21 October 2009

Short Review: The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches by Robert Stanek

The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches is the first in a series by Robert Stanek. I picked this up because I love fantasy, I think elves are great, and I am the queen of series. I don't remember enough of the book to write a decent summary, so here is the publisher's synopsis:

The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches tells the story of [the] fantasy world of Ruin Mist. After the Great War that divided the peoples, the kingdoms of men plunged into a Dark Age that lasted 500 years. To heal the lands and restore the light, the great kings decreed that magic and all that is magical, be it creature, man, or device, shall be cleansed to dust. The cleansing raged for so long that no human could recall a time without it, and it is in this time that the Dark Lord Sathar returned from the dark beyond. The one hope of the peoples of Ruin Mist was Queen Mother, the elf queen of old. She saw a way out of everlasting darkness, a path that required the union of the divided peoples. And so it began.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. When I read the novel in 2007, here's all I had to say: "Very tedious. I love fantasy, but this did not click with me. I know that millions of people love this series, but I could barely get through the first book. Even though it ends in a cliff hanger, I have no desire to read more."

The cover shows the 2007 Reagent Press edition. (Source: borrowed; see review policy)

Kingdoms and Elves of the Reaches at an Indie
Kingdoms and Elves of the Reaches at Powell's
Kingdoms and Elves of the Reaches at Amazon
These 3 links lead to an affiliate program; if you buy, I get a small percent.


Reading at the Beach is the host for this meme: Each week she invites us to spotlight a book whose title begins with the featured letter. This week it's K.

14 comments:

Anonymous,  10/21/09, 6:24 AM  

Well I'm no lover of elves (sorry...) so this one is definitely not for me.
Here's mine

Sandy Nawrot 10/21/09, 7:34 AM  

I'm not sure I would qualify as a lover of elves. I do like LOTR, but that probably isn't enough to persuade me to read this series. That is probably closed-minded of me. Just for grins I should try reading something like this one of these days.

Shore Debris 10/21/09, 9:03 AM  

Thank you for your comments! I now know no to pick this one up. I love fantasy, but not tedious fantasy!

Julie P. 10/21/09, 12:44 PM  

This one probably wouldn't be for me either!

Nicole (Linus's Blanket) 10/21/09, 1:18 PM  

Well, you definitely know that a series is not fir you if you don't even care to see what happens next. I just won some Fantasy books from Heather at Age 30 that I am hoping I will like.

Nise' 10/21/09, 1:39 PM  

Since fantasy is a new genre for me, I won't choose this one very soon.

Anonymous,  10/21/09, 2:04 PM  

I don't read much fantasy, but love that you chose one. I like seeing books I've never seen before.

Thanks for playing!

Alice 10/21/09, 10:04 PM  

I quite enjoy reading about elves. I might try this one some time later. I love fantasy.

Kim 10/21/09, 11:05 PM  

Bummer! When I first started reading your post I was excited to think I might have found a new, recommended fantasy series for the men in my life--(the only fantasy lovers here)--but now I am thinking probably not with that review!
*smiles*
Kim

Veens 10/22/09, 8:06 AM  

uh-oh.. ok Now I won't pick it up myself :)

Anonymous,  10/22/09, 1:23 PM  

I love fantasy, but "tedious" does not bode well.

Anonymous,  10/22/09, 4:10 PM  

The only elves I'm familiar with are the ones from LOTR!

Belle 10/22/09, 8:31 PM  

I love that you kept reading notes back in your preblogging days. I wish I'd done the same!

Anonymous,  10/23/09, 11:49 AM  

Robert Stanek self publishes his own books and he is most well known for writing all his own rave reviews on Amazon (under hundreds of fake accounts).

Google "Robert Stanek" and "fake reviews" or "fraud" to get some info on this if you are interested.

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