White Shores

The Vitalis Chronicles #1

by Jay Swanson

The world is languishing in the aftermath of the Continental Wars. Peace has reigned tentatively until the witch, thought to be the last of the magi, strikes back at the human race and brings them to their knees. Caught in the middle of the strife, Ardin Vitalis' family is murdered by his own nation's army. Striking out for revenge, he finds himself thrust into events that will change his world forever.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Amazon, Science Fiction

490 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2011

Reviews

[Andru · Rating 3 out of 5]

In White Shores, the world is languishing in the aftermath of the Continental Wars. Peace has reigned tentatively until the Witch, thought to be the last of the Magi, sought to strike back at the human race and bring them to their knees.

Caught in the middle of the strife, young Ardin Vitalis’ family is murdered by his own nation’s army. Striking out for revenge, he finds himself thrust unwillingly into events that will change his world forever. For reasons unknown to himself, he is driven to save the Witch’s beautiful daughter from the nations, Magi, and King of the Shades who would seek to destroy her, and must wrestle with the mysterious, dark powers that he has been given. Ardin must choose to sacrifice his own freedom and flee enemies that are not his own, or allow events to unfold to the detriment of the planet. Little does he know the part he will play in saving mankind from certain destruction.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Swanson's world interesting for its anachronistic mixture of mundane technologies (electricity, internal combustion vehicles) with magic. Unlike several recent self-published novels I've read recently, White Shores doesn't make things too easy for its characters, and the plot held my interest. Swanson has a nice turn of phrase and handles dialogue well, but could really benefit from the assistance of an editor. All too often, I found my self jarred out of the story by obvious grammar problems ("it's" == "it is"; "its" is the possessive for "it") and malapropisms.

Liked this enough that I'll probably pick up the next one to find out how Ardin Vitalis fares.

[John Cristion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great first effort Jay! Great read.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply put: I want to read more.

[Sunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story with a decent introduction to the series. I have some predictions for the next book but I most likely will not read it.

[Justin Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool. Cool, cool, cool. Good characters and really immersive reality.

[bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess it deserves 3 stars, but the ending it without closure and opens more. Lacking polish.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprising good read for a free book. It inspired me to buy the next and the next too.