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Tarnish

(The Thunderstrike Saga #1-3)

J.D. Brink (Goodreads Author)

4.09 · Rating details · 33 ratings · 20 reviews

What kind of hero would you be?

Silver, they call it, the light of the full moon: celestial magic that changes men into beasts and calls the dead from their graves—and young men to their destiny...

When his village is attacked by creatures from Blood Marsh, Billy Cole volunteers to find help. But it’ll take more than a sword and the inspiring tales of his legendary idols to ...more

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Paperback, 1st edition, 400 pages

Published July 15th 2013 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (first published January 1st 2013)

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Average rating 4.09 ·

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· 33 ratings · 20 reviews

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Jul 14, 2015 Daphne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own-audio, quest

I absolutely loved the innovative take on the classical epic fantasy Tarnish brought to the genre. I didn't start getting into the story until about 40 minutes in, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. By the end of the first hour I was absolutely hooked, and was really sad when I had to pause to do real life things. I just wanted to get back to the book and finish it.

I'm definitely adding another work from Brink to my TBR pile to see if his other work is as enjoyable as Tarnish. I also REALLY hope h ...more

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Aug 14, 2013 Sydney rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, fairy-faerie-fey, mutliple-narrators, stand-alone-book, superhuman

Different than my normal read purely because it has a male pro-tag but VERY good. I would say this is more of a crossover YA-Adult book based on the storyline, characters, and tempo. I enjoyed it immensely. Well done.

--Update--

So I was lucky enough to actually a signed copy of this from the author. CHEA! So thank you thank you Mr. Brink for the fantastical read.

The longer I am away from this book, the more I like it. What's amazing about this book is that it is its own story. It's well wri ...more

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Feb 25, 2014 Marie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It took me a few chapters to get going on this book.... but once it caught me, it CAUGHT me. I found myself looking forward to reading it as soon as I woke up, and making extra time (outside of my normal reading time) to read it.

This is good vs. evil, but complex and interesting. I really enjoyed the characters. I liked the tales that were being told to fill in the character stories.

The surprise ending was a total surprise. It was not only a surprise but it was one of the most interesting plot ...more

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Jan 30, 2014 Bob Craton rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recently I posted an offer on Goodreads to review a select few fantasies if the authors could convince me their work was something original and not just a re-hash of standard themes and characters. (I specifically excluded elves, vampires, magic swords and other things.) J.D. Brink promised that his books fit my criteria and he told the truth.

I started with “The Prince of Luster and Decay” which is a short book that is something of a prologue to this series. I was impressed, as you can tell if y ...more

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Dec 13, 2013 Patrick LeClerc rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Tarnish is a new take on the classic Hero’s Journey tale. A young man leaves on a quest to get help for his village which has come under attack from strange creatures. The theme is classic but Brink does a remarkable job capturing the mentality of a boy on the cusp of manhood. Anyone who has made that painful, awkward transition can feel the authenticity of young Wil’s emotions, ranging from the unshakable confidence and feeling of immortality, to troubled self examination. I can’t remember ever ...more

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Jan 19, 2014 Richard Mactough rated it liked it · review of another edition

Tarnish is a coming of age tale about Billy Cole or his alter-ego Wil Thunderstrike. After his village is attacked, Billy goes on a quest for help to fight the creatures also known as gromlins. Thunderstrike lives the true tale about a young teenage boy becoming a man. All of the characters are vibrant and well driven. They all stood out from one another, eliminating generic characteristics.

The story was well written, however, the storytelling told within the story was a bit too much. I felt it ...more

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Jul 16, 2015 Karri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book was exactly what I've been missing! An epic tale with swords, magic, and heroes!

Since finishing series' such as The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (James Oliver Rigney, Jr.), and The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind, I have been trying to fill a void I didn't know I had, that is until reading Tarnish. While the writing style is different, it's just enough to show the reader how unique J.D. Brink's telling of this type of story is. This is a wonderful fantasy novel with everything a fa ...more

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Feb 27, 2014 Melissa ownsbey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

i enjoyed this book
it was awesome would make
an great movie
it had everything i like
blood swords dragons beast
fighting i give it 5 stars plus
thank you for sending me this book
to review

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Apr 25, 2014 Andie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, y-a-lit, male-protagonist

I first need to thank the author, J.D Brink, for allowing me access to this book in exchange for a review- sorry for putting it off for a little bit and thank you for being understanding about it!

I was contacted by the author back in April via e-mail, amd he asked if I would be interested in reviewing his novel “Tarnish”. I looked at the Goodreads page and pretty much replied with a “Hells yeah!”. Fantasy? Sword fights? Monsters? Destiny? Gimme, Gimme!

The novel itself is enjoyable. Unfortunately I first need to thank the author, J.D Brink, for allowing me access to this book in exchange for a review- sorry for putting it off for a little bit and thank you for being understanding about it!

I was contacted by the author back in April via e-mail, amd he asked if I would be interested in reviewing his novel “Tarnish”. I looked at the Goodreads page and pretty much replied with a “Hells yeah!”. Fantasy? Sword fights? Monsters? Destiny? Gimme, Gimme!

The novel itself is enjoyable. Unfortunately, at the time I was reading this, I found myself in a bit of a reading slump and was very stressed with real life, so much like with “Shadow of the Wind”, I don’t want to be too overly critical about it.

The world building in this novel was great, there was so much depth to the different towns Billy (or Will, as he names himself throughout the book) found himself in throughout the story, and certainly a loving amount of depth and effort had gone into the stories Will told along the way. I found Will mostly amusing as a character (I do say “mostly” for a reason, which I will come back to in a bit), I loved seeing him big himself up for a fight and then basically just get pummeled. Just goes to show that real life is never like the tall tales we spin. It was like the ultimate “You tried…” story. I did feel quite a bit of sympathy for him whenever he got showed up.

If I have one negative to say about this book is that I found it tricky to follow the narration. The story would jump from Will’s perspective, to a story Will was telling, to the perspective of someone in the village back home- this is where the new popular fad of character names for chapter titles does come in handy! I’d find myself a bit confused for the first paragraph or two of a chapter and then feel stupid as I realised “oh wait, it’s a different character” or “oh right, it’s one of the tales”. I found it meant that the flow of the novel got interrupted by it a lot. But even then that isn’t really too much of a negative comment,in my opinion anyway.

Following this, while the tales within the story certainly had a loving amount of depth, I found it took me away from the actual plot of the book too much, and I found it difficult to let the stories keep my attention because I just wanted to follow what was going on with Will and the situation with the monsters back home- which I also felt was not addressed as much as it should have been. I know I’ve missed something vital from this book, I can’t shake that feeling- it has to do with “Trevor”, but I know it’s because my mind was in two places at once while reading this book, just trying to sort out the tales from reality.

I did find myself getting frustrated with Will’s attitude and treatment towards the female characters in the book but I guess this can and probably will be excused by the fact it’s how traditional heroes behave in their adventures, I guess. I know Will is basically a teenager but I still found it pretty off-putting.

On the whole, yes it does have a few flaws, but I certainly recommend this to fans of the fantasy genre.

For more of my reviews, please visit The Book Heap @
http://thebookheap.wordpress.com ...more

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Jul 20, 2014 Kyra rated it liked it · review of another edition

For more reviews, please visit my site.

Actual rating: 3.5

When danger comes to the small town of Redfield, one boy goes out in search for help. He follows a path that may lead to fame, riches and glory, and his name is Wil Thunderstrike. What Wil doesn't realise is that his path is about to take a wrong turn.

This book is first and foremost a coming of age story for a young man. It deals with lessons that he needs to learn about how the world works outside of Redfield, relationships, friendships a For more reviews, please visit my site.

Actual rating: 3.5

When danger comes to the small town of Redfield, one boy goes out in search for help. He follows a path that may lead to fame, riches and glory, and his name is Wil Thunderstrike. What Wil doesn't realise is that his path is about to take a wrong turn.

This book is first and foremost a coming of age story for a young man. It deals with lessons that he needs to learn about how the world works outside of Redfield, relationships, friendships and discovering who he really is. Wil is an excellent protagonist, an awkward teenage boy perfectly rendered, with enough flaws and things to learn that we also journey along with him as he becomes his own man. I can't profess to knowing exactly what goes on in a teenage boys head, but this seems closer to the truth of it. Though there isn't too much to set him apart from the crowd apart from his height, Wil is still an interesting character. Perhaps he is more interesting because he is not special, but wants more for himself. A lot of people can relate to this. A few other characters, such as Ian, Trevor and Silverskin were also very well drawn and had very distinct characteristics.

The pacing for me was slow to start. This was mainly due to all the storytelling that took place as the background of the characters were developed. Generally, this is not something I like as there are other ways to a back-story in motion without the main story stopping entirely. I tend to enjoy it if a book gets on with the main plot, saving the back-story for subplot rather than distracting the reader from it. The pace was also lacking due to the fact that the story flitted between Redfield and Wil. I was more interested in Wil's story than those that he had left behind, and with the stories being told there as well, I admit I was slightly impatient to get back to Wil. However, as the story developed, I found that this became a great device for building up the story and the tension as the danger lurked mainly with Redfield.

The ending was certainly the best part. The pace had steadily picked up during the book and speed up again in the last third. The final chapters are therefore a flurry of battle scenes, revelations and a rush of magic. It is true that some parts of this you can see coming, but in others you really can't. Mostly I did not think about any sort of mystery until I was nearing the end, and perhaps the book could have benefited more from making me question the events in Redfield.

The fantasy element was always there, but for the most part the book was grounded in reality, only really letting any magic slip in nearing the end. Yes, there is a silver man and a swamp man and they are both strange, but really I just accepted them for what they were, not really thinking about if there was any meaning to it. I think my reading of this book would have been better had I known there was something mysterious going on.

Tarnish is a good read and was interesting, but wasn't quite my thing. It is more suitable for those who enjoy steadily paced, classic heroes tales and male coming-of-age stories that are very character-driven. Personally, I would have preferred much more magic. ...more

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May 28, 2014 Rob Rowntree rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Tarnish
Author: J D Brink

***

Goodreads blurb...

What kind of hero would you be?

Silver, they call it, the light of the full moon: celestial magic that changes men into beasts and calls the dead from their graves—and young men to their destiny...

When his village is attacked by creatures from Blood Marsh, Billy Cole volunteers to find help. But it’ll take more than a sword and the inspiring tales of his legendary idols to survive the harsh world beyond Redfield. Taking the name Wil Thunderstrike, he ...more

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Apr 13, 2016 AudioBookReviewer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

My original Tarnish: Complete Trilogy Edition audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Tarnish by J.D. Brink is the first in a fantasy series called The Thunderstrike Saga. This start to a coming of age saga follows Billy Cole as he leaves his small town of Redfield to become an epic hero like those he heard about in tavern stories. The son of and mentored by legendary heroes, he has a lot to live up to. When Redfield is threatened from unknown and magical threats, Bil My original Tarnish: Complete Trilogy Edition audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Tarnish by J.D. Brink is the first in a fantasy series called The Thunderstrike Saga. This start to a coming of age saga follows Billy Cole as he leaves his small town of Redfield to become an epic hero like those he heard about in tavern stories. The son of and mentored by legendary heroes, he has a lot to live up to. When Redfield is threatened from unknown and magical threats, Bill Cole volunteers for a quest to find help, having been inspired by the heroes of his town. As he faces the dangerous life on the road, he must figure out a way to get help for his home town while maintaining his sense of self and honor. Through this quest, Billy Cole hopes to turn into William Thunderstrike, his alter hero ego.

This was a surprisingly excellent fantasy coming of age story. There are two simultaneous storylines. One follows Billy Cole as he embarks on his quest. The other follows the characters in his home town as they deal with increasingly dangerous magical attacks. Both storylines are exciting in different ways. While the action in Redfield is driven by the attacks on the residents, much of the storyline is about the politics of the town. Billy Cole’s adventures are more exciting. He interacts with a diverse cast of characters some of whom are easy to hate, easy to love, and easy to not be sure about. One interesting aspect of this novel was the frequent telling of tavern stories. Throughout the novel, especially the first half, different characters tell epic stories about legends to crowds in taverns. This is so frequent that the plot seems to travel from one tavern tale to the next. But somehow, it works. And these tales tie into the rest of the plot well and help add background to many of the characters. Billy Cole’s coming of age is gradual and he is flawed, which allows his growth to be visible as the story continues. The magical aspects of the novel are for the most part tied to land around Redfield. This part of the novel was unexpected for me and I thought that it was interesting and mystical. Overall, I thought the storyline and the characters were engaging and exciting with good pacing.

The narration by Todd Menesses was excellent. He voiced the characters well and consistently. At times, I felt that he spoke a little too fast because I would miss some of the words, but mostly it was great. The production quality was good as well. I would recommend this story to readers who like fantasy coming of age stories.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator. ...more

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May 22, 2014 Saritha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Saritha by: the author

i was given a free copy by the author in exchange for an honest review. i have done my best to do so.

It is a book about heroes, magic and adventure. There are tales within the tales which make it even more interesting. The story tells us about the journey of Billy Cole as he sets off to get help to save his village. He dons the personality of Wil Thunderstrike, a storyteller & a hero so as to get help. The story begins on a very interesting note & develops at a good pace.

Billy is a 16 year old b i was given a free copy by the author in exchange for an honest review. i have done my best to do so.

It is a book about heroes, magic and adventure. There are tales within the tales which make it even more interesting. The story tells us about the journey of Billy Cole as he sets off to get help to save his village. He dons the personality of Wil Thunderstrike, a storyteller & a hero so as to get help. The story begins on a very interesting note & develops at a good pace.

Billy is a 16 year old boy who is the son of a famous retired hero & was trained by another famous retired hero. He wishes to prove himself & become a hero like the character he takes on when he leaves. He is not an infallible hero; he makes mistakes, gets into scrapes & gets out of them. He grows up on this journey from boy to man. I couldn’t help liking Billy.

The story had a good pace & kept me on my toes with all the twists & turns. It made me laugh, bite my lips & cheer for Billy. I liked the stories his mentor told him & all the different stories gave the story an additional flavor & made it even more interesting. I loved the ending, the scenes were well written.

Billy was someone I could relate to - his uncertainty, his need to prove himself, the blind faith that youth have on their abilities, seeing the real world & being tested by it; all of it made him even more likable to me. I could relate to a lot of it. The female characters are portrayed as strong women & I liked nearly all of them. His relationship with his father & with his mentor is well written.

The book is like a roller-coaster – full of twists & turns & you keep asking “what’s going to happen next?!” The way the story built up was good, my anticipation kept on building along with it. The ending did not disappoint. It was an exciting story. I liked it. I felt my heart race with Billy’s and I felt it break with him. I felt as though I was with them in the story & I enjoyed the ride!

here the link to my amazon review. its a copy/paste of this review

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2YWPO5V...
...more

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May 22, 2015 Mike (the Paladin) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Well crap...look there is an old country remedy usually called the spring tonic or simply sulfur and molasses. It's just that sulfur and molasses. In the case of the tonic you mix it together, one teaspoon of sulfur to two teaspoons of molasses. Here I can't mix it, you get the two separately. So, what do you want first the sulfur or the molasses?

Okay, guess we'll go with the sulfur first. I think you will if you read much see a lot of this book coming including the "BIG CLIMAX" or "BIG SECRET". ...more

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Feb 01, 2014 Janna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

Full Disclosure: I received this book as a First Reads novel!
I bought myself a digital copy anyway, just so I could keep reading it when not at home!

Do not be fooled by how long it took me to read this book: In the middle I graduated from college and lost a family member, so I had some longer-than-normal breaks in my reading schedule.

I loved this book. I was all prepared for some long-winded, drawn-out, fantasy rehash and was completely flattened by how clean and original the writing felt. It' ...more

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Mar 12, 2015 Pennie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

J.D. Brink has done it again with 'Tarnish'. A talented author whom dabbles in many genres with out-of-the-box twisted and interesting scenarios. After reading 'Hungry Gods (Identity Crisis)' I was hooked into his world of epic imagination once again.

Billy Cole sets off in an adventure of futuristic villains and fantasy periling back drops. A touch of old world theme take him through a quest of menacing creatures that destroy his village. Billy offers to seek and destroy these mysterious beings ...more

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Feb 15, 2015 Jennifer Collins rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, fiction, fantasy, signed-personally

J.D. Brink's Tarnish is adventure-fantasy at its finest, and the layered narratives within make it an incredibly fun read. His characters are as distinct as they are engaging, and their realistically flawed natures are an added bonus which make the book feel as realistic as fantasy could.

Part of the appeal comes from the book not simply being any one thing---part coming-of age tale, part quest narrative, and partly an exploration of storytelling and storytellers, the book has a depth and complic ...more

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Aug 10, 2013 J.D. Brink rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone who likes Fantasy

Shelves: fantasy, coming-of-age

**Sorry, I can't submit a review for this book. See, IT'S MINE. But in order for me to bring it to the Goodreads table, I have to put something here so... In my honest opinion, if you like the fantasy genre but are getting a little tired of the same-old, same-old, and would like to see something a little more character driven and mature in your sword and sorcery, you could do worse than to give Tarnish a try...

...more

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Jun 16, 2014 Forever Young Adult added it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-brian, fantasy

Graded By: Brian
Cover Story: Silverskinned Hunk
Drinking Buddy: Don't Take Your Guns to Town, Bill
Testosterone Level: I Ain't As Good as I Once Was
Talky Talk: Stoneass
Bonus Factors: Storytelling, War is Hell
Bromance Status: The Old Gang

Read the full book report here. ...more

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Jan 27, 2015 Todd Menesses rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: narrated

Very unique story and interesting plot twist at the end, had a blast in the narration with creating all the character voices...it is getting 5 star ratings as an audiobook on audible.com and Amazon.com.

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About J.D. Brink

J.D. Brink

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If taking a college fencing class, eating from the trash can, and smelling like an animal were qualifications for becoming a sword-swinging barbarian, J. D. Brink might be Conan’s protégé. Instead, he’s served aboard a warship in the Pacific, collected intel from foreign submarines, stood watch hungover behind a .50-caliber machinegun, and worked over patients at a hospital in Kuwait. Today (winte ...more