Waiting Game

J. L. Ficks · J. E. Dugue

Apr 2012 · Shade Chronicles Book 1 · Mirror Images Publishing

About this ebook

***LIMITED ILLUSTRATED EDITION***

Tale One of the Shade Chronicles:

Doljinaar. Kingdom of might and stone. One name is whispered upon the lips of every man, woman or child old enough to know fear. An assassin lives among them. A foreigner born of a far off dark land and yet lies as close as their shadows. An assassin that goes by the name of Shade... It has been many long years since Shade left the black forests of his people, the Dark Elves, where he was trained among the ranks of the Unseen. He has grown rich and powerful in the world of men, feeding off mankind's compulsion for spilling its own blood. His name has become like a cold wind slipping in through the night, but even he tires of his own legend and yearns for a challenge... And so when Shade was offered a job that could mean his own downfall, he did not hesitate to accept. He would strike at the crimelord of the Kurn underground. In one bold stroke he would make himself an enemy of his own dark underworld. Has he finally found a worthy enemy or will this contract be his last?

Ratings and reviews

I hesitated to buy this book since it only had one 1-star review, but I read the sample and I really liked it. Very cool writing style, lots of action and some of the best fantasy names and places I've ever read. Characters really seem to stick in your head to and the scenes are very vivid. If you're expecting a fantasy novel with a lot of twists and turns then you'll be disappointed. I'd say the target audience is young men and aiming at testosterone driven fun, so I doubt many women will enjoy this book. The premise is very simple: a capable assassin goes after a mobster, but instead of getting the jump on him he gets bold, goes into a tavern and basically invites the mobster to try to openly stop him. What follows is wave after wave of non-stop action. I’m giving it four stars because I enjoyed it, but the plot might have been able to tie some of the factions into the story a little more seamlessly. It felt like the authors just threw everything at Shade, but again maybe that kept the action going. I’m torn on the issue, but it would make a great video game! I'd recommend this book for young men who are looking for a lot of cool action.

Minus a great many spelling inconsistencies and errors, this is a well-crafted piece of literature. The development of the main character is deliciously delivered, only revealing what is necessary, while maintaining the character's mystery. A great read for fantasy fans!

A fair effort. Unfortunately, there's very little appeal about the protagonist - overly powerful, clichéd and too smug. The illustrations were a nice touch. Worth reading only if you're really into similar books.