Wrath of the Royals (The Darkslayer, #1) in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Apr 23, 2014 J.P. Wilder rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I liked this book. It is so much like the old fantasy adventure stories from my youth that I felt like I was in a time warp. Imagine the great stories of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and you will have an interesting parallel to this book.

The book is full of action and keeps you at the edge of your seat, wondering what is going to happen next. Sometimes however, this can create a meandering feel to it. Each episodic scene could sometimes feel disconnected to the overall plot line.

I enjoyed the cha ...more

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Jan 08, 2017 Bookwyrm Speaks rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Venir the Warrior and Melegal the thief are a couple of con artists in the City of Bone, suckering fools in bars in feats of strength and cunning. Deciding to hit a high class establishment, Venir embarrasses a nobles son in a city where nobles have absolute power. After a night of debauchery, he returns to the same bar looking for another round, where he is promply drugged and wakes up in local dungeon. Well, this is not something new. He manages to escape, and leaves the city with Melegal. On Venir the Warrior and Melegal the thief are a couple of con artists in the City of Bone, suckering fools in bars in feats of strength and cunning. Deciding to hit a high class establishment, Venir embarrasses a nobles son in a city where nobles have absolute power. After a night of debauchery, he returns to the same bar looking for another round, where he is promply drugged and wakes up in local dungeon. Well, this is not something new. He manages to escape, and leaves the city with Melegal. On the way out, the noble he embarrasssed ambushes them, and Verin ends his threat permanently, or so he thinks, because its amazing what an evil Wizard can do. Outside the city, on a new series of adventures, Verin and Milegal turn to Verin's other task, which is to be a sacred warrior against the evil Underling race, the sorcerous scourge of the rest of the races. The Goddess of his world created him as the check to their power, to try and keep good and evil balanced, so he has magical armor, battleax and enhanced abilities to fight them. While not invincible as The Darkslayer, he is very hard to kill. With help from some friends they meets along the way, Verin and Milegal face off against a renewed Underling threat like none they have ever seen. I cant tell you how it turns out without spoiling it, but it concludes in an epic battle unlike anything I'd ever read before. The world is deep. in fact , the cosmology is pretty deep, with the actual nuts and bolts of the universe and its creation being shown with some scenes of the world's goddess. Very unique approach. The characters are a lot of fun, with Verin and Melegal playing well off each other, and the supporting characters add some richness to the dialoge and plot. The villains are first class, and are fun, in an evil sort of way, in their own right. This book has been compared to a lot of other writers work, but it is only a superficial resemblance. Other than having two rogues as protagonists, it is its own unique work, more reminiscent of a quality D&D campaign than a knockoff of Fritz Leiber. Any fan of Fantasy should be able to really enjoy this book. ...more

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Feb 08, 2021 Craig Jr. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

A fun, fast-paced Fantasy adventure. Think Conan the Barbarian or in a very R.A. Salvatore Drizzt style of writing. The narrator of the audio book even reminds me of the narrator for the Drizzt books. The plot is lower, but the action and tension is high. A lot of fun throughout.

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