Hello and welcome back to The Bibliophagist! I am really happy to tell you that I am part of the second official ultimate blog tour by TheWriterReads Ultimate Blog Tours. This tour company is fantastic. They began as a support group for bloggers and continue to do amazing work within the community. Each day there is a featured post and a featured review. The aim is to help bloggers grow and create a supportive community where we can all connect…we all know how important that is! I can’t tell you how amazing the founder is either. He is truly a blessing to many of us bloggers and we are incredibly thankful for all of his hard work and support.
I help organize these blog tours and I can tell you that they are going very well. The aim for the first tour was to have it last ten days with ten blog posts or reviews on each day. That means a total of 100 reviews or blog posts, fantastic exposure for the author. I can tell you we beat that goal for this tour. This time around is insane and I hope you can check out all the posts. There is so much to read and discuss during the tour so be sure to take part!
Today I am bringing to you something akin to First Look Friday. I read the first chapter of The Written and will give you my feedback on that. Before we get to it, let’s learn about the book and author.
The Written (Emaneska #1)
Author: Ben Galley
Published: October 25th, 2010
Book Length: 418 Pages
Genre: Fantasy
Buy the book: Amazon
They whisper that he’s dangerous.
Dangerous is only the half of it. A spellbook has gone missing from the libraries of Arfell – a very old and extremely powerful spellbook from the time of dark elves and demons. Five scholars are dead, the magick council is running out of time and options, and the Arka is once again on the brink of war with the Siren dragon-riders.
It falls to Farden the Written mage to keep the world from falling into chaos. Entangled in a web of lies and politics, Farden must recover the spellbook before an ancient enemy rises, even if it takes journeying halfway across icy Emaneska and back.
In his fight for answers, Farden will unearth a secret that not only shakes the foundations of his world but threatens the entire future of Emaneska. Sorcery, death, drugs and the deepest of betrayals await.
Welcome to Emaneska.
About the Author
Ben Galley is an author of dark and epic fantasy books who currently hails from Victoria, Canada. Since publishing his debut The Written in 2010, Ben has released a range of award-winning fantasy novels, including the weird western Bloodrush and the epic standalone The Heart of Stone. He is also the author of the brand new Chasing Graves Trilogy.
Review
I have actually seen this book prior to the blog tour and I was so excited to have the chance to read it. Mind you I only read a chapter…but I’m addicted!
Let me begin by saying…look at that gorgeous cover! Is that some type of mage? Why is his head down when walking? It begs me to open the book and learn what awaits between the pages. The awesomeness of this book does not end there.
The book begins with a really fantastic quote. I’m not sure why but I love seeing quotes in books. It might be because I’ve always been drawn to them, especially if they represent the story in a way. The imagery used to begin the story, I assume is continued throughout, is really phenomenal. I never once felt like information was being dumped on me but I did feel that my eyes were opening slowly to see the world around me and those that play a role in the tale. From the start, I felt a gnawing urge to know what was in this book. I mean honestly…who wouldn’t want to know what is in a book covered in dragon scales that nobody but a mage can open?!?!
From the start, there is a surprising twist and I am left wanting needing to know why this happened and what happens next. Believe me, you will have a hard time putting the story down. Especially when you read and discover there is a Wyrm and maybe even Dark Elves. There is just the right about of information to keep your interest but enough lack of background and results to make you want to know more. The first chapter is split into two parts and they are both equally captivating. I almost continued reading on to chapter 2 but I had some work to get done…adulting is not the best but this book is!!
Don’t miss this gripping story. Get yours today on Amazon for only $0.99!!!!
Watch for my exclusive interview tomorrow as a part of this Ultimate Blog Tour!!
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