Tales Of The Taormin [Mass Market Paperback]

This review is a compilation of the reviews I wrote for each book of the series individually.

Fire Get -

Fire Get is the first book in the "Tales of the Taormin" series by Cheryl J.Franklin. The story centers around Rhianna, a noble born woman of the kingdom of Tyntagel in the world of Serii. Being the daughter of nobility Rhianna is being forced by her father into an arranged marriage which of course she objects to. To avoid the situation Rhianna decides to run away and live the Dwaelin Wood, a foreboding forest where none will go. Being able to converse with trees and other creatures of nature Rhianna feels this is the best place to hide. Not long after she arrives she happens upon a group of "Venturers" travelling through the forest and ultimately decides to join them on their quest. From here begins the rest of the story involving the other main character of the story, Kaedric, a brooding and powerful blue flame-wielding wizard with a dark past. Their quest is to stop the Taormin from falling into evil hands. Now, the first question you might ask yourself is "What exactly is the Taormin?" I know I asked myself that and found myself frustrated and wondering for the entire book. All you really know is that it's a "Power focus" and considered very dangerous if used or misused (sure it sounds a lot like "The One Ring" but what fantasy isn't influenced my Tolkien, honestly). In any case the small group of "venturers" set out on their generic quest of good vs. evil and I'll leave the rest for you to discover. As for the book itself, here are my thoughts;

Pros

+ Most of the main heroes all have flaws and or questionable pasts. This is refreshing in the fantasy genre as it's often littered with "flawless do-gooders."

+ A few very well written characters. In particular I really enjoyed the characters of the roguish Ineuil and the wizard Kaedric.

+ Contained a map of realm. Always a plus in my view.


Cons

- No chart of the royal family trees. This book focused heavily on royalty across various ruling cities and a layout of each ruling house would have been extremely helpful.

- Majority of the characters are vague and faceless. The author seemed to focus heavily on the main characters but neglected to remotely flesh out secondary ones.

- Map is incomplete and many of the names are largely illegible due to them being over top of the landscape drawings.

- Writing style is overly wordy, often times to the point of wanting a dictionary just to look up various words. I applaud the author's vocabulary but honestly it came off as a bit pretentious. Examples of words often used; vituperative, concomitant, preprandial, perspicacity, ebullition etc.

- Written in first person. Unless it's a memoir I'm personally not a fan of first person writing.

- Most chapters involving the royal court and it's proceedings are extremely dull and boring.

- Combat was nonchalantly written and uninspired. I wasn't expecting R.A. Salvatore action but when there was any sort of fighting or combat it was dull. Enemies simply appeared (Gargoyles, thieves, brigands, undead etc.) and were dispatched.

- The Taormin isn't even described until the very end of the book.

- Flashbacks/memory sharing sequences seemed poorly inserted into the story. They detailed interesting information regarding the characters past but didn't flow well where they were placed causing it to become confusing at first.

- Story contains a sci-fi crossover, something I dislike in books that are advertised to be pure fantasy.

- Master Veld is also Master Vald on the same page. Minor but very noticeable as it's in the opening chapters of the book.


I was really expecting Fire Get to be a better book than it actually was. The story itself has some redeeming qualities and I enjoyed the first third of the book. Unfortunately when the Venture ends the story spirals into mediocrity. The focus then shifts to the daily doings of the royal houses which was a chore to get through. Characters are so bound to what the royal customs are they refuse to question authority. This is especially disappointing in Rhianna. Luckily this seems to have changed in the second book in the series "Fire Lord" of which a review will follow when I'm finished. As for Fire Get, it's worth a read but if you're an avid reader of fantasy don't expect to find anything that will wow you.


Fire Lord -

Fire Lord is the second book in the Taormin series by Cheryl J. Franklin. The story shifts focus from Rhianna being the main character to her son Evaric. Hidden away from those who see him as a threat being the son of Lord Venkarel, Evaric is raised by a foster family and unaware that he is the son of two Infortiares (Heads of the Wizard Order in the land of Serii). The story revolves heavily around creatures called Rendies, wraith like creature of cold flame, which were brought about by the destruction of Evaric's father and his opponent the Sorcerer Horlach in the previous book. The conflict, now referred to as "The Rending" has brought these creatures to the mortal plane of existence to feast upon the fears and souls of the living. Rendies feed on mortal fear and of course come out at nightfall. This brings rise to a group called the K'Shai, a secretive group of assassins who are trained to be immune to fear. K'Shai, while often feared and scorned for their actions are now hired to protect travelers from the Rendies. These are the basics of Fire Lord's story and much like Fire Get the book started out somewhat interesting but unfortunately fell flat near the middle and end. Here are my thoughts on Fire Lord;


Pros

+ Some prominent characters from the original "Venture" return to continue the story. Rhianna, Ineuil and Father Medwyn all return but their roles are brief compared to that of Evaric.

+ Interesting introduction of the K'Shai assassins is a welcome concept. K'Shai assassins are basically trained to be immune to fear and perform defensive weapon combat stances to thwart the Rendies attacks. It's similar to the Kensai class in the AD&D role-playing game but not as disciplined.

+ Great cover art.


Cons

- No world map this time around. This is especially annoying as the majority of the book takes place in a new foreign land not detailed on the original Fire Get map. So you basically have no idea where they are, just that they had to sail to this new Arabian style desert land.

- Unnecessary Sci-Fi crossover continues and a bit more pronounced this time. I found this aspect of the story convoluted and completely uninteresting.

- Overall story quickly becomes bland, uninspiring and predictable.

- K'Shai assassins all have rather silly names such as Fog, Fire, Straw etc.

- Rhianna virtually does nothing interesting to display her new power as Infortiare.

- Evaric displays little to no use of his inherited power potential. I felt the author really cheated us in regards to his character.

- Random characters are written in the first person perspective. Lyriel being the main one. I found this very irritating.

- I found the name Rendies comical, it made them sound much less intimidating than they really where. I feel Renders would have sounded better.


Much like Fire Get, I was really expecting a lot more from Fire Lord based on the stories potential. But Franklin once again disappoints with the lack of flare the story so desperately needed. Also, she continues to intertwine the sci-fi aspect of world which lessens the impact of the story for me. The next book in the series entitled Fire Crossing further explores the sci-fi crossover of wizards and technology. Unfortunately, this is where I draw the line and won't be giving third title a try. This is too bad because I really tried to like the story but it just ended up being middle of the road. If you're looking for exciting and inventive fantasy, look elsewhere.


If you're looking for a cheap omnibus consisting of a mediocre fantasy story this is worth buying. If not, it's easily worth skipping. Also note there is no map included in the omnibus which makes the story less engaging.

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see the review  3.0 out of 5 stars