The Book of Deacon: Volume 1

Joseph R. Lallo

Jan 2010 · The Book of Deacon Book 1 · Joseph R. Lallo

About this eBook

The Book of Deacon is the first book of The Book of Deacon series by Joseph R. Lallo.

Myranda Celeste’s world has been built on a legacy of bloodshed. For more than a century, her homeland the Northern Alliance has fought the Kingdom of Tressor in what has come to be known as the Perpetual War. While her people look upon the conflict with reverence, Myranda’s hate for the war has made her an outcast.

When she finds a precious sword among the equipment of a fallen warrior, she believes her luck may have changed. Little does she imagine that the treasure will draw her into an adventure of wizards and warriors, soldiers and rebels, and beasts both noble and monstrous. The journey will teach her much about her potential, about the origins of the war, and about the threat her world truly faces.

Will Myranda unlock the secret of bringing peace once and for all, or will the world be lost to the Perpetual War?

Ratings and reviews

I really enjoyed reading this. I don't want to say this is standard fantasy fare because that makes it sound boring and cliched and it is far from that. How to say that it was everything that I expected from a fantasy novel and at the same time it wasn't? I guess it had all the elements I wanted to see, that I expect to see, but treated them in a different way. It wasn't formulaic and it definitely kept me guessing, although there were some things I anticipated. My only complaint about the book would be that, when the action jumped to General T, I felt very much pulled out of what I had just been reading about the main character, Myranda. I guess that was partly because the sections about Myranda were long and we got to know her well and the sections where we saw General T and her actions were brief and left me wondering where they all fitted in, especially in terms of the timeline of Myranda's experiences. I almost wondered what General T had been doing with herself when we were away from her because we would see her do a thing and the next time we would catch up with her, we would hear nothing about the results of what we'd seen her do last time, she would just be moving onto a different thing. I'm really hoping this all gets explained more in subsequent books and that some of the gaps in the timeline will be filled in for us. Other than that, I loved the twists in the tale, I love that it's long and yet nowhere near finished being told, and I love the fact that Myranda makes flawed decisions without it seeming like the author just handed her the idiot ball because of plot reasons. While this is not a cast of thousands like Game of Thrones, I am hoping we see more of certain characters who were introduced in the story and then seemed to drop by the wayside. Good world-building, good detailing and description of the action scenes, and a heroine I want to root for all made this an absorbing read. I would recommend this book!

As much as I loved this book, and believe me I did, the following two books cost far too much for what they are, if this one is anything to go by. I found myself skipping pages of repetitive filler, and frankly that is not worth it to me. Still though this is more than you could ever ask of a free book so I definitely recommend you give it a read. EDIT: oh and somehow the anthology, which includes 5 books, is cheaper than volume 2! I don't know who decided on the pricing but it's ridiculous.

A. entertaining read, if one enjoys fantasy. While it occasionally has sections that need more refinement, where events that could add a chapter or two of character and/or story development are glossed over, most fans of traditional fantasy will enjoy the novel. I look forward to reading the rest of the series (three more books, according to Google Play at the time I type this) in the near future... Just as soon as I get to the non-rent-and-bills paycheck of the month, lol.

About the author

 Joseph Lallo, though having written several novels, was slow to consider himself an author. Educated at NJIT, where he earned a Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering, the world of Information Technology is where most of his bills were paid until Sept of 2014 when he finally became a full-time author. When not writing, he owns and operates BrainLazy.com along with two friends. There he posts random rants and editorials regarding the world of humor, entertainment, and technology. He made his home in Bayonne, NJ, where he had lived all of his life until the success of his books allowed him to buy a home in Colonia, NJ.