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Duplicity of Power (Wild Heritance, #1)

S. Lynn Helton

Start date: October 1, 2023

Finish date: December 31, 2023

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What Members Thought

Mar 29, 2023 Sotto Voce rated it really liked it

Personally, there are two things that I am wary of in fantasy books: One, stories that are difficult to follow, and second, over-the-top language, especially early in the book when readers haven't had good impressions or attachments to the plot or characters.

That is why I like this book. The story follows a female protagonist who is thrown into a quest. The plot weaves easily when it introduces the characters. The world setting unveils layer by layer, and with everything new, explanations are gi ...more

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Jan 28, 2021 Gene Kendall rated it really liked it

Fans of Tolkien or 1980s-era role playing games will likely enjoy this. My tolerance for worldbuilding is lower than most, but if you’re a devoted fantasy reader, this is something you accept going in. The story begins with a rogue named Namid perhaps acting against her best interests and aiding a stranger. From there, Namid is drawn into an adventure, as the fantasy realm is explored with duels, unique magic, and appearances from this canon’s gods. The writer’s careful to give the leads distinc ...more

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Aug 04, 2023 E.K. Frances rated it it was amazing

Great read

Duplicity of Power follows an unlikely band in an initial quest to retrieve a blade for a sword. The story develops into something far more complex and crucial in the power struggle against the Dark Priests in the Six Realms.

It’s an exciting read which is full of action. The writing is very strong, with great worldbuilding, with the mixture of cities, Powers, and different groups. The city of Nazextas was done very well.

The characters are well developed and distinct; I really liked the ...more

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Jul 04, 2022 Rik Ty rated it it was amazing

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD.

Well, this book offers a pretty cool deal – you can pay $4.99, read for a half hour a night, and go on a two-week adventure with an expanding cast of enjoyable characters. Let’s go!

The pace of DUPLICITY OF POWER is steady and quick. The book starts out one night in a public part of town – a tavern. We meet a young woman, Namid, who is seated in her usual spot, with her back safely tucked against the wall, watching calmly whatever there is to watch. She observes a minor scuffl MILD SPOILERS AHEAD.

Well, this book offers a pretty cool deal – you can pay $4.99, read for a half hour a night, and go on a two-week adventure with an expanding cast of enjoyable characters. Let’s go!

The pace of DUPLICITY OF POWER is steady and quick. The book starts out one night in a public part of town – a tavern. We meet a young woman, Namid, who is seated in her usual spot, with her back safely tucked against the wall, watching calmly whatever there is to watch. She observes a minor scuffle between two patrons at the tavern’s entrance, and this interests her because Namid is sensitive to “power” (magic), and there is something “powerful” about one of the weapons the smaller of the patrons carries.

Namid interrupts the fight before it escalates too far, not truly out of altruism, but in order to learn a little more about the weapon if she can. Events play out naturally, and the characters we meet first, all begin the story as adversaries. The opening few scenes are very smart, giving us plenty of action and insights in very few pages – and before this little cluster of antagonists can completely go their separate ways, Helton puts the city under an attack – an attack that is very unusual, and very spectacular (I absolutely loved it). The attack leaves all characters running for their lives, trying to get to the city gates before the gates are closed (thrilling!).

After the gates are closed, life is instantly altered for most of the characters we’ve met. They are completely cut off from everything they are accustomed to, spilled out into the woods, trying to figure out how to survive, and what to do next. The character with the power-filled sword is on a mission in the local area (the same area where any survivors of the attack are likely to be). This person with the power-laden sword also has money that might buy food and provisions, so the adversaries put aside their differences and agree to help, laughing that they are now on a “quest”.

The quest targets areas in the local vicinity – expanded to include several neighboring lands. It involves a few cities, constant travel, and hardship. The author keeps the action steady. As the group of travelers grows, they scoff at the idea of prophecies, but live through enough coincidences to suggest the prophecy connected to their story might actually be true. The author structures the idea of quest and prophecy as something like a detective story – as every piece of the puzzle is uncovered, it comes with a price – either conflict with the group holding the puzzle piece, or with the groups whose territories the questors must travel through – something is always happening in this story, and the book is short. Helton doesn’t linger on any scene very long, even when the scene is spectacular. (There are four major cities in this story – two are normal (though one is overrun spectacularly), and two are outrageous (I just deleted my descriptions of them) – fantastic concepts! But again, not lingered on.) Let’s see if I can give some opinions without spoiling anything: I thought the Sy’shythys was great. I thought the scenes in Nazextas were amazing – fun to visualize, and fun to read. I thought the idea of how Corentris was constructed was a welcome surprise, and a perfect physical match for the character of the city – and I enjoyed all the twists and turns that happened between Namid and Aahems. There. Commentary without actual spoilers.

As the book neared its end, pacing suggested the story might conclude with a cliff-hanger. But it doesn’t. This is a valid stand-alone book. The ending, in fact, surprised me (always welcome). There is one thread left dangling at the conclusion, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the original mission. The story is complete. The band of survivors disperse. But…

…we’d like to know what happens next.

So yes, get this book! Take the adventure. The author never wastes your time and rewards it with plenty of great ideas. I’d mention them, but they’d be SPOILERS. I already gave some of the great ideas away, but there are plenty more. Enjoy!
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Nov 22, 2023 P.J. Ashton rated it really liked it

Shelves: epic-fantasy, adventure

I really enjoyed this book. It's an exciting quest story which was an entertaining read. It starts off with the three main characters fleeing a killer mist, which I thought was a fantastic concept. After escaping, they agree to join Enric on his coming of age quest. Along the way, they visit several cities and towns and their group grows larger.

The world building is great. The author has created her own terminology regarding time and some is easy to get without the need of the glossary at the en I really enjoyed this book. It's an exciting quest story which was an entertaining read. It starts off with the three main characters fleeing a killer mist, which I thought was a fantastic concept. After escaping, they agree to join Enric on his coming of age quest. Along the way, they visit several cities and towns and their group grows larger.

The world building is great. The author has created her own terminology regarding time and some is easy to get without the need of the glossary at the end, however, after finishing, I had no idea a week was eight days until I finished, but this is a minor issue and didn't affect my grading.

The characters were great, the MC Namid is developed the most as we are in a 3rd person limited perspective so we see everything through her eyes and thoughts. The other characters work well together and the two regal characters slowly become more down to earth as the story progresses. This is my own personal preference, so again, it doesn't affect the grade, but I would have liked to have seen through the other characters too as this would have developed them more, but like I said, this is my own preference.

The plot is fast paced and well set up by the author. You discover why things happened at the epic conclusion when the antagonist is revealed. Minor spoiler, (view spoiler)

Magic system. The magic system is not so well defined and seems a mixture of soft magic and hard magic. There are limitations to what characters can do and you see it affect them, however it is hard to see if they are limited to spells they can perform. Characters do learn some spells along the way, but they do seem to pick things up quite quickly, however this is also seen during the conclusion.

One issue I had is with the battles, because of the POV, they are limited in scope and description. There doesn't seem to be danger because you can't see what the other characters are experiencing other than Namid. Fight scenes are over quickly and you find out that some characters suffered from cuts etc, but you don't see the pain and agony other than Namid. The story is relatively bloodless apart from one scene involving a magical whip.

Overall, a solid story, a solid quest and fantastic characters. ...more

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Dec 01, 2023 Amber Daulton rated it really liked it

I don’t read fantasy often, but the blurb for Duplicity of Power was intriguing, and I especially loved that a woman was the main protagonist. Namid is the leader of the Shadowers, a group of rogues and misfits who live in the criminal underworld of a dark, dangerous city. After she saves the life of a young nobleman and a killing fog wipes out the city, she and a few survivors are thrust into a quest to find a missing, magical blade that could unite the kingdoms.
Namid was a strong, flawed chara ...more

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Apr 24, 2023 Seth Hobbs rated it really liked it

If you enjoy a good thriller or fantasy, you will likely get what you came for with Helton's books. In this installment, we meet Namid, who is a local thief that gets more than she bargained for, upon intervening in someone else's business. There is a nice touch with magic in this world, and while the world isn't as big as some I have encountered, it is interesting enough to keep the reader involved, with plenty of action and suspense. Pieces of a complex puzzle start to come together, as we con ...more

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Aug 21, 2022 Susanne Leist rated it it was amazing

Namid, the book's heroine, is a minor leader of a group of thieves called the Shadowers. Content with her life in Rhadanthus, she keeps her dark past a secret. Then one day, a fight at a tavern has her defending a noble and allying with him to find the second half of a magical sword, a sword that brings ultimate power to the owner. When a magical fog destroys their city, the quest begins. They travel through four cities of the Six Realms of the Monarch, fighting battles and picking up additional ...more

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Dec 19, 2021 Gary Stringer rated it really liked it

Let me begin with my usual disclaimer: Although I read this as part of the Self Published Only group, this was a verified Amazon purchase, not an ARC.

The main strength of Duplicity of Power, for me, lies with the characters. They are diverse, distinct and entertaining. Each with their own reasons for doing what they’re doing and growing together as a team, a group of friends and perhaps more as they travel together.

There’s a strong RPG feel to this book, which appeals to me enormously. The way t ...more

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May 17, 2024 Esther Pearl rated it really liked it

It's been a while since I've read fantasy like this, and I'd say it was a really nice return to the genre for me. Fantasy books will sometimes throw you into a world full of complicated and hard-to-pronounce names and odd vocabulary that there's no way to accustom the reader to without lengthy exposition dumps. Wild Heritance, while certainly indulging on the fantasy names, is able to very smoothly immerse you into its world, without making you feel like you're reading a history lecture transcri ...more

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Nov 22, 2022 Jenny Graves marked it as to-read

May 04, 2023 Peter Boyde marked it as to-read

Oct 16, 2024 Joseph Minart rated it it was amazing

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