For fans of Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Dresden Files. Evan Umbra is the newest Venator to enter Veneseron, the school for demon hunters, only demons are the ones hunting him. A Venator is a wizard, a spy and a demon hunter rolled into one. They’re taught how to wield their sorcery and enchanted weaponry by orcs, elfpires and aliens alike. Their missions range from battling … range from battling monsters and saving countless lives in the multiple worlds, to wrangling killer unicorns and calming down drunken yetis. Being a Venator is perilous and every new mission could be their last.
Whilst learning how to manipulate the elements, summon magical creatures and shoot Spellzookas, Evan encounters a dangerous rival and meets a girl who makes him feel nauseous; but in a good way. He makes the first friends he’s ever had in the carefree Jed and the reckless Brooke. Whilst Jed gets on the wrong side of a rival Venator, Brooke finds herself falling for the enigmatic demon hunter who brought her to Veneseron, not knowing he isn’t quite human. But it soon becomes apparent that Evan is more than just a Venator. Everyone wants to kill or capture him, from demons to Dark-Venators and even people he’s supposed to be able to trust.
Evan reckons he probably won’t survive his first year at Veneseron.
Praise for A Darker Shade of Sorcery-
The book was like Harry Potter and The Mortal Instruments and a little bit Percy Jacksonish combined. It’s like I’m reading all my favorite books in one! I loved it so much! The action, the adventures, it was awesome! –Jean Claudia. Goodreads Reviewer ★★★★★
I can’t recommend this book enough! A gripping story, an engrossing world and colorful characters; what more could you ask for?
-Donte Mcneal. Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★
This was a VERY entertaining book and well worth the read. Once I got a few chapters in the book just flew by. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series! –Angel Erin. Goodreads Reviewer ★★★★
A detailed world, which his characters only scratch the surface of. Harry Potter Fans will like this. Overall it was very good and I can’t wait to read the next one. If you are a fan of action/ adventure fantasy, this is a good one to read.-Bridgette B. Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★
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A young adult fantasy adventure that will be enjoyed by Harry Potter fans. The overall structure of the book owes a lot to Hogwarts but the storyline and characters are very different.
Evan and Brooke are new recruits to Veneseron, the school for demon hunters. They were both grabbed from Earth, Evan from the UK and Brooke from the USA, with nothing to prepare them for the experience. They meet students from places they had not heard of and embark on a training they hadn’t previously known they were destined for. As they make friends and settle into the new regime they feel more at home at Veneseron than they ever did at home.
Their training is interrupted by unheard off attacks on Evan and by the end of the book it becomes clear who by and why and they discover why they always felt misfits in their previous lives.
Good fun.
this books looks so interresting
A Darker Shade of Sorcery: The Realmers by William Collins is a dark and gritty fantasy novel that is full of violence, fighting, heroes, and monsters. I enjoyed these themes and how they played with the story of Evan and Brooke’s awakening, and really enjoyed the plot throughout.
The scope of this book and the world that Collin’s has made is vast. Different realms, different monsters, different worlds, cultures, and people mean that what he has created an epic that could span dozens of books and still feel fresh. The world-building is solid, and for an introduction into this world, there is a lot to unearth. I did feel that the balance between world-building and plot was a little overpowering in favour of world-building, however. There is a lot of dialogue where the author tries to make us understand how every single thing works (such as the magic, the rankings at the school, lesson plans, etc) and some of the dialogue felt like it was aimed at helping the characters understand their world, rather than the reader. This felt noticeable on more than one occasion. Furthermore, everything took a little longer to be explained than it should have, and I felt a little bogged down in the mundane parts. There was also some repetition (such as Arantay, Tyrell, and Lok talking about their plans for Brooke’s abduction) which slowed the pace right down, but we were quickly brought back on track.
Evan and Brooke are solid leads with consistent character traits and unique flaws. I always enjoy the story of misfits finding a new world where they find some sort of happiness and everything suits them more. The secondary characters (of which there are a lot) were also interesting and well-built, which really complimented the protagonists and the challenges that they faced. Some of the tertiary characters seemed to exist only so they could die. Although this isn’t ideal for a storyline where everything is supposed to be purposeful and tight, I really enjoyed reading about these characters. This brings me to my next point: the action.
The action scenes are where this book truly shined. From the first fight, I was absorbed in Collins’s writing style. The fighting maybe a little too frequent for some (and a little too gruesome), but for me it was pitched at just the right level. There is never a shortage of monsters to slay and people to hunt down in this book, which is why these short-lived tertiary characters work so well: they are designed just to be killed. It is dark and bloody, but the liberal use of violence never felt over-the-top or unneeded: in fact, I felt a sense of justice when two underdogs like Evan and Brooke overcame these trials.
The writing throughout was good but there was a lot of purple prose. Most of this centered around colour and finding interesting ways to describe them. Whilst it was not exhaustive, they did feel a little bland. There was also some telling which lacked any emotional impact (‘the monster was some amalgamation of giant spider and grotesque troll’). Generally though, the strength of the plot was enough to compel me to carry on reading and these issues are easily overlooked.
I really enjoyed this book. It was good fun. The text was a little bloated as the author tries to overshare some details, but as a whole, it is an excellent example of world-building and character development. I liked the ending (if again a little over-explained) and I look forward to continuing this series and seeing how it unfolds.
This is the first installment in a trilogy. An epic fantasy world of magical powers, creatures, goblins, orcs, and Dark Lords. Evan and Brooke are teenagers who don’t quite belong. Evan’s an orphan, who’s grandmother has passed away, and he’s in an orphanage. He’s the victim of constant bullying. Brooke is a popular girl in school, but her home life leaves a lot to be desired, her mother works constantly, her father’s a couch potato and drunk, her older sisters don’t speak to her, and her older brother has attacked her and scared her.
Each teen is taken to another realm to enroll in a special school that will teach them to be demon hunters because both Brooke and Evan are endowed with magical powers. They learn how to fight, wield weapons, and harness their magical powers. The two also make friends and develop crushes and go through regular teenaged angsts with bullies.
The story is compelling, action-packed, fast-paced and fun. I don’t want to give too much away, but these teens are awesome and wielding some serious powers.
Traitors and dark plots are revealed, elusive heroes come forth, and this story is the perfect introduction and set up for the next installment. The world Collins creates is similar to the magical elements in Harry Potter, the creatures, monsters, and epic-ness of the Lord of the Ring trilogy with the coolness of Twilight. All in all, a delightful read.
I got this book for free from Netgalley in exchange from a honest review.
Evan is a kid who was left alone in this cruel world, picked upon by bullies and largely ignored by people. Then he is attacked by demons and dragged off to another world, to a Demon-Hunting school. Bad news is the Demons are still after him .This book is packed with laughs and inventive fantasy. A number of worlds, every race and creature you could think of, magic as well as technology. I really like how there are all kinds of shifters and demons in A Darker Shade of Sorcery. There are a lot of really cool ones and even some that I had never read about before. A detailed world, which his characters only scratch the surface of. Harry Potter Fans will like this. Overall it was very good and I can’t wait to read the next one. If you are a fan of action/ adventure fantasy, this is a good one to read.