Customer Reviews

Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I

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

 

 

I only discovered this book when it was a free download and read it on a whim. I'm glad I did. I must say, that this book was a real location clicker (page turner for non-kindle users...lol). A dishonored warrior and an escaped slave team up with a powerful being from a magical race of "people" and do battle against the queen of the Rys. I just bought the 2nd book, so the publishers free intro book worked to get me hooked on the trilogy.

I really wanted to like this book as I was searching for a good fantasy/science fiction series to begin. As it happens, this isn't it for me.

Now this isn't a "bad" book. It has a lot of good qualities. The world is fairly interesting, if simple (humans in the east meet non-humans in the west who are ruled by their ancient and evil queen who has subjugated her own non-human people plus the human tribes on that side of the world). The story is fairly interesting, if a bit slow developing in places. The characters are well developed (but more on that).

What I didn't care for: The dialogue was a bit flat and uninspired (it didn't "feel" realistic).

The main problem I had with the book was initially hard to put my finger on. Eventually I realized what it was...everyone in the book is stupid. I don't mean the characters were described in a stupid way by the author. I mean, everyone in the book I am sure could not possibly have an IQ over 85 (OK, OK, one or two might have IQs of 100). Throughout the entire book, the major and minor characters repeatedly do dumb things, in dumb ways, for dumb reasons. When they aren't adding 2 and 2 and getting three as their decision-making process, they are simply reacting emotionally. Honestly, to this reader it increasingly became apparent that there was no one in the book with whom I could even begin to identify or empathize nor was there ever likely to be in any subsequent book.

I've heard of "dumbing-down" language, sentence structure, and even plots in order to appeal to certain audiences. In this book, while it may not have been intentional, I felt like the characters themselves were literally "dumbed-down".

Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I

This is a book that just makes you forget the world you are living in and grabs all your senses and refuses to let go until the last page. I was completely immersed into the world the author painted and my imagination was filled with the taste and sounds of this world. I did not ever want to stop reading it and was a little lost when I was finished. I can not wait to finish the series. This is a must have for everyone.

I picked up this book on the recommendation of a friend. An unknown author in the genre, I went in with no expectations. Having read Sci-Fi and Fantasy my whole life, I am familiar with the genre...what works for me and what doesn't. This story grabbed me from the very first few chapters. Falbe was able to capture the fantasy genre and make it her own. I could not put this book down and was itching for the 2nd. The story is so compelling, you feel like you are on this journey with the lead characters. There is so much action in this book and so much character development, it amazes me that more people don't know about it. I recommend this book for anyone looking for something new and exciting. You will not be disappointed!

Tracy Falbe has created a magical landscape that comes to life. The hierarchical structure is fascinating, and I find the dynamics between the people who populate this world quite interesting. There are several different races of people in this book, and I felt like I had a good feel for the spoken (and unspoken) rules of each culture. I didn't feel I knew each of the individual characters quite as well, however. I think this author did a great job with description and creation of this world, but the dialogue between the individual characters felt flat.

The book is a touch lengthy and builds slowly. It was an interesting read the entire way through, but, by the end, I could hardly remember where we had started. This first book in the Rys Chronicles establishes the world and the battle to be fought, and it sets up expectations for the following book. There is plenty of action and some romance interspersed throughout the tale, and the book prepares the reader for the next adventure in the series.

There were a noticeable number of minor typos in my copy of the book. Some sentences and phrases flowed beautifully while others were a little awkward and somewhat ambiguous. Add in the wonderfully crafted world in contrast to the flat dialogue, and the writing style feels somewhat inconsistent.

Overall, the story is very engaging and, typos aside, makes for a very good start to what's sure to be an intriguing fantasy series. If you're a fan of epic fantasy, this book will offer you a glimpse into a riveting world and provide you with the start to what's sure to be an adventure of a lifetime.

Full review @ MotherLode blog [...]

Storyline: Union of Renegades by Tracey Falbe is an epic fantasy of ancient empires clashing with new and the desire to discover new worlds and overcome the past.

Dreibrand is an officer in the elite military of the Atrophane army. He is trying to overcome his family's fall from grace and make a new name for himself by forging into the vast Wilderness. His dreams are shattered by his general's decision to send him back to Atrophane with their winnings and chattel. Dreibrand decides to take control of his own destiny and plunges into the Wilderness alone.

Meanwhile Miranda, a beautiful slave, decides that running into the Wilderness and facing the unknown spooks, ghosts and beasts is a far better fate than dying under the invading army's attack or continuing to be brutalized by her master. She makes a daring escape with her two children in tow. In the woods, Miranda and Dreibrand are thrown together - each relying on the other to make it through the wilds only to find a much greater danger unknown to the rest of the world awaits them on the other side.

Can Miranda and Driebrand work together to survive the Wilderness? Will they be able to overcome the evil sorceress before she destroys their homelands and makes all of mankind kneel before her?

Grammar/Spelling: There were some minor spelling/grammatical issues. A thorough read through by a beta reader would probably take care of these issues.

Character Development: Shan, the Rys sorcerer, is a creature with great power and must learn to control himself and do the right thing. He fights against the age old adage "absolute power corrupts absolutely". As much as Shan believes that he is strong enough to fight the evil Rys, Onja, he still struggles with the doubts and disbelief of his own supporters.

Writing Style: Ms. Falbe has done a remarkable job creating a brand new world and a race of creatures that would transfer very well to the big screen. (Still unsure if that's an insult to writers every where... I mean it only in the most positive light!) The details that she includes and depths that she is able to plumb are impressive. At times, I did feel as if the book slowed down to a crawl. If she were to shorten the book, maybe thin it out a bit, the storyline would move a bit faster.

Continuity: No issues with continuity.

Overall Rating: 3+

Union of Renegades by Tracey Falbe has a little bit of everything for just about everyone. Romance, adventure, magic, action! It's all there and more in this tale of a new world fighting against an ancient regime of evil. For language, some adult situations and violence, I wouldn't recommend this book to younger viewers.

I didn't expect much based on the ABSOLUTELY AWFUL cover art of this series. The inside is nothing like the outside. It was hard to stop reading.

Dreibrand Veta is a skilled warrior from an impoverished and disgraced noble family. Angered by the actions of his military leader, Dreibrand rides off into an unexplored wilderness, hoping to gain wealth and fame by his discoveries of this new world. Alone and vulnerable, he encounters Miranda, a woman with two children who have fled the beatings of a cruel and abusive slave master.
In this secret land, Queen Onja reigns as supreme goddess of the Rys. Her powers are far reaching. She can enter the mind of her subjects and enemies, controlling them at her whim. Shan is a spellcaster with magical powers that rival those of Queen Onja's. Although he is her most respected advisor, he becomes disenchanted with her degrading cruelty. For years he has awaited to usurp her throne in order to save the kingdom.

When Onja steals Miranda's children and leaves her to freeze to death on a glacier, Shan rises to action. Together with Dreibrand, they rescue Miranda. Shan plans his rebellion and the three set out to convince the leaders of other Rys tribes to join them in rebellion against Onja.
This book was a very pleasant surprise, gripping me from its first few chapters. The three dimensional characters were intriguing and believable. Thrust into impossible situations, their personalities developed as the story evolved, soliciting sympathy from the reader for their individual plights.

Tracy Falbe has created a credible fantasy world filled with conflict and danger. The story was easy to follow and most enjoyable. The author's lovely writing style allowed the story to unfold seamlessly and at a good pace. As I got further into the story, I could not help but feel as if I was deeply involved with the characters and their plight.

Union of Renegades is the first book in the Rys Chronicles.

the reviews I read liked this book, but I found it unsatisfing. the auther starts out with nice lead into a battle, then jumps into a conversation with his war leader the day after. several times in the book (or as far as I read) this type of nice lead in and then nothing. like good foreplay but no climax. it jumps from the warrior to exploring wilderness to a new dangerious civilization. the female lead was not believable either. this woman who was "a slave" for what 6 years (or how ever old her oldest was) and sold for sex all those years, yet she is not really affected by that abuse. I've been a therapist for 20 years, and I had a woman who was married to a man who sold her services for 6 or 7 years before her parents rescued her. she was damanged, severly. like hiding in the basement with her kids when found. and years later, still hiding within her overweight body. I digress. the book was not believable. could not finish it.

This is actually a very interesting story with a good plot, magic, action, a little romance, and an interesting world. However, the characters bothered me. While each one comes from a different background, history, and culture, they all felt like they had the same personality. Conversations felt like the same person talking over and over again. This made it difficult to read at times, but the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading through to the end.

I think that with some constructive criticism the author could make another draft of this story that would be truely epic! However, that is not this version.