The Ancients [Kindle Edition]

Nick Marsh (Author), Eric Smith (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The war is over. But the fight for the world is only beginning.

The bloody civil war that ruined the country is lost, and Dazlar, last of the Royal Guards, returns weary and alone to the village of his birth, hoping for peace at last.
The war was only the first move, however, in a terrible plot now launched by the new ruler of the land. Lord Protector Cranmer has discovered a frightening truth at the heart of the world, and means to exploit it for his own dark purposes.
The gruesome discovery that Dazlar makes during his fateful homecoming will place him at the very centre of Cranmer’s plans, and the reluctant knight will be called upon to fight once more, alongside a strange girl from another world.
But this time the stakes are much higher than mere territory and rulership.
This time, the battle is for existence itself.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 442 KB
• Publisher: Nick Marsh (December 18, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006O1QV48
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,520 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Nicholas Marsh has never forgiven his parents for giving him a happy childhood, thus depriving him of the necessary angst and bottled-up rage to become a full-time writer. Not only that, his genetic inheritance has so far thwarted every attempt to grow a beard to make him appear dark and brooding. Four weeks of strenuous effort only result in a near-invisible fluffy covering that even a student would quickly shave off in embarrassment.
Since his late teenage years he is proud that he had managed to maintain his height at a constant five feet ten inches. If only everything in life were that simple. He currently works as a veterinary surgeon in Plymouth, UK, and doesn't think the job is all that bad really. On his days off he spends his time being cruel to pot plants, drinking cups of tea and, occasionally, writing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting twist on reality, February 15, 2012

By 

Tahlia Newland - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ancients (Kindle Edition)

`The Ancients' is a traditional fantasy that avoids the excesses of many works of the genre in that it does not over indulge in descriptions or give us convoluted plots and endless battles. It is instead, a tightly written, clear plot with a delightful twist on the fantasy world. What I loved about this book is that it sets us wondering what is real and what is not, and if things are not as they seem, is there any point to life? A fascinating and highly thought provoking theme. The statement here seems to be that regardless of the nature of our reality, it is how we live our life, the relationships we form, and the love and pain that we experience and share that make life worth living.

The story begins after a bloody civil war in which the King is ousted and sent to the gallows. Dazlar, the last of the Royal Guards, returns weary and alone to the village of his birth, hoping for peace at last, but his discovery of a girl collapsed on the side of the road sets him on a new course that brings him to the very centre of the new ruler, Cranmer's plans to reinvent the world for his own dark purposes, a purpose that unless stopped, will wipe out existence as Dazlar knows it.

Like a lot of traditional fantasy, this is dark stuff set in a world that although it has magic, knows misery intimately. Cranmer's henchman, Ellis is a heartless beast who seems to gain pleasure from killing and causing pain to others, and we see him at work early on in chilling scenes that, personally, I would rather not witness. However, it does make it quite clear what Dazlar is up against.

The mysterious truth that Cranmer has discovered, and the background between Dazlar and Ellis is revealed as the story unfolds and the tension builds skilfully to the climax.

The characters are solid, the plot moves along at a good pace, and is interesting and unpredictable, but there is little light in the story and though the end is appropriate to the book, it left me with a heavy heart. I give it 3 stars in terms of my enjoyment of the book, but take away my personal desire to have more light in a story and it's worth 4 stars.

There is a need for the book to be proof read again, because I caught a few too many missed words and incorrect spellings. Not enough to be a serious problem, but enough that I feel the need to mention it. These things can be fixed quite easily, however & probably will be.