Seekers of the Chalice

by Brian Cullen

In the time when gods and men walked the earth along with demons, the Chalice of Fire, the symbol of peace for Ulster, is stolen from the Red Branch by Bricriu Poisontongue. A small band of Seekers sets out to recover and return the Chalice to the Red Branch to restore peace to the Ulster kingdom. The Seekers are a group of two elves, Bern and Lorges; Cumac, the son of Cucullen, the greatest Red Branch warrior; Fedelm of the Sidhe; Tarin, the Swordwanderer; and the wizard-druid, Seanchan. Together they must make their way through the world brought as Maliman, the evil wizard, uses his powers to stop them as he seeks the Chalice himself to bend its magic to his will. The Seekers battle their way through the creatures of darkness that threaten to conquer the world. But they are determined to bring light back from darkness and restore the land that has fallen into ruin and decay with the theft of the Chalice. An epic tale that brings to mind the works of J.R.R.Tolkien, David Gemmell, and R.A. Salvatore, Seekers of the Chalice is the first book of a trilogy that explores the ongoing battle between good and evil in a land that is teetering on darkness.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

368 pages, Hardcover

First published February 5, 2008

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best part of this novel was the recounting of old Irish legends. However, I can read that in the Irish Folktales books I already own. No need to read a never-ending saga that bored me to tears. All these Seekers did was go from one 'ancient and evil forest' to another. Change a detail here and there and it was still the same 'ancient and evil forest'. Utterly boring. I will not be continuing the series.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

I say done, not finished. Couldn’t get into it.

[Todd R · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think that the only thing surprising about this novel is that it was published. With that said I didn't think that it was terrible, or even that it was badly written (just written without life), but its premise was so bland, and characters so boring that I couldn't help but think proofreaders may have been forced to push this through the slush pile for some reason.
The only things that ever happen in this book are random encounters - Boring evil encounter after another - there is no interesting banter, no real philosophical endeavor that should be present based on the material that Cullen uses to build his fantasy. The primary source is the Mabinogion...but Cullen rarely uses anything interesting to weave a whole new narrative from those ancient tales.
Seekers is so so so predictable that I was hoping for a twist...but its almost fantasy cliche to a 'T', and is almost a point for point rewrite of Tolkien, but whereas Tolkien's writing and knowledge keeps you entranced, Cullen just bores you.
Even McKiernan's Mithgar has more originality than this...it's okay to be inspired by a previous work, but make an attempt to build something new.
I certainly will be avoiding the next book in the series.

[Julie Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

http://juliekrose.blogspot.com/2008/0...

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was like plodding through Irish bog mud. I had to stop on chapter 3.

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful - one of the few books that I have tried to read where I just did not have the strength or inclination to finish. Trite prose, thin characters---just awful!

[T J · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a very boring book which I could not finish. It had all the right myth, legend but no excitement.

[Emma Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of this book was interesting, and the story has good potential. The author also has good imagery of characters and places. But some of the writing is, in my opinion, done poorly. There are several instances in which characters make a claim and then question/contradict it moments later, so the following decisions they make seem to have no solid basis, which is frustrating and doesn’t make much sense. There are also a lot of characters introduced without much background, which, for someone without any prior knowledge of Irish mythology was confusing and overwhelming at times. I think other mythology-based books are done better, so I wouldn’t recommend reading this one.

[Michael Alan Grapin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts of the story were rather captivating but much of it seemed to drone on in repetitive fashion, one forest much like another, as the band of seekers grew in number.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book for $5.99 on the bookstore clearance rack. Despite some very long explainations and boring songs I liked this book. It remiinds me of the D & D adventure that I am playing in. It sometimes feels just like this book, lots of stress and fighting to get to our goal.

I am disappointed that the adventure did not end with this book. I am not sure that I want to continue reading this series. I'm thinking this may be an interlibrary loan or local library read. It seems like a book males who roleplay or enjoy fantasy would enjoy. Guys tend to like stats and details in their reading.

[Fran Santiago]

Wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either :( The author seemed to have run out of steam halfway through and just kept repeating the same scenerios over and over again I hope book two is better than this one

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have read The Lord of the Rings, and loved it, this is the book for you. It is a book that I couldn't book down, and when I finished I was begging for more. I guarantee readers won't be let down!

[jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a great book but a little confusing you need to know ancient roman or Greek gods.