This book was sent to me as a birthday gift, and so I put it off for a few weeks to finish a stack of books I had already planned to read. When I finally picked it up, I started to wish I hadn't waited, and then I called up the friend who gave it to me and thanked her for being such an awesome friend to pay attention to what I like to read. I now own both The Blood King and Dark Haven. I love the depth of characters that Gail gives all of her principles, not just Tris. I have to admit that I like Vahanian better than Prince Drayke and Carina better than her cousin Kiara. I also found myself wishing that Cam had gotten more face time. Oh well, maybe further in?
READ THIS BOOK!!!!!! ( )

passable. nice cover.{g} ( )

The Summoner has been written before, many times before. Tales of royalty influenced by evil mages are two a penny. That doesn't mean they can't be fun to read though. Although this novel is low on originality it scores in the right places to build an engaging and feel good fantasy novel. A varied group of champions band together to fight a common cause, each with their own interest, be it financial, emotional or just swept up in the events. The story is reminiscent of Terry Brooks fantasy and the characters could be picked straight from Weis and Hickman fantasy novels - blend these together and you have Chronicles of The Necromancer, a fun page-turner. ( )

Completely failed to engage me. I usually try to give books 150 pages before I put them down, but here, reaching page 50 felt like a major achievement.

So many stereotypes in the first chapter - a truly rare sight. ( )

Excellent first book. Good start to a series. The characters are excellently crafted, thought the plot at times seemed a bit rushed, and events flew by, but the story is a good one. ( )