Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Necromancer Chronicles Book Two, 22 Feb 2008
Margolan, so prosperous and peaceful under King Bricen's rule, has been reduced to starvation in less than a year. Everyone knows of the usurpation of the crown of Margolan by "Jared the Tyrant". He and his fire mage, Foor Arontala, have also broken the truce with the Blood Council and are hunting down all vayash moru (vampires). Things are going from bad to worse as the night of the Hawthorn Moon approaches. On that night, half a year from now, Jared and Arontala plan to feed all the souls captured in the Soulcatcher orb to the Obsidian King. Once accomplished, the Obsidian King will have the power needed to break free of the prison, which the Summoner named Bava K'aa had thrown him into, and evil will claim the entire Winter Kingdom.
He is Prince Martris "Tris" Drayke, son of Bricen of Margolan, Summoner and mage-heir of Bava K'aa. However, anyone looking at him would never imagine that he was more than a simple peasant enduring hard times, just like everyone else. The Sisterhood grudgingly agree to train Tris for his upcoming battles, but there is no guarantee that he will survive the training. Arontala is not only a strong fire mage, but is using blood magic (via sacrifices) to increase his power. Arontala will also draw power from the Obsidian King once he is freed.
Tris may very well be the strongest Summoner since Bava K'aa, but it is still going to be a royal battle indeed.
***** I thought this was going to be a trilogy or series, but the author may very well stop the adventure right here. The two books together are absolutely perfect. However, if she so chooses, Gail Z. Martin may continue the tale in another part of the kingdom. She could use the same characters or some of the secondary characters or even have completely new ones. I eagerly await this author's next title to see if the Winter Kingdom's story continues or not. As for the story itself, The Summoner and The Blood King may very well be the best fantasy story I have had the pleasure of reading in quite awhile. I do not doubt that the author, Gail Martin, will become a huge success in her chosen field. I foresee awards in her future and a large group (gaggle?) of fans, of which I now rank among. *****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Worse than the first, 12 April 2009
One word sums this book up, dull.
The first book was unoriginal but had just enough to interest to kill some time but this is a truly boring slog.
I came to this expecting very little and was still disappointed.
There is no originality in this, the characters become even more two dimensional and the plot even more predictable.
I read this hoping it'd be better than the first and instead it is worse.
The ending is exactly what you would expect.
This is a children's book dressed up like an adult book.
If you think the first book deserved 4 or 5 stars then you'll love this one too, otherwise avoid it.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good but could have been great!, 13 Feb 2009
I like this series so far, both The Summoner and Blood King are good additions to the fantasy genre. However Martin's work is nowhere near the top of the list of great Fantasy authors, while her work is good there are some major flaws with both of her novels, especially Blood King. With Blood King it seems that this novel particularly at the end was very rushed, to me it just seemed as if a large amount of the story was missing and sadly that has turned what could have been a great book into only a good book. That being said I still think that this book and series are still well worth reading.
The story starts of straight after the end of The Summoner with Tris and his friends seeking refuge with King Staden of the Principalities from this base of operation Tris and his friends plan for the the coming war against his evil brother Jared and his puppet master the fire mage Foor Arontala. Along the way Tris will meet unsuspecting allies and fight ancient enemies, he will discover the full damage his brothers evil reign has done to his country as he witnesses the devastation and misery of his people. With fighting to control his power, will Tris and his friends manage to win the day against overwhelming odds? Only one thing is for sure the King in waiting must do whatever it takes to free his country from the tyrant and his mage.
A book well worth reading, even with it's many flaws. I've just ordered Martin's third book, lets hope that she can turn a good series into a great one.
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