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Prophecy Of The Kings: The Trilogy

(Prophecy of the Kings #1-3)

David Burrows (Goodreads Author)

3.31 · Rating details · 39 ratings · 28 reviews

The fate of three worlds are intertwined, that of men, dragons and demons. The time is fast approaching when the fabric separating the worlds will be thin enough for demons to cross the divide once again, but the people are largely ignorant of this, preferring forgetfulness rather than confronting their fears. The Eldric, saviours of previous wars, have mysteriously disapp ...more

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Paperback, 2nd Edition, 680 pages

Published March 5th 2010 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform (first published September 4th 2008)

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May 21, 2010 Bryan Thomas Schmidt rated it liked it

I really wanted to like this and give it a good rating. The story is solid and compelling, but due to poor execution/presentation, I couldn't go on after page 146. The author has talent and good ideas, but one of the hazards of self-publishing is not working with an editor, and one was sorely needed here. There are an abundance of typos, sound-alike words used in the wrong place, and even plot holes which an editor would have helped resolve. After a while, this just became annoying and I put the ...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Seregil of Rhiminee rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

Prophecy of the Kings Trilogy is an omnibus edition and it contains three fantasy books (Legacy of the Eldric, Dragon Rider and Shadow of the Demon).

During the last couple of years I've noticed that several lesser known traditional fantasy books are often more interesting and fascinating than well known traditional fantasy books. Prophecy of the Kings is one of these books, because it's pure entertainment from start to finish. When I began to read this book I didn't know much about it, but the s ...more

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Feb 16, 2021 Debbie Tremel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Good story in need of a good editor

It's a shame. This is a good story but really needs more work. I considered rating higher, but had to remind myself how many times I considered not finishing it. When you're distracted by the writing, not totally engrossed in the story, it can't be considered an outstanding book. Not only were the numerous issues like random point of view and grammatical problems, but the story itself had issues. Intrigue is good, mystery is good, but plain old confusion is not ...more

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Aug 10, 2009 Kathy rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is the story of a young, irresponsible prince that ran away to have an adventure, and an adventure he got. Kaplyn, our prince that is last in line for the throne after his many older brothers, finds himself mixed up with stranded foreigners, power-hungry sorcerers, evil demons, religious zealots, ghosts, and bloodthirsty dragons. His journeys lead him to search for the Eldric people, a race of powerful sorcerers that disappeared after one of their own nearly destroyed the world thousands of This is the story of a young, irresponsible prince that ran away to have an adventure, and an adventure he got. Kaplyn, our prince that is last in line for the throne after his many older brothers, finds himself mixed up with stranded foreigners, power-hungry sorcerers, evil demons, religious zealots, ghosts, and bloodthirsty dragons. His journeys lead him to search for the Eldric people, a race of powerful sorcerers that disappeared after one of their own nearly destroyed the world thousands of years ago. The country of Trosgarth threatens the rest of the continent with impending war, and an ancient prophecy of the kings is the only clue for the people to defeat Trosgarth and restore peace. As the story progresses, the pieces of the prophecy fall into place little by little. The end of the trilogy culminates with a battle for the fate of the world and a surprising conclusion to the books.

In my opinion, the trilogy began on the slow side, and it seemed disjointed from a reader’s perspective. I truly pay attention to character development when I read, and I think that the author’s need to give background information about the world and its history got in the way with good character development. However, as the trilogy progresses, the author finally begins to figure it out. The story eventually begins to tell itself and comes together, and the reader begins to see more depth, growth, and maturity in Kaplyn. We see him as human, empathetic, and determined to stop evil in the world. Just what we should see in a main character. I would like to think that Kaplyn’s personal journey also reflects the author’s personal journey in writing these books; the reader can see the maturation of the author’s writing as the story progresses, as well.

Overall, despite the slow start, The Prophecy of the Kings has the potential to make it onto amazon.com with some additional editorial work. I enjoyed the story as it had great imagination and creativity, and I heartily wish David good luck with the future success of his book.
...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Kendra rated it it was amazing

Shelves: z-added-in-apr-2011, sci-fi-fantasy, z-read-in-apr-2011

Prophecy of the Kings is an excellent read! It's the combined trilogy by the author David Burrows.

Book 1 is Legacy of the Eldric. It sets up the story, following the story of Kaplyn, Lars and Lomar, with the sorcerer Vastra. I found this part to drag on a tad to much, but overall, the author did a wonderful job setting up the story. Likeable characters, both good and bad. The ending was intense, and I was so glad I had all three books, so I was able to dive right in to the second one.

Book 2 is ...more

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Jul 14, 2009 E. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Prophecy of the Kings is a fantasy trilogy that follows the adventures of Kaplyn, an immature overindulged prince who yearns to escape the tedium of court by embarking on an adventure. The adventure winds up encompassing a longer time span than Kaplyn would have ever expected and the world that he knows undergoes a complete upheaval. The creatures that Kaplyn only knows as characters in tales are actually based in fact and the adventure becomes a fantastical journey to save the world. Kaplyn is ...more

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May 01, 2009 Charles rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Prophecy of the Kings trilogy is a fantastic epic. David Burrows creates a vibrant and compelling world which captivates his readers. Kaplyn, a prince of Allund, travels to escape the boredom of being the ninth in line for the throne of Allund. He stumples upon outlaws who plan to kill a stranger named Lars and comes to his aid against his better judgement. Together the pair, set off to compete in the Pendrat games and come across a wizard named Vastra whom asks for their assistance retrievi ...more

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May 16, 2009 Katie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was a good book. Three companions start a journey to find a magical pendant and along the way become integral parts of a prophecy that could mean the end of the world as they know it. There is a constant change in scenery as they travel around their world gaining allies, seeking knowledge, and fighting battles. The characters are likeable, especially Lomar and Kaplan, and I couldn’t predict the story as it unfolded. There is no swearing or sexual content. This would be a great book for midd ...more

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Jul 14, 2009 Cwilson466 rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

The story is very good. If you enjoy fantasy literature, you will like the story. The battle scenes are described very nicely, as is the scenery. I would have loved to see some more character development in some of the moderately important characters, but the most important characters are developed in such a way that one finds oneself interested in what will happen to them.

The only real complaint that I have about the book is that it is in need of some major editing. There are numerous errors i ...more

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Oct 18, 2013 Nav Logan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: prophecy-of-the-kings-the-trilogy-r

Book Review: The Prophecy of the Kings by David Burrows.
This is a book that slowly builds into a great epic tale of adventure. Like a good stew, it takes time for the full flavour to be revealed but it is well worth the wait. It builds and builds as the story is revealed until it becomes a masterful piece of fantasy. It is a long read, but well worth the effort and you will be well rewarded for your perseverance. I know I was.
In particular, I loved the dark psyche of the dragons, which was very ...more

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May 05, 2009 Amber rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I received a copy of the full The Prophecy of the Kings Trilogy from the LibraryThing Member Giveaways program. I do enjoy this type of fiction and I thought that the first book may lead to me purchasing the other two, but the author was generous enough to send out a copy that had all three books in it.

I really enjoyed the story and found that the books were very easy to ready and very enjoyable. The story truly follows Kaplyn, a price of Allund, through his adventures after he leaves home to f ...more

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May 12, 2010 Ellen rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: anyone who enjoys fantasy settings

Recommended to Ellen by: First Reads Giveaway

Shelves: first-reads, fantasy-sci-fi

I won this book in a First-Reads givaway, and I am so glad i did! This is a three part series...and I am glad that I have them all in one book. The first book ended in such a way that I would have had to make a trip to the city to find the second one if it had not already been there. David Burrows has created a world, that while similar to other fantasy settings, is supremely his own, and his characters live and react in that world.
The second and third book complete the story began in the first ...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Louise Hazelton rated it really liked it

An immensely satisfying read, this book introduces two 'princes' from very different backgrounds that we come to know as friends. We follow their travels in the company of a practitioner of arcane lore, himself unaware he is a pawn in a much larger scheme. As events unfold we are drawn into a yarn composed of many threads. The central story is subtely enriched by details from other experiences the characters have experienced. Burrow's creates a fantasy world rich in cultural diversity and full o ...more

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Apr 30, 2009 Severa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fantastic fantasy series! This series has everything a fantasy lover like me wants out of a story. It had me constantly turning the pages to find out what happens next! Very exciting and gripping in every aspect of the word. I recommend this series to all fantasy lovers, I know you'll love it as much as I do! ...more

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May 14, 2010 2bnallegory marked it as to-read

Won this from a Goodreads giveaway, thank you Goodreads and thank you to David Burrows for writing and sponsoring the giveaway, I look forward to reading it.

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Dec 15, 2020 Blueberry rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: giveaway-winner

Received as a Goodreads giveaway.

DNF - Did not finish

I wanted to love this book, as the synopsis made it sound like a great fantasy romp. However, I am 25% of the way through the omnibus and have no interest in any of the characters, all women we have met so far are 1-dimensional at best (and cryers) and I am also irritated by the grammatical errors mentioned in other reviews. I feel bad not finishing, but not badly enough to continue. A heavy edit is needed for this book....though there is prom ...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Keryl Raist rated it it was ok

Shelves: indie-book-review

Prophecy of Kings: The Trilogy got added to the To Be Read list after seeing a 'Please Review My Book' thread on Amazon. I read the first chapter, it looked good, and onto the list it went.

Months later (because I'm not setting any speed records for book reviewing) I picked it back up again.

I didn't finish the trilogy.

I read all the way through the first book, and it's okay. There's nothing terribly wrong with the story or the plot. But it's not great, and the characters didn't do much for me. It Prophecy of Kings: The Trilogy got added to the To Be Read list after seeing a 'Please Review My Book' thread on Amazon. I read the first chapter, it looked good, and onto the list it went.

Months later (because I'm not setting any speed records for book reviewing) I picked it back up again.

I didn't finish the trilogy.

I read all the way through the first book, and it's okay. There's nothing terribly wrong with the story or the plot. But it's not great, and the characters didn't do much for me. It's a very basic, generic high fantasy: A Young Prince With A Destiny teams up with the Recovering Alcoholic Warrior. They both get roped into a dubious quest by The Dark Mage. Eventually they're befriended by The Good Elf. There's an overarching plot involving the return of Great Evil and a lesser quest plot to see about Finding The Good That Can Save Us From Great Evil. Mostly though, book one sets the scene and introduces characters.

If that plot and those character types are your idea of a good time, grab a copy of this, you'll like it.

As for me, I'm a fan of character driven plot. And I like my characters smart. They can start off innocent and trusting (stupid), but they've got to have a pretty quick learning curve. It absolutely kills me to watch characters make the same mistakes over and over and over.

Which is part of why I drug through this book, reading a page or two at a time and feeling no compelling need to keep going. Kaplyn, The Prince With A Destiny, doesn't ever seem to learn anything. Now, by the end of Legacy of the Eldrich (Book One) that slow learning curve has bitten him, badly. So my hope is that in Dragon Riders (Book Two) he's finally learning. But I wasn't hopeful enough to do more than skim the first few chapters of Dragon Riders.

The world building is okay. Not great, not terrible. It's a pretty standard medieval-esque world filled with standard fantasy critters. The magical system was slightly off the beaten track, with the Dark Mage (technically a sorcerer) gaining his power by working with demons. The Elves (Alvalah) are all albinos, but besides that, they're the standard forest-dwelling, nature-loving, vegetarians. There's a tiny bit of politics, but it's forgotten about nineteen sentences after it gets brought up.

The formatting and proofing is okay. It's not great. In my copy random squares pop up in the text. Why? I have no idea. It doesn't look like some sort of bad translation of a non-standard character. They're between words, not in the middle of them. It's not every page, or even every chapter, but it is often enough to make an impression. The proofing needed help, too. Mostly punctuation issues, the sort of thing that if you're into the story you don't notice, but if you're already dragging through it, sticks out big time.

The writing is (Are you sensing a theme, yet?) okay. It's competent. I'll forgive a lot for gloriously sparkling snark infested dialog, and that just wasn't there. And I'm always happy to see beautiful word choice, and that wasn't there, either. Once again, it's not bad, there's nothing terribly wrong with any of this. But there was nothing about the writing that made me want to keep turning pages, either.

On a story edit side, I'd say the Quest For Good to Save Us plot line could have used some more urgency. We're told the Great Evil will be showing up in sixty years. Which isn't precisely the sort of timeline that makes readers want to go ripping through the pages to see if the good guys save the day in the nick of time. We get some more urgency toward the end, which helps.

There's a nice almost twist at the end. Alert readers probably know it's coming from about the 80% mark, but the characters are genuinely surprised. Actually the end is the best bit of the book, but slogging through 200 pages to get to the decent twenty pages didn't thrill me. And I'll admit that I'm still a bit fuzzy on what precisely happened in the end. Not that I can't tell you what happened in a blow by blow sort of way. I'm fuzzy on what precisely one of the characters thought he was doing at the end and why.

So, all in all, it's okay. I didn't hate it. I didn't love it. I know fantasy readers come in many, many flavors, and this is a story that will appeal to some of them. Just not me. ...more

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May 14, 2010 Vicky rated it did not like it

This was not a book for me. I finished the first book in the trilogy and had to abandon the rest. I actually had high hopes for this book, especially after reading the preface. That hope dwindled after the first 20 pages.

Legacy of the Eldric has such an Eragon-esque feel I truly struggled to keep reading. The only exception was our travelers did not have access to a dragon - although, one was mentioned. It was amazing how terribly similar these two stories were. Both could have benefited with a ...more

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Aug 03, 2009 Bj rated it liked it · review of another edition

I had a hard time rating this book because it kept me extremely interested for almost the entire book. Kaplyn is a great main character with courage and enough humility to help him be successful. The book didn't feel too long, and in fact, parts seemed to rush by maybe too quickly. The first 3/4 of the book gave me high hopes. However, as I got to the end of this book there were some extremely confusing parts. I think much of what happened between different worlds and regarding shaols made this ...more

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May 12, 2010 Janet rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, goodreads-first-reads

When I won this book from the goodreads First Read, I was very excited. The synopsis sounded interesting. However, the books did not deliver. I struggled through the first, and had I not received all three books and promised to read them and give my opinion to the author, I would not have finished it. The second book was better, and the third dropped off again. The main storyline was sometimes forgotten or neglected with focus going to side stories and events that didn't have bearing on the fina ...more

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Jul 20, 2009 Cheryl rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, first-reads, didn-t-finish

I won this book in the Goodreads.com first reads giveaway.

I am almost finished with book one of the trilogy and it's just now starting to hold my attention. There are quite a few spelling and/or grammatical errors that are annoying and distracting. The story also has a lot of redundancy but I will keep reading and give a full review later.

Update:
I can't finish this book, maybe because it's just not my typical genre. My husband, who loves fantasy (such as Dragonlance), couldn't finish it either. ...more

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Jul 31, 2009 Miranda added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-books-read, first-reads

I find the premise entertaining, but the beginning was too hard to get into and much of it clichéd. There's talent in the book, but I think it would benefit from someone (probably another author or voracious reader) going through it and doing some cutting down to give the opening a little more oomph. Personally, I couldn’t get past it’s slow pace. ...more

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Aug 15, 2009 Kathryn rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Utter twaddle. This book combines ye olde English with modern London slang. It can't figure out what it's supposed to be. In desperate, desperate need of an editor and/or ghost writer. A very poor imitation of the Covenant Chronicles and Lord of the Rings. The pace is painfully slow. ...more

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Apr 01, 2015 H2h1z marked it as on-hold

I'm on page 160 of 680 of Prophecy Of The Kings: The person I see as the main character is lacking in common sense and it makes me dislike him. I understand the use of flaws makes him more "human" and relatable but the large quantity of them annoys me. ...more

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Aug 21, 2009 Stephanie marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: own

I'm having trouble getting into this book. I may not be in the right mood. ...more

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Jul 14, 2009 Victoria rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Couldn't finish this book. Although the plot is promising, it needs a strong editor to clean it up. ...more

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Jan 18, 2009 David added it · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

I am the author, please check out davidburrows.org.uk for reviews. The books are only available online

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Feb 18, 2013 Edison Hudson added it

just let me go through this stuff once more before i give my opinion.mean while take a look at THE YOUTHS REBELLION BY O.MATT.i'd leke to get a few lines from you.e-mail o.matt4176@yahoo.com ...more

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David Simpson rated it it was amazing
Nov 13, 2009

M.L. Ruscsak rated it it was amazing
Jan 28, 2018

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About David Burrows

David Burrows

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David Burrows is the author of the award winning fantasy trilogy the Prophecy of the Kings (Gold Award 2010 Readersfavorite.com) and the prequel Drachar's Demons. Prophecy of the Kings was also Book of the Month on SFbooks.com. Sample chapters and reviews can be found at David's website http://davidburrows.org.uk/.

David has lived in Blackpool, Liverpool, Edinburgh and he now resides in the garden ...more