Publication Date: March 1, 2008 | Series: Prophecy of the Flame (Book 1)
In a blinding flash of light, five nondescript strangers are yanked from this world and thrust into a land of sorcery as they are granted the looks and abilities of the people they were playing. This band of wannabe heroes soon discovers that having the powers they have always dreamed of, does not make life a dream come true. The Crusaders of the Light struggle to form a cohesive band as they blend twentieth century technology with the supernatural powers of this new world, fighting to liberate the kingdom of Cuthburan from the evil horde threatening humanity.
Battle is also waged within Reba, an ordinary housewife who has become the most powerful mage on the planet, as she struggles to remain true to her wedding vows. Drawn against her will to the arms of Prince Alexandros, Reba must choose between a marriage to a handsome prince in a magical world or returning to the husband she left behind.
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Prophecy of the Flame brings you back to the wonderment of childhood when you first believed that magic really existed. --Jarod G.
This is a fun read, very reminiscent of both Connecticut Yankee by Mark Twain and Guardians of the Flame by Joel Rosenberg. Seeing how the story continues to unfold will be a treat for readers who love epic fantasy that does not take itself terribly seriously. -- --Amanda Killgore
I caught the first one back when it was being offered for free for a short time period. I loved it so much I bought the second one, and am patiently awaiting the time another book is published in the series. Ok, not really so patiently, but what choice do I have? haha. To be honest I had never even heard of Lynn Hardy before I found that free book, but I would now consider her to be on my list of favorites. ---- Amazon Reviewer
"I read the first book on my kindle yesterday. (Yes, the whole book.)... I just now bought Book Two and Book 2.5. That is how addicting I find Prophecy of the Flame." ---- Elizabeth Polley
From the Author
Self-published books have a reputation for having bad covers and horrible edits. I have taken measures to overcome these obstacles:
Tor is the largest publisher of Science Fiction and Fantasy in this country. I consulted one of their leading artists about my cover. I hope you approve of its design.
I hired Andrea Howe to edit my book. Andrea was an editor at Wizards of the Coast - another leading publisher of fantasy books in this country. She has even edited a New York Times bestselling novel.
About the books:
I originally wrote Book One and Two together, intending a trilogy. Unfortunately, self-publishing an 800 page book isn't really feasible.
Eragon's Eldest had just appeared about that time. I decided, "If he could cut right after the main battle, so could I." I split the book into two pieces. At 375 pages each, the books are still fat, providing enough story for readers to sink their teeth into.
It really worked out rather well. I'm a new author, and most readers feel they are taking a risk when they pick up my titles. Now I can give Prophecy of the Flame - Book One away for free so that readers can get a taste of the writing to see if they want to spit it out or take another bite.
I have increased the price on Book Two, so that it reflects the combined price for both books. Future books in the Prophecy of the Flame series will be priced at the market average.
Led by a series of dreams and encouraged by friends, Lynn Hardy began the journey to become an author. She stored her work in a computer file labeled "second job." Writing began as a passion she could not contain and has become much more than she ever expected.
In the Fall of 2010 Prophecy of the Flame - Book One reached #1 on Amazon kindle, shortly after Book Two in the series released. In the spring of 2011, Lynn released the Full Cast unabridged audio book of Book One. Now both fans and newcomers can hear the book come to life as every character jumps of the page with their own unique voice.
The road has been longer and more complicated than she would have ever guessed--not always smooth, but filled with wonderful surprises. Like most stories, Lynn is sure that her journey has only just begun.
My homepage is being revamped, but you can find my blog, with many of the same features and pages, off to the right.
2.5 stars. I wanted to like this book. The premise - of several role players being magically transported into a world where they took on those roles and their magical abilities - was wonderful. It's a creative, imaginative, fun idea. The illustrations were really, really cool. In the hands of a masterful storyteller, the unremarkable (or too perfect) characters, wandering subplots, and forced dialogue/situations might have had their edges smoothed away. I read the third revision of this story, and the rough edges were still very, very apparent.
First, the characters were difficult to connect with. The Archmage Reba managed to have epiphany after epiphany about how to save everyone and the world. She was the only person in the world who could figure these things out and weave a magic spell to make everything right again. This grew old after, oh, the second time it happened. She was also very inconsistent, like when she was preaching about how - in our world - married couples don't have relations outside the marital bed. And then she defends sleeping with a guy and claims it's ok, because nothing really happened. And what on earth is this with her obsession with another man (not her husband) who treats her like crap? She obsesses over a prince, discusses her sex life with her servant, preaches Christianity and manages to lose complete focus as a character during the portion of the book where she should be developing and overcoming her issues. She's made out to be too powerful (and almost too perfect) at the beginning, and that manages to carry through the entire book, despite the odd distractions about her sex life and attraction to a smarmy prince. Oh, and making her boobs bigger.... She can use magic to save this other universe's world, alter her physical appearance and to do anything else she wants - just not get home.
If the main character isn't challenged by anything (more than the headaches she gets at the beginning that are gone by mid-book), then I'm not sure there's really a story to tell. The other characters aren't very well fleshed out either; they were interchangeable in my mind, because none of them had depth. Not to mention, some of the situations they were put in - perhaps as an attempt to provide the much-needed depth? - were meaningless distractions to the actual plot. There is also a lot of redundancy between what the characters are saying and doing (or thinking, in the main character's case.)
Second, the plot. What IS the plot? I'm a fan of complex plots, but this storyline had too much down time, distractions and cluttered ramblings. It's as if the author wasn't sure where this book was going, decided to try this route and nope - that wasn't it. So the author decided to try something else. Authors do this all the time, but they normally edit out the subplots that don't add value to the story or depth to the characters. This book needs that type of thorough edit. Since the Archmage was so powerful, it's almost like there wasn't a chance to build tension in what I presume was the main plot: to defend this kingdom against demonic forces. She could whip up a magic spell at the drop of a hat, and wouldn't you know it, it always worked. So ... what's the book about, if she's got every issue licked? I don't know, either.
These folks get whisked away from our world, and somehow, find it logical and acceptable to become not only different (much better looking) people, but to land in a different world altogether. None of them seem concerned with this or with getting home. Instead, they hop on the bandwagon of what complete strangers tell them might be there purpose there -to help some royalty with issues that should probably be more concerning, if they weren't more than a second heaping of unremarkable characters, cluttered writing and wandering subplots. A lot of other reviews seemed thrown by the Christianity angle. I guess this didn't bother me as much, probably because it fit with the chasing-plots-down-a-rabbit-hole style.
Which brings me to my third point of consternation. Not only did much of the dialogue feel forced to put Archmage Reba in a position where she could show that she does indeed have the answer to every problem, but some of the prose was bizarre. In general, the writing was very heavy-handed, and there was a lot more telling than showing. I found myself distracted by the sheer amount of inconsequential details describing what each person was doing and how they were doing it. I also found myself stumbling a lot over what the author was saying. For example: "The fanning stairway broadens." "I lengthened my stride for maximum efficiency and speed." "An echo surrounds her." And some of the Archmage's spells (which were all forced to rhyme) were so bad, they took away from what could've almost been a serious situation (assuming, of course, the Archmage wasn't omniscient and omnipotent.)
The premise of this book has potential, but the execution rendered it frustrating to get through. I don't plan on reading the sequel or recommending this one.Read more ›
The story focuses on a group taking part in a roll playing activity and are transported to another dimension. A wizard in that dimension called for them to help protect his kingdom from the demons who are attacking. It turns out that there is a prophecy that was tailor made for the female Mage named Reba. Reba and her fellow mages have to learn quickly how to survive in a world unlike their own. It gives the reader a look into how people would act if they knew they would never see the people around them again. Throughout the story you find out that the demons were brought from another world as well be a Wizard who wants to control the entire planet.
This is the first book that I have read that deals with roll playing. It was written in the first person and was done well. It read at a nice pace and you found yourself sucked in to the story. I liked the fact that it focused on the honor of the characters and that they looked at the consequences of their actions. The author tried to make this a story that you came away from learning something as well as enjoying the story. I did find Reba doing most of the work was a little unrealistic. I would expect her partners to add more to what was being done.
I found myself staying up till 2am in the morning on a work night to finish the book. I would recommend it to anyone that likes fantasy and action. If you are new to this genre it does a good job explaining the rules of magic and war. A great introduction into the world of fantasy. I am looking forward to the second installment in the book to see where the characters end up.
For anyone who has ever played role-playing games like Shadow Run or DnD, this book is a must read. Lynn Hardy does an excellent job of taking modern predispositions and transposing them on a Medieval Fantasy Realm. Rebecca, the strong female lead character, paces the book well with her inner monologue and witty interactions. All the characters come alive from the description driven narration. Prophecy of the Flame is a story you can jump right into and read for hours on end, or read daily on lunch breaks like a magazine story. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read, or anyone who likes tales of magic and intrigue.
I think this book needed another slide across the editor's desk. The wording of dialogue feels very awkward in many places, and the book contains multiple spelling errors.
I find the present tense point of view to be off-putting. I also dislike the fact that it becomes Christian propaganda halfway through.
The story concept is interesting, but the execution doesn't suit me.
Talk about LARPing gone wrong. That's the basis of the Prophecy of the Flame. A group of role players are participating in a live action event when they are suddenly summoned into another world where magic and demons are real.
The characters were excellently written, personalities and flaws were unique and clearly defined / shown. I was eager to read past the intro. The beginning drags a bit but once they are in the `new' world things really pick up and you don't want to put it down!
Magic is a major event in this world and while what can be done with it seems to be limitless (well, only limited by imagination of the welder) there are consequences and physical limits to how much and how often it can be used.
My only complaints honestly are based on the vehement use of the idea Judeo/Christian god as being the only one and that `pagan' is bad. For Christians I'm sure that is a great selling point but as a Wiccan it chaffs a bit while reading. The other thing I had trouble with was the strange morality both of the world and of Reba. The worlds lack of commitment I can buy, though I would hate to live like that, but Reba's morality issues with her hubby bother me.
That aside, the story is great, the characters engaging, and both the `war' and the `love story' kept me wanting more. I reached the last page and was frustrated that I didn't have book 2 to immediately begin!
Don't let the RPG throw you, this is a fun and engaging Fantasy read!
Interview with Author Lynn Hardy - [...]
Note: A movie, based on Prophecy of the Flame, is in production.
