fantasy with a thoroughly modern theme. All the characters you would expect, along with the addition of vampires. I found the book a little slow at first, but the pace picked up and soon had me hooked. A highly enjoyable and imaginative tale. I can't wait for more.

This epic story tells of Tarquin, youngest prince of Partha who would rather be fighting than become an elven diplomat, Celedant, a mage who seeks to fulfil an ancient prophecy to restore balance, Morganna, an Illanni who despises everything her people are turning into: cruel vampires who do the bidding of the evil vampire warlock Taza.

As Tarquin and his friends and allies go out into the world they are met at every turn by assassins, monsters and death. Will they be able to find the two pieces of the Staff of Adaman they so desperately need to overcome Taza's scheming?

My take on the book:

It's been a very long time since I've read high/epic fantasy and how wonderful it was to be portaled in such a world. Orcs, demons, dragons, mages, elves, vampires, magical weapons and so much more!!

The author takes the time to describe the details (environment, characters and the reasoning behind what they do) without it getting boring or too generic, but keeps us readers captivated and craving more.

Character development was good, we got to know all mayor players on a pretty decent level.
The one thing I did notice though (but please, it might have just been me...) was that when reading the point of view from for example Tarquin, Morganna or Taza, we were 'there' in the adventure with the character, while for some others it felt more a recounting of events, I missed the feeling of being part of something. Though as stated, it could well have been me!
That being said, I really liked the different point of views, we got so much more depth to the characters as the story unfolded, well thought of!

A little error here and there but nothing that interrupted the flow of the book. Pacing was good, we got a good amount of action while the story continued to grow in between.

I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book, courtesy of NetGalley and all in all I enjoyed it! Very much looking forward to the next part!

DNF @30%
I was really excited for this story. I mean dragons ?! orcs, wizards etc.
But unfortunatly it did not catch my attention. Therefore I was really quickly confussed with all the characters, like who was who and who was what..
Also the different storylines were confussing for me, I was not sure if everything was already connected or if it were different different storylines.
I think this book is for fans of magical creatures, who like slow starts with a lot of character introductions!

Well it’s not a fantasy adventure without elves, dragons, dwarfs, orcs, wizards and...vampire wizards. That’s a new one. Received from Netgalley so I’m not going to say anything about the formatting issues, despite that its a smooth read with an even pace, although the time lines could be a little better. Celedant felt a bit hit and miss entertainment wise, I didn’t feel anything special from Tarquin. The strongest character I’d say was Morganna, who I was hoping for a bigger part. Every time I read stories with more than one character, I’m always waiting for that point where they all meet. My favourite characters were Botreg and Azimuth, who I felt overshadowed their partners in awesomeness, I hope to see more of them in the second book. I enjoyed the action filled parts but the filler journey didn’t really grip me. For an introduction it was good but I’m expecting a lot more from the second book, with lots of potential for character growth. I want to see Celedant cope without his friends and legacy, I want to see Tarquin become a regal figure of prophecy and Morganna take her father head on. The ending left a lot open. Oh and definitely more dragons.

Interesting and fun new series about an evil vampire trying to take over the world. It is up to some adventures including Prince Tarquin to fight against the evil that faces the land. This is an enjoyable book that will pull those who love fantasy into a great new world

A very good fantasy book. Really enjoyable and interesting.

A great sword and sorcery fantasy book.