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Song of the Aura #1
Brother Thief
The city of Ymeer is crawling with all manner of lowlifes and rogues. Among these, Gribly the thief is considered to be a rising force of destiny: he always wins, always gets what he wants, and never, ever gets caught.
Most people think it's skill, and some think it's just dumb luck... but everyone is wrong. Gribly has a talent that no one knows about- not even the old gypsy who raised him. It's because of this talent that he's so good at burglary, and he makes sure no one knows his secret. Should it ever become known, he knows, his life would be imperiled...
The Dunelord, ruler of Ymeer, will brook no equals. Gribly's talent makes him an equal, and that makes him a threat. This boy can control the power of sand... but even in a city built from it, that may not be enough.
Into the scene stumbles a mysterious young messenger named Lauro. When Gribly finds him dying from exhaustion outside the city gates, Lauro claims he bears a message from Larion, King of Vastion in the south, to the Dunelord. Helping Lauro could be Gribly's way out of trouble... but do messengers carry royal swords? Do they control the power of the winds?
Both lads soon realize the other has something to hide, but neither one knows the titanic role they will play in the world-shaking events that will soon grip Ymeer... and the entire continent of Vast.
Become a legend... or die trying.
Most people think it's skill, and some think it's just dumb luck... but everyone is wrong. Gribly has a talent that no one knows about- not even the old gypsy who raised him. It's because of this talent that he's so good at burglary, and he makes sure no one knows his secret. Should it ever become known, he knows, his life would be imperiled...
The Dunelord, ruler of Ymeer, will brook no equals. Gribly's talent makes him an equal, and that makes him a threat. This boy can control the power of sand... but even in a city built from it, that may not be enough.
Into the scene stumbles a mysterious young messenger named Lauro. When Gribly finds him dying from exhaustion outside the city gates, Lauro claims he bears a message from Larion, King of Vastion in the south, to the Dunelord. Helping Lauro could be Gribly's way out of trouble... but do messengers carry royal swords? Do they control the power of the winds?
Both lads soon realize the other has something to hide, but neither one knows the titanic role they will play in the world-shaking events that will soon grip Ymeer... and the entire continent of Vast.
Become a legend... or die trying.
- GenresFantasy
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 7, 2011
9 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Gregory J. Downs
17 books23 followersI'm the author of a few books and the drinker of many smoothies. My interests in writing are primarily fantastic things and true things. I suppose you could call that Good Stories and Theology. If I had to pick a favorite genre, it would be fantasy, but there are good books in nearly every corner of the library, so to speak.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 4, 2011
When I read the synopsis of this book it intruged me so I downloaded it and started to read it. 3 hours later I was shocked that I had finished the book. It felt as if the book was just getting started, characters were just introduced, you had only just started to care about the main character but then it was over. I had been reading everywhere that this was an epic fantasy novel but after reading the authors notes at the end of the book I realized that it has nine parts! it looks as if each "book" is about the same length so far (4 have been released) but due to the shortness of each of the books, I will refrain from finishing it until they are all published, maybe even until they merge the books and make it a trilogy. This way I wouldn't feel cheated out of knowing what happens next (it feels like an arcade game that makes you keep paying to play). I realize its only 0.99$ but I bought an unfinished book that has a lot of potential but ends before the conclusion has even been reached, let alone the middle.
Its a good beginning with a lot of potential but needs to be finished before I continue to read.
The religion in the book does need a little work though. It is obviously Christianity even if it isn't expressed as such. I personally prefer such things to have a little more of a veil as this is a fantasy world, not our own but I guess with the author stating that he is a devout Christian in his personal notes does indicate that there will probably be a lot more parellels to christianity throughout the series.
I would honestly say though, if they wish to release books in these small segments, a little more effort into world building and character development should have been done before release. Again, there is great potential here but it feels more like a first rough draft rather than a finished work (ie, who is the cleric? why does he want the dunelord overthrown? what has the dunelord done to merit overthrowing? who is the old gypsy? why does the main character love her? make us care about the characters you have and the ones you kill!
I gave it three stars for potential. Stand alone it would have been only 2.
Its a good beginning with a lot of potential but needs to be finished before I continue to read.
The religion in the book does need a little work though. It is obviously Christianity even if it isn't expressed as such. I personally prefer such things to have a little more of a veil as this is a fantasy world, not our own but I guess with the author stating that he is a devout Christian in his personal notes does indicate that there will probably be a lot more parellels to christianity throughout the series.
I would honestly say though, if they wish to release books in these small segments, a little more effort into world building and character development should have been done before release. Again, there is great potential here but it feels more like a first rough draft rather than a finished work (ie, who is the cleric? why does he want the dunelord overthrown? what has the dunelord done to merit overthrowing? who is the old gypsy? why does the main character love her? make us care about the characters you have and the ones you kill!
I gave it three stars for potential. Stand alone it would have been only 2.
February 7, 2012
Brother Thief by Gregory Downs start of in the city of Ymeer deep in the heart of the Blast Desert. The main character is a thief named Gribly who is currently trying to steal a very expensive medical lotion for his adopted mother. When during the theft he is attacked by a man with some crazy sorcerous powers, his life changes forever. Gribly himself has a secret power that not even the woman that has raised him knows about. He has a strange affinity for sand and anything made of the stuff. Discovering that he is being hunted and that his life may have a much larger impact on the world than he ever thought he gets a group of people to travel with him to find someone with answers.
This book has some fairly standard fantasy aspects with the group quest, one person's life having far reaching consequences, and even how Gribly came to be in Ymeer is a bit of a familiar story. The special talents that some people have, "striding", are a very interesting way to set the story apart. Gribly is a sand strider the book also reveals pit striders (bad guys), air striders, and water striders with more almost assuredly to come in the later volumes.
There is a lot of potential in this series and I believe it will be 7 or 8 books when it reaches the planned conclusion. The story arc being that massive leads me to hope for some great twists and turns to really set the series apart from all the other epic fantasy out there. I am definitely invested enough to want to check out the second book in the series and can easily see myself following it all the way to the end.
Review copy provided by the author.
This book has some fairly standard fantasy aspects with the group quest, one person's life having far reaching consequences, and even how Gribly came to be in Ymeer is a bit of a familiar story. The special talents that some people have, "striding", are a very interesting way to set the story apart. Gribly is a sand strider the book also reveals pit striders (bad guys), air striders, and water striders with more almost assuredly to come in the later volumes.
There is a lot of potential in this series and I believe it will be 7 or 8 books when it reaches the planned conclusion. The story arc being that massive leads me to hope for some great twists and turns to really set the series apart from all the other epic fantasy out there. I am definitely invested enough to want to check out the second book in the series and can easily see myself following it all the way to the end.
Review copy provided by the author.
May 4, 2012
This was a pretty decent read, and contained a few aspects that I would not mind exploring further into the series. I particularly liked the magic system, I'm a fan of elemental magic. However, it didn't really captivate me overall. It felt a little stilted in characterization in particular, and the language, while blessedly readable grammatically, just didn't draw me into the pages. The plot is also pretty unoriginal for fantasy, and while this is not inherently negative, it does need to be done well, or with a certain flair to keep a story like this interesting. I just didn't feel there were any aspects that were particularly outstanding.
All this probably wouldn't keep me from continuing the series though, (especially because the next couple installments are free, so the only investment is time) if it weren't for the decidedly christian undertones I felt in the story. They were not overt, but my suspicions were confirmed when the first acknowledgement the author makes is to the almighty himself. This is a pretty sure bet that things are going to go further down that road, and while I've put up with it for a good story before, I haven't decided yet if I'm willing to take that chance on one I didn't wholeheartedly enjoy. Others have obviously enjoyed it though, so I'm trying not to knock it till I try it.
All this probably wouldn't keep me from continuing the series though, (especially because the next couple installments are free, so the only investment is time) if it weren't for the decidedly christian undertones I felt in the story. They were not overt, but my suspicions were confirmed when the first acknowledgement the author makes is to the almighty himself. This is a pretty sure bet that things are going to go further down that road, and while I've put up with it for a good story before, I haven't decided yet if I'm willing to take that chance on one I didn't wholeheartedly enjoy. Others have obviously enjoyed it though, so I'm trying not to knock it till I try it.
January 30, 2012
This is a fast-paced fantasy with an interesting world. The main character learns about much of the shape, structure and rules of the world as we do. He seems likable, though the action moves so fast there isn't much time to get to know him. We don't yet know why he is important, or what is really going on. I expect as the series progresses that more of the mysteries of this book will be explained. While I'm not one who revels in description, this book could use a bit more to provide greater context to the people and places.
June 24, 2014
the storyline is interesting, but very much incomplete. there was no ending which is very disappointing. I will seriously think about getting the next one I really started getting interested when the wave strider was introduced.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews