What do you think?
Rate this book
The Chronicles of Celadmore #1
Rising Empire: Part 1
The nine kingdoms of Celadmore are at war. The people suffer under tyrants that strive to gain land and power in the struggle for superiority. Queen Kasnata, the wife of King Mercia Nosfa VI is trapped in a loveless, political marriage, her children are being held hostage by her husband to force her armies to march on his every whim. The people of Grashindorph, the capital city of Nosfa, are oppressed by their king and beneath the surface of the city a revolution stirs. As war threatens to tear Celadmore to pieces, Kasnata struggles to bring peace back to the realm, fighting against bribery and corruption to bring hope to all those that are oppressed, as well as those that have been caught in the savagery of warring kings. Can the legendary queen, Empress of the Order find the strength to fight knowing the fate of her people rests on her shoulders?
“We assume he has been alone with the queen for the last few days and yet no one seems too concerned about it. He seems to have the trust of a lot of very suspicious individuals. If I were an assassin or a spy, then that is how I would infiltrate our people.” Misna observed with a shrug.
“You are an assassin, spy and infiltrator.” Amalia said with a raised eyebrow.
“Then perhaps we should be more mindful of General Bird than we have been.”
“We assume he has been alone with the queen for the last few days and yet no one seems too concerned about it. He seems to have the trust of a lot of very suspicious individuals. If I were an assassin or a spy, then that is how I would infiltrate our people.” Misna observed with a shrug.
“You are an assassin, spy and infiltrator.” Amalia said with a raised eyebrow.
“Then perhaps we should be more mindful of General Bird than we have been.”
233 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 2013
1 person is currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Woolley
130 books53 followersC.S. Woolley (Caroline Sarah Woolley) was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire and raised in the nearby town of Wilmslow. From an early age she discovered she had a flair and passion for writing. This was fuelled by winning local poetry and short story competitions during her years at Mottram St. Andrews Primary School.
During high school, she continued to write and found her time split between acting, writing and her studies. At 14 she began writing novels. University did nothing to change her love of writing. C.S. spent a year reading Law at Manchester Metropolitan University before changing her mind and moving to read English at Hull University. After graduating she moved to Nottingham where she now lives and stays for the cricket at Trent Bridge.
In 2010, C.S published her first novel, Nicolette Mace – The Raven Siren: The Kevin Metis Saga. Since 2010 she has published books in five series – The Chronicles of Celadmore, The Mysteries of Stickleback Hollow, The Children of Ribe, The Children of Snotingas and Nicolette Mace: The Raven Siren.
More recently C.S has taken part in charity projects that include producing content for charity books such as Standing by the Watchtower: Volume 1. C.S has also acted in several plays and films including Weekend (2011).
Hobbies: horse riding, including show jumping and cross country, Formula 1, tennis, free climbing, singing, boxing, dancing, playing guitar, cricket and is also an avid PC and console gamer.
Favourite movies: The Muppet Christmas Carol, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Chisum.
Favourite books: Sharpe’s Prey, Silverthorn and the Three Musketeers.
Favourite bands: Thin Lizzy, the Darkness and McBusted.
For more information please visit:
http://www.mightierthanthesworduk.com
During high school, she continued to write and found her time split between acting, writing and her studies. At 14 she began writing novels. University did nothing to change her love of writing. C.S. spent a year reading Law at Manchester Metropolitan University before changing her mind and moving to read English at Hull University. After graduating she moved to Nottingham where she now lives and stays for the cricket at Trent Bridge.
In 2010, C.S published her first novel, Nicolette Mace – The Raven Siren: The Kevin Metis Saga. Since 2010 she has published books in five series – The Chronicles of Celadmore, The Mysteries of Stickleback Hollow, The Children of Ribe, The Children of Snotingas and Nicolette Mace: The Raven Siren.
More recently C.S has taken part in charity projects that include producing content for charity books such as Standing by the Watchtower: Volume 1. C.S has also acted in several plays and films including Weekend (2011).
Hobbies: horse riding, including show jumping and cross country, Formula 1, tennis, free climbing, singing, boxing, dancing, playing guitar, cricket and is also an avid PC and console gamer.
Favourite movies: The Muppet Christmas Carol, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Chisum.
Favourite books: Sharpe’s Prey, Silverthorn and the Three Musketeers.
Favourite bands: Thin Lizzy, the Darkness and McBusted.
For more information please visit:
http://www.mightierthanthesworduk.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 21, 2013
Shorter than the other books in the series, this book is a prequel, set 400 years (possibly more or less, not really sure how good my maths is) before the events of Shroud of Darkness.
Though the book is set in the same world, it has a very different, darker, wilder feel to it. War is raging across the realm but instead of it being an outside evil that unifies the people of Celadmore, it is the people themselves that are at war.
It is full of interesting themes, the divine right of kings featuring quite heavily in the opening chapters, it kept me entertained and engaged from the start of chapter 1.
Sticking with the same opening of the first chapter as Shroud of Darkness and Lady of Fire, the symmetry used is a wonderful link between each volume, the consistency kept from being lazy by the creative way in which the opening line:
"The battlefield; a place where heroes are made, legends thrive, myths enthrall and lives are broken.”
is followed by the same actions being taken in very different scenarios.
Following the revered Queen Kasnata as the main character is very different from the character of Queen Venetia, though there are many similarities that can be seen.
There are some very nice cameos from the immortal character within the series as well. All in all, a very enjoyable book that has left me eagerly anticipating Volume 2.
Though the book is set in the same world, it has a very different, darker, wilder feel to it. War is raging across the realm but instead of it being an outside evil that unifies the people of Celadmore, it is the people themselves that are at war.
It is full of interesting themes, the divine right of kings featuring quite heavily in the opening chapters, it kept me entertained and engaged from the start of chapter 1.
Sticking with the same opening of the first chapter as Shroud of Darkness and Lady of Fire, the symmetry used is a wonderful link between each volume, the consistency kept from being lazy by the creative way in which the opening line:
"The battlefield; a place where heroes are made, legends thrive, myths enthrall and lives are broken.”
is followed by the same actions being taken in very different scenarios.
Following the revered Queen Kasnata as the main character is very different from the character of Queen Venetia, though there are many similarities that can be seen.
There are some very nice cameos from the immortal character within the series as well. All in all, a very enjoyable book that has left me eagerly anticipating Volume 2.
February 23, 2015
I didn't realize this was a prequel until after I read it and it seems I have some catching up to do! This one has quite a complex plot and plenty of intrigue. The author has given a lot of thought to the politics of her world and developed some great characters to really bring this out as the storyline evolves. This said, there is a lot of action to keep things moving along. Overall all I would have to say it was a highly enjoyable read and I am looking forward to reading other books by C.S. Woolley
March 16, 2017
Very good universe with interesting characters and plot! Makes me want to read the next one (especially with the ending god damn it). Only issue being that it was a little hard to follow at times because I haven't had much time to dedicate to reading lately and therefore there was sometimes long gaps between hearing about characters so I'd forgotten what happened to them, but I imagine it would be okay if you just binge read this book.
January 10, 2014
Well this is action packed. I had a hard time keeping up with everything that was going on. I had to stop a couple times to shake my head and think over what had happened. the ending shocked me to think a baby wow. I enjoyed this story but it was kinda hard to follow. I'm looking toward to the next one now that I have the ideal down.
June 18, 2015
I throughly enjoyed reading this book, with it's intriguing plot and engaging characters. The world is really brought to life with the level of details and given and the ending has me looking forward to reading the next one.
January 29, 2019
I had hoped for at book with strong independent women, but found them to be a kliché, where they suddenly turn into women who can't do much, without a man. It has potential, but the bad romance destroys that sadly.
January 23, 2016
Rising Empire: Part 1 is the start of a whole series by C S Woolley that introduces a world the author has created and the political and royal intrigues of the mythical nine kingdoms of Celadmore. In the tradition of R R Martin and Game of Thrones, Woolley creates her world loosely based on Medieval Europe, where battle is undertaken with sword, arrow and claymore...and what a superb introduction to the series this book proves to be.
Her characters are well drawn and beautifully portrayed by the author. It is incredibly easy for the reader to identify with and cheer on the characters in the eternal battle of good versus evil. The evl in this story is represented by the ruler of the land King Mercia and the good, by his long-suffering, battle-hardened, warrior Queen, Kasnata. This is an epic story that takes us from Mercia's home castle, where revolution is fermenting in the city's underground to the battle-field of the nine kingdoms.
One thing I particularly liked about the author's treatment of her characters was her willingness to sacrifice beloved and warm characters on the pyre of moving the story along. I thoroughly enjoyed this tale and if the first job of any first book of a series is to invest the reader in the desire to read more, then all I can say to Woolley is job done! I want desperately to read the next book in this series and discover what has become of my beloved characters.
I guess, for me, if there is a negative to be found, it is the one I always find when reading a tale where the author has created a new and exciting world to explore and that is character's names. Initially, I had some difficulty remembering who was who, with some of their odd sounding names. Although I overcame that the further I read, one thing did continue to dog me throughout the story. The female names were to me anyway, not always distinctly feminine and I would be searching for the next personal pronoun to assure myself whether this General was indeed a woman, or a man. A small point and certainly not one that detracted from my pleasure in reading this wonderful story.
As you may have guessed, I loved it and have no hesitation in awarding the five stars it richly deserves. Now, to find the second book and enjoy that one just as much. Excellent stuff C.S. Woolley.
Her characters are well drawn and beautifully portrayed by the author. It is incredibly easy for the reader to identify with and cheer on the characters in the eternal battle of good versus evil. The evl in this story is represented by the ruler of the land King Mercia and the good, by his long-suffering, battle-hardened, warrior Queen, Kasnata. This is an epic story that takes us from Mercia's home castle, where revolution is fermenting in the city's underground to the battle-field of the nine kingdoms.
One thing I particularly liked about the author's treatment of her characters was her willingness to sacrifice beloved and warm characters on the pyre of moving the story along. I thoroughly enjoyed this tale and if the first job of any first book of a series is to invest the reader in the desire to read more, then all I can say to Woolley is job done! I want desperately to read the next book in this series and discover what has become of my beloved characters.
I guess, for me, if there is a negative to be found, it is the one I always find when reading a tale where the author has created a new and exciting world to explore and that is character's names. Initially, I had some difficulty remembering who was who, with some of their odd sounding names. Although I overcame that the further I read, one thing did continue to dog me throughout the story. The female names were to me anyway, not always distinctly feminine and I would be searching for the next personal pronoun to assure myself whether this General was indeed a woman, or a man. A small point and certainly not one that detracted from my pleasure in reading this wonderful story.
As you may have guessed, I loved it and have no hesitation in awarding the five stars it richly deserves. Now, to find the second book and enjoy that one just as much. Excellent stuff C.S. Woolley.
February 27, 2015
There was so much to this story I became totally absorbed in it. The descriptions were excellent and I particularly liked the depth of characters and how they evolved as the plot progressed. I have just added C S Woolley to my reading list and so pleased she has released other novels I can can catch up with.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews