Origin Scroll

Targa Trilogy #1

by Richard S. Tuttle

The world is in peril. The Evil sorcerer, Sarac, seeks an ancient document entitled, the Origin Scroll. This ancient tome contains the knowledge to control the very existence of the Universes. Sarac will stop at nothing to obtain the Origin Scroll, and the fate of the Universes rest with three unknown children. Alexander Tork, a fifteen-year-old boy, is an apprentice lumberman learning the trade from his father in a small nameless village in the frontier region of Targa. Oscar Dalek, a fifteen-year-old boy, lives with his widowed mother in a town on the Targa-Cordonia border. The family's survival rests with the boy's abilities to salvage whatever he can from the caravans crossing the border. Jenneva Roth, a fifteen-year-old girl who loves to read, lives with her aged uncle in western Targa. Unfortunately, her uncle's health is failing and she must travel across the country to live with relatives she has never seen. Book 1 of Targa Trilogy.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Audiobook

First published September 1, 1997

About the author

Richard S. Tuttle began his writing career in 1997 with the release of the Targa Trilogy (Origin Scroll, Dark Quest, Ancient Prophecy). That trilogy became the foundation for the Alcea Collection, a seventeen volume epic fantasy collection of three series (Targa Trilogy, Sword of Heavens, Demonstone Chronicles).

His other works include the Forgotten Legacy, an eight volume series, and the Amica Saga, his most current work which contains eight volumes.

Reviews

[Carrie Billig]

0

[Brewergnome · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned a lot about writing with this book. And by learned a lot I mean that it had a pretty nice, if standard, core plot, moved along, had a good amount of action and still... was totally plodding and boring. The dialogue was entirely stilted and felt like watching Nickelodeon where actors act at the screen/audience and never to/with each other. The action was... like a narrator describing a scene, and never as if it was actually happening. I mean we're talking, "An arrow hit Sarc in the forehead and he fell dead." Uh... ok? Characters had challenges but they somehow managed to not be challenging. Everyone liked them, everything they tried worked, and so three unknowns defeat the armies and evil sorcerer and become two Dukes and the most powerful wizard in the land, yay! And the peasants rejoice. *yawn* for a story with as many people dead as there are here, there is shockingly little drama.

But I did learn a lot.

The third person omniscient could have worked here, if the transitions weren't quite so jerky and the descriptions better.

[Criss Rosenlof · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story line was well thought out, with a few good surprises, but the writing itself was a bit amateurish. I liked the story enough to overlook the poor writing that would pop up and finish the book. My overall impression was this...

I didn't waste my time reading this book. It was fun and had a good story. There are some obvious errors in the author's thinking which I won't go into (so I don't spoil the book), but they aren't big enough to be a problem.

I read it as a free download on my Kindle, so no money was risked. I would say this is a good checkout from the library, but not sure if I would want to pay for the book. That being said, I've paid for other books that ended up this caliber, without feeling cheated, so I guess it's not too big a risk.

-Papa Bear

[Elisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like the story, but I had a hard time getting past the bad writing. The dialogue is stilted and forced, and some circumstances just seem wrong (you don't tell your son to run to the village to save everyone from impending attack, then stop to describe the long history of conflict before he leaves).
Fortunately for Tuttle, I was listening to the book as a podiobook, and I like to have a LOT of listening materials, so I kept listening. As I said, the story is good, but the writing could use some work.

[Bill Johnston · Rating 1 out of 5]

I managed to force myself through this story because I liked some of the concepts, but I was really surprised at how poorly written it was.

Other critical reviews have already touched on character development and other issues, so I'll just highlight that transitions are poor. When the characters are recounting recounting events that we read in the previous chapter, they writer did not simply say "X caught them up on her experience in Y". The reader had to slog through a summary. Needless to say, reader omniscience was variable.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Origin Scroll by Richard S Tuttle was another fun fantasy quest story and the beginning of the Targa Trilogy. I managed to snag this one during the short time that it was free on Amazon, and just couldn't stop myself from buying the next two after reading it. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Mages, Unicorns, Trolls, and other fantasy creatures abound. This engrossing trilogy is actually the first part of the larger Alcea Collection. The 7-part Swords Of Heaven series and the 7-part Demonstone Chronicles round out the full collection.

[Kristjan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the narrated podiobook version.

Narration Quality: Fair. The author narrated his own book and gives a relatively flat performance that exaggerated the flat writing style; which consisted mostly of explanations ... which made it sound like a academic text with some dialog.

Character Development: Poor. None of the characters develop much beyond the basic elements of the fantasy archetypes.

Plot Development: Average. This was the only reason I actually finished it ... it was interesting enough, if somewhat mechanical and predictable.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book and was a good read with a good story. The plot and story seemed to jump a little fast and the characters advanced in life just a little to easily.

Still I liked the book, enjoyed reading it and will be looking to read the rest of the series.

If you like fantasy, and "hero's journey" books (of which this book had three!), then I'd say this is a read for you...

[Karlt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listening to the free audiobook version of this book. Not bad, but not great either. It also reads [listens?:] like a children's or young adult book as the plot and dialogue are simplistic. I am still enjoying it nevertheless.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accidentally started on the Sword of Heavens series first. When I realized these were first I started this one. Even though I read the other first it was an absolutely awesome book. I couldn't put it down!

[Jeanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with Criss. I liked the storyline very much but it felt rushed. And ended abruptly. There were some surprises in there but I couldn't really picture the land or characters so they didn't come fully alive. Not sure if I will read the rest of the series.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didnt know what toi expect with this book, but I enjoyed it. It was exciting and always had someing happening.

[M Bucken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would agree with other reviewers that some aspects of the book were weak, but overall was a good story. Not enough to make me go further in the series though.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author had a good story idea but that's about as far as it goes. The story was poorly written and poorly developed. I felt like I was reading a child's writing.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light fantasy read. It did feel like it ended quite suddenly, but was entertaining.

[Nicole C.]

DNF. Not keeping my attention at all. The story at heart might be interesting but it's told in a much too stilted fashion to be enjoyable.

[Frank Shedd · Rating 3 out of 5]

an ok fantasy too much explaining at the end