“Slay these kings and incite the wars. Only then will the shard be yours.”With all of Naeisus locked in a furious battle over the crystals, King Areth wonders if his crystal shard could be the one to end the wars. Could he be the one foretold to restore peace in Naeisus or will the Captain of the Forsaken manipulate his work for her own selfish gains?Meanwhile a greater threat stirs beneath the … stirs beneath the ground; something from myth, bigger and altogether more terrifying than any of the denizens of Naeisus would believe.
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The characters in the world of Naeisus intrigued me on page one and kept me enraptured until the very end. I love the strong female characters and how they interacted with each other & also how they were equal in power and intelligence to their male counterparts. I can’t wait for the sequel to be released.
Good Fantasy
Lay pens a great story in The Age of Reckoning Volume I. I haven’t read anything from this author before, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were unique and remarkably interesting, that definitely fit within this genre. The author’s writing style is works for this story, and gives the details in a way that sets the stage, no matter the action. The characters are created with flaws and deeply broken souls, and it works. Even with a good versus evil, the characters, on either side, are deep and well-developed. It’s a great story to follow and try to figure out what will happen next. I have fast become a big fan of Lay. I look forward to reading more by this author. This book is a definite recommendation by Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews.
This is a book outside of my usual genre. but I was drawn immediately to the world Thomas Anthony Lay created, a complex universe of interwoven realms where alliance come together and fall just as quickly. The characters were complex and flawed–just the way you want them! The turn of events in the second half of the book took me completely by surprise and the ending was a total shock! I would definitely recommend The Age of Reckoning: Volume I to anyone who likes dark fantasy, fast-paced action and a thrilling ride of a story with an unexpected ending. I’m looking forward to Volume II.
The Age of Reckoning is not only a story of one man, a King, or even of a few kings and leaders. It’s the story of a world on the brink of destruction and unaware of that (any similarities of our present situation are pure speculative, I’m sure). One man tries to change that, but to succeed he must bring six shards together again and unite the world.
The story’s main character is King Areth III, set to reunite Naesius; the world this happens on. Whether he succeeds I let you discover on your own in this first part of a trilogy. The length this one King of Man goes through, are impressive to say the least. Together with Man, the Forsaken, Wolven and then the Marusi, living in water, join the battle. You meet them and their formidable world in an unending tsunami of actions.
The adversary, Captain Levana, is a separate force to recon with in the Age of Reckoning. If what they say is true, and an author writes about what he knows, this author has one magnificent streak of sadism inside of him. While King Areth III is the story’s main character, the meanest one is, by far, this Captain who plots as if her life depends on it, which is kind of weird once you realize she’s dead. At least one thing is clear: I expect a lot of this power-hungry bitch that I should hate for all the pain she causes, but silently root for. Yes. I’m equally bad.
Part of me wishes I could write battle scenes as well as this author does. They are fast-paced, chaotic (just like any normal battle) and gory in the details. A gripping story of an author that is bound to go places. His first port, however, is the second and third part of this story. I’m that hungry for more.
I also read he fights with his dialogue. I disagree. Fully. And the end of the first installment, we discover a race that talks in rhyme. It’s a welcome change and a unique possibility, especially since most (if not all) of the sentences in rhyme respect the rhythm. Not an easy task, I know from personal experience.
Age of Reckoning is a story you not easily shake loose, especially once you finished it. I found Captain Levana a refreshing villain, one that you start to fear and respect as the story continues. Yes, she’s power hungry and King Areth will have to deal with her if he ever wants to reunite his world. I see where this first book leads me to. I see the promises and I look forward to discovering them in the next parts.
** spoiler alert ** It is safe to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. From the start I knew it was gonna be a well structured fantasy world, but I didn’t quite expect this elaborate of a success. The characters are so complex, vivid and well written, just the characters can get you hooked up pretty quickly.
The world formation was well detailed and so coherent, for awhile I felt like I was reading a classic fantasy author rather than an upcoming young writer. It is obvious that so much work, thought and time went into the structuring of the book I have to stand up and applaud Thomas Anthony Lay. I didn’t only listen or read a book, I’ve witnessed an amazing performance on both the writer’s and the voice actor’s part.
King Arrath was so compassionate, loving and clever that it was impossible not to fall in love with him, his aspirations and his love for his children… And Captain Lavana… let’s just say it’s been a minute since I hated a fictional character this passionately. And her character was so complex, it’s like he took every legendary chaotic crazy female villain or anti hero and meshed it into one character. I hated her with all my heart, but I also loved the character formation. A true love and hate relationship if you ask me.
As much as I loved the story, characters and the world the author formed, I also hated the ending. Don’t get me wrong, it was honestly masterfully written and was a great twist of plot, but I’m a huge cry baby and the assasination scene made me cry like a 2 year old who lost his parents at a mall. That being said, I cannot wait for Volume 2 to be released because I deny to accept this ending.
Lastly, the voice actor did a really great job at telling the story and acting out every character exceptionally. Of course, the British accent adds an extra 1 point in my opinion. My only criticism would be that while he was reading the narrative parts, his voice was so deep and low that it was hard to make up what he was saying sometimes. Other than, great work on his part too.
Overall; if you love reading fantastic stories and new worlds, you surely are gonna love this book! I’m being completely honest and there was nothing I didn’t like, which is actually pretty surprising for a person who reads books for a living. To anyone who wants a summary: BUY THIS BOOK. The end.