4 out of 4 stars
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End of the Great Kingdom (The Brimstone Chronicles Book 1) by Victor Rose, is a Science Fiction/ Fantasy book. It begins in Sulphurium, tens of thousands of years after the lands original three races have disappeared. The Elf-Human descendants have evolved into a master race called the Enlightened. The Ruling Committee lost their control over Sulphurium. After many years of wars and conquering the Enlightened eventually took over. Under the command of a mage named Crimson, they ruled until Human greed took over. After Crimsons death the Ruling Committee was re-instituted and they ordered that any Enlightened showing magic powers should not be allowed to rule again. To ensure this they executed any Enlightened child of the royal family that showed signs of magical power. This rule was reversed when an elderly ruler with only one child got rid of the rule because he was afraid his family would lose power. That child was Prince Richard and he was believed to have died at the age of 5 during an uprising.
Leaf is an enlightened orphan around thirteen years old that has spent his entire life in a school for mages. He has no memory of his life before entering the school. Leaf does not show signs of any magic powers but must take the trials to advance to the next level or face having to leave the school. Passing the trial with an extraordinary win he renames himself with the mage name of Brimstone. Brimstone is a Battle Mage but not just an ordinary one. He has two good friends Heat and Neutron. Together they have quite an adventure trying to save Brimstone from spending the rest of his life in the Tower, a prison for mages. He finds he has been tricked into admitting to a crime he did not commit by a group called The Order. They use him to start a civil war and try to force him to take their side.
End of the Great Kingdom has all the fantasy races in it. Elf, Human, Dwarf, Orc and so on. It is a fun and easy read but it does have very dark undertones. It also has very graphic fighting and killing scenes for young readers. There is lots of action and the author does a wonderful job with descriptions. The characters are complex and most are easy to connect with. The storyline has plenty of twists and turns. It will keep you interested all the way through. One of my favorite scenes is when Brimstone saves an Orc family from death at the hands of trolls and a mage. With the help of his fantastic magic charm bracelet Brimstone overcomes some very difficult obstacles. I was surprised when the story another turn and added some Doppelgangers, enough said about that part.
I disliked the graphic killing scenes. I think the book would be better served if they were turned down some. I know young readers today probably like it but I think it unnecessary to make this a good book. I rate this book a 4 out of 4 even with the graphic gore. I found a couple of grammar mistakes but the book was well edited. I would recommend this book to those who like the whimsical magic books with a dark side and lots of action. 12 years and up. I would caution parents on the graphic violence though. I look forward to the sequel.
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End of the Last Great Kingdom
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