What do you think?
Rate this book
The Restoration Series #1
The Guardians
Flare is a young half elf who has been raised by the elves. Despite having spent his entire life with the elves, he has never really been accepted and lives the life of an outcast.
As his thirtieth birthday approaches, Flare makes a momentous decision. He decides to travel to the Southern city of Telur to join the Guardians. The Guardians are the elite part of the Telurian army, and anyone can join; even foreigners.
The elves are outraged, and Flare is forced to flee the elven forest and travel alone to the human city of Telur, where he joins the Guardians and begins his military training.
Flare is assigned to the western Fort of Mul-Dune, where he continues traveling the path of prophecy. Unknowingly, Flare has began down the path of an ancient and cryptic prophecy. A prophecy that the church of Adel will do anything to keep from being fulfilled. Anything, including murder.
As his thirtieth birthday approaches, Flare makes a momentous decision. He decides to travel to the Southern city of Telur to join the Guardians. The Guardians are the elite part of the Telurian army, and anyone can join; even foreigners.
The elves are outraged, and Flare is forced to flee the elven forest and travel alone to the human city of Telur, where he joins the Guardians and begins his military training.
Flare is assigned to the western Fort of Mul-Dune, where he continues traveling the path of prophecy. Unknowingly, Flare has began down the path of an ancient and cryptic prophecy. A prophecy that the church of Adel will do anything to keep from being fulfilled. Anything, including murder.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 28, 2009
125 people are currently reading
463 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Williams
13 books26 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Christopher (Chris) Williams is a writer of fantasy, science fiction, historical espionage, and supernatural thrillers. Chris is a graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and works in the computer industry.
Christopher (Chris) Williams is a writer of fantasy, science fiction, historical espionage, and supernatural thrillers. Chris is a graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and works in the computer industry.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 28, 2018
Very enjoyable story. The MC, Flare, was a particularly likeable character. Being half elven/human he had a hard time fitting in either society very well and his personal growth through his training, traveling, tribulation and battles were not only convincing, but gave me a sense of empathy for him.
I was impressed that the two years of training for Flare was not drawn out with needless banter. I appreciated when his accomplishments and education was enumerated in a short bit of writing and not full of overdone drama (like some books we will not mention). The only real "boring" part was when the soldiers that Flare was in charge of spent quite a bit of time traveling to their assigned posting. And even during that time he grew as a person by leaps and bounds. By no means was it in actuality boring, just a smidge slower.
I cannot begin to tell how much I was into the battles in the latter part of the book. They were so well written that I could actually envision the fights happening as I read them. They were exciting, devastating, heart wrenching, full of heroic acts and bone deep exhaustion. They were what made me excited for the next book. Well worth your time and investment to read this.
I was impressed that the two years of training for Flare was not drawn out with needless banter. I appreciated when his accomplishments and education was enumerated in a short bit of writing and not full of overdone drama (like some books we will not mention). The only real "boring" part was when the soldiers that Flare was in charge of spent quite a bit of time traveling to their assigned posting. And even during that time he grew as a person by leaps and bounds. By no means was it in actuality boring, just a smidge slower.
I cannot begin to tell how much I was into the battles in the latter part of the book. They were so well written that I could actually envision the fights happening as I read them. They were exciting, devastating, heart wrenching, full of heroic acts and bone deep exhaustion. They were what made me excited for the next book. Well worth your time and investment to read this.
November 13, 2014
Note: I read that a lot of people saw errors with the editing, it must have gotten fixed because I noticed few with my read. That or I just wasn't looking.
Not going to lie, bought this because of the cover of book 6. Which showed a bunch of steel clad knights fighting - wouldn't be the first time I've done that, but I'm glad this one had some substance behind it.
The writing in this one almost reminded me of a summary, a lot of "telling" you what happened rather then "show". But I enjoyed it, following Flare as he trains for 2 years (thank you author for not having a whole book for this) we get to know his fellow Guardians and learn a bit about each. Book really picked up once they finished their training session, Flare especially grew into quite the leader.
The last fight was written well as well, I was worried everyone would make it through unscathed...but man, solid writing during the battle. Couldn't put the book down for the last half.
Looking forward to see where this story goes, going to check out the sequel.
Not going to lie, bought this because of the cover of book 6. Which showed a bunch of steel clad knights fighting - wouldn't be the first time I've done that, but I'm glad this one had some substance behind it.
The writing in this one almost reminded me of a summary, a lot of "telling" you what happened rather then "show". But I enjoyed it, following Flare as he trains for 2 years (thank you author for not having a whole book for this) we get to know his fellow Guardians and learn a bit about each. Book really picked up once they finished their training session, Flare especially grew into quite the leader.
The last fight was written well as well, I was worried everyone would make it through unscathed...but man, solid writing during the battle. Couldn't put the book down for the last half.
Looking forward to see where this story goes, going to check out the sequel.
October 22, 2011
This is a good easy read and was thoroughly enjoyable. If you are currently obsessing over the missing comma in the last sentence, move on. Do not continue to read any other reviews, this book is not for you.
June 10, 2014
Enjoyed the book so much, that I purchased Book 2 within the hour
January 10, 2021
Good Lord - what can you say about this series. It's exciting, I was unable to stop at just one book and I binge read the whole series in 10 days. I love how Williams created the characters and the way that they interacted with each other.. and how when they (the Guardians) split up for their individual missions, Williams drew the actions and consequences of them all together. Sure it's not Tolkien, but the 7 books come t0gether as rollicking ride. Williams has used his imagination in a fine way.
However, if Mr Williams is going to broadcast his creative genius across the globe, he should be downright ashamed of the numerous grammatical errors that are scattered across all the books. I would give him detention every day for the next 10 years because how hard would it have been to get someone to proof read it? I have just finished the last book and in the last few pages we have: sowed instead of sewed (twice); miss-represented; ogre's (talking about a number of ogres); extra words that just should not be there; forgetting to use parenthesis; and this sentence - "There was plenty of warriors grouped around them so they're leaving wouldn't leave the wall vulnerable." However, even with all these warts, it was a great story......
However, if Mr Williams is going to broadcast his creative genius across the globe, he should be downright ashamed of the numerous grammatical errors that are scattered across all the books. I would give him detention every day for the next 10 years because how hard would it have been to get someone to proof read it? I have just finished the last book and in the last few pages we have: sowed instead of sewed (twice); miss-represented; ogre's (talking about a number of ogres); extra words that just should not be there; forgetting to use parenthesis; and this sentence - "There was plenty of warriors grouped around them so they're leaving wouldn't leave the wall vulnerable." However, even with all these warts, it was a great story......
August 5, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this engrossing sword-and-sorcery novel. It features great world-building, and a fascinating main character who matures during the story into an outstanding soldier, and more importantly a leader whom others can rely on. The battle near the end is particularly compelling, and showcases the hero's fighting and leadership abilities. There are clear signs that this is part of a longer series, but it worked great as a stand alone book as well.
September 11, 2020
Warrior bound
This read has a good storyline and interesting characters. Definitely a young adult read. The main character, Flare, finds himself in predicament after predicament.
This read has a good storyline and interesting characters. Definitely a young adult read. The main character, Flare, finds himself in predicament after predicament.
December 27, 2020
Dnf 3%
Massive infodump at start of book.
Massive infodump at start of book.
June 1, 2012
I really tried to like this book. The story was intriguing and engaging. Despite the relatively good character development, at least the protagonist, there were a number of things to dislike.
The most distracting for me was the serious lack of editing. There were missing words, wrong words used (mostly homonyms, like maid/made or they're/their/there). It wasn't just a few, or even a handful, there were probably twenty or more occurrences. It's not the worst editing of a book I've seen, but, it's near the bottom.
My second criticism of the book lies in it's linearity. I won't put in any spoilers, but, there were at least two and probably three places where the story could have split, and wither come back together, or left as a cliff hanger for the second book in the series.
This would have gotten at least 3 stars had the editing been better, and it had been able to hold three of or four threads of storyline together.
The most distracting for me was the serious lack of editing. There were missing words, wrong words used (mostly homonyms, like maid/made or they're/their/there). It wasn't just a few, or even a handful, there were probably twenty or more occurrences. It's not the worst editing of a book I've seen, but, it's near the bottom.
My second criticism of the book lies in it's linearity. I won't put in any spoilers, but, there were at least two and probably three places where the story could have split, and wither come back together, or left as a cliff hanger for the second book in the series.
This would have gotten at least 3 stars had the editing been better, and it had been able to hold three of or four threads of storyline together.
February 5, 2016
The apart from Flare most characters didnt have a deep background and were kind of forgettable. Of the emotions described fear and anxiety seem to be the most prevalent. Despite that the character development was congruent and enjoyable.
The plot had several (but not too many) POVs which drove the story forward. A lot of the time was spent traveling and eating which lowered the suspense.
The writing was ok, but particularly in dialogues most characters sounded alike and casual. This was most obvious in conversation with the kings and detracted from the medieval atmosphere.
The world building was good and the political situation was laid out, but i would have thought there would be more mages/magic if everyone can learn it.
All in all, Williams created a solid start to his new series akin to the Mageborn or Spellscribed series.
Characters 2/5
Plot 3/5
Suspense 3/5
Writing 2/5
World Building 3/5
The plot had several (but not too many) POVs which drove the story forward. A lot of the time was spent traveling and eating which lowered the suspense.
The writing was ok, but particularly in dialogues most characters sounded alike and casual. This was most obvious in conversation with the kings and detracted from the medieval atmosphere.
The world building was good and the political situation was laid out, but i would have thought there would be more mages/magic if everyone can learn it.
All in all, Williams created a solid start to his new series akin to the Mageborn or Spellscribed series.
Characters 2/5
Plot 3/5
Suspense 3/5
Writing 2/5
World Building 3/5
January 19, 2015
Enjoyable read, despite the predictability of some narrative directions, the ride was fun to follow, I was worried at first by the seemingly lack of character development for the side cast but the later half of the book has been a good surprise for that.
I would rate it 3.5 but goodreads doesn't allow that so i gave it 4 stars, the battle a the fort was the deciding factor for that, I liked how surprising some important characters lives were ended is a heroic but not dramatic fashion, and the battle was well done really.
The fact that the pacing is quick doesn't really lessen the overall quality of the story, I just hope that the ambiance will remain light on the romance part as already done, maybe some others losses for our 'hero'... Ok, no more dark suggestions.
I invite the passers to read it and give it the benefit of the doubt until the fort battle.
I would rate it 3.5 but goodreads doesn't allow that so i gave it 4 stars, the battle a the fort was the deciding factor for that, I liked how surprising some important characters lives were ended is a heroic but not dramatic fashion, and the battle was well done really.
The fact that the pacing is quick doesn't really lessen the overall quality of the story, I just hope that the ambiance will remain light on the romance part as already done, maybe some others losses for our 'hero'... Ok, no more dark suggestions.
I invite the passers to read it and give it the benefit of the doubt until the fort battle.
February 16, 2013
The thing that I hated the most about this book was the constant prostitution and other unclean activities. Coming in a close second was the constant misspelled words, extra words, and missing words. Sometimes it took me a while to figure out what word was supposed to be in the sentence for it to make sense. I don't know if it was just the kindle version or if somebody forgot to edit the book, but it made it very hard to read. The only reason I finished the book was because the main storyline was interesting. I did my best to ignore the bad parts, and ignore the self editing that I had to do. The book became quite enjoyable for me after that. I will probably finish the series to find out how it all ends.
April 30, 2013
Flare is an incredibly likable hero. There was a lot of battles and stuff, which aren't really my thing, but the battles didn't liger with endless detail. There was a nice steady clip to the whole novel. The plot moved seamlessly from beginning to end and made the book really easy to read. And I like that the book took place over an extended period of time. I am getting tired of books that have all these world ending/life altering events happen in a few moths beginning to end of series. So bonus points for not doing that.
March 30, 2013
kind of dissapointing book, story concept is good and its done to a "fair" degree and characters are "fair" but the editor needs to be fired, this book would have been rated higher if not for the gosh awful typos and bad grammer that was done worse that what I can do. worth reading if you can manage with the typos and such, but if it bothers you dont pick this up or you will be screaming with the fury of an angry dwarf that dropped his ale.
January 22, 2015
Very exciting
This is a very well thought out book it sets you on your toes the entire time all though there is a lot of sexual talk in it other than that he his a master at righting books
This is a very well thought out book it sets you on your toes the entire time all though there is a lot of sexual talk in it other than that he his a master at righting books
April 5, 2018
Good story.
Flaranthalas Eldanari is an elf/human hybrid and is forced to make his way in an unfamiliar world. Epic battles, swords, companions, magic and friends follow an entertaining storyline involving Flare's adventures. Fast paced. Looking forward to the sequel.
Flaranthalas Eldanari is an elf/human hybrid and is forced to make his way in an unfamiliar world. Epic battles, swords, companions, magic and friends follow an entertaining storyline involving Flare's adventures. Fast paced. Looking forward to the sequel.
January 4, 2013
Predictable, but an enjoyable read. Good detail. Character development is a bit slow.
January 25, 2013
I enjoyed this series. Interesting world, political and religious intrigue, and three separate fields of magic. Good story.
April 4, 2013
A good read somewhat predictable however I liked it.
May 25, 2013
Could have been good, and I may give him another try. May develop if he takes note of the comments on grammar and proofreading
October 20, 2013
Good story line but really needed to be edited more, lots of spelling and grammar mistakes that often got in the way of a really good story line.
July 27, 2015
I was surprised with this book.. i wasn´t expecting it to be this good...as soon as i started reading this book... next thing i noticed is that i lost my whole weekend reading...
March 3, 2017
I can't remember having ever read a book that makes me wonder what would happen in the story so much that I forget to read the story.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews