Legacy of the Eldric by David Burrows (Prophecy of the Kings: Book 1)

In the distant past an all but forgotten race called the Eldric fought against the demon hordes in the legendary Krell Wars. In a close fought battle the Eldric became victorious and banished the soul of the Demon Horde's leader, a sorcerer of immense power known as Drachar. After the battle the Eldric disappeared from the land, taking with them the knowledge of sorcery lest another rise up and miss-use the power and they, along with the war and knowledge of demons faded into myth and legend.

Recent times have given rise to a prophecy that says the shade of Drachar will rise again and with him the demon hordes.

Kaplyn is a prince of the realm who is desperate to escape the stifling confines of the Royal Court and sneaks away for an adventure. Kaplyn manages to find trouble soon enough in the form of bandits who have captured a stranger to the land. After rescuing this stranger, who goes by the name of Lars and has been shipwrecked on this land after a storm, they soon encounter Vastra, a sorcerer who enlists their help to find a relic of the long dead Eldric. All three soon become embroiled in a quest to discover just what happened to the Legendary Eldric and if possible, bring them back.

*Blurb source* David Burrows

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| Source: Gift/No Review Requested
| Author: David Burrows
| Genre: Epic / High Fantasy
| ISBN-10: 1450506801
| ISBN-13: 9781450506809
| Content: Demons, Sorcery, Heroes
| Publisher: CreateSpace (February 2, 2010)
| Cover Art and Design: Phillip McDonnall
| Paperback: 170 pages
| Sample Chapters
| Rating: 3 Stars

♥ Mini Review ♥

What do you get when you combine a bored Prince, a mysterious stranger, a secretive sorcerer, a vanished mythical race of magic users, marauding demons and a prophecy? Why an adventure of course! Add in the promise that there will be dragons and you also get an intrigued Mulluane.

Epic Fantasy Book Review by Mulluane

♦ My Thoughts. I seem to be breaking alot of my own rules lately. Since this trilogy was a gift I suppose I can be forgiven, this time. In this instance the rule I am breaking involves the fact that this trilogy is self published, which I normally steer away from. However, in addition to being given to me, with no strings attached, I've seen some really positive reviews. So I decided that ever so often, rules were made to be broken. Not that I plan to make a habit of it or anything but surely it is ok, just this once...

That being said and before I jump into this review, let me give you a bit of background. Before I started this blog I went on my own adventure. I decided that I wanted to write a book. So I went out and bought books on writing. Lots of them. I soon discovered that I had no talent, which wasn't a huge surprise, but you never know until you try. I did however learn a few things about writing. One of the things I learned had to do with "telling" as opposed to "showing." More on that in a few minutes.

♦ What I liked. As a first book in a trilogy, this novel took a traditional route. And boy was there plenty to cover in 170 pages. The major players in this book had to slowly come together, form a group, and set off on a quest. The mythology, various landscapes plus other bits and pieces of worldbuilding needed to take place so the reader could acclimate to this new world. An abundance of familiar tropes were used but unlike some, tropes used intelligently do not bother me in the slightest. But then I still read and reread all of David Eddings' early books and they don't come any tropier. (Is that a word? If not it should be...) All in all I was impressed with how much story took place.

♦ What I did not like. In my opinion, this book suffered a bit from too much "telling". Now in case that term has little meaning for you, it basically goes like this.

Soandso unsaddled his horse, wiped it down, gave it a feed bag then went to gather firewood. With the firewood Soandso made a fire, cooked the rabbit he had shot earlier, then proceeded to eat everything but the bones. After cleaning up he went to the creek, filled his water bags, banked the fire and went to sleep.

The narrator tells us everything that the protagonist does. We see nothing through the eyes or thoughts of the character himself. The upside of this is alot of info crammed into 3 sentences. The downside is we do not form any kind of bond with the protagonist. Hard to feel anything for him unless we feel what he feels and experience how he sees things. (Note, I made up the example. You won't find that scene in the book.)

Now please don't get me wrong. I am not saying there is no showing. I did get a good feel for the individual natures of the characters. I am just saying that I think the story would have been deeper and more personal if there had been less telling and more showing.

♦ The Conclusion. Not bad. Definitely interesting enough to make me want to continue. There was only a hint of dragons but enough of one to lead me to believe there will be much more. Overall a good setup for what I am hoping will be a good old fashioned fantasy romp. Tune in next week and I'll share what I think of book two!

♦ Additional Reviews ♦

Series Summary ~ Book Two ~ Book Three
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Epic High Fantasy Book Review of Legacy of the Eldric (Prophecy of the Kings: Book 1) by David Burrows - Reviewed by Mulluane - on October 29 2013 - Rating: 3 of 5 Stars