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The Summoner (Chronicles of the Necromancer)
 
 

The Summoner (Chronicles of the Necromancer) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Gail Z. Martin (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 640 pages
  • Publisher: Solaris (5 Feb 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1844164683
  • ISBN-13: 978-1844164684
  • Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.4 x 4.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,996 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #16 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Epic
    #26 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Magic & Wizards

Product Description

Synopsis
The comfortable world of Martris Drayke, second son of King Bricen of Margolan, is shattered when his older half-brother, Jared, and Jared's dark mage, Foor Arontala, kill the king and seize the throne. Tris is the only surviving member of the royal family aside from Jared the traitor. Tris flees with three friends: Soterius, captain of the guard; Carroway, the court's master bard; and Harrtuck, a member of the royal guard. Tris harbors a deep secret. In a land where spirits walk openly and influence the affairs of the living, he suspects he may be the mage heir to the power of his grandmother, Bava K'aa, once the greatest sorceress of her age. Such magic would make Tris a Summoner, the rarest of magic gifts, capable of arbitrating between the living and the dead.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

31 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (7)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (31 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Good effort but..., 10 Mar 2008
Bought this book on the strength of the back cover blurb. Not the most original of tales, but appealing concepts nevertheless. Modern fantasy doesn't have to be completely original for me to enjoy it, but it does need to be well written, with believable characterisation; it needs to bring about that elusive combination that enables the suspension of disbelief! And, most importantly of all, it needs to be entertaining.
There is a lot to like about this book,- those age old emotions of revenge, justice, love and loyalty but, overall, it does not seem to pull the job off. It feels a little like fantasy-by-numbers, with all of the cliches that we have come to know (and sometimes love) but it does not manage to achieve any real sense of tension. In regards to the "good guys," you never doubt, although the characters are placed in the most dangerous of scenarios, that they will survive. All of them. There is no sense of danger or the unexpected. The "bad guys" are very flat, with no real explanation of motive; a power-mad brother and a sorceror accomplice. They are just Evil.
I feel no great compulsion to rush out and buy the next installment, which, for me, is always the best means of judging a book. There are a number of sequels due out this year that i cannot wait to read. Just didn't get that sense of involvement.
On the whole a failed effort, very predictable with poor execution of an interesting premise.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Average at best., 12 Jun 2008
By D. Houghton "Binder" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I bought this book, like many others, on the strength of its blurb and the fact the cover was beautifully done and catches the eye. I was pretty disappointed by the actual content. There is virtually no character build up, so that they appear shallow and lacking personality. There are also questions about why the hell some of them are there in the first place... Harrtuck and Carroway, take a bow.

The plot is unoriginal as already said, but the fact the 'hero' is a Necromancer is a nice idea. Necromancer's usually appear only on the 'dark side' and to have one on the side of good would have been interesting... if it wasn't so boring. How can you take an idea like that and manage to make it boring?! Its a wonderful achievement on the part of the author.

The plot is poorly constructed, the coincidences that spatter the pages are embarrassing at best and the cliche's that seem to bind this book together just made me want to cringe.

All that being said, I read the whole thing. It may seem strange to slate a book like I just did, but to be honest I found it strangely compelling. Whether its clever writing (which i highly doubt), the urge to seek something mildly original among the pages, the desire to see if Harrtuck and Carroway have a purpose other than to flesh out the fight scenes, or the hope that Gail Z Martin may, somehow, manage to rescue the most boring necromancer ever to grace a book, i really don't know.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A good first for Martin, war, magic, assassination and intrigue, the second promises to be even better., 15 Jul 2008
Despite the bad reviews about this book has got I must admit that I really enjoyed it, now if your are expecting a masterpiece of fantasy fiction then you'll be sorely disappointed, this isn't an Erikson or a G RR Martin, what is is a decent but very enjoyable first book from a novice author, the book has likable characters, plenty of magic and some good battles, overall well worth reading

The books starts with the brutal murder of Prince Martris "Tris" Drayke's whole family by his evil and power hungry brother Jared, who with the aid of the dark sorcerer Foor Arontala rests control of the throne, with luck and skill Tris and a couple of his friends manage to escape his brothers clutches. Tris heads to the country of the Principality to buy himself and army to help him destroy his brother and the evil that Foor Arontala is trying to awaken, but first he has to reach the Principality, while traveling he will fight bandits, kill assassins and escape the forces of the beast men.

I hope the review was of some help to you.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars a damn good read
I enjoyed this tremendously , having finished all of the Trudi Canavan books , all of Feist and so many more , was looking for something new and this certainly filled that void... Read more
Published 4 days ago by life student

5.0 out of 5 stars A very very pleasant surprise
I am an avid reader, but I have to admit to being a little disappointed with some of the books that I have read recently. Read more
Published 2 months ago by CeNedra Red

4.0 out of 5 stars Magical.
I bought this book because I to was looking for a new fantasy novel too read. I was dubious at first due to some of the negative criticisms surrounding "The Summoner. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Samantha Smith

1.0 out of 5 stars Formula writing, poorly executed.
This started off well, but didn't get better through this quest formula novel. I didn't think that inadequate character development took place, as some reviewers have commented... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Paul

2.0 out of 5 stars Standard fair.
The is an ok book but nothing special.

It follows the standard fantasy quest format, with the bad guys being really bad and help from a goddess and ancients orders of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by plot hound

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast and furious
May not be the most original, but it has its own originality within the storyline, and I couldn't wait for the second of the trilogy ... Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. Kavanagh

3.0 out of 5 stars Not an epic...but never tries to be.
Although this book has all the classic fantasy elements it never manages to achieve any sort of depth with them. Read more
Published 8 months ago by griff1974

1.0 out of 5 stars Appalling
I believed that to be classed as fiction, a book had to have a storyline. Is this grounds for a refund? Read more
Published 9 months ago by Joshua Lill

3.0 out of 5 stars Adequate
The Summoner is a fun, fast read -- even at 637 pages -- with it's fair share of flaws. It's bursting with stereotypes, and reminiscent of quite a few other fantasies... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Christopher Halo

4.0 out of 5 stars Unoriginal, yet engaging.
The Summoner has been written before, many times before. Tales of royalty influenced by evil mages are two a penny. That doesn't mean they can't be fun to read though. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. G. Battle

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