The Racial War Saga Barnes and Noble Amazon Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Authorhouse Type: Fiction Pages: 291 Copyright: Nov 13, 2009 ISBN-13: 9781449017811 Enjoy an evolution in fantasy with the first novel in the Racial War Saga. Fuming with rage and bitterness six friends band together to avenge the destruction of a small human settlement. Through sheer determination and stoic resolve they succeed, though at what cost? Because of their actions, one of them will fall to the enemy and Velthanjantle, the demonic avatar of Kargonis is resurrected. Though weak, the demon breaks free to reign havoc once again upon the world. Fifteen years later, the demon is fully healed and searching for the mysterious Three Chains of Gold; three relics from the War of the Gods which when united will bring about new balance among the Greater Realms. If Velthanjantle is able to find the chains the dark god could be free once more to walk among mortals and foil the decree set in place at the culmination of the War of the Gods by Ravina Estarra, the Goddess of Time. It falls on those who released the demon to gather their forces and train their armies and guilds to stop the end of the world. Together or separated, six mortals must set in motion the events necessary to save Reality from ultimate doom. From demonic plots and greedy dragons to hardened assassins and pious priests, the demon Velthanjantle quickly becomes the least of their problems. Excerpt Download the prologue: Put to Rest on the first page of the website.

OBS Book Reviews: Awakenings by A.J. O'Connell
Review:

Awakenings, the racial war saga begins in the best way to pull a reader in – in the midst of the action. From page one, you are pulled into a world about to be ravaged by evil and deceit. In an instant, you become a part of Eldorion (a high elf, and assasin) , Bargiss (pureblood human), Kinek’Aras (Jungle Drake/Juralisk) , Princess Fairtide (deep ocean Merloch) , Raek (a Val’Arias fialt) and Felissa’s ( a frost dwarf) plight and story. From the moment the demon is released, these six friends’ loyalties to each other are challenged – and chapter one begins fifteen years later – where they are all living very separate lives.

Bargiss is now a head master of a school for spellweavers, mortals who are able to weave magic from the Rainbow Braid, the centre of Reality. He and his students are celebrating Bargiss’ 15 year anniversary and their graduation when one of them (Belthas’Almon, Prince of the Fire Drakes) betrays the school; striking a deal with demonic forces and stages a massacre. This brings the characters back together and sets them in motion for an epic battle that uncovers betrayal after betrayal. Each character must struggle with the part they play in a war that has been raging since the gods of this world set it in motion. Friends are lost, and beliefs shattered as a fight for a world on the edge of a new age is played out in AJ O’Connell’s “Awakenings, the racial war saga”.

AJ O’Connell creates a much enriched world with amazingly developed characters in this book. The depth and intensity of these characters, and new races, I found a little overwhelming when I first started reading it. However, once I found myself understanding who the characters were, and the type of race they were within this world, it was very easy to sit back and immerse myself in their stories. The battles are brutal, and it was sad to see some of my favourite characters fall – but their deaths were not in vain – and the story weaved itself into a intricate tapestry – much like the all important Braid of the book. This book may not be for everyone – but –what book is? All in all, AJ O’Connell’s first part of the Racial war saga ‘Awakenings’ is intriguing and intense, and a must for those who love epic war stories and fight for survival books.

Also check out www.racialwar.net – which has a very comprehensive and interesting write-up of the characters and magic that can be found in the Racial War Saga.


Foreword Reviews: Awakenings the Racial War Saga Book 1
Awakenings, a novel based on a role-playing game developed by the author, begins with a long prologue in which a fierce mêlée rages between a group of heroes and ferocious monsters controlled by a practitioner of dark magic. This opening section introduces readers to an inimitable cast of characters: a High Elf; a Jungle Drake (similar to a dragon); a female Dwarf; a Val'Arias Fialt shaman (a "bipedal feline capable of hurling quills from within folds of [his] bird-like wings") who "had long ago forsaken his heritage and bound his wings as a rejection of his race's evolution"; a Deep-Ocean Merloch princess; and a Human. While this group of adventurers engages in a fight with the evil Peotril and his minions, the battle accidentally releases the dreaded demon, Velthanjantle. "Pulling free of the ruined keep the demon stood, spread wide its leathery wings, and roared," A.J. O'Connell writes. "He had much recovering to do before he was prepared to rule this world in the name of his master, but time was something he had plenty of."

Fifteen years later, the six heroes must stop the fully rejuvenated Velthanjantle from finding the "Three Chains of Gold" that will grant his master Kargonis, the dark god, the ability to wreak havoc within the Greater Realm and bring about the destruction of the mortal world. At the same time, the heroes must deal with power grabs by groups of wizards, dragons, and other gods and demons.

When novels are based on role-playing games, it can be easy for readers with no prior knowledge of the game to get lost in numerous names, events, and powers. O'Connell creatively alleviates this problem by providing a Web site, www.racialwar.net, which contains an archive of background material about his role playing game, Realm of Reality, and excerpts from his novel. The Web site contains a wealth of material like the compendiums from other role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.

O'Connell's idea that there is one great reality and many lesser realities is nothing new. Roger Zelazny in the Chronicles of Amber and Stephen King and Peter Straub in their novels, The Talisman and Black House, have written about the idea with more elegance, depth, and character development. Awakenings contains many grammatical errors, typos, and misused words, such as "drug" for "dragged" and pet words and phrases like "resolve" and "abandon."

Readers who enjoy the swashbuckling and sword and sorcery aspects of such characters as Conan the Barbarian and Kull the Conqueror will like O'Connell's fight scenes—especially those involving the High Elf, Eldorion.

In the end, reading Awakenings is like eavesdropping on a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. The exposition scenes are nothing more than bridges to the next fight scene, and one can almost hear the Dungeon Master shuffling his folder of adventures.