World's End

I wanted to like this book. I really did.

A story about how the modem day world had to deal with the return of magic, and all the creatures of myth and legend?

That should make for a great story.

Unfortunately there's not a single likable character in the book. Not one. Everyone is constantly at eachothers throats. Hardly a civil word between the 5 main characters.

It took everything I had hoping for good character development, buy nope.

It's rare that I say this about a book I finished, but I'll never read this again.

I will give the author this though. He does a damned good job at storytelling. Is a great story. The magic system is superb, the villains are terrifying, and I loved how he drew the changes out instead of making it happen all show more at once. show less

Nicely done Celtic-themed apocalypse. Chadbourn mixes in Arthurian and Christian symbolism, highlighting the whole 'every mythology is but a series of regional symbols' concept, and binds it all together into a suspenseful read. While the characters will occasionally do very stupid things in order to move the plot along, at the end I was very ready to dive right into the next book.

I LOVED this book!! It's so different than anything else I have read lately. I'm not usually a big sci-fi book fan, but this was brilliant. Mythical creatures from British Celtic folklore slipping through into modern day Britain and causing chaos. What I loved most was the fact that the author had taken the time to learn about the areas mentioned in the book. I'm from the SW and the references to the Jamaica Inn, the Moors and Buckfastleigh were spot on. I will now always imagine the huntsman when driving along that stretch of the A38!!

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer. Title: World's End Series: Age of Misrule Author: Mark Chadbourn Rating: 1 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: Abandoned Synopsis: The Age of Reason and Science is Over. The Pact between the Forces of Light and Dark has fallen and both return to our world to renew their war. The Age of Inimical Forces is upon humanity. A time of Heroes and Villains. My Thoughts: I really wanted to like this. The idea was just awesome. I show more love a good Apocalypse! However, 2 things really kept me from it. First, Chadbourn's singling out Christianity as the "bad" religion. I'm not denying his examples, but the way it is used is just wrong. Also, Chadbourn makes a very pointed mention of 4 other religions and that they are simply "all connected". It really bordered on the hypocritical and I have no interest in reading an author who is out to bash Christianity. Second, negating the rules of the Universe because "of Magic" is just ridiculous. It also goes against my underlying belief in an ordered universe because God is a God of order. So this was another philosophical difference and a major one to be honest. Magic can work under another set of rules, but negating the rules of science, well, the sun would go out and the earth would shatter. The Rules that govern electricity govern a whole lot more! So a swing and a double miss. If anyone has read further and Chadbourn stops singling Christianity out for his low blows, I'd be interested in continuing but definitely not on my own. " show less

I enjoyed the book enough to get the second in the series, but the characters don't seem able to EVER learn from their mistakes and act like they've never heard of magic before. I'm having a hard time relating to them

Marvelous book I highly recommend for anyone with an interest in Celtic mythology, urban fantasy, or anything in between. If I had to pitch this at Hollywood, I'd say it's The Dresden Files on a Lord of the Rings scale.

...What to make of World’s End? After reading it I am left with mixed feelings. There are aspects of the story I liked a lot. Chadbourn is obviously very versed in Celtic mythology and he uses this to great effect in the novel. He also makes sure not to make his story into a black and white, good versus evil kind of book. On the other hand the plot is pretty standard in fantasy. I didn’t entirely escape the feeling I had read this book before. The final part of the book suggests the plot of the second part in the trilogy, Darkest Hour, will be more interesting. For me that is enough to tip the balance, I guess I am on board of book two.

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