Seven Princes (Books of the Shaper) [Paperback]

John R. Fultz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2012 | Series: Books of the Shaper (Book 1)

It is an Age of Legends.

Under the watchful eye of the Giants, the kingdoms of Men rose to power. Now, the Giant-King has slain the last of the Serpents and ushered in an era of untold peace and prosperity. Where a fire-blackened desert once stood, golden cities flourish in verdant fields.

It is an Age of Heroes.

But the realms of Man face a new threat-- an ancient sorcerer slaughters the rightful King of Yaskatha before the unbelieving eyes of his son, young Prince D'zan. With the Giant-King lost to a mysterious doom, it seems that no one has the power to stop the coming storm.

It is an Age of War.

The fugitive Prince seeks allies across the realms of Men and Giants to liberate his father's stolen kingdom. Six foreign Princes are tied to his fate. Only one thing is certain: War is coming.

SEVEN PRINCES.

Some will seek glory.

Some will seek vengeance.

All will be legends.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What Seven Princes [offers] is breakneck pacing and nonstop insanity. It's epic with a capital EPIC." (io9.com )

"A stand-out fantasy series from an author with an exceptional talent for characterization and world building." (Library Journal )

"Non-stop action at a blistering pace... Vigorous and vibrant." (Kirkus Reviews )

"One of the strongest epic fantasies I've read in a long time. My perfect epic fantasy novel looks a great deal like John R. Fultz's debut, Seven Princes" (Rob Will Review )

"Flawless - and timeless - epic fantasy. For fans of epic fantasy, Seven Princes is as good as it gets." (BN.com (Paul Goat Allen) )

About the Author

John R. Fultz lives in the Bay Area, California, but is originally from Kentucky. His fiction has appeared in Black Gate, Weird Tales, Space & Time, Lightspeed, Way of the Wizard, and Cthulhu's Reign. His comic book work includes Primordia, Zombie Tales, and Cthulhu Tales. John's literary heroes include Tanith Lee, Thomas Ligotti, Clark Ashton Smith, Lord Dunsany, William Gibson, Robert Silverberg, and Darrell Schweitzer, not to mention Howard, Poe, and Shakespeare. When not writing novels, stories, or comics, John teaches English Literature at the high school level and plays a mean guitar.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Orbit; 1 edition (January 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316187860
• ISBN-13: 978-0316187862
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.5 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #315,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My name is John R. Fultz and I'm a storyteller. My debut fantasy novel SEVEN PRINCES is now available in the US and abroad from Orbit Books. Two more novels will follow to complete the Books of the Shaper trilogy. Book II: SEVEN KINGS will be released in January 2013, with Book III: SEVEN SORCERERS following in January 2014.

I live in the North Bay Area, California, but I'm originally from Kentucky. My short fiction has appeared in the anthologies WAY OF THE WIZARD, CTHULHU'S REIGN, OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE, and THE BOOK OF CTHULHU II (coming in Sept. 2012). I've also had stories in these fine magazines: BLACK GATE, WEIRD TALES, LIGHTSPEED, and SPACE & TIME. I've written comics for Boom Studios' ZOMBIE TALES and CTHULHU TALES. My graphic novel of epic fantasy PRIMORDIA (illustrated by the great Roel Wielinga) was published by Archaia Comics in an "ultimate hardcover edition" in 2012.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Shaping up nicely January 2, 2012

By Keris Nine TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

It's difficult to write something fresh an original in fantasy fiction, but right from the outset of Seven Princes, it looks like John R. Fultz's Shaper trilogy is, well ...shaping up to rewrite the rule book practically set in stone by Lord of the Rings, and get right back to the underlying archetypes of genre. There's no adolescent gaining of power and learning to control it in Seven Princes, or a grand quest as a metaphor for coming-of-age and the journey to manhood, and there are no ancient prophesies to be followed through to predictable outcomes, but all that's good about fantasy fiction is here nonetheless and given a much more thrilling introduction than is customary for the first part of a trilogy.

There's no long, slow, deliberate build-up at the start of Seven Princes, no setting out of rules, no recounting of myths, legends and prophesies. The book's prologue sets the wheels in motion in a dramatic and bloody fashion, as the kingdom of Yaskatha is overrun by a powerful sorcerer and his hoards of living dead. King Trimesqua is killed and his son Prince D'zan is forced to flee and seek help from the neighbouring kingdoms of the North to face the dangerous threat that the kingdoms of the South now pose. It doesn't slow down there either as the book begins proper, the dark forces that have been unleashed seeming to cause ripples in the other regions - and there are a wide variety of exotic lands and undersea kingdoms in this book - but most notably with King Vod and the Giants of Udurum, with his sons of mixed Giant and human blood, and with his other children, who see their father abdicate and walk to the kingdom beneath the waves to almost certain death.

So the familiar elements are all there - forces gathering for an epic battle that is brewing between the forces of good and evil, mythological creatures and ancient kingdoms, myths and legends too, certainly, but the manner of exposition is more natural, and the whole nature of what is to come to pass is to a large extent yet to be written. This is because, behind the whole premise of this fantasy work is the idea of the Shaper, a race of Old Breed with powers of sorcery and the ability to influence the unseen patterns that form and connect everything in the world. Ok, you can call them wizards if you like, but it's a bit more complicated than that. The worlds of Dead and Living, Past and Future, Truth and Illusion, Spiritual and Physical are all open to the Shaper and learning that, Princess Shardza proves to be just as important a figure in what transpires as the Seven Princes who go to fight a more traditional war, since this war cannot be won by swords alone.

With several other interesting and original threads woven into the narrative, John R. Fultz's first novel not only creates a fully formed and fascinating world, but it's one that, reverting right back to the original archetypes, has numerous other possibilities open to it and not just the tired old unimaginative conventional sword-and-sorcery path . And shouldn't making myth and imagination reality be what fantasy writing is all about? If that's not enough, the forces of chaos and darkness are just as intriguing, with shadow demons, fire-breathing Serpents with claws (you can call them dragons if you like) and villains with an insatiable taste for blood (no, you can't call them vampires - that might be taking it a bit too far), mixed in with Nordic and Wagnerian Ring mythology and almost fairy-tale like elements. One book in, and there's already a full trilogy's worth of action and intrigue, so who can say where the remainder of this intriguing new fantasy series will take us?

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A finely told fantasy debut January 10, 2012

By Media Man VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

[This review is based on an Advanced Reading Copy - 526 pages]

Seven Princes is the debut fantasy novel from author John R. Fultz and the first volume in the Books of the Shaper series. Primarily a short story writer, Fultz has tried his hand at a full blown series and succeeded. Seven Princes story revolves around a young prince named D'zan who is soon to inherit the throne of the Southern city of Yaskatha. When an ancient necromancer named Elhathym appears and usurps the throne from D'zan's father, King Trimesqua, D'zan is forced to flee for his life. D'zan wants nothing more than to return to Yaskatha and take back the throne that is rightfully his. However, in order to do so D'zan must embark on an epic journey to rally support from all neighboring kingdoms in order to accomplish his goals. Here are my thoughts on John R. Fultz's "Seven Princes;"

Pros

+ Intriguing world building, history and mythology.

+ Adult fantasy themes. A heavy emphasis on regicide and murder in general. Several of the passages were especially dark and gruesome.

+ Well written and engaging story.

+ Both heroes and villains die.

+ Two page map of the known world. My ARC didn't have a map but the final publication does.

+ Contained a Dramatis Personae listing at the back of the book.

+ Excellent opening chapters as well as a great excerpt of the next book at the end. I really enjoyed the dark theme of the sample chapter from Seven Kings.

+ Great cover art.

Cons <Contains SPOILERS>

- The solution to D'zan's final dilemma was too convenient and a bit unbelievable.

- Sharadza learned sorcery much too quickly and the chapter that details her learning was quite boring.

- Story seemed to shift quickly from focusing on D'zan's story to the half-giants of Udurum. D'zan and his quest started to feel secondary in the overall story.

- It was sometimes difficult to remember who was human, giant or half-giant in the book, especially with secondary characters.

- D'zan's depression and thoughts of suicide at the beginning of the book became a bit tiresome. It made him out to be more of a helpless and brooding adolescent rather than a hero.

- Author used the word concentric a bit too often.

- Elhathym as a villain is hardly explored. I felt the author could have written a few more chapters on the day to day doings and history of the villains.

- Culture of the land seemed too diverse considering the world itself looked and felt quite small.

- D'zan and Sharadza's relationship happened instantly and was a bit contrived.

Seven Princes was an enjoyable and refreshing fantasy read on many levels. While not entirely original in its ideas the author does a fine job crafting his story and keeping the reader engaged. Fultz is also not afraid to dispose of characters demonstrating to the reader that no one is above death, well almost no one anyway. There were a few points during the tale that felt a bit slow but things always picked up in the next chapter. After reading the sample chapter of book 2 at the end of Seven Princes I'm really looking forward to continuing things in Seven Kings.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting quest fantasy January 11, 2012

By Harriet Klausner #1 HALL OF FAME

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In the southern section of the High Realms overlooking the Cryptic Sea, King Trimesqua of Yaskatha leads the celebration of the Feast of Ascension. Elhathym the stranger arrives at court informing the monarch his time is over as he has come home to reclaim his city. Irate at this affront, the king splits the self-acclaimed sorcerer's head. Not long after his men dispose of the corpse, the ancient necromancer returns and executes the ruler. Trimesqua's teenage heir Prince D'zan escapes.

D'zan visits neighboring Mumbaza and Khyrei and realms beyond with a call for arms to kick the usurper off the throne before the sorcerer turns to their kingdoms. To the far north bordering on the Giantsland, King Vod of New Urudum suffers from dementia. His oldest son Prince Fangodel meets and betrays the naive D'zan while magical lethal assaults leave the kingdoms in chaos and peril. Unsure who to trust to help him on his quest, D'zan finds a possible ally in Fangodel's youngest sibling Princess Sharadza while he and six other princes loosely align to combat the evil overwhelming the kingdoms.

The Seven Princes is an interesting quest fantasy that focuses on the intrigue and backstabbing between the ruling classes of the six kingdoms. The storyline is action-packed from the grim moment the necromancer offers to simply execute King Trimesqua to keep the bloodshed down to one insignificant monarch and never slows down until the final confrontation between good and evil. The hero is an "assumed" coming of age protagonist, as readers never see his specific metamorphosis since he just matures with each new incident. Fans will want to tour the kingdoms with D'zan and his peers as their guides.

Harriet Klausner