Click here to buy this book! Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Download from Smashwords (eBook) Amazon Lulu Fantasy by Richard S. Tuttle Category:  Fantasy Publisher: KBS ISBN-10:  1419686372 Type: Fiction Pages: 254 Copyright: Mar 9 2002 ISBN-13: 9781419686375 Fakara is a desolate wasteland where law and order are foreign words. The land is ruled by tribes of ruthless bandits who exact tribute from the poor villagers. Web of Deceit tells the story of Rejji, a boy turning into a man, as his family and village are destroyed. With nowhere to turn, Rejji sets off with a young female thief in search of the Sage of the Mountain. Unknown to Rejji is the fact that he is the long-awaited prophetic figure of a Forgotten Legacy. Follow the trials of Rejji as he is chased by armies of bandits, evil magicians, and slavers. Friends are few along his journey, and even those few are suspect.    Excerpt Rejji took off his fingerless gloves and squeezed them dry as he strode over to the cliff and retrieved his clothes. Rejji dressed and put his gloves back on and glanced up at the sun again as it grew larger over the top of the cliff. A puzzled frown etched into his face as he saw the clouds of smoke wafting over the top of the cliff. The landscape around the village offered very little that would burn, mostly small brush. The only real source of any amount of wood was the village itself. Rejji leaped up and grabbed the rocks of the cliff face. His muscular arms and legs thrust furiously as he propelled himself up the face of the cliff. He scrambled onto the top of the cliff and turned towards the distant village. A mighty fire was consuming the village and he saw a column of riders heading away from the village towards the distant hills. Rejji charged forward, his legs pumping as his eyes scanned the village for any sign of struggle. Rejji was at the age of being between boy and man, but his body was firm and muscled and he was determined to defend the villagers with his life if necessary. His mind raced swifter than his legs as he thought about how he could best combat whatever menace was harming the village. He mentally noted the location of items in the village he could use for a weapon. Images flashed through his mind as he raced. He clearly envisioned the metal ladle by the well, the hoe leaning against the last hut before the fields, and the axe behind his grandfather’s hut. As Rejji reached the village, he saw there would be no struggle, no fight to save the villagers. The flames were already dying out as the meager supply of wood that used to be huts was consumed. Rejji’s eyes opened wide in horror and tears flowed freely as he raced into the village and saw the carnage. Bodies littered the lone street of the village. His head darted left and right as he sought anyone still alive, but eventually he halted outside the charred remains of his grandfather’s hut. He knelt next to the body of his grandfather whose chest was pierced by an arrow. Several feet away lay his grandfather’s severed arm, the hand still clutching the handle of the axe. Rejji rose and started to methodically account for each villager, hoping against hope that someone had survived. In a few short minutes, he had found all of the bodies, many of which had been decapitated. There were no survivors or villagers unaccounted for. Rejji alone had survived the destruction of the village. In despair, Rejji slumped down on the dirt road with the village well at his back and gazed at his grandfather’s torn body. He remembered seeing the riders leaving and wondered why the bandits had come early and why they had decided to kill everyone this time. The village had always given the bandits their tribute and there had never been any violence before. His eyes wandered towards the fields and a look of surprise lit Rejji’s face as he saw the scraggly clova still in the fields. The bandits had not even taken their booty. Why then the violence? It made no sense. Rejji rose, grabbing some small pebbles as he did. As Rejji pondered the attack he tossed the pebbles with increasing vigor, as if his body needed some way to react while his mind sought answers. But there were no answers coming to Rejji and his thoughts turned to what he must do for the villagers now that they were dead. It would be a long day of burials he thought as he tossed the remaining pebbles into the well. Rejji heard several thuds from the pebbles and a grunt and he swiftly wheeled and grabbed the metal ladle.

Enjoyed the read ……. Highly Recommended - Reviews by Molly
Because Rejji collects teeth from the sea to earn money for his village he is not present when the small community is overrun and destroyed. Upon his return to the hamlet Rej discovers a young woman hiding in the well. She tells him she is hiding from the Red Riders who destroyed his home and slew everyone he knew.

It is time for Brontos the trader to return and Rej and Mistake set out with the old man when he arrives. Brontos warns Rej that he should not bury the dead; it will only alert someone or something that there was a survivor and that can prove to be disastrous.

Rejji and Mistake leave Brontos as they continue on their journey to find the Sage of the Mountain. The pair meet another youngster, become the property of slavers, meet the Sage, and begin a new life none of them realized they might know.

Filled with lots of adventure, excitement, magic and intrigue "Web of Deceit" is the third in this well developed series produced by writer Richard Tuttle. "Web of Deceit" is filled with the same admirable clever writing, collection of appealing characters and well wrought story line we have come to enjoy in the previous works. Dialogue is snappy, often tart, and fiduciary as the various characters interact with one another. Situations are developed in a plausible manner by writer Tuttle. Battle scenes are filled with enough magic and stress to please the most discriminating reader of the genre.

The reader is drawn right into the narrative offered in "Web of Deceit" from the opening scene as we peer down upon the decimated army standing along the Qu River. Tuttle's excellent descriptive writing keeps the reader moving on an exciting clash of emotion as Rejji and Mistake meet first one adversity and then another until at last the book ends on a satisfying, not wholly predictable note.

"Web of Deceit" continues the excitement we found in Tuttle's Young Lord of Khadora and Star of Sakova. Those who relish the genre will enjoy Web of Deceit.

I very highly recommend Web of Deceit - Patricia Spork, eBook Reviews Weekly
After gathering fossilized shark teeth as a trading commodity for supporting the small village where he lives, teen Rejji returns to find everyone dead, including his grandfather. He also finds a stranger-Mistake, a girl thief-in the village well, and she tells him about the "Red Riders" onslaught. Merchant, Brontos, arrives, warning them something evil feeds on the dead at night, and that to bury the villagers could cause others to be massacred in Fakara. Heeding the warning, Rejji does not bury his grandfather and friends, and joins Mistake to find "Sage of the Mountain" in quest of her parents.

Rejji is unaware of immense danger from Grulak, leader of the Jiadin tribe, and Veltar, his wizard advisor. The two scheme to join all tribes in Fakara to attack the neighboring Khadora clans. Seeing a vision of Diakles, Grulak's son, endangered by a boy with a crescent in the palm of his hand, Veltar had ordered the Red Riders to Rejji's village to murder him, only to have the boy escape the planned death. Declaring Rejji a demon, the search to find and kill the boy continues.

Before reaching the mountains or found by Red Riders, Rejji is captured by local bandits. They train Rejji to ride horses and use a sword, then release him because of his thirsting revenge on Jiadin. Again, Rejji and Mistake set out for the mountains, only to be caught by slavers and sold to Khadorans.

As luck would have it, Marak, Lord of Fardale, soon frees Rejji, Mistake, and new friend, Bakhai, from slavery. Rejji is offered a deal with Marak-that of opening a trading port in Fakara. Accepting the offer, Rejji, Mistake (the elf mage) and Bakhai, (the animal talker) set out for Fakara, their first priority being finding the Sage of the Mountain. But Jiadin attempt to capture them, so the three trek through the Qubari Jungle, encountering flesh-eating trolls, poisonous, biting fish, Tyriks-large, carnivorous spiders, and Qubari guardians of Angragar-the ancient city inhabited by deadly "hellsouls".

Will Mistake ever find the Sage of the Mountain? Will Bakhai ever learn how he is able to communicate with animals? Will Rejji ever avenge his grandfather's death? These and many more questions are answered in the fascinating Book Three of Forgotten Legacy.

Richard S. Tuttle continues the Forgotten Legacy, following Young Lord of Khadora and Star of Sakova in superb manner. Web of Deceit is another masterfully written book, so much so, that the story will leave writers envious and readers fascinated by the imagination and creativity garnered by Mr. Tuttle. In my opinion, the fantasy Forgotten Legacy is comparable to the magnificent science fiction epic Star Wars, considering the many well-drawn out characters (heroes and villains), effective dialogue, defined settings and scenes, and the abundant conflicts and resolutions that form the sub-plots and main plot of the entire story of the seven book tale thus far. I very highly recommend Web of Deceit and the two other books mentioned above to all die-hard fantasy readers.