The Darkslayer: Wrath of the Royals (Book 1) [NOOK Book]

Very poor concept and no character development-move on.

I read this story because of the high rating it was given. What a waste of time. Beside the poor concept, characters were not developed enough to care about them. A few were added (the Gods & Goddess) that should have been left out. The so-called hero is just a dumb jock type who rarely eats but manages to survive on drink alone. When he is a hero, if you want to call it that, he must put on his special cape, helmet and sword to make him invincible (like a cartoon), and then he runs amok killing the bad guys. Kill, kill, kill. Also, its one of those many, many stories which no one bothered to proof-read. The misspellings alone were more than I could bare. Where on earth was the editor for this story? Don't waste your dollar.

9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

Pretty good.

I read this in just a couple of days. It was fast paced and easy to read. The author took a couple of magical liberties to aid Venir which could throw off some readers. I dont plan on reading the rest of the series but didnt feel that reading the first one was a waste of time. Good but not quite my cup of tea.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Good book

A very good novel

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Avidfantasyreader

This was a great book. Action packed and not lacking drama, intrigue, or backstabbing. A must read for sword and sorcery fans. Cant wait for book two. Hopefully the author has hired an editor. No glaring mispells, but when you do come across mispells and doubled or out of place words. It throws off the read a little bit. Would have been a five star book otherwise

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Enjoyable

not a big fan of fantasy,,,but enjoyable and very easy to read,,,,,

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is a fantastic book

Craig Halloran's epic fantasy The Darkslayer, Volume 1 is an exciting read. This short 200-page fantasy is jam-packed with action and adventure that takes place on a far away fantasy planet, Bish, a planet created by a god Trinos who lives in Infinity.

Enter Venir, a.k.a. the Darkslayer(Trinos' X factor), and his sidekick Melegal, a thief with a knife throw as quick as can be. Mix both of them up with the Royals, a powerful group of controlling citizens of Bone, a large city of Bish, and you have an accident waiting to happen; the mayhem begins there and explodes outward.

Add to that: a monstrous two-headed dog, Chongo; a quick pony, Quickster; a giant, but friendly ogre, Mood; some very nasty little beings called Underlings; a nasty little imp named Eep; and a handful of evil magic. Mix that all together, and you have a thrilling fantasy of the 10th degree.

Craig Halloran has the makings of a wonderful epic fantasy in this first volume. This cast of characters are colorful and active. Plot is intricate with the story within a story within a story. I found it difficult to put the book down most of the time.

I eagerly await Halloran's next Darkslayer adventure. This is a fantastic book with only one minor criticism: the editing could have been better. Perhaps his next volume will outshine this one.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Pretty Good first outing for Sword and Sorcery/Fantasy

Debut books can be disappointing, but not the Darkslayer. I loved it. It takes place in a the world of Bish which is full of all the races. In this on the Darkslayer, who is normally the hunter, becomes the hunted. The human Royals and the wicked underlings are after him.

Plenty of trouble is found along the way as his past and present obstacles such as ogres, imp's and wicked women. Every scene has action and characters of interest that range from halfling kids to dwarven blood rangers (that I really liked).

It's not a complicated story, but it is the basic plot of Man vs. Man, and a touch of man vs. self, which I think will be in the next one. All in all I hope this dude has more books to come. I recommend it.

If I had to make a comparison, it makes me think of a combination of Forgetten realms and Hyborea.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

The Darkslayer is Fully loaded with action, great characters and an excellent story!

I really had a hard time putting this one down. Halloran creates a new world of fantasy that has every thing I like and then some. I liked hos the story is faced paced and full of little surprises that I won't mention. I have a lot of favorite parts, but the fight in Two-Ten City with the half-ogre Farc was a classic. The artwork just adds to the story. Really impressive! The cool thing is that the power of Darkslayer is set up so that it could be anybody. I am old school when it comes to fantasy, and this has all the elements I like being such. Lot's of the different races, a few new creatures and a fantasy that is hard fought and believable and not full of alot of ridiculous scenes that don't make alot of sense.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

An extremely cool book

For lack of a better term to begin this review, this author has written an extremely cool book. Upon opening the cover, my eyes were met with a set of trading cards that boasted the most amazing color graphics I've seen in a long time. The cards introduce readers to the main characters of this Epic Fantasy including: Mood, whose statistics reveal that he is one of only one hundred rare giant dwarves living on Bish; Melegal, a thief who lives to have fun; Farc, a half-ogre; and, our star, Venir (AKA the Darkslayer) who is a powerful warrior and the hero of Bish. Let's just say with this type of introduction, I eagerly dove into the book! We begin in the City of Bone located on the world of Bish. This city is beyond ruthless, with over one hundred thousand citizens living behind its huge, enclosed walls. The people of the City are kept in line by the Royals, who are the ruling class that like to use methods of pain and torture, as well as public hangings, to keep everyone doing as they're told. Why live here in this madness, you ask? Well, it's far better to live in the City than to have to risk the unprotected world that lingers outside Bone's walls, referred to as the Outlands. On the world of Bish there are two groups that make up the population. One is the human population, and the other are called the underlings. The underlings live underground in small cities and caves and are an entirely evil race. The one thing they despise above all things is an entity known only as the Darkslayer. This person has been going through different cities and towns eliminating the underlings one by one, and they want nothing more than to discover this man's real identity and wipe him out. The author then takes us into a dank prison cell where a huge, muscled man named Venir is hanging on the wall. His long blonde hair and blazing blue eyes certainly 'mark' him as a true hero. The issue that landed him in the "clink" was a battle that he had with one of the Royals. Venir won the fight, and the ruling family is making him pay for striking one of their own. In the cell beside Venir is a thief named Melegal. A long time ago Venir and Melegal met in an orphanage and have been each other's friend ever since. Melegal is brusque but extremely funny. Venir and Melegal escape from the prison but must immediately flee the City of Bone because the Royals are coming after them. Not only are they hunting Venir down, but the underlings are banding together to search the country to find the Darkslayer. What both factions don't know, of course, is that Venir and the Darkslayer are one and the same. The action and adventure in this book is first-rate. The battles, the costumes, the locations.everything will keep you glued to the page. The secondary characters including a warrior named Jarla, who reminds me so much of Xena; a cage match held in a pit with Farc; Scorch and Trinos, infinite beings who have an interesting way of controlling things; and, many, many more are people you will not soon forget. Quill says: Although there is more than a bit of violence in this fantasy novel - especially the underlings with their creepy, sick ways of using humans as artwork - the story more than makes up for the few grisly scenes. In fact, the crafting of this story, the amazing illustrations, as well as the trading cards, makes me believe that these characters should also appear in a video game or up on a movie screen very, very soon. Enjoy!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Go Darkslayer Go! A Fantasy you pick up that you can't put down!

This breakout fantasy is Awesome is so many aspects. First off the main characters, Venir (cover guy and obviously the Darkslayer) and Melegal his comrade in thievery, are COOL! But all of the minor characters, such as Mood the Blood Ranger, the Badoon Brigade, the Vicious (two of the most merciless creatures I ever read about) and their underlings masters Catten and Verbard the Magi, make this book unique. Somehow he doesn't let the main characters steal the spotlight with heroic overkill, but gives all the minor characters, good and wickedly evil a distinct and memorable moment of their own. This is a hunter, being the hunted, while he is still hunting. The world of Bish, where they occupy is an enemy within it's self for all to deal with too. It certainly can't summarize as well I wish I could, but this man knows how to tell a great story. I ready for volume two please!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Action and fantasy enthusiasts will surely enjoy this one. If yo

Action and fantasy enthusiasts will surely enjoy this one. If you're a fan of Dungeons and Dragons type tales, then you'll find The Darkslayer, filled with spell casters, hypnotism, unusual beings, and adventure to be the perfect addition to any adventure themed book collection .

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Get the book

Like the book very much cant wait to read book 2

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book....

This book was freakn awesome i could not put it down and i finnished it in two days.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

LOVED IT. Could not put it down

The story about a muscle headed warrior and his friend the smart alic thief. They travel about with a giant dwarf a fat kid and a tiny halfling lol. The only bad thing is that the writer doesnt look at his own map before he says where his charactors are going. The bad dudes start at the soutern part of the map travel south east for a week. Then end up at the northern edge of a field thats 100 miles NORTH of where they started. And the heroes do the same only they end up off the map if u follow where they went. Lol but good story the thief steals and the warrior drinks untill the barrels are empty. Lol i wont spoil anything read it and enjoy

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Three Cheers for The Darkslayer! One Kicking Adventure!

I was book shopping and a friend recommend this and it's was a hit with me. Eep the imp was one mean little dude and I wouldn't want any part of him in my house. Certainly not baby sitting material. ha ha. The underlings are pure evil and the Darkslayer, a unlikely force of good, has been getting the best of them for years and they have pretty much had enough of that and decide to get rid of him once and for all. They arent' the only ones as it seems that Venir, aka The Darkslayer has enemies coming from everywhere. The cast of characters in this are lively, vibrant and real. The world of Bish is a harsh one, hence it's hard fighting characters. Anyway, if you love fantasy like me, I wouldn't miss this series. It's a lot of bloody fun!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The darkslayer goes down as must read. Having read others from t

The darkslayer goes down as must read. Having read others from the author, I felt this was one of his best overall. The struggle is described perfectly and mentally put me right in the mix, but I'm bias to these type of books. I grew up on them and what is great about these are it brings back the kid in me personally. Ready for the next one!

Sword and Sorcery at it's best! I love these characters! Tons of

Sword and Sorcery at it's best! I love these characters!
Tons of actions, dilemma's and more.

Anonymous

A very good book, and hard to put down. This is a must read.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.