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Broken Well #2
Destiny's Rift
'One of the coolest fantasy series to come along in an age' aurealisXpress
Sometimes the greatest enemy we face is ourselves - Book Two of The Broken Well Trilogy.
'Prophecy's Ruin may just be the start of the next big thing in Australian Fantasy.' Weekend Australian on Prophecy's Ruin
'Two of the most intriguing protagonists I've encountered in a long time' Bookseller and Publisher on Prophecy's Ruin
'Sam Bowring's debut is the stuff of fantasy writers' fantasies. An epic, enthralling, towering triumph ' aurealisXpress on Prophecy's Ruin
The blue-haired man is prophesied to end the age-old conflict between the lands, but with his very soul divided in two, much remains uncertain. On the side of light, Bel sets forth on a journey to find the Stone of Evenings Mild, his only hope of reuniting with his darker half, Losara. But the Stone is lost, hidden away by an undead mage of mutable allegiance, in the lair of an insane dragon. Meanwhile Losara has his own problems. The Shadowdreamer wants him dead, but with war coming he must unite his people for the final battle. His plan is to build a weapon that is unstoppable.
How can two men fulfil a fate meant for only one? Is hope lost, or is there a way to close destiny's rift?
** Includes preview chapters of Book 3 in the Broken Well SOUL'S RECKONING **
Sam Bowring is a stand-up comedian and author living in Sydney, Australia. As well as the acclaimed Broken Well Trilogy and the Strange Threads Duology, he has also written children's books and for a number of television shows.
Sometimes the greatest enemy we face is ourselves - Book Two of The Broken Well Trilogy.
'Prophecy's Ruin may just be the start of the next big thing in Australian Fantasy.' Weekend Australian on Prophecy's Ruin
'Two of the most intriguing protagonists I've encountered in a long time' Bookseller and Publisher on Prophecy's Ruin
'Sam Bowring's debut is the stuff of fantasy writers' fantasies. An epic, enthralling, towering triumph ' aurealisXpress on Prophecy's Ruin
The blue-haired man is prophesied to end the age-old conflict between the lands, but with his very soul divided in two, much remains uncertain. On the side of light, Bel sets forth on a journey to find the Stone of Evenings Mild, his only hope of reuniting with his darker half, Losara. But the Stone is lost, hidden away by an undead mage of mutable allegiance, in the lair of an insane dragon. Meanwhile Losara has his own problems. The Shadowdreamer wants him dead, but with war coming he must unite his people for the final battle. His plan is to build a weapon that is unstoppable.
How can two men fulfil a fate meant for only one? Is hope lost, or is there a way to close destiny's rift?
** Includes preview chapters of Book 3 in the Broken Well SOUL'S RECKONING **
Sam Bowring is a stand-up comedian and author living in Sydney, Australia. As well as the acclaimed Broken Well Trilogy and the Strange Threads Duology, he has also written children's books and for a number of television shows.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2010
6 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
Sam Bowring
21 books106 followersI write various genres of books, and some TV stuff from time to time. I also work as a stand-up comic.
sambowring.com
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 10, 2018
Destiny’s Rift, while having all the hallmarks of a typical fantasy series is atypical in its devotion to delving deep into its characters. The second book in the Broken Well Trilogy is just as good as the first.
Bel, touted as the blue haired savoir; a powerful fighter and leader of men who’ll destroy the Shadowdreamer, is a far more complex and interesting character than the first book reveals. His clean imagine, perhaps isn’t so. While Losara, the Shadowdreamer, continues to grow into his power and influence, his motivation isn’t quite as unjust as you’d think.
The plot largely centers on Bel’s quest to find the Stone of Evenings Mild, a powerful artifact which has the ability to forge Bel and Losara together, the two having been separated from one entity in the first book. Naturally Losara, wants this power for himself and sets out to thwart Bel. There are monsters, dragons, diamond spiders, and all manner of fanatical beasts along the way which make for entertaining and fun fantasy reading.
My rating: 5/5 stars, this trilogy goes from strength to strength. I love the fact that the world building isn’t over complicated and that the writing is reader friendly (very easy and quickly consumed).
Bel, touted as the blue haired savoir; a powerful fighter and leader of men who’ll destroy the Shadowdreamer, is a far more complex and interesting character than the first book reveals. His clean imagine, perhaps isn’t so. While Losara, the Shadowdreamer, continues to grow into his power and influence, his motivation isn’t quite as unjust as you’d think.
The plot largely centers on Bel’s quest to find the Stone of Evenings Mild, a powerful artifact which has the ability to forge Bel and Losara together, the two having been separated from one entity in the first book. Naturally Losara, wants this power for himself and sets out to thwart Bel. There are monsters, dragons, diamond spiders, and all manner of fanatical beasts along the way which make for entertaining and fun fantasy reading.
My rating: 5/5 stars, this trilogy goes from strength to strength. I love the fact that the world building isn’t over complicated and that the writing is reader friendly (very easy and quickly consumed).
April 22, 2014
Two halves of the same soul, Losara and Bel, both keep making strides towards their destiny of defeating the other, guided by their respective gods, while a third force lies in wait, slowly growing it's strength.
Losara's challenges are finally over-coming Battu, the current Shadowdreamer (king of all darkness), and figuring out how to win against Bel, even though parts of himself are missing and he worries he might truly be the 'lesser half'.
Bel interferes with the crowning of the next Throne (king of all light), but his most important task is finding the Stone of Evenings Mild which the great god Arkus tasked him to find so he can merge himself and Losara back into one. confident he is the greater half and Losara will disappear, Bel charges forward into the search.
As before, though he lacks passion, Losara's compassion makes him the more likeable twin despite the fact he is the dark half (typically viewed as evil). Though Bel is aware he lacks certain things his overconfidence makes him sure they are pointless facets he doesn't need anyway. This makes Bel less likeable and i love this flipping of the dark=evil light=good trope.
I'm eager to read the third and final book to find out what happens.
Recommended for fans of fantasy who like a good twist of 'Chosen one' prophecies and like a bit of tropes turned on their head.
Losara's challenges are finally over-coming Battu, the current Shadowdreamer (king of all darkness), and figuring out how to win against Bel, even though parts of himself are missing and he worries he might truly be the 'lesser half'.
Bel interferes with the crowning of the next Throne (king of all light), but his most important task is finding the Stone of Evenings Mild which the great god Arkus tasked him to find so he can merge himself and Losara back into one. confident he is the greater half and Losara will disappear, Bel charges forward into the search.
As before, though he lacks passion, Losara's compassion makes him the more likeable twin despite the fact he is the dark half (typically viewed as evil). Though Bel is aware he lacks certain things his overconfidence makes him sure they are pointless facets he doesn't need anyway. This makes Bel less likeable and i love this flipping of the dark=evil light=good trope.
I'm eager to read the third and final book to find out what happens.
Recommended for fans of fantasy who like a good twist of 'Chosen one' prophecies and like a bit of tropes turned on their head.
November 3, 2017
For some reason, I just didn't connect with this book as I did with Prophecy's Ruin. Maybe it's because I have a certain vision in my head of how I would like it to end, but I have a funny feeling it won't go that way. I adore Lalenda. I think she's adorably naive with enough knack to be able to become a strong individual, but I'm not so sure the series is going to end up in her favour. Obviously, by the end of it, Bel and Losara are going to become one person, but where does that leave Lalenda and Jaya? Out of the two females, Jaya seems to be taking centre stage in this book so it's not looking good for my favourite character. It's a shame because I'm not a fan of Bel (I think he's written this way) and I can take or leave Jaya, so it's going to be difficult if the plot goes in a different direction. I do however love the world Bowring has created and the system of government that is in place.
November 9, 2010
I only got about halfway through this one.
I just couldn't keep interested in it. Although I did have many distractions. I'll come back to it later.
I just couldn't keep interested in it. Although I did have many distractions. I'll come back to it later.
March 11, 2015
The series is continuing nicely. The caracter development is interesting and I've started to really hate some and love others. There's also more action now and hopefully even more in the last book.
December 13, 2023
Book Two of The Broken Well Trilogy
This novel was equally as good as the first book, Prophecy's Ruin.
Forces mass in the lands of Fenvarrow and Kainordas, the nations of shadow and light. Battles are inevitable in the ongoing war and unless something happens quickly then by Arkus, a lot of souls will be returning to the Well.
What I really like about this trilogy is the twist on the chosen one trope. Here we have one soul split into two, Bel, the blue haired warrior fights for the light while his 'other', Losara is a powerful shadow mage.
Very cleverly it's the splitting of the one into two which gives each main character unexpected thoughts, feelings and attributes. Neither are fully good or evil. The boundaries are blurred.
There is a chance to reunite them and avert all-out war and destruction if Bel can find the Stone of Evenings Mild.
So we get a quest within the middle of this trilogy but it's not straightforward for there will be treachery and untold dangers including lethal Mireforms, shape changing mud creatures, powerful and crazed dragons, and crystal spiders. The blood sucking spiders are truly scary.
There's a good range of supporting characters and creatures and it's a world full of magic, both dark and light.
Once plans are in place can anyone control the outcome? Especially when the legacy spell attached to Trellan the goblin is altered in a very dangerous way.
Is there still hope for the world? I can't wait to find out in the trilogy finale, Soul's Reckoning.
Highly recommend this fantasy trilogy.
This novel was equally as good as the first book, Prophecy's Ruin.
Forces mass in the lands of Fenvarrow and Kainordas, the nations of shadow and light. Battles are inevitable in the ongoing war and unless something happens quickly then by Arkus, a lot of souls will be returning to the Well.
What I really like about this trilogy is the twist on the chosen one trope. Here we have one soul split into two, Bel, the blue haired warrior fights for the light while his 'other', Losara is a powerful shadow mage.
Very cleverly it's the splitting of the one into two which gives each main character unexpected thoughts, feelings and attributes. Neither are fully good or evil. The boundaries are blurred.
There is a chance to reunite them and avert all-out war and destruction if Bel can find the Stone of Evenings Mild.
So we get a quest within the middle of this trilogy but it's not straightforward for there will be treachery and untold dangers including lethal Mireforms, shape changing mud creatures, powerful and crazed dragons, and crystal spiders. The blood sucking spiders are truly scary.
There's a good range of supporting characters and creatures and it's a world full of magic, both dark and light.
Once plans are in place can anyone control the outcome? Especially when the legacy spell attached to Trellan the goblin is altered in a very dangerous way.
Is there still hope for the world? I can't wait to find out in the trilogy finale, Soul's Reckoning.
Highly recommend this fantasy trilogy.
September 20, 2020
The second part of the Broken Well trilogy is just as engaging as the first book. The plot continues to explore the and blur the lines between good and evil as the supposedly "good" Light-aligned characters do increasingly dodgy things in their quest to win against the Shadow.
The main characters Bel and Losara are explored further, although IMO they are both the same as in the first book, i.e. Bel is still a narcissistic bigot, and Losara is still cool as a cucumber. But it is fun reading nonetheless. In the first book, the Shadow land of Fenvarrow was described, as Losara travelled through it. In this book he travels through Kainordas, and we get wonderful descriptions of the Light land.
The end of the book makes the reader desperate to know more.
As for the first part of the series, I am forced to give this one only four stars because despite all the positives, I still want to constantly punch Bel in the face, and again I am not sure if this character is supposed to foster this much dislike.
The main characters Bel and Losara are explored further, although IMO they are both the same as in the first book, i.e. Bel is still a narcissistic bigot, and Losara is still cool as a cucumber. But it is fun reading nonetheless. In the first book, the Shadow land of Fenvarrow was described, as Losara travelled through it. In this book he travels through Kainordas, and we get wonderful descriptions of the Light land.
The end of the book makes the reader desperate to know more.
As for the first part of the series, I am forced to give this one only four stars because despite all the positives, I still want to constantly punch Bel in the face, and again I am not sure if this character is supposed to foster this much dislike.
February 14, 2014
Another solid read from Mr. Bowring. What a story of contradictions. Who is really good and who is bad. Are a person's characteristics really that ingrained with their soul. What kind of person would one be if their soul was split and one half was given some qualities and the other some different ones.
Bel & Losara are two pieces of the same person. How will they fight one another when if one of them is killed, the other may perish. How will this be resolved, do they need to fight an epic battle and kill htousands? Or do they need to become one person to resolve the good vs. evil battle that seems to be coming.
What happens if they merge into one body, is one identity destroyed or buried or will they retain parts of their individuality. How about the women they apparently love.
And what part does Corlas play as a possible pawn or champion of Viasynth.
Read on my friends, it should all come to a conclusion in the third part of the story. More to come after reading the third novel!
Bel & Losara are two pieces of the same person. How will they fight one another when if one of them is killed, the other may perish. How will this be resolved, do they need to fight an epic battle and kill htousands? Or do they need to become one person to resolve the good vs. evil battle that seems to be coming.
What happens if they merge into one body, is one identity destroyed or buried or will they retain parts of their individuality. How about the women they apparently love.
And what part does Corlas play as a possible pawn or champion of Viasynth.
Read on my friends, it should all come to a conclusion in the third part of the story. More to come after reading the third novel!
July 8, 2010
I really Enjoyed this book and just couldn't put it down. It is building up to a very exciting and eventful 3rd book. I would give it a 4.5 stars, but the system dosn't allow for the 1/2.
I really am super excited to know if their souls will be united and if so what will happen with each of the lives they are living now and their love interests? If they are again united into the one being, will he love both women equally or see them both from different perspectives and love neither? I am also wondering if they will battle or if they will be able to again unite the shadow and light.
It is a truly creative story line and overall a great book.
I really am super excited to know if their souls will be united and if so what will happen with each of the lives they are living now and their love interests? If they are again united into the one being, will he love both women equally or see them both from different perspectives and love neither? I am also wondering if they will battle or if they will be able to again unite the shadow and light.
It is a truly creative story line and overall a great book.
September 6, 2011
I enjoyed the tension and the plot that built in this book. The thought that each set of gods believed their blue haired man was the leader was interesting.
The love between Bel and Jaya, and Losara and Lalenda also let itself to an interesting thought: "what will happen if the two men become one?" and from this I really wanted to know.
The book seemed to take too long to reach it's point. There were bits I would have skipped for the sake of tension but you can't win them all.
I need to know when/if they will be rejoined.
The love between Bel and Jaya, and Losara and Lalenda also let itself to an interesting thought: "what will happen if the two men become one?" and from this I really wanted to know.
The book seemed to take too long to reach it's point. There were bits I would have skipped for the sake of tension but you can't win them all.
I need to know when/if they will be rejoined.
February 13, 2015
easy read, interesting and moves at a good pace. read book 3 straight after with no boredom in the storyline.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews