Darkmage cover art

Darkmage

The Rhenwars Saga, Book 1

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Darkmage

By: M. L. Spencer
Narrated by: Simon Wright
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About this listen

Winner of the IndieReader Discovery Award for Fantasy

Darien Lauchlin has already lost everything. Now the only thing he has left to lose is his soul.

When his own brother unseals the Well of Tears, Darien is the last Sentinel left alive to defend his homeland. Now he is faced with an impossible decision: either watch everything he knows shatter - or forsake his oath of peace to become an instrument of pure destruction. Accompanied by Naia, a priestess of Death, Darien embarks on a harrowing journey to save the people of the Rhen. But will he lose his own soul in the process?

Darkmage is the first novel in the epic fantasy series The Rhenwars Saga. If you like morally gray heroes, addictive action, and mind-boggling plot twists, then you’ll love Spencer’s award-winning series.

Pick up a copy to begin this epic adventure today!

“Absolutely fantastic.” (Chris Fischer, Readers' Favorite)

“A masterful story with incredible depth of emotion.” (Melinda Hills, Readers’ Favorite)

©2011 Melinda L. Spencer-Crabbe (P)2018 Melinda L. Spencer-Crabbe Dark Fantasy Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Sword & Sorcery

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All stars
Most relevant  
I can't stand multiple pov's, it would be good if the author had put that the book has more than one pov in the description. I didn't buy this book so I could read about people who aren't the protagonist.

Multiple pov's

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I'd read the prequel to this story, Dark Storm and enjoyed it a lot so figured why not pick up a copy of the first book of the series. What a mistake... now I'll have to listen to all of them! This was an excellent book and probably even better than the prequel. It's definitely in the category of Epic Fantasy but with a strong Grimdark edge to it, not in the terrible everyone's evil and blood flows like a river way of some supposedly grimdark stories. No. This is a story that gets its darkness and grimness from moral ambiguity and shades of grey. It's complex and compelling. I found the first part of the book very fast paced and listened to about the first five hours in a single evening. After that, I took my time a bit more and I'm not sure whether this was just about my listening habits (cooking, travelling, housework) rather than the pacing of the book. Regardless, if the pace was slower, it was no less engaging.

I'm reminded of the late Robert Jordan. I felt this about Darkstorm too. But there are several things that Jordan used to do which irritated me as a reader, which Spencer does not. The writing is tighter. The characters (particularly the female ones) feel more 'real'. And best of all there's no sign of Brandon Sanderson in sight...

Narration was spot on.

Overall I'd recommend this for anyone who likes Epic Fantasy but is tired of the same old tropes. This is fresh and new, with a sting in its tail. A definite two-thumbs up!

Move over Robert Jordan

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I must say that I enjoyed this book a lot more than its prequel! It’s filled to the brim with adventure, magic, battles and intrigue.
It’s still a little tame and cliche’d at times for my tastes but it’s very enjoyable for what it is!
The narrator reads it well, although there isn’t a great distinction between his characters and it’s all read with the same cadence and tone, whether its the description of a babbling stream or narrowly avoiding death in a battle.
I found listening at x1.25 made it more enjoyable and didn’t decrease the quality at all.
The book definitely peaks interest as to what happens in book 2!
This is an honest opinion of a free review copy.

The start of an Epic YA fantasy adventure!?

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I struggled, Although an interesting listen, I was expecting sooo much more, And perhaps that is to come, Possibly I am old school who thinks Dark Mage would have tonnes of magic, and fantasy, But this was 18 plus hours of talk and the entire start-middle and end of magic could have been summed up in 3 minutes. The narration probably spoiled it for me, although Simon Wright Is clear, he simply reads. I was surprised at one point as I thought His moderation got some enthusiasm, but sadly it was my sat-nav on my phone, telling me to turn left.
Even as I review this, I cannot remember how it ended though I only finished this morning.

Jim

Possible Forward for things to come.

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The story was decent and fairly original. I had a hard time getting emotionally invested in any of the characters but I had no problem focusing on the story. Not always the case with non LitRPG books. The narrator puts on a good performance.

Pretty good. Definitely worth a listen.

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