Customer Reviews

Reign of Shadows (The Ruby Throne Trilogy, Book 1)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Caelan E'Non is the son if his lands most renowned healer. He is expected to follow his fathers profession and is sent to school to learn the healing arts. The only problem is that Caelan has no interest in becoming a healer. Much to his father's horror it is war, weapons and the army that is his true interest, and a life choice that his father is prepared to thwart at any cost.

For Caelan his wishes are about to come true, but in a horrifying way he never anticipated. It will lead him to the heart of evil that lays at the centre of the Emperor Kostimon's empire. However, this is not just Caelan's story it is also the story of Elandra. The daughter of one of the empire's great nobles, she has been bought up little better than a servant in her own household, only to find that she has a "destiny" - one that does not appeal to her at all!

This is an enjoyable first instalment to the Ruby Throne Trilogy. It ends on a dark note, but it will be interesting to see how the paths of the main characters cross each other in book 2, because there is no mistaking this for anything other than an introductory novel for a story far from finished. And don't let the dragons on the covers of these books fool you, they feature only in a very small way in the book.

A good read. Characters are well developed and likeable. Storyline moves and is enjoyable to follow. Author doesn't make you wade through pages and pages of description to get to the story. This is Fantasy with an edge. The characters in this book are not blessed with wizards or warriors who take them by the hand and train them for greatness. Instead, they are pretty much thrown to the wolves in learn or die situations. There are no fairies or elves in this book, but there is magic, situations dire and ultimately an evil villain in league with dark forces to be vanquished. What more could you ask for.

I thought this was a well paced and interesting read. I enjoyed both the male and female lead characters. There is nothing incredible about the story, but if you enjoy a solid fantasy story, this one is for you. I enjoyed the entire Ruby Throne Trilogy as well as her followup trilogy The Sword, The Ring, and the Chalice. Some of her current work seems to lean more toward a romance novel then fantasy for my taste. These first books are gems.

Everytime you think you know what's going to happen to Caelon, there's a twist. He's much more believable than Richard Cypher or Randal 'thor because he's much more flawed and human. The hand-to-hand combat scenes are incredibly vivid and well-rendered. You'll really be surprised how good this book is since it's not nearly as famous as many contemporary fantasies.

I found this to be a captivating novel. The female character was my favorite, being a woman myself. Elandra fights to survive in this whole triology. The story is intelligent and extremely creative, a perfect fantasy. The plot makes sense and though the next two books are not quite as good as the first they all still make a good read. I would recommend this book to any sci-fi/fantasy reader though I would warn that I found myself skipping through the chapters of the male character in order to get back to Elandra.

This book is an excellent example of well-written sci-fi/fantasy romance. I highly suggest reading it, as well as the other books in this series.

Ms. Chester has created an interesting world here. Found myself eager to buy the next book in the series, which doesn't happen overly often!

The only review I can give is that the story is so sad. Waaahhhhh. During the fact I was reading it I was crying so much a second flood might have come of it. This is a perfect attention getting and made me want to read the rest of the series.

I read the summary on the back of the book and was greatly interested so I bought it. When I actually sat down and read it I found that it could not hold my attention. The plot was a really good one but the characters lacked depth and I just couldn't picture in my mind that these people were real (which is what I do with any good book). The only reason I finished the book was because I wanted to know what happened. Unfortunately, I discoverd that this was just the first book with more to follow. My advice would be to go to the library instead of buying it.

Im just glad that i didnt have to wait 3 years befor i could finish the series and id like to say thank you for that. Im looking forward to last last book in the series. This series was not comparable to the Sword, Ring, and Chalice series but is a good read. And i dont have to wait years for the books to be published. Thank you !!!!