Elegy (The Arbiter Codex Book 1)
Something is still out there and it, too, needs to be cleansed.
- Die kleine Schwester (Die haarsträubenden Fälle des Philip Maloney 1) (German Edition);
- Elegy: Book 1 of the Arbiter Codex.
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Invoking the spirit of manna, he marches head on into what could very well be the last time he ever sets eyes on the skies above. A truly fantastic read! I enjoyed every minute of it. Christopher has built a very intriguing and complex world that captivates the reader from the very moment they begin reading his book.
The action starts at the very beginning and is consistent through out the entire story. I recommend this sword and sorcery fantasy to all those who enjoy reading fantasy books. Jun 25, M Todd Gallowglas rated it really liked it. One of my biggest pet peeves with fantasy these days is that too many writers of fantastic fiction want to make their work much more that it actually is.
The problem is, not all writers have that much to say. At it's heart, ELEGY is a gritty sword and sorcery adventure in the tradition of Robert Howard and Fritz Lei One of my biggest pet peeves with fantasy these days is that too many writers of fantastic fiction want to make their work much more that it actually is.
D'Arden is an Arbiter, a sort of sorcerer-warrior who can channel this world's magic in the form of manna. Grim and stoic, D'Arden travels from place to place in this magically charged world seeking out places where manna has corrupted animals, people, and even whole cities so that he can cleanse these corruptions. In the opening scene, we have a great fight scene as D'Arden approaches a city he's been sent to cleanse. The story hits the ground running and doesn't slow down to the final confrontation. The best part about Kellen's writing is that he's created a great new world with sense of weight and depth and a wonderfully harsh magic, but he doesn't have the insecurity that other writers seem to suffer as they give the reader several hundred extra pages of wandering narrative to tell us how cool and clever his world is.
The careful reader will pick up on the details Kellen seamlessly seeds into the story only as needed for the current scene, so that even as we get surprising details of the history and them magic toward the end of the book, we buy into them without question because of Kellen's masterful storytelling earlier in the book. The story ends with all the ends tied up, no cliffhanger, but with definite room for growth in several different directions. Well done Mr Kellen. You may just have a new reader for life.
Sep 15, Felicity Savage rated it really liked it.
The Arbiter Codex Series
But it's got everything else gritty and post-apocalyptic that a dark fantasy reader's twisted little heart desires. Framed in a medieval-equivalent fantasy setting, this Robert E. Howard-esque adventure revolves around grim swordsman Tal D'Arden, who minces and dices the afore-mentioned monsters with the afore-mentioned glowing sword.
D'Arden is an Arbiter. Sent to Glowing swords! Sent to sort out the troubled city of Calessa, he must seek the evildoer who has latched onto the "manna" life-force, kinda like Gaia energy in the area and corrupted it, causing a plague of mutant wolves, demons, etc.
The story hits the ground running and never stops for breath as D'Arden takes on one lot of nasties after another, trouncing the lot of them of course but suffering some genuinely heart-wrenching reversals on his way to the final showdown. If you're looking for the next Robert Jordan or G. We spend the whole story in D'Arden's point of view, and Kellen's world-building is spare to the point of insufficiency. In fact, this was my only complaint as a reader: Kellen has created an intriguing world and I wanted to know more about it!
The lack of big-picture details makes for some confusing moments, as, for instance, when D'Arden notes, "To pray was to die. I hope this and other niggles get cleared up in the sequel. Overall, I'm reminded of Richard K. Five big glittery stars, minus one for having female soldiers in a medieval setting a personal peeve; economically, it just ain't gonna happen. Feb 19, JR rated it it was ok. Mar 07, Jessica Bronder rated it it was amazing. The corruption is so bad that the land surrounding Calessa has died and there is a pervading chill to the air.
With the help of the captain of the guard and a young soldier, Mikel, he starts exploring the different areas of the city. The more he tries to purify the corrupted manna, the worse things seem to get. Then he stumbles upon a young lady, Elisa, which is the last of a group of guards that were attacked by demons. What will become of Elisa? I really enjoyed this book. What a great story with lots of potential for other books. There were some great twists and horrible creatures that you just want destroyed. If you like fantasy, this is one book that you have to read. I had to get that and I have the second book, Legacy, on my wish list.
I received this book for free from the Library Thing Early Reviewer program in exchange for an honest review. Mar 31, J. This is my second Kellen book, after the entertaining Sorcerer's Code, which I suggest you read first as it's clearly superior to this work. What we have here is a typical sword and sorcery yarn that's a little rough around the edges and showing all the hallmarks of an early effort from the author.
D'Arden Tal is humourless and dour at times, with some of the dialogue he spouts coming from 'what the hero should say '. The book itself feels like three interconnected stories that take place in th This is my second Kellen book, after the entertaining Sorcerer's Code, which I suggest you read first as it's clearly superior to this work.
The book itself feels like three interconnected stories that take place in the same city. More interesting than Tal himself is his profession, an Arbiter. There's some inventive work with regards to the magic system and the atmosphere that pervaded the first effort I read is still here. It's solid stuff for the genre, and doesn't outstay its welcome, definitely closer to a 3. Overall Elegy can be seen as a gateway into Eisengoth, the world of Christopher Kellen.
He wears his influences on his sleeve, and fine influences they are too. He's a humble man who just wants to add some much needed sword and sorcery fiction into a world that has been lacking it of late. Armed with only his mind, his crystalline sword and the sheer force of his will, D'Arden must shatter the chains of corruption which threaten to consume every soul within those stone walls. Deep beneath the earth, he discovers an evil which will cause him to question his faith, his devotion, and his very existence.
If you like your fantasy grim and gritty, with the feel of dirt underneath the hero's fingernails, ELEGY is for you. Readers of Robert E. Year 1, The Wizard's Secret. Reawakening The Passage of Hellsfire, Book 3. Rising of a Mage. The Death of Kings. Year 2, The Killing Crstyal.
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She Who Has No Name: Book Two of The Legacy Trilogy. Book Three of The Legacy Trilogy. Catalyst The Passage of Hellsfire, Book 1. Book One of The Legacy Trilogy. I was just sucked into the story which is a classic good-bad story with an original hero and a lot of magic involved. Do not expect any deep philosophy from this book about what is good and bad, though near the end the book does scratches the surface of this.
The story revolves about something called 'Manna' which is described as the life source. It can be corrupted by the bad demons, tainted spiders, turned wolves etc. Arbiter's fight this corruption, trying to cleanse it from the corruption.
All in all as said a classic good-bad scenario My main reservation with this book and hence just the four stars is that the characters could have been set down better. At the end of the book we still hardly know what an Arbiter is and mostly who the main person, Arbiter D'arden is as a person.
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Small pieces of the puzzle are revealed, but not enough to completely understand the character. To bad as this would have given the story just that something more that is given by the great writers that Cristopher Kellen tells us he is so inspired by. This type of novel is not always my favorite pick, but I am glad that I received it through Library Thing or I would have missed a very good read. While I think that the beginning of the novel is a bit heavyit made me feel as if I missed something important before, the character development and plot structure soon made it something that I found hard to put down.
It is clear that Christopher Kellen understands the idea of the Hero's Journey and is able to incorporate it well in his writing.
This is certainly a novel that I will encourage others to read! Mat Nastos on Sep. Picked this up in a Library Thing giveaway and had no idea what to expect. It's always tough to get into a new fantasy world that you don't know anything about, especially when it is by a new author. The Arbiter Codex by Christopher Kellen, was a really solid read.