The Western King

Western King: Book 2 of the Rune Blades of Celi by Ann Marston is very entertaining. I had not read the first book when I won this one from Early Reviewers, but this story can be enjoyed without having read the first book. The main characters are all from a family, and our story starts where the eldest brother is soon crowned Prince of Skai, which is one of several countries contained on the island. They seem to be very reminiscent of the ancient Celtics in some speech and dress. The island of Celi has its own white magic that is all about life and healing and cannot be used to kill. One of the younger brothers becomes an enchanter and can wield the magic of his island. Of course we have the dark magic that comes from a group known as show more the Maeduni. The Maeduni use blood magic and it is dark and thrives on killing. Many exciting things happen as the story unfolds with a climax where the two power clash. A victory is won, but not the final battle which leaves us open for the next book in the series. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys sword fights, magic and strong bonds of friendship and love. The writing style is good and kept my attention. I did have an electric copy so I am not sure if there was problems with formatting when it transferred because there were two areas in the book that seemed to jump from one scene to another with no real transition, which made it hard to follow what was happening for a few minutes. But I found the story worth the trouble and look forward to reading the other books. show less

This was fun and fairly well written. I hadn't read the first, but this was a straight forward fantasy novel and the players and situation were easy to pick up on. There weren't many surprising in the unfolding of the tale, but it was quick paced (except for a few exposition pits) and enjoyable, with some nice cinematic sequences towards the end.

non un brutto libro ma la seconda generazione non è minimamente simpatica come la precedente

TRAMA E SPOILER
I figli gemelli di Kian, nell'arco di 2 o 3 lustri, risolvono le lotte intestine dell'isola e grazie all'aiuto degli Dei scacciano gli invasori

I found this novel a little formulaic and predictable. Possibly this is because I hadn't read the first in the series? That said it was well written and enjoyable even if it didn't really grab me.

A well written fantasy novel. I had not read the first one, but was able to enjoy this book without having done so. Standard good versus evil magic intermingled with swords, family friendship, and love.

I enjoyed reading the Western King and hope to pick up the other books in the series as the author does a wonderful job of telling a story and the environment/background of the story is one that I could enjoy learning more about.

Bringing back good memories - I'm reminded that I wanted to write fantasy in part because of this series (not fanfic mind you, but my own stories).