The Chocolate Prophecy

E.L. Ward

Aug 2020 · Luke Ward

About this ebook

"A great evil will be coming back into the world... and in two weeks' time, it will rain chocolate."

Enter the life of Jek - a humble lighthouse steward on the southern coast of Jast-Madiir. Along with his wife (whose name is Aaliyah… or was it Audrey?), Jek must daily meet the expectations of an iron-fisted dictatorship, a global dragon-Inquisition, and a clerical order of flying jellyfish-like creatures churning out new surveys at a dizzying pace. All-in-all, a fairly predictable tedium. But when any little demerit on his next inspection could cost him his life, it can be hard sometimes to keep from stressing out!

Of course, if Jek knew half the things at play just beyond his sleepy shores, he would be very stressed indeed. Neighboring Tophthaera is reeling under the Twin Queens’ civil war. To the north, insurrection threatens to claim the island of Maenea for the cause of “Free-Dome” – a very strange and unsettling new ideology. Even the stable nations must decide how to deal with the recent, accidental discovery of magic. And all the while, the threat of Onyxadon’s inevitable return clouds every counsel. Only the strength and wisdom of the Grand Inquisitor would seem adequate to avail against these many calamities. But he has been dormant for seventy-five years now.

Jek is, at best, dimly aware of such things… and perhaps better suited than anyone to be an ineffectual bystander anyway. But those luxuries are burst quite suddenly when he meets a crotchety old sailor man, only to be swept into a hair-brained Noble Quest to find the Knights of the Indigo Lodge, expose a secret Doom Fleet, and unravel the dreaded mystery of Proconsul Zedulon’s infamous “Chocolate Prophecy.”

Ratings and reviews

The Chocolate Prophesy – E.L. Ward falls comfortably into the genre of Epic Fantasy. The story starts with Jek the unimportant lighthouse keeper and his wife Audrey –though she looks more like and Aaliyah- who are both kidnapped by The Old Man on the very day that the Inquisition and the Inspector also come for their respective duties. They go on a harrowing journey to find the Indigo Knights who must help save the world. They have to run from the Despotopian assassins and make allies out of some of the most unlikely enemies. Visit the Wading Island and converse with Dragons. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Idriulthoronton Archipelago Parissah and Horus Templar follow their own journeys that will lead them to join the unprepared saviors of the world. In the tradition of Tolkien, a grand adventure begins with two characters who go on an unexpected (though forced) adventure, then the fun starts. E.L. Ward spins a tale as fantastical as the Hobbit while colouring it with the wit, and wisdom of Pratchett as well as the easy humour of Douglas Adams. The plot is straightforward but has so many characters and subplots that you cannot predict anything in this hilarious adventure. From the start you have to read and savour the story (sometimes you may need a dictionary to really get the joke), you will want to read every word of the 600 plus pages and I guarantee you that you will want to read it again. The characters are complex with hidden talents. I really liked the humour and the classic way in which it is conveyed. I hope to read more of Ward’s books in the future.

About the author

E.L. Ward lives in Michigan, pretty much.