The Crimson League (The Herezoth Trilogy) [Kindle Edition]

Victoria Grefer (Author)

Book Description

What would YOU do if you were seventeen, a woodworker’s daughter, and your kingdom’s sorcerer-dictator was determined to see you dead?

Join Kora Porteg in the kingdom of Herezoth as she aids her homeland’s organized resistance. Opposing the sorcerer who slew the royal family, Kora soon discovers she’s a sorceress herself, as well as the unwitting subject of an old and often mocked legend. Though she accepts she can have no place in Herezoth after civil war should end, she fights alongside the usurper’s sister, a thief, a scholar, two telekinetic brothers, and other members of the group that calls itself the Crimson League. As their prospects deteriorate, the League has no choice but to make a final stand against its foe and the army that supports him.

Full of magic and mayhem, "The Crimson League" is a blend of urban and epic fantasy bordering on the dystopian. It is the first in a trilogy of novels about Herezoth and its magicked inhabitants as they struggle to make names for themselves, or simply to survive, against prejudice and evil. A classic sword and sorcery adventure!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Victoria is a New Orleans girl, born and raised, with an appreciation for the charm of the Deep South. She has a bachelor's degree in Spanish and English and a master's degree in Spanish literature, all from the University of Alabama. Her writing career begin in the third grade with a series of stories about herself and her friends solving mysteries. In high school she fell in love with the fantasy genre, and started writing fantasy as an undergraduate student. She currently resides in Chicago, IL.

Product Details

• File Size: 1113 KB
• Print Length: 468 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007WEYXTG
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #378,048 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Crimson League May 14, 2012

By Michael

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

First off, WOW. Did not expect this book to be as good as it was, but it outshines all of my expectations. When I say that this book is an adrenaline rush every chapter I mean it. There is some sort of drama or action scene each chapter that keeps you on the edge of your seat while reading. Whats more is that the author introduces plot twists enough to keep you guess but not so much that you don't know what is happening or are unable to predict some of the stuff that is going to happen. This novel is very refreshing, it is not superficial in any way, and it does not go into tedious detail about what is going on in the story. That isn't to say that the book isn't slow at parts but the author mixes up the detailed sections and the actions sections. Another thing that is refreshing is that there is no true love triangle, nor is there any "true love" back story, it is a direct story about the main character. The love triangle that is present is such that the reader can see it coming but the author does not push it on the characters. This is interesting to me particularly how the book ends, because it does not happen how the reader would expects the book to end, that isn't to say that the ending is bad. Instead I think the book ends very well and the author finishes with tying up all of the loose ends as well as give the reader a little insight into the future of the world that has been created.

This book is incredibly realistic in its depiction of events, more so that most other fantasy war books that I have read. By this I mean that even though there are magicians present they are not given miraculous powers like they are in other novels of this type. Instead they have very clear limitations that they have to deal with. Also this novel gives the villains attributes that makes you want to hate them as well as makes it difficult to hate them. I enjoyed this because it lets the reader decide which side to pull for, though as a reader we understand which side is going to come out in the end. Also the main character, Kora, is portrayed very wells in that she isn't completely innocent and heroic, as is true with all true heroes.

There was only one true problem with this book and that is that the author would occasionally speed the storyline up and make it seem that there was nothing for the characters to do. But then the author would introduce a seemingly random tangent that would introduce a new plot line that was eventually brought back into the main plot or it was wrapped up at the end. Another aspect that was detracting from the story is that there were sometimes that the story would become drawn out for a bit when the author may not have needed it but there was always some way that it would come back to the main story.

Ok, now for the characters.

The main character that I liked the most was a tie between Kansten and Lanokas. I liked Kansten because of her attitude toward the leaders in the Crimson league as well as her desire to take Kora under her wing and protect her as they both grow as characters. I also find myself wishing that Kansten and Kora could become sisters in some strange way so that they would have a reason to stay connected, but of course that cannot happen, but they do stay connected in a unique way. I liked Lanokas because he was a true gentleman, even in the face of adversity and all that he had gone through as a child. He truly cared about those around him and would do anything to help them survive the war.

The main character that I did not like was Menikas. i understand why he was the way that he was, due to what happened to him as a child also, but I felt that his character was a foil for Lanokas as well as Kora. I think the main reason that I don't like him is that he is too focused on his job, and while that is beneficial it still causes problems within his group. Had he been more lenient in his leadership I think the major rift that forms could have been prevented.

The main reason that I only rated this book a 4 instead of a 5 is not that I didn't enjoy the book enough but that I was able to put the book down. I know this is weird but the book did not have that engrossing factor that made it where I couldn't put it down, but that may have just been because of the intensity of the story.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent May 22, 2012

By Sarah E Rodriguez

Format:Kindle Edition

This book was recommended to me by a friend. Initially I was unsure whether I would enjoy it since it is a young adult novel. I am happy to say I was wrong.

The story almost immediately jumps into the quick pace which is maintained almost throughout the entire novel. I had a very difficult time putting it down. I HAD to know what was going to happen next. If I hadn't had to turn the lights out so my husband could sleep, I would be significantly more sleep deprived than I am at the moment. Loved the book and will be looking into some of Grefer's others.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Crimson League! April 17, 2012

By Angela

Format:Paperback

Victoria is my favorite author ever!! I can't wait to read her newest book! I heard great things about this book! I hope she makes it to Comic Con!

More About the Author

Victoria is a New Orleans girl, born and raised, with an appreciation for the charm of the Deep South. She has a bachelor's degree in Spanish and English and a master's degree in Spanish literature, all from the University of Alabama. She started college as a journalism major and worked a year as a staff reporter for the Alabama student newspaper, "The Crimson White." That experience that helped her realize, once and for all, that her love for writing lay with fiction. She started enrolling in creative writing classes the following semester.
From the age of six, Victoria dreamed of becoming a novelist, and her writing career began in the third grade with a series of stories about herself and her friends solving mysteries. In high school she fell in love with the fantasy genre, and started writing fantasy as an undergraduate student. She currently resides in Chicago, IL, where she spends her free time promoting "The Crimson League." She is a doctoral student at the University of Chicago, where she teaches Spanish and hopes to write a dissertation that links contemporary fantasy literature with the picaresque novel of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. She has studied abroad in Spain, the Madrid region, two times, and can't wait to get acquainted with Latin America.


Victoria loves cats, classic movies, cribbage, and random, useless trivia.