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The Triadine Saga #1
The Watcher's Keep
In this Epic Fantasy, a young boy and girl are thrown into a battle that will change their destiny forever. Elves, dwarves, dragons, wizards, humans and more are bound together in conflict, love, paranoia, and power struggles with the world in the balance.
The Watchers long ago abandoned their sworn duty to monitor and suppress the powers of Khollaran, an evil wizard, locked away in a distant prison at the end of the First Age. As his power grows, an ancient and dire prophecy appears to be coming true.
The Guardians take actions to try to stop the Dark Wizard, putting young Peter and Alexandra in the middle of the greatest conflict since the Breaking of the World.
As The Children of the Prophecy, the twins will be tasked with a near impossible quest to recover the pieces of the fabled Triadine and unite the races in a battle to destroy the growing evil, without destroying the world in the process.
Book 1 of The Triadine Saga
The Watchers long ago abandoned their sworn duty to monitor and suppress the powers of Khollaran, an evil wizard, locked away in a distant prison at the end of the First Age. As his power grows, an ancient and dire prophecy appears to be coming true.
The Guardians take actions to try to stop the Dark Wizard, putting young Peter and Alexandra in the middle of the greatest conflict since the Breaking of the World.
As The Children of the Prophecy, the twins will be tasked with a near impossible quest to recover the pieces of the fabled Triadine and unite the races in a battle to destroy the growing evil, without destroying the world in the process.
Book 1 of The Triadine Saga
- GenresFantasy
690 pages, Paperback
First published November 28, 2014
About the author
Timothy Bond
18 books160 followersI spent nearly 20 years deciding whether or not I wanted to be an author. My field is information technology, and I specialize in manufacturing systems. It's technical, challenging, and requires you to stay focused and current with changes in the industry.
I started going to a fantasy world in my mind many years ago, and the adventures of Peter and Alexandra were my escape from the harsh technical world all around me. The twins were enthusiastic, energetic, eager to go out and explore their world, and willing to take on any challenge necessary. I have often said that I travel to the Upper Aren and come back and write about it, and I really do feel that way at times.
My own eclectic interests fueled the twin's activities, as I have done a little of everything in my life. I suspect it's because of my adult attention deficit disorder, and a need to try everything at least once.
I was born in Washington State, spent time living in Idaho, Arizona, Maine and Penang, Malaysia, I now live in North Carolina.
I hope you enjoy the adventures of my characters and they become a part of your lives, as they have long been a part of mine.
I started going to a fantasy world in my mind many years ago, and the adventures of Peter and Alexandra were my escape from the harsh technical world all around me. The twins were enthusiastic, energetic, eager to go out and explore their world, and willing to take on any challenge necessary. I have often said that I travel to the Upper Aren and come back and write about it, and I really do feel that way at times.
My own eclectic interests fueled the twin's activities, as I have done a little of everything in my life. I suspect it's because of my adult attention deficit disorder, and a need to try everything at least once.
I was born in Washington State, spent time living in Idaho, Arizona, Maine and Penang, Malaysia, I now live in North Carolina.
I hope you enjoy the adventures of my characters and they become a part of your lives, as they have long been a part of mine.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 21, 2015
Five stars as a whole.
This is the first book I have read from the author so I wasn't sure what to expect out side of the posted summary of the book. While the books plot seems simple, it gets very complex as it brings in more characters, more races and more points of view. This really aids the books as a whole.
The book tells me the story of the Chosen Ones of prophecy, along with a large number of other characters who are intertwined with prophecy directly or indirectly and the rising darkness. The Chosen Ones are two twin children Peter and Alexandra, who are living "normal" lives until the Guardians are killed by the Kings military and their spy master Brannis who is secretly controlling the king. Peter gets conscripted as he distracts the military after his sister. His sister successfully gets away and eventually makes to the Elven kings city. The book also introduces Karoel and a wizard named Rendil who are trying to aid the children in ways the children are unaware of, along with the villain Lord-God Khall, his bonded helpers, lady Olivia (who Peter is smitten with), Jon (peters best friend) and a dwarfs named Beron, along with a few more essential characters left out to prevent spoiling the novel.
As the story progresses along Peter is chosen to be a member of the Messenger Corps under a false name, which he easily excels and becomes trusted by the lady Olivia and commander Towe. Lady Olivia is a maiden for choosing along with others to be chosen as the wife of the king. As her fathers health is getting worse, she manages to escape (so to speak) to visit her father, followed by a rider in black and the bastard son of the king Brandon. Jon and Peter work side by side as Fox hunters (goblins) despite their military differences.
The church also plays a minor/major role since they deny the existence of dwarves, elves, goblins, trolls and anything else magical. This makes things difficult as the dwarves (Beron and his father)send an ambassadors, who are mistaken for cattle rustlers. while Beron manages to escape with help from commander Towe, despite his fathers death manages to make to the elves with help from Karoel.
The book concludes in a classic cliffhanger fashion with Beron, Jon and Peter in the watchers keep as Alexandra and her guard Darius are lost in a sea at storm, struck down by a artifact of great power stolen by the elves in the hands of lord-God Khall.
I received this book from goodreads giveaway.
This is the first book I have read from the author so I wasn't sure what to expect out side of the posted summary of the book. While the books plot seems simple, it gets very complex as it brings in more characters, more races and more points of view. This really aids the books as a whole.
The book tells me the story of the Chosen Ones of prophecy, along with a large number of other characters who are intertwined with prophecy directly or indirectly and the rising darkness. The Chosen Ones are two twin children Peter and Alexandra, who are living "normal" lives until the Guardians are killed by the Kings military and their spy master Brannis who is secretly controlling the king. Peter gets conscripted as he distracts the military after his sister. His sister successfully gets away and eventually makes to the Elven kings city. The book also introduces Karoel and a wizard named Rendil who are trying to aid the children in ways the children are unaware of, along with the villain Lord-God Khall, his bonded helpers, lady Olivia (who Peter is smitten with), Jon (peters best friend) and a dwarfs named Beron, along with a few more essential characters left out to prevent spoiling the novel.
As the story progresses along Peter is chosen to be a member of the Messenger Corps under a false name, which he easily excels and becomes trusted by the lady Olivia and commander Towe. Lady Olivia is a maiden for choosing along with others to be chosen as the wife of the king. As her fathers health is getting worse, she manages to escape (so to speak) to visit her father, followed by a rider in black and the bastard son of the king Brandon. Jon and Peter work side by side as Fox hunters (goblins) despite their military differences.
The church also plays a minor/major role since they deny the existence of dwarves, elves, goblins, trolls and anything else magical. This makes things difficult as the dwarves (Beron and his father)send an ambassadors, who are mistaken for cattle rustlers. while Beron manages to escape with help from commander Towe, despite his fathers death manages to make to the elves with help from Karoel.
The book concludes in a classic cliffhanger fashion with Beron, Jon and Peter in the watchers keep as Alexandra and her guard Darius are lost in a sea at storm, struck down by a artifact of great power stolen by the elves in the hands of lord-God Khall.
I received this book from goodreads giveaway.
March 21, 2015
In “The Watcher's Keep,” Timothy Bond introduces us to the children of the prophecy, 16-year-old twins, Peter and Alex, who must save the world from a growing evil. Except that they don’t know it, don’t have any training (yet), and are thrown into raging battles of good versus evil. Described as an epic fantasy, The Triadine Saga takes place in a world where humans have been told to forget that elves, dwarves, goblins and wizards ever existed. Where fantasy has been usurped by religion and where nonhumans might well be hiding (or interacting) in plain sight.
This is fanciful storytelling that was a delight to read as I found myself immersed in a medieval world that I wish once existed – come on, who doesn’t love dragons?
Overall, the story was well-told, I enjoyed the different characters (especially the dragon, it’s a thing), and the weaving of different plots and subplots was well done. AND…book two is already out, so you don’t have to wait to read what happens next.
Of note, this story is categorized under science fiction and fantasy, but it would fit well in the Young Adult section.
This is fanciful storytelling that was a delight to read as I found myself immersed in a medieval world that I wish once existed – come on, who doesn’t love dragons?
Overall, the story was well-told, I enjoyed the different characters (especially the dragon, it’s a thing), and the weaving of different plots and subplots was well done. AND…book two is already out, so you don’t have to wait to read what happens next.
Of note, this story is categorized under science fiction and fantasy, but it would fit well in the Young Adult section.
October 1, 2015
Twins Peter and Alexandria live simple lives not knowing anything about The Prophecy that governs their lives. They're protected by guardians. Strange things have been happening which lead the guardians to belief in the signs of the prophecy. It's heresy to speak the names dragon, dwarf, griffin, and elf according to the church. Lord Bannis wants to capture the twins for his own gain. The twins must seperate in order to survive much to their dismay. Will Lord Ban is capture the twins? Can the twins survive on their own? Find out in The Watcher's Keep.
This high fantasy novel is action packed and loaded with adventure. The story and characters are real, raw, compelling, honest, fascinating, and intriguing too. Definitely looking to more of this author's work in the future.
This high fantasy novel is action packed and loaded with adventure. The story and characters are real, raw, compelling, honest, fascinating, and intriguing too. Definitely looking to more of this author's work in the future.
February 25, 2015
Good story. Lots going on.
Why I didn't give it five stars:
First, there are a lot of errors, mistakes, and typos. More than the average bear.
Second, some parts are a bit clunky, especially in the beginning.
Third, the unexplained knowledge. This really bothered me.
With all that said, it is worth the read. I have begun book 2.
Why I didn't give it five stars:
First, there are a lot of errors, mistakes, and typos. More than the average bear.
Second, some parts are a bit clunky, especially in the beginning.
Third, the unexplained knowledge. This really bothered me.
With all that said, it is worth the read. I have begun book 2.
February 16, 2015
This was a great Fantasy book for me. I'm never sure what to expect from Fantasy book because the fun of them is for me they can go anywhere they want. I very much enjoyed this book and I think you would too. If you like Fantasy, you should give this one a try. *I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
July 23, 2018
I received a copy of this book for free from the author as an ARC and have voluntarily chosen to review it.
I really do like epic fantasy tales and this one delivers. It has all the necessary elements: a hero and heroine, a prophecy of an evil being planning to turn the world into darkness and misery, elves, dwarves, and wizards!!! It is well written and I love the characters. They are all truly believable. Now this is not a short book. You really do get your money's worth when you purchase this story. I don't feel that it is too long at all.The story is developed well without add filler to make it long enough for a book. This is a great story and I do recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good fantastical story.
I really do like epic fantasy tales and this one delivers. It has all the necessary elements: a hero and heroine, a prophecy of an evil being planning to turn the world into darkness and misery, elves, dwarves, and wizards!!! It is well written and I love the characters. They are all truly believable. Now this is not a short book. You really do get your money's worth when you purchase this story. I don't feel that it is too long at all.The story is developed well without add filler to make it long enough for a book. This is a great story and I do recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good fantastical story.
March 12, 2018
ONE FANTASTIC READ!!!
Wonderfully written, easy to follow read with a smooth flowing dialogue. Exciting and intriguing tale that grabs your attention and holds it till the end. Twists, turns and unpredictable surprises keep you on the edge of your seat and eyes totally focused on the pages. Realistic characters and scenes add demention to this awesome read. Great job Timothy.
Wonderfully written, easy to follow read with a smooth flowing dialogue. Exciting and intriguing tale that grabs your attention and holds it till the end. Twists, turns and unpredictable surprises keep you on the edge of your seat and eyes totally focused on the pages. Realistic characters and scenes add demention to this awesome read. Great job Timothy.
August 14, 2018
Excellent
It is a real pleasure to read a book aimed at a young market yet written in an adult style. The book has been well edited and flows nicely. The series do end in cliffhangers for each book but I don't yet feel denied.
It is a real pleasure to read a book aimed at a young market yet written in an adult style. The book has been well edited and flows nicely. The series do end in cliffhangers for each book but I don't yet feel denied.
July 3, 2017
Rating: 3
I won a copy of this book for an honest review. This will never effect how I like or rate a book.
I'm not gonna lie, this book was intimidating. It had the weight of all of its 680 page count. So it literally sat around for months after it arrived while I got some other books read first till finally moving to tackle such a monster. And what did I think when I finally finished it?
It's okay. It wasn't bad. Wasn't great. It was just okay. Truthfully it felt like an overly long prologue where not a whole lot happened. Just spending time with characters who felt like they were just waiting around for the second book to finally come along as well. All of it just felt like set up for much bigger events that were going to go down in the next book. Which actually is a good thing. I mean you have to read this book for the next to make sense and after this one I really want to read the next one because I feel it's likely to be better and now that I know these characters well enough it should be more fun then this one was.
It had some standout characters. The world was interesting enough but the characters are what stand out most in this book. The ones I enjoyed spending time with most were Peter, Rendil, Beorn, and Karoel. Maybe not so much Peter, but the other three felt really well written and I enjoyed sharing in their adventures. Something I hope stays the same should I ever get my hands on the second book.
While Peter's adventures were fun he didn't have nearly as much life experience. Also he had one big disadvantage. That of becoming extremely stupid whenever Olivia was around.
Here I come to the biggest problem with this book.
Olivia.
This character felt completely useless and unneeded. I'm pretty positive you could of taken her completely out of this book and nothing would of been taken from the story. Her character and her story line made me cringe anytime I seen it as the next thing I had to read. This coming from someone who didn't really care for the repetitive acts of characters like Turbin and Bannis but could see where their parts might be bigger in the next book. It wasn't so with Olivia. She felt like wasted space and that feeling never changed.
It felt like the book tried to give us some strong female characters, Olivia excluded, but failed to execute them right. It didn't feel like the females really ever did much in this book which easily led to only the male characters being my favorite ones to read.
Other than that though the story was solid enough and enjoyable. Minus the times spent with Olivia, Turbin and Bannis. I had hoped we would spend more time with Khollaran but had to realize there wasn't really much that could be done with him at this point. Again hoping that in the next book he'll play a bigger role since he did seem really interesting.
I'd recommend this to those that really love fantasy and who don't mind sitting in for a long bit of reading.
I won a copy of this book for an honest review. This will never effect how I like or rate a book.
I'm not gonna lie, this book was intimidating. It had the weight of all of its 680 page count. So it literally sat around for months after it arrived while I got some other books read first till finally moving to tackle such a monster. And what did I think when I finally finished it?
It's okay. It wasn't bad. Wasn't great. It was just okay. Truthfully it felt like an overly long prologue where not a whole lot happened. Just spending time with characters who felt like they were just waiting around for the second book to finally come along as well. All of it just felt like set up for much bigger events that were going to go down in the next book. Which actually is a good thing. I mean you have to read this book for the next to make sense and after this one I really want to read the next one because I feel it's likely to be better and now that I know these characters well enough it should be more fun then this one was.
It had some standout characters. The world was interesting enough but the characters are what stand out most in this book. The ones I enjoyed spending time with most were Peter, Rendil, Beorn, and Karoel. Maybe not so much Peter, but the other three felt really well written and I enjoyed sharing in their adventures. Something I hope stays the same should I ever get my hands on the second book.
While Peter's adventures were fun he didn't have nearly as much life experience. Also he had one big disadvantage. That of becoming extremely stupid whenever Olivia was around.
Here I come to the biggest problem with this book.
Olivia.
This character felt completely useless and unneeded. I'm pretty positive you could of taken her completely out of this book and nothing would of been taken from the story. Her character and her story line made me cringe anytime I seen it as the next thing I had to read. This coming from someone who didn't really care for the repetitive acts of characters like Turbin and Bannis but could see where their parts might be bigger in the next book. It wasn't so with Olivia. She felt like wasted space and that feeling never changed.
It felt like the book tried to give us some strong female characters, Olivia excluded, but failed to execute them right. It didn't feel like the females really ever did much in this book which easily led to only the male characters being my favorite ones to read.
Other than that though the story was solid enough and enjoyable. Minus the times spent with Olivia, Turbin and Bannis. I had hoped we would spend more time with Khollaran but had to realize there wasn't really much that could be done with him at this point. Again hoping that in the next book he'll play a bigger role since he did seem really interesting.
I'd recommend this to those that really love fantasy and who don't mind sitting in for a long bit of reading.
May 12, 2015
Peter Oldsted (twin brother, scribe, Child of The Prophecy) & Alexandra Alex Oldsted (twin sister, Child of The Prophecy) lived/played in Alnen.
Peter was a student & worked for Brother Cadresean (Order) in the St. Julean Abbey. This way he did not have to work in the rock quarries like most boys his age.
Alex (16, scullion) went to the Abbey & worked with Molensa (cook) for Lord Berrol in his kitchen.
Bairden Oldsted was the twin’s guardian.
The twins mentor was Karoel (old hermit, woodsman, BMF).
Bairden (Stone Cutter) was off to make arrangements with the Master Stone Cutter for a trip to the Eastern marble quarries.
Who is Princess Rozlynn?
Corporal Piers Lakeman is invited to the Royal Ball.
Lieutenant Pickard, Corporal Masey, Corporal Price, & Corporal Andrews were invited also.
The governing body of Al-Ashal (city) had the ability to produce seed-children.
Markus (Al-Ashal government), Deloran (Al-Ashal government), Michan (Al-Ashal government), Deloran (Grand Priest of Al-Ashal), Captain Fiesal & Admiral Corticus were part of this group.
16 maidens will attend the Royal ball.
King Theinial meets with Karoel & Beorn.
Corporal Lyle Peerson unit was leaving soon to go hunt goblins.
Lord Bannis was beginning to wonder about Lady Olivia. What was she up to?
Will Peter & Alex ever be reunited?
+ I did not understand any of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien masterpiece books. This book I did.
- However, when I find lots of pages to read I become uninterested, blah, blah, blah (book filler) or at times it is very hard to follow. This could have been a sequel by itself, but this is book 1 only of a Trilogy.
Pictures of the numerous characters & maps of the cities, towns, garrisons etc. would have been nice.
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A fairly well written YA fantasy book. It wasn’t always very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish, but never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors I noticed or found, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a huge set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great YA fantasy movie, animated cartoon, or mini TV series. To be continued. All said I will rate it at 4/5 stars.
Thank you for the free Goodreads; Makingconnections; Author; PDF book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
Peter was a student & worked for Brother Cadresean (Order) in the St. Julean Abbey. This way he did not have to work in the rock quarries like most boys his age.
Alex (16, scullion) went to the Abbey & worked with Molensa (cook) for Lord Berrol in his kitchen.
Bairden Oldsted was the twin’s guardian.
The twins mentor was Karoel (old hermit, woodsman, BMF).
Bairden (Stone Cutter) was off to make arrangements with the Master Stone Cutter for a trip to the Eastern marble quarries.
Who is Princess Rozlynn?
Corporal Piers Lakeman is invited to the Royal Ball.
Lieutenant Pickard, Corporal Masey, Corporal Price, & Corporal Andrews were invited also.
The governing body of Al-Ashal (city) had the ability to produce seed-children.
Markus (Al-Ashal government), Deloran (Al-Ashal government), Michan (Al-Ashal government), Deloran (Grand Priest of Al-Ashal), Captain Fiesal & Admiral Corticus were part of this group.
16 maidens will attend the Royal ball.
King Theinial meets with Karoel & Beorn.
Corporal Lyle Peerson unit was leaving soon to go hunt goblins.
Lord Bannis was beginning to wonder about Lady Olivia. What was she up to?
Will Peter & Alex ever be reunited?
+ I did not understand any of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien masterpiece books. This book I did.
- However, when I find lots of pages to read I become uninterested, blah, blah, blah (book filler) or at times it is very hard to follow. This could have been a sequel by itself, but this is book 1 only of a Trilogy.
Pictures of the numerous characters & maps of the cities, towns, garrisons etc. would have been nice.
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.
A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A fairly well written YA fantasy book. It wasn’t always very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish, but never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors I noticed or found, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a huge set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great YA fantasy movie, animated cartoon, or mini TV series. To be continued. All said I will rate it at 4/5 stars.
Thank you for the free Goodreads; Makingconnections; Author; PDF book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
April 9, 2015
Firstly - this is really, really good. Great characters, easy going read, interesting story full of pace and adventure. I'm really looking forward to the second one.
I must admit to being slightly wary initially. What I say here is not a criticism because the author genuinely pulls everything together so well. He takes almost every fantasy trope imaginable in fantasy, throws them all into this story and just goes and pulls it off really well. I don't think any of these are spoilers :)
- almost every race you can think of (humans, elves, gnomes, trolls, dwarves, dragons ... I could go on)
- there is a dark wizard thought to be imprisoned
- there is a powerful object
- there was a historical reshaping of the world due to a magical war
- religion as a force is dealt with nicely and better than other more recent fantasy novels i've tried
- easy to figure out who the evil and good characters are
- young protagonists
- and lots more.
And as I have said, it is all thoroughly enjoyable, and he really does pull it off with panache.
So I highly recommend it :) !
Note 1: There are a few typos, but few enough for them not to bother me at all.
Note 2: The disclaimer - I received this book from the author with no specific request for a review, just to read and see what I honestly thought of it.
I'm going to have to pay for the second one, and I still can't wait :)
ONE REQUEST: if the author ever reads this review - a map would be handy. Even something very high level on your web page would suffice.
I must admit to being slightly wary initially. What I say here is not a criticism because the author genuinely pulls everything together so well. He takes almost every fantasy trope imaginable in fantasy, throws them all into this story and just goes and pulls it off really well. I don't think any of these are spoilers :)
- almost every race you can think of (humans, elves, gnomes, trolls, dwarves, dragons ... I could go on)
- there is a dark wizard thought to be imprisoned
- there is a powerful object
- there was a historical reshaping of the world due to a magical war
- religion as a force is dealt with nicely and better than other more recent fantasy novels i've tried
- easy to figure out who the evil and good characters are
- young protagonists
- and lots more.
And as I have said, it is all thoroughly enjoyable, and he really does pull it off with panache.
So I highly recommend it :) !
Note 1: There are a few typos, but few enough for them not to bother me at all.
Note 2: The disclaimer - I received this book from the author with no specific request for a review, just to read and see what I honestly thought of it.
I'm going to have to pay for the second one, and I still can't wait :)
ONE REQUEST: if the author ever reads this review - a map would be handy. Even something very high level on your web page would suffice.
May 24, 2015
Peter and Alex are twins whose idyllic existence is interrupted by the arrival of the King’s spy. Know nothing about why they are being chased or who they really are, the twins run into the woods to escape a brutal enemy. The aren’t sure of anything other than they are going to try to find the elves the church told them don’t exist. They get separate in the woods by bandits and their real adventures begin. Alex learns more about her family and legacy while Peter is conscripted into the army of the very King who wants him dead.
Watcher’s Keep is the first book in a series and as such spends most of its time establishing the wide range of characters needed to carry the epic story forward. We meet wizards, dwarves and elves and more within its pages along with unexpected allies and and hidden enemies. There is, of course, a prophecy, but mercifully is it so confused that it could mean anything leaving the characters and the plot to make their own way.
If there is any weakness past the wholly unneeded prologue, it is the tendency to over explain things that could be trusted to the reader to understand. As this habit lessens through the book, I expect it will continue to disappear in the subsequent volumes.
I found the story to be an enjoyable and original read with sufficient plot and twists even in the first volume to keep the story moving. I recommend the book to lovers of epic fantasy. This will be a series worth watching for.
Watcher’s Keep is the first book in a series and as such spends most of its time establishing the wide range of characters needed to carry the epic story forward. We meet wizards, dwarves and elves and more within its pages along with unexpected allies and and hidden enemies. There is, of course, a prophecy, but mercifully is it so confused that it could mean anything leaving the characters and the plot to make their own way.
If there is any weakness past the wholly unneeded prologue, it is the tendency to over explain things that could be trusted to the reader to understand. As this habit lessens through the book, I expect it will continue to disappear in the subsequent volumes.
I found the story to be an enjoyable and original read with sufficient plot and twists even in the first volume to keep the story moving. I recommend the book to lovers of epic fantasy. This will be a series worth watching for.
August 1, 2015
The Watcher's Keep has everything it takes to be a really good epic fantasy novel. A pair of twins thrown into the world to seek their destiny and the future; an evil Wizard-God, his dragon and his henchmen bent on ruling the world opposed by the Guardians, consisting of a Wizard, a woodsman and an assortment of motley characters; dwarves who are emerging into the world of men again, reluctantly; elves who are caught between helping and hindering; and a Prophecy that no one really understands.
I was hoping to like it, despite being a little disappointed with the prequel novella (Prophecy's Queen: An Epic Fantasy) because not everyone can do novellas well. Still, it didn't quite meet my expectations. It felt clunky in places, with a lot of info dumps which could probably have been smoothed over with a better editor. In some places, I was a little confused over the timeline as it seemed as if something happened in a chapter prior, and then we headed off to see what was happening with another character, and it wasn't entirely clear if we'd gone back to cover the same few days or we'd moved on sequentially.
There was an overall choppiness to it; the writing was disjointed, rather like some of my first drafts which I never got round to fixing. I'm not writing this series off yet, I think, but I do wish he'd polish it up a bit more first.
I was hoping to like it, despite being a little disappointed with the prequel novella (Prophecy's Queen: An Epic Fantasy) because not everyone can do novellas well. Still, it didn't quite meet my expectations. It felt clunky in places, with a lot of info dumps which could probably have been smoothed over with a better editor. In some places, I was a little confused over the timeline as it seemed as if something happened in a chapter prior, and then we headed off to see what was happening with another character, and it wasn't entirely clear if we'd gone back to cover the same few days or we'd moved on sequentially.
There was an overall choppiness to it; the writing was disjointed, rather like some of my first drafts which I never got round to fixing. I'm not writing this series off yet, I think, but I do wish he'd polish it up a bit more first.
May 16, 2015
I marked this 3 stars, not because of the story, as it was excellent. I found myself wanting to just go chapter after chapter after chapter and interested in the characters. I found them very likable and easy to root for and sympathize with.
However I did mark it three stars because I found myself regularly having to go back and reread sentences due to the wrong word being in the sentence (crazy auto correct maybe?). This was very distracting and considerably slowed my pace down. Also there would be random punctuation in the middle of a sentence which didn't belong there. The book is in definite need of a solid editing. Had I a paper copy I would have red marked all the places. The only other criticism I would have would be the actual sentence structure itself, as some paragraphs seemed somewhat simple and lacked polish. The simplistic nature of some of the paragraphs may be what the author intended as I am not sure what the age of the target audience is, and it could also be that I am used to a higher line of sentence structure since I read a lot of classic literature.
Again I want to restate the story itself was excellent, and I look forward to reading more from Timothy Bond!
However I did mark it three stars because I found myself regularly having to go back and reread sentences due to the wrong word being in the sentence (crazy auto correct maybe?). This was very distracting and considerably slowed my pace down. Also there would be random punctuation in the middle of a sentence which didn't belong there. The book is in definite need of a solid editing. Had I a paper copy I would have red marked all the places. The only other criticism I would have would be the actual sentence structure itself, as some paragraphs seemed somewhat simple and lacked polish. The simplistic nature of some of the paragraphs may be what the author intended as I am not sure what the age of the target audience is, and it could also be that I am used to a higher line of sentence structure since I read a lot of classic literature.
Again I want to restate the story itself was excellent, and I look forward to reading more from Timothy Bond!
May 17, 2015
Wow amazing story that was a wonderful adventure to go on you have to read this fabulous book you will be so happy you did. This story was a well thought out and expertly written it was a delight to read and do so hope to read more of this the Triadine Saga. My heart felt thanks to the author Timothy Bond for the privilege and pleasure of reading his wonderful book so to all happy reading and keep smiling from wee me. xxxxx
August 13, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed bringing this book to you. It's the first in a series, though how many books will be written is yet to be determined. There are many stories to tell of life and adventure in the Aren. The characters are fun, the story has great depth, and will provide you with hours of reading pleasure.
Come join us!
Come join us!
June 11, 2016
A good read with a reasonably fast development pace. I thought it was good but I had the feeling the writing was sometimes, at most in the beginning of the book, a little awkward. But overall I still think it was more than worth my time. I would recommend this book to other people.
June 5, 2017
Good story
Very enjoyable story, strong characters and a solid magic system.
There are a few typos that's can throw you off but otherwise a throughly enjoyable read. I immediately went out and got the second book and can't wait to see where the story takes.
Very enjoyable story, strong characters and a solid magic system.
There are a few typos that's can throw you off but otherwise a throughly enjoyable read. I immediately went out and got the second book and can't wait to see where the story takes.
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