The Eternal's Triumph (Ravenslayer #2) in Review / Write / Read Club (Indie & Self-Published)

May 20, 2024 Kat rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle-unlimited

THE ETERNAL’S TRIUMPH continues the journey of our favorite characters from book one, trying to collect the remaining power stones and defeat the dark lord. I enjoyed a subplot in this book that focused on freeing those held in slavery and sexual captivity. We had some great characters. I loved Lily and Arinthal. Nyana was another great character! I really love Ashton’s world building. The world is intricately crafted with dragons, demons, orcs and elves. The succubus was a great touch! The desc ...more

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May 05, 2024 Marco Santucci rated it really liked it

This is the second book from the Ravenslayer series. A continuation of the quest for possession of the Powestones that created ongoing wars of good versus evil, leaving the winning side in control.
A cascade of many characters, some carried over from the first book, and many, many new ones in this book. Some good, some evil, and those manipulated along the way. The hunger for sex is always prevalent throughout, even in the clutches of a seductive succubus. (That's never a good thing)

The author ...more

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Apr 22, 2024 Juliette Godot rated it really liked it

Eternal's Triumph is the second installment in the Ravenslayer Chronicles. I read part one and I was glad I did. I'm not sure this one would stand on its own, but if you like sex, blood, and guts, which was how I described book one, you will not be disappointed to read both books.

This time around, politics seem to be center stage, though mythology is a close second. Small things happening have reverberations later on, so pay attention. I liked this as everything seemed to come full swing. The c ...more

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Dec 28, 2024 Gary Stringer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The story of Eternal’s Triumph, The Ravenslayer Book 2, picks up where Book 1 left off and is, unsurprisingly, told in a very similar vein. The overarching story is that of Marcus Blackthorne (the eponymous Ravenslaver) and his many friends/followers/lovers in their quest to stop the mysterious Dark Lord from taking over.

This an adult-orientated dark fantasy, containing words and scenes of graphic sex and violence to rival Game of Thrones. It’s a style I personally find difficult to read, but it The story of Eternal’s Triumph, The Ravenslayer Book 2, picks up where Book 1 left off and is, unsurprisingly, told in a very similar vein. The overarching story is that of Marcus Blackthorne (the eponymous Ravenslaver) and his many friends/followers/lovers in their quest to stop the mysterious Dark Lord from taking over.

This an adult-orientated dark fantasy, containing words and scenes of graphic sex and violence to rival Game of Thrones. It’s a style I personally find difficult to read, but it’s a style the author chose and I’m not going to be overly critical about that. In general, I found I could skip past the sex scenes and visceral gore without compromising my understanding of the story.

However, understanding was definitely a problem, and I can’t pretend to have followed every word. There are a lot of characters in this, and I think the author could have done more to remind us who they all are. For example, rather than just give their names in dialogue, use some other descriptor to help keep their broader identities and relationships straight in the reader’s head.

Similarly, there were times when the prose would shift scenes without making it clear where we were or which characters we were with.

For me, the descriptive language was a little excessive as if the author wanted to tell us the exact orientation of every blade of grass. If you’re the kind of reader who likes an author to paint lavish pictures, this will probably appeal, but for me I would have preferred to lose some of that in favour of moving the story along more quickly.

The worldbuilding is a strong element in this book, building on what we already learned in Book 1. Each zone/country/region having a distinct cultural identity that was well-handled. Equally strong was the use of magic and weaponry in the extensive battles, and I particularly enjoyed the individually-tailored trials involved in obtaining each of the soulstones.

In summary: a strong follow-up fantasy novel, as long as you’re prepared for the common usage of extreme language and graphic sex.
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Jun 15, 2024 Loralee rated it it was ok

The Eternal’s Triumph by P.J. Ashton (perhaps it would have been better titled The Eternals’ Triumph) is an imaginative fantasy tale involving elves, orcs, dragons, and the like.
Marcus is the main protagonist, but there is a plethora of other characters made up of companions of Marcus, others, and antagonists. There were so many characters in fact, it was hard to keep up. There was hardly a lull in the violence, and there were many gratuitous sex scenes that were not really needed to move the st The Eternal’s Triumph by P.J. Ashton (perhaps it would have been better titled The Eternals’ Triumph) is an imaginative fantasy tale involving elves, orcs, dragons, and the like.
Marcus is the main protagonist, but there is a plethora of other characters made up of companions of Marcus, others, and antagonists. There were so many characters in fact, it was hard to keep up. There was hardly a lull in the violence, and there were many gratuitous sex scenes that were not really needed to move the story forward.

The narrative used a lot of flowery descriptive language, like this, the second sentence of the book: “The moon, a luminous guardian, blazed high above the scorching Aridanian desert city, its silvery light danced upon the white sandstone buildings, imbuing them with a celestial shimmer that seemed to whisper secrets in the wind.” The floweriness wasn’t necessarily out of place for the genre, but was often over the top with its flowery language while still being confusing in not explaining enough of what was actually happening.

Here is one sentence that was rather fluffy, but extremely confusing: “With one last glance toward Lily and Arinthal, she turned and walk away, her steps carrying her towards her first and the love she was also in need of, this moon.” After finishing that sentence I reread it several times thinking, -Um, what?- Even the previous and following sentences/paragraphs surrounding this sentence don’t give enough contextual evidence to explain what the sentence is trying to say. Situations with flowery language that still don't describe enough to form a picture in a reader’s head repeat through the story.

Additionally, the queen in the same scene from the previous quoted sentence says she’s going to leave Lily and a man she’s attracted to “alone”, yet moments before, we were told that the room held multiple people going through some books, so the consistency of the scene is thrown off.

There are also situations where we head hop between characters without warning. In the same scene just referenced, we begin in the head of Queen Nyanna and what she is observing in a room of people doing some work, and then toward the bottom of the page, without warning, we’re suddenly in the head of Lily, a young woman in the room, which was confusing and disconcerting.

Also, despite the flowery descriptive language, the five senses are often woefully neglected in describing scenes, and it is hard to get a picture in my head of what is going on, and who is doing what.

Again, in the previous scene, when Lily’s attention shifts to a “tall and strapping elf,” I’m told that he's tall and strapping, but what is he doing? Is he helping go over the records? Is he standing straight? Is he stooped over a table? Is he holding a book/scroll/pen? Is he a guard standing somewhere with a spear/sword/flail in his hand? Is he standing there awkwardly doing nothing at all? Is he walking around on his hands? Is he floating suspended in the air? I digress, but still there is no description of what this “tall and strapping” elf is doing, which readers need in order to see a clear picture. In many other places in the story, as in this instance, despite the flowery language, description is neglected, to the detriment of a scene.
Another example:
‘”They are regrouping.”
“It seems that way.”
The rich scent of oak mingled with the subtle aroma of wine as the majestic table, adorned with maps, became the locus of command. Selvyn’s swift motion sent goblets and parchment crashing to the earthen floor.
“Send whisperers to Captain Greenleaf and your men. Have them return to us.”’
There is no explanation of what Selvyn’s “swift motion” was. Or why. Did Selvyn sweep an arm over the table and knock everything off? Did Selvyn tip the table on its side? Nothing in the narrative shows what the “swift motion” was. Nor why it was needed. Did Selvyn need to push everything to the floor dramatically to put something more important down? Why is this not explained? Another confusing thing that might make readers wonder, is why is such a "majestic" table which would have taken some serious craftsmanship to make, and is going to be heavy and cumbersome if one wants to move it around, sitting on a DIRT (earthen) floor?

The premise of the story is solid, and the story has promise. The bones of a solid tale are there. I think if the story was edited, scenes rewritten with consideration given to describing the scenes and characters in them sufficiently to show a clear picture, and the head-hopping fixed, the story would be more marketable to people who enjoy fantasy in a medieval setting with considerable gore and sex scenes, sometimes with same-sex partners.

There is a lot of strong language in this story including the use of the “f” word, and, as I said before, graphic violence, numerous sex scenes including rape, and other situations of sexual abuse, so it’s not appropriate for youngsters. ...more

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Sep 04, 2024 Vanessa rated it really liked it

A fast paced dark/grim dark fantasy with rich language and vibrant world-building. The heroes are seeking magic stones and are working against the Dark Lord. Lots of battles and action. The characters are well developed, and the relationships are dynamic. This is my first book of the series I read, but I wasn't lost jumping in.

Not for the cozy readers, as there's lots of 'dark' in this fantasy, including torture and lots of violence and sex. Also, for me, none of the characters were really likab ...more

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Mar 04, 2025 Joseph Minart rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Eternal's Triumph (Ravenslayer, #2) by P.J. Ashton (Goodreads Author) continues the adventures of Marcus, the Ravenslayer, in a world filled with orcs, elves, and other mythical creatures. For the second installment, unlike the first, it dives deeper into the secondary characters more among their adventures than focuses on Marcus, I felt. But this is a mature read. ...more

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Mar 22, 2024 P.J. Ashton added it · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, epic-fantasy, high-fantasy, action, adventure, dark-fantasy, grimdark

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