A magical twist on an old trope drew me in, but the sheer number of misused words and misspellings kept kicking me out. It wasn’t a horrible story but felt like a set-up for the “real” adventure. It was free but didn’t convince me to pay $5 to find out what happens next.

Very interested story with a complex, multilayered storyline that has you guessing about what small interaction might turn out to be very important to the story later on all the way through the book. The characters are complex and often have multiple motives for their actions and the world they live in is an interesting blend of magic and technology.

In the guise of an epic fantasy, with unique magical twists, Mr. Bardwell has examined a problem that has plagued humans throughout recorded history: intolerance. The way it is represented is that an army that fought and died together, are in later years pulled apart by the soldiers fearing, distrusting and finally murdering the mages (warriors who used magic). It started with a small problem, and grew rapidly based on rumors and misinterpretations of events. Whether it is religious, ethnic, racial, socio-economic, this same pattern has repeated itself as endlessly in societies all over the earth, even today. “Sir Corbin”, the Hero of this army and of our story, tries to remind the factions of how successfully they had worked together in the past, which did have a good effect initially. But the mending quickly unraveled when a surprising attack on the group occurred under the direction of the cold, biased Empress. She exhibited traits of totalitarian/fascist rulers that have initiated great wars throughout history. In this book, the underdog group, the mages, are nearly exterminated from the army. The plan is to extend this pogrom-like activity to the general population. This book ends at a natural break in the story: “Sir Corbin” escapes the torture chamber and returns to the cell containing the lone surviving mage. We are led to anticipate that they will escape. As this is an epic, readers will anticipate that the next book will continue the journey of “Sir Corbin”. I received this book as a gift in exchange for an honest review.