Dark Lord

When Rod Everlar began having dreams about a magical land called Falconfar, a land of knights and wizards and beautiful winged women called Aumrarr, he wrote the dreams down and turned them into a series of best-selling books. But, when he awakes from one of those dreams to find himself confronted by a grievously wounded Aumrarr, he soon finds that his late night dreams have become his waking nightmare. Taeauna the Aumrarr spirits him off to Falconfar where he must heal the land and put right all that has now become so grievously wrong. Overall, I must say that I really liked this book. I think that Mr. Greenwood did a great job of creating a very interesting world, which he populated with interesting characters. I liked the intensity of the action, and found myself totally drawn along by the flow of the story. Sadly, the story does have its problems. First of all, Mr. Greenwood did go too far with the sexuality in the story - it makes it feel like the target audience was randy teenage boys, and it cheapens the whole thing. Secondly, after the first instance, the drinking of Rod Everlar's blood for its healing properties quickly took on a creepy and disturbing feel. And my final complaint is that the book ends with a cliffhanger, demanding that you read the next installment of the series, and keeping this book from being a free-standing work in its own right. But, that said, I really did enjoy this book. The action was great, and the magic was exciting and well-drawn. Also, I really did like the characters of Taeauna and Rod Everlar, and cared for them along their adventures. So, let me say that I did love this book, and I do recommend it...with some minor caveats.

Rod Everlar is an author best known for his work in the Falconfar series. It is a fantasy-thriller series about the kingdom of Falconfar and its inhabitants. Rod's main focus has been on the winged female warriors, the Aumrarr. However, since the game designers at Holdoncorp got hold of it there have been many evil additions to the fantasy world. Rod hates what Holdoncorp has done to the kingdom. Then the fateful night comes in which Rod dreams of an Aumrarr in combat - and losing. When her wings are hacked off the evil beings leave her to the slow task of dying. This is when she, Taeauna (Tay-awna), meets Rod's eyes with her own. Rod jerks awake to find the dying Taeauna before him. Rod is what those in Falconfar consider to be only a myth. Rod is a Shaper, the Fourth Doom. The first, second, and third "Dooms" are evil wizards. Each of these wizards seeks to gather the most powerful spells and enchanted items from the ruined castles of long-fallen mages and kings, and so rise to rule all of Falconfar. But Rod's dreams transform things no wizard can. Many things, all at once, large and small. His blood can heal, even those who have very recently died. Taeauna's problem is getting Rod to believe it all. Together the pair must figure out the powers at Rod's command and how to make them work. In the meantime, Taeauna has the extra duties of keeping Rod alive and others from realizing that Rod is THE Archmage. **** From the first paragraph to the last, this book is one long series of battles. The entire story kept me on the edge of my seat, eager to see what would happen next. My only, and biggest, disgust with the book is that it ends with a major cliffhanger. There is no closure and readers must wait until the second book, titled "Archmage" (with the pushed back publishing date of February 2009), is released to even see how the battle scene continues. It stops in the middle of a battle! If you hate this type of ending, you may want to wait until the entire saga is in print before you begin reading. (Be sure to buy each as they are released though. Just in case the earlier books sell out.) Author Ed Greenwood has a long and award winning future before him. But unless he chooses better stopping points, he may lose many potential fans. **** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

When Rod Everlar began having dreams about a magical land called Falconfar, a land of knights and wizards and beautiful winged women called Aumrarr, he wrote the dreams down and turned them into a series of best-selling books. But, when he awakes from one of those dreams to find himself confronted by a grievously wounded Aumrarr, he soon finds that his late night dreams have become his waking nightmare. Taeauna the Aumrarr spirits him off to Falconfar where he must heal the land and put right all that has now become so grievously wrong. Overall, I must say that I really liked this book. I think that Mr. Greenwood did a great job of creating a very interesting world, which he populated with interesting characters. I liked the intensity of the action, and found myself totally drawn along by the flow of the story. Sadly, the story does have its problems. First of all, Mr. Greenwood did go too far with the sexuality in the story - it makes it feel like the target audience was randy teenage boys, and it cheapens the whole thing. Secondly, after the first instance, the drinking of Rod Everlar's blood for its healing properties quickly took on a creepy and disturbing feel. And my final complaint is that the book ends with a cliffhanger, demanding that you read the next installment of the series, and keeping this book from being a free-standing work in its own right. But, that said, I really did enjoy this book. The action was great, and the magic was exciting and well-drawn. Also, I really did like the characters of Taeauna and Rod Everlar, and cared for them along their adventures. So, let me say that I did love this book, and I do recommend it...with some minor caveats.

Ed Greenwood's DARK LORD provides an excellent narration by veteran Christopher Lane as it tells of author Rod, who finds himself trapped in his own world after he loses control of his scene and creation. It's up to him to embark on a journey to fight a self-created darkness in DARK LORD, the first installment in The Falconfar Saga.