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Magic/Blade - Notes from an Arena Onlooker
The world of the Arena is a personal one. In the shadow of the crowd, on the sands of battle, each combatant here has something to prove. Here, a wizard wants to show everyone that an orc can become the most celebrated spellcaster in history. Here, a barbarian craves victory so much that he would sacrifice his soul to win. Here, a giant needs success on the grandest of stages to achieve riches beyond his wildest dreams. And here, a dwarf trained by elves may defy them all in his quest to become the greatest Arena fighter of all-time.
These are the scrawls of a scribe who saw every one of their encounters with each other. These are his chronicles. This is their combat. The Arena beckons.
These are the scrawls of a scribe who saw every one of their encounters with each other. These are his chronicles. This is their combat. The Arena beckons.
185 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2015
3 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 30, 2015
*I received a free copy from the author for an honest review*
Though this is categorised as a fantasy book, it is quite different from the others.
Let me start at the beginning and put my thoughts to paper. I requested the ebook for review mainly because of the book cover which hints at a confrontation between a human and an other and the book blurb which hints at quite a violent and fight centric story. Though it took a while for me to get into the story, it caught up fast after I understood what was happening. That was kind of my fault because I thought the tale would be about a singular fighter against all. But what it is, is a chronicle of the journey of all fighters who enter into the Arena in a particular time period.
The uniqueness of the book comes in the form of the protagonist, who is a journalist/scribe who writes about all the fights, the important and the non important ones too. Though the story is told in the voice of the scribe, the spotlight is on the fighters and the fights which made history. Sometimes it was a direct account which made me feel as I was in the stands getting involved in the excitement along with the spectators while other times it was a bit in the narration style which didn't have me visualising it right.
The story is well written and the characters are well described with attention to detail. Though it is primarily a book about combat in the Arena, it does venture into the personal lives of the fighters. The before and now versions of them are shown in the book for our understanding. Among them, Rockhammer is the one who caught my fancy and quickly became my favourite.
I might not personally follow the series since this one was totally out of my comfort zone since it was not like the fantasy stories I am familiar with. But I would say this will be a good fit for readers who like to read about gladiator style stories in a fantasy setting.
My one line rating : A different take on gladiator fights in a fantasy setting!
My rating : 3.5/5
My reread factor : 3/5
Floryie @ http://thebookdrealms.blogspot.com
Though this is categorised as a fantasy book, it is quite different from the others.
Let me start at the beginning and put my thoughts to paper. I requested the ebook for review mainly because of the book cover which hints at a confrontation between a human and an other and the book blurb which hints at quite a violent and fight centric story. Though it took a while for me to get into the story, it caught up fast after I understood what was happening. That was kind of my fault because I thought the tale would be about a singular fighter against all. But what it is, is a chronicle of the journey of all fighters who enter into the Arena in a particular time period.
The uniqueness of the book comes in the form of the protagonist, who is a journalist/scribe who writes about all the fights, the important and the non important ones too. Though the story is told in the voice of the scribe, the spotlight is on the fighters and the fights which made history. Sometimes it was a direct account which made me feel as I was in the stands getting involved in the excitement along with the spectators while other times it was a bit in the narration style which didn't have me visualising it right.
The story is well written and the characters are well described with attention to detail. Though it is primarily a book about combat in the Arena, it does venture into the personal lives of the fighters. The before and now versions of them are shown in the book for our understanding. Among them, Rockhammer is the one who caught my fancy and quickly became my favourite.
I might not personally follow the series since this one was totally out of my comfort zone since it was not like the fantasy stories I am familiar with. But I would say this will be a good fit for readers who like to read about gladiator style stories in a fantasy setting.
My one line rating : A different take on gladiator fights in a fantasy setting!
My rating : 3.5/5
My reread factor : 3/5
Floryie @ http://thebookdrealms.blogspot.com
June 29, 2015
I won't be reading the sequels, I know as much. This was probably the most unrelatable book I've ever read, save a couple crappy romances.
I can understand, even justify, why the book was written in the way it was written. Our MC is a journalist and as the title says, this book consists of the notes of an onlooker, so it can be understandable why the book reads more like a badly-written article rather than a fantasy book. On the other hand, I didn't like it. There might be an audience for that, but apparently, I don't belong that group, nor do I know anyone that would be interested in reading a book written like that.
Though, the rest of the book is fairly good. I liked the characterization, however much of it we see. Apart from that glitch, I would dare say, the book is good. I just couldn't see past how much I disliked that detail. Good luck with the right audience.
1.5/5
I can understand, even justify, why the book was written in the way it was written. Our MC is a journalist and as the title says, this book consists of the notes of an onlooker, so it can be understandable why the book reads more like a badly-written article rather than a fantasy book. On the other hand, I didn't like it. There might be an audience for that, but apparently, I don't belong that group, nor do I know anyone that would be interested in reading a book written like that.
Though, the rest of the book is fairly good. I liked the characterization, however much of it we see. Apart from that glitch, I would dare say, the book is good. I just couldn't see past how much I disliked that detail. Good luck with the right audience.
1.5/5
April 15, 2016
Who might like this book? Possibly fans of combat-style computer and/or video games. Possibly fans of live combat (boxing/wrestling/martial arts). Possibly fans of good sports writing. Possibly fans of fantasy worlds and fantasy races.
This book, Magic/Blade: Notes from an Arena Onlooker by J.D. Camacho, gives an overview of the history of arena combat over the course of about twenty years from the viewpoint of a ‘scribe’.
The world is Areniana. Their government is called the Greater Sway; this may also be the name of the area where the government is located. The head of the government is the Magnate. There are a number of races now under the control of the Greater Sway, including giants, orcs, men, dwarves and halflings. Each of them apparently has their own homeland or at least home cities, and at some time in the not-too-distant past they seem to have been at war, possibly with each other, but now they all mingle freely in the capital, Altema City.
Apparently for all of them their national sport is now Arena Combat. Contenders of all the species fight on a regular basis in arenas all over the country. There are three divisions of Arena Combat.
There is the Warrior Division where they fight physically, mostly with various types of weapons, but they may fight barehanded there as well; the Spellcaster Division where they fight with magic; and the Open Division where the contestants use both approaches. There are some overtones of ancient Rome in the Greater Sway, especially in the names of some of the fighters who are men. One of them even uses a gladius for his primary weapon.
The narrator (whose name we never discover) claims to be a scribe, which in this context appears analogous to a reporter. Although they may wield some impressive magic, the citizens of Areniana do not appear to have newspapers, let alone any high-tech devices like radio, television, or the internet. The scribes post their reviews and interviews on the walls of the local forum. Our narrator is in the direct employ of the Magnate.
There is not a lot of ‘plot’ to this book. It just tells the story of a series of top-level arena contests that the scribe has been privileged to witness, fleshed out with his interviews of the contestants, their managers, their trainers, and occasionally other members of their support system. A book covering a real sport this well would be considered a masterpiece of sports journalism.
On the other hand, if it isn’t already, this could make a good computer game.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book, Magic/Blade: Notes from an Arena Onlooker by J.D. Camacho, gives an overview of the history of arena combat over the course of about twenty years from the viewpoint of a ‘scribe’.
The world is Areniana. Their government is called the Greater Sway; this may also be the name of the area where the government is located. The head of the government is the Magnate. There are a number of races now under the control of the Greater Sway, including giants, orcs, men, dwarves and halflings. Each of them apparently has their own homeland or at least home cities, and at some time in the not-too-distant past they seem to have been at war, possibly with each other, but now they all mingle freely in the capital, Altema City.
Apparently for all of them their national sport is now Arena Combat. Contenders of all the species fight on a regular basis in arenas all over the country. There are three divisions of Arena Combat.
There is the Warrior Division where they fight physically, mostly with various types of weapons, but they may fight barehanded there as well; the Spellcaster Division where they fight with magic; and the Open Division where the contestants use both approaches. There are some overtones of ancient Rome in the Greater Sway, especially in the names of some of the fighters who are men. One of them even uses a gladius for his primary weapon.
The narrator (whose name we never discover) claims to be a scribe, which in this context appears analogous to a reporter. Although they may wield some impressive magic, the citizens of Areniana do not appear to have newspapers, let alone any high-tech devices like radio, television, or the internet. The scribes post their reviews and interviews on the walls of the local forum. Our narrator is in the direct employ of the Magnate.
There is not a lot of ‘plot’ to this book. It just tells the story of a series of top-level arena contests that the scribe has been privileged to witness, fleshed out with his interviews of the contestants, their managers, their trainers, and occasionally other members of their support system. A book covering a real sport this well would be considered a masterpiece of sports journalism.
On the other hand, if it isn’t already, this could make a good computer game.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 30, 2015
I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Right away the story sets off with an exciting fight scene, scrutinized by Lucius, an old-timer who once dominated the arena. He is now fighting for a comeback. Throughout the book, J. D. Camacho utilizes strong vocabulary and fasted paced actions scenes. However, whenever there was a moment of peace, I felt that the words told me more than showed me what was happening. It still got the point across, but in less detail. The narrator of the story did well with enveloping the reader into the story. As an ‘Arena Onlooker’, he seemed, to me, a bit more than that. He spoke of things other onlookers wouldn’t know about Lucius, Maximus and Meridius Silius, Eitri Rockhammer, but that also could be because he spent a lot of time observing them in the arena. He was more of a friend than someone in the crowd, who fanned over the fighters. I felt he kind of knew them on a personal level more than just as a follower who supported them. Overall, I thought this story was interesting and something I rarely ever read. I definitely recommend giving this a try if you enjoy medieval combat with swords, daggers, ect.
Right away the story sets off with an exciting fight scene, scrutinized by Lucius, an old-timer who once dominated the arena. He is now fighting for a comeback. Throughout the book, J. D. Camacho utilizes strong vocabulary and fasted paced actions scenes. However, whenever there was a moment of peace, I felt that the words told me more than showed me what was happening. It still got the point across, but in less detail. The narrator of the story did well with enveloping the reader into the story. As an ‘Arena Onlooker’, he seemed, to me, a bit more than that. He spoke of things other onlookers wouldn’t know about Lucius, Maximus and Meridius Silius, Eitri Rockhammer, but that also could be because he spent a lot of time observing them in the arena. He was more of a friend than someone in the crowd, who fanned over the fighters. I felt he kind of knew them on a personal level more than just as a follower who supported them. Overall, I thought this story was interesting and something I rarely ever read. I definitely recommend giving this a try if you enjoy medieval combat with swords, daggers, ect.
December 10, 2015
Magic/Blade was a very interesting read. J.D. Camacho has created a fictional world filled with paranormal fighters, almost akin to the world of boxing or MMA. He recounts throughout the book the fights that brought the heroes of this world to greatness, and the fights that brought these heroes to their knees in defeat. By telling the story through the eyes of a somewhat partial scribe hired to cover the fights, the reader is able to view this world with spectacular impartiality, seeing the greats' rise and fall with no need to look for a hero or villain in any one character. Taking paranormal characters like orcs, giants, halflings, and elves and placing them within the confines of arena fighting, the reader is able to marvel at the strength of these types of characters as they fight one another, seeing them as pure fighters and not the conduits of evil most of them are portrayed as in various fantasy novels. While the story can be slow in some parts, it is definitely worth reading all the way to the end.
**DISCLAIMER: I was given a free copy of this book for an honest review.**
**DISCLAIMER: I was given a free copy of this book for an honest review.**
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews