Review of To Rule a World

Shazyclaire Mark · Post by **Shazyclaire Mark** » 13 Jan 2023, 15:21

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "To Rule a World" by Steven Herzman.]

3 out of 5 stars

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Steven Herzman's To Rule a World is a fantasy thriller set in ancient times during the times of dragons, orcs, trolls, and magic. This book is filled with suspense and has lots of plot twists. The book tells the story of a man named Tanis Thalin, born out of wedlock. Tanis grew up seeking revenge and wanted to unite the divided kingdom and rule the world.

Tanis' mother, Tasina Thalin, was raped by the dreaded dark lord, Lord McCryden. The dark lord now set out to kill Tasina to cover his atrocities, not knowing she was pregnant. Tasina ran to the Druids for salvation, and there she gave birth to Tanis. The Druids accepted and adopted him because he had a destiny. However, when Tanis was ready to marry his beloved Charina, Charina's mother was in their way. Even though Tanis and Charina completed the task so they could get married, Charina's mother was hellbent on destroying her daughter. Eventually, Charina died, and Tanis mourned her and soon married Athininah, a Tyris queen. Unfortunately, during a dreadful battle, Tanis died at the hands of Athininah's deceitful handmaiden, Clarine, who became a treacherous demon called Porthious. As luck may have it, Athininah was pregnant before Tanis died. She bore twins named Torlin and Thomas. These two turned out to be masters of magic and warfare, respectively. Torlin was the one with a propensity for evil and destruction. Thomas had more of a compassionate heart and tended towards doing good. But this was only the beginning of a great twist. What ensued later will marvel, thrill, and astound you.

This book had some positive aspects, which I really liked. First, the author is a master of twists, turns, and suspense. It was like I was in the book, experiencing all the events as they unfolded. The book was a mixture of Merlin, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit, and it gets even better. I didn't want the book to end, just like in the film The Lord of the Rings. Second, the author introduced many characters befitting a fantasy thriller novel. As the book progresses, the author takes control of his pen. It was as if he magically conjured creatures, and it was a banger. The author adopted mythical beings from The Lord of the Rings film; he had Dwarves, Elves, and wizards. Finally, the author skillfully joined and united all of the book's moving parts to deliver that fantasy punch. As many wars were happening in Metradon and Tetradon, other activities were happening in Thalinburg, the capital. I liked how the author could move from one city to the other while maintaining the reader's attention and keeping them eager for more.

What I disliked about the book is that the author's grammar reads like the story was written in a language other than English and then translated. As you read the book, most sentences are not grammatically wrong but don't seem semantically correct either. Second, I encountered over a dozen errors. These errors were there because an expert did not proofread the book. Third, the author did not properly format the book. The book's chapters appeared randomly; some were in the middle, while others were on the previous pages. It doesn't seem like it was formatted by a professional. And finally, the author misplaced some characters; for instance, on page 176, the author wrote: "It had turned out that Charina was truly a greater Demon, Porthious, bent upon taking over the world. She had nearly succeeded had it not been for Tanis." But that was not the case. Charina was Tanis' wife who died, and Clarine is the handmaid of Athinina, Tanis' new wife. Clarine is the demon Porthious, not Charina.

I would recommend this book to fantasy lovers and people who love adventure genres. Although the book contains some sexual scenes, the author was skillful enough not to paint them as they are. However, I will not recommend the book to children unless they are under the supervision of an adult. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars, mainly because of the negative aspects I mentioned above and because the book was full of errors.

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To Rule a World
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Wren Michaels · Post by **Wren Michaels** » 18 Jan 2023, 16:02

Sounds like a great plot-driven read despite the errors. Hopefully with the authors improvement on these bits, it will be 5 out of 5

Judy O · Post by **Judy O** » 18 Jan 2023, 17:32

Dragons, orcs and fantasy...I'm definitely picking this up. However I'm surprised that Tanis died so easily despite the fact that he had a great destiny. That's quite sad to see. I wonder what's in store for his son. Beautiful review.

Post by **Ukaegbu Confidence** » 18 Jan 2023, 17:33

I would love to read this book, but I will wait untill it has been proofread and properly edited so I can enjoy and properly appreciate the author's hard work in creating this piece. It does sound like a book you would enjoy if it didn't have those errors. Thank you for your honest review

Blessing Chi Peculiar · Post by **Blessing Chi Peculiar** » 19 Jan 2023, 05:17

I enjoy this book. But the interesting part is when the dark lord plans to kill Tasina not knowing that she was pregnant. Good job.

Post by **Flourish Sunday** » 19 Jan 2023, 05:23

I enjoy ancient and dragon books a lot but what made me love this one most is the technics the dark lord employee killing a pregnant woman named Tasina. Though he was not aware that she is pregnant. Good job.

Post by **Flourish Sunday** » 19 Jan 2023, 05:23

I enjoy ancient and dragon books a lot but what made me love this one most is the technics the dark lord employee killing a pregnant woman named Tasina. Though he was not aware that she is pregnant. Good job.

Post by **Flourish Sunday** » 19 Jan 2023, 05:24

I enjoy ancient and dragon books a lot but what made me love this one most is the technics the dark lord employee killing a pregnant woman named Tasina. Though he was not aware that she is pregnant. Good job.

Chris Don Nwaka · Post by **Chris Don Nwaka** » 19 Jan 2023, 05:39

What a captivating story. i always love reading dragon books. they are my favorites. the dark lord was able to stop his plan of killing Tasina because she was pregnant.

New Nikky · Post by **New Nikky** » 19 Jan 2023, 05:50

This is a nice review in my opinion. I like it from the beginning to the end.I will like to read more of your reviews. Good job.

Ladyginger · Post by **Ladyginger** » 19 Jan 2023, 05:52

Your review is very intriguing. I like reading it and I must say you did a good job with it. Good one and congrats on the publication.

Baniaz279 · Post by **Baniaz279** » 19 Jan 2023, 05:55

It is such a pleasant thing reading this review. I like how you gave a clear review of the book. I must surely read this book after.

Newestobc · Post by **Newestobc** » 19 Jan 2023, 05:57

I am glad to have come across your review. Just as your reviews are always amazing, this is one of the amazing review you give. Good job and nice review. You did so well.

Samuel Songs · Post by **Samuel Songs** » 19 Jan 2023, 07:26

There have already been so much that occured in this story, judging from your summary. Yet you say that it is just the beginning? Wow! That means the book is voluminous and will be complicated to read. I really enjoyed your summary though and the storyline sounds interesting.

Arrow Shot · Post by **Arrow Shot** » 19 Jan 2023, 08:29

In this review, you mentioned that this book is a mixture of my favorite movies. Isn't that wonderful! And it even gets better! It's good that I came across this review because in adding the book to my bookshelf as soon as possible. I hope the author works on the errors in the book though.