Damned by greedy Emperor Azmyth and his weak heir, Grand Prince Len, the Imperial Capital of Ay is winked out in one terrible moment by the mysterious Dark Destruction. Ill prepared for the rigours of leadership, Len leans upon his talented personal protector, Kai Canarbis, but as Kai spirits the unworthy imperial heirs through the disintegrating empire, in search of sanctuary and support, they must endure the karma of the Vallely dynasty’s crimes.
Caught in arrogant, naive Len’s web, Kai seeks to disentangle his master out of an impending sticky mess, his only reward being his blossoming romance with Grand Princess Anna. However, having been badly wounded by the herald of the Dark Destruction, even the incredibly accomplished Kai falls victim to circumstance.
A desperate, but doomed quest to save the empire leads across land, sea and ice, into enemy-occupied territory, but as the unfathomable Dark Destruction continues to ravage the realm, there might not be an empire remaining for anyone to claim.
Born in Shrewsbury, died who knows where, I currently bathe in that beautiful, cultural, historical Shropshire air!
I seek to become a full-time author to fulfil a life-long dream. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write and I can’t imagine a time when I won’t. Having lived without electricity for a time, necessity sparked my love affair with the written word, as it was easier to write than read in poor light. No one else had penned the story I wanted to read and my characters yearned to live and breathe, so I had to bring them to life. Now I write for the experience and the pleasure, for it is my passion, my religion, my parent, my councillor: my identity. I write because I don’t know how not to! My head is full of stories all jostling for position and it’s never a matter of which book to write next, for I work on concurrent projects. I primarily write fantasy, but have written poetry, science fiction, historical fiction and horror.
An EPIC tale focussing on the heirs to the thrown of Ay and their protector. Their flight from danger and attempts to consolidate their position as those around them seek to take advantage in their time of need.
When their uncle, the Emperor de-facto, is killed and the empire torn asunder by mysterious magical forces the heirs find themselves in a most precarious position. They are aided only by their protector the stalwart and ever diplomatic Kai and must deal with a cast of self serving nobles, mysterious bandits, enigmatic gypsies and mysterious monks. All in the cause of trying to survey and rebuild the empire.
The book is well written and the tale well told. There's a smattering of olden English words like thee, hale and betwixt, to some they may seem annoying to others part of the flavour of the book. Either way they never really get in the way of the story.
The characters are well defined and I found myself associating the Price with the King of France as portrayed in the recent BBC adaptation of the Musketeers.
The lands in the book are named after the signs of the zodiac and I found myself wanting to know more about them and their inhabitants. Speaking of which they are mix of races from werewolves, to dwarves and vampires and even spiders. Yet it is never made clear what race the heirs or Kai are so we assume them to be human.
There's a character called Skander who appears almost out of thin air and promises more than is written about him within the pages of the book. This left me a little unsure of his purpose and questioning why he was there at all.
There are a few little other plot mechanics that were not quite explained well enough that, along with Skander, made me give this book 4 not 5 stars.
However, I would still recommend you buy and read it, it is worth every penny/cent.
My opinions about this book are rather split. On the one hand, I loved the story; I found it really intriguing and enjoyable, enough to make me want to keep reading and want to find out what happens next in the series. This is in spite of the major flaw in the book for me, and the reason I was repeatedly tempted to stop reading; the writing itself.
For me, the writing was too much like a teenager's fan fiction, full (and I mean FULL) of exclamation marks, and repeated use of '...' paragraph and chapter ends, as if the dramatic tension needs to be highlighted for us on every occasion. (There were also repeated grammatical mistakes in the ebook, especially commas in the wrong place which found me frequently re-reading sentences to get the rhythm right, but I put this down to poor editing rather than the writing itself.) The 'teenager' feeling also came from some over-use of adjectives, particularly in how the characters are described (as if we might not otherwise understand just how wonderful - and how obviously the hero - the character Kai is, for example), and some rather unbelievable elements to the story.
The writing and grammar really spoilt the reading for me frequently when I picked up the book, especially at the beginning when I was more than once tempted to put it down for good. However, it is a testament to the strength of the story, particularly as it seemed to pick up some pace towards the end, that I continued reading, and I am glad I did so. I will certainly be braving the next book to find out how the story continues.
The Book of Wrath is a great start to an epic fantasy series. The Ay Empire is decadent and corrupt, teetering on the edge of collapse. Excess and brutality mar the Empire and only the dominace of the Vallely Dynasty keeps the various kingdoms in check. So what happens when the Dark Destruction falls on the capital, sending Len, the Heir to the Empire, his sister Anna, and their wounded protector Kai fleeing into the wilderness. Now its up to vain, arrogant Len to somehow stop the catastrophe and claim the throne while Kai struggles to keep the Imperial Heirs safe not only from their enemies, but from themselves.
Billie-Jo tells a great story and while her writing is rough at times, it shows great promise. I can't wait to see how she develops as a writer as well as what twists and turns are coming up in Destiny of Dragons
Generally, this is a good tale. Some things felt a little awkward, though, like having the regions of the world be named for zodiac signs and the names for the vampires and werewolves. Perhaps there was an underlying reason for doing things this way, but I never really clued into it.
The characters are mostly believable, and those that aren't are just toeing that line. A little more information about Kai or Len would have been nice so we could know more about why/how they do the things they do.
One last nitpick would be the use of 'thee' as, seemingly, an emphatic 'the'. I don't quite understand this, but perhaps it is simply an ebook issue.
Truly, I am nitpicking here. If all I can find to criticize are a few names and some lack of information about what I feel are the most interesting characters, things aren't bad at all. The relationships between people feel real, the danger is palpable, and for once the political side of things didn't bore me to tears.
Adventurous and good fun to read, this is one of the best indie books on Amazon, certainly one of the best edited, especially considering that's been achieved by the author herself. I love the cool, simple but effective cover. The pitch made me want to read on and I love the way the book opens; the Emperor's Man walks into the bar and commands instant respect, so nobody would dare cause trouble. Wish I could do that!
After a superb opening it just gets better. I really like the story set up and it leaps right into the action. Its very well written, yet easy to follow with an excellent pace. Its very imaginative writing, with a suspenseful plot that keeps you turning pages. Descriptions are well developed and explained. The author does an excellent job at describing this new, expansive, realistic world and there's also a hell of a cast of characters, embedded in sharp imagery with myriad details that make their environments feel real. Not often do I read a fantasy book where the world the characters live in seem as thought out and well developed as the characters themselves.
The distinct characters show the promise of further and more interesting development as the story goes on, so they practically jump off the page. I enjoyed the entertaining dialogue exchanges, which didn't slow down reading. Kai's adventures kept me engaged, this somewhat common man, working for the Emperor, but possessed with deep compassion unlike any of his peers. It's easy to like him, as well as root for him to succeed, all important for the hero. I do feel sorry for him with the idiot ne'er do well of a prince to look after. I don't see that rotter Len could possibly be heir to anything more than a barstool, even after his changes. Reminds me of our ruling class. Anna is quite amazing, all important in a heroine.
There's plenty of conflict to keep the story moving forward, which in turn will keep the reader moving forward as well. This is only book 1, the introductory book of the series, so it sets the entire series up nicely for the fantasy to grow. I already like the gypsies and the werewolf. Oh and Skander the angel! I also like that the vampires aren't your traditional kind either, hence the Sanguinex naming at a guess.
I do have a dilemma with it though...what happens next? I am reading this one all the way to the end.
Does this make you think of anything? An empire controlled by a cruel, arrogant and stupid leader heads for what looks like inevitable destruction.
This is what Billie-Jo Williams' scintillating epic is about and every line I read reminded me of a whole host of countries in this present-day Earth of ours. Williams' book is insightful and prophetic and as I read it I felt that I was seeing an account of the impending doom that is written daily across my television screen as I watch the seemingly inexorable descent of so-called leaders and their unfortunate people into the end game.
And yet the book is so challenging, so utterly unforgettable. This author is quite amazing. In an introduction to herself and her work she writes: "There are nine books in the series .... The fantasy only builds as the books progress. It has been crafted with much care and attention, penned with love, blood, sweat and tears." All I can say is that all the love, blood, sweat and tears were worth going through. Billie-Jo Williams has produced a magical first book in what promises to be a bestselling series.
The dark destruction has taken the capital. The famed protector, Kai Canarbis takes flight with two pompous royal siblings. His enemies closing in.
Oh my! What a delight! Bickering charming characters. Heroic deeds. Terrifying opponents. Absolutely loved it. LMAO. 😂
What a wonderful surprise this was! The banter in this reminded me very much of Willow. This incredible warrior with two selfish brats with only the fate of the realm at stake.
I constantly laughed out loud at their verbal exchanges.
It’s full of old English but suddenly has a character saying something is “shitty”. But it works and is hilarious.
It started off a bit slow but soon picked up pace. I have to say though, I was shattered reading it because one of the main characters just didn't sleep. That was a tad annoying because I didn't know how they kept going. Apart from that it was a great read.