The Mark of Ran: The Mark of Ran: Book One of The Sea Beggars

An enticing fantasy/adventure by Paul Kearney. When I started to read this book I had some initial concerns that it may have been meant for an adolescent audience; such is not the case. Although the story seems to begin rather tamely, the main character (Rol) quickly becomes engrossed in a story of travel, intrigue and combat; then add to this some sexual innuendos, betrayals and a liberal dose of magic, and you have just about everything anyone could want in a good adult fantasy novel. The quality of writing is good, however it is the story line, with its many twists and surprises, that really make this book hard to put down. All in all, a excellent start to (hopefully) a ongoing series of entertaining novels. The second book is coming out soon and I'm looking forward to being able to continue to follow the story of Rol. 5 Stars.

I can not believe I am the first person to review this book. It is a great book. I can not wait to read the rest of the series. Dark magic, swashbuckling tale of trying to find out Rol's history. Buy yourself a copy today. (if you can find one)

This is way better than George's latest and I forgot Robert J a long time ago. I don't care what the other reviewers say, this is good. Don't waste your money on anything else (you've probably already got the notorious Feast; so do I but nobody's going to do anything else on that one, right?) and believe me there's alot of ridiculous crap getting published these days. So buy this, hit the click button and if you haven't read his Monarchies of God series, click on that one, too, wherever you can find it. I'm serious. This man deserves a wide US audience, he's got the true reader's Feast, this year at least....

I was first introduced to Paul Kearney with his excellent (and now unfortunately OOP) Monarchies of God series. As such I was eagerly anticipating the release of The Mark of Ran. I am glad to say that Kearney was not off his game here. The story follows a man named Rol Cortishane, a seaman who is trying to find a place in the world for himself. Reading this book I couldn't help but think that that Kearney was very much inspired by Rafael Sabatini's pirate novels. As such anyone who enjoyed Captain Blood, or The Sea Hawk will definitely enjoy this book. As the above reviewer noted Kearney does in fact use some Epic Fantasy's more overused elements, but Kearney does it with such elan that you really don't mind. Kearney's characters as usual are great and have (dare I say) depth, quite rare in the majority of fantasy being published these days. The book is not quite perfect however. The Mark of ran is a bit episodic, and doesn't feel self contained. Though now with all of the chess pieces in place after the first book, this will probably change now that Kearney can get to the meat of the story. Overall, quite an enjoyable read. Anyone looking for a great sea story need not look farther than here.

The continent of Umer is an archipelago with numerous islands of varying size somewhat isolated by powerful oceans that isolate people. Rol and his grandfather along with two other people are isolated from the natives who fear them until soldiers are sent to kick them off the island. Rol makes it to a larger island, but his grandfather dies in the freedom boat trek. However his grandfather obtained a death pledge from Rol to seek out and beg for kindness from Michael Psellos. Psellos the sorcerer owns everything on the island whether it is the thieves' guild or those in power. He accepts Rol as his "apprentice" teaching the lad how to accumulate, use, and abuse authority as absolute power corrupts absolutely in his hands. Of course Psellos' beautiful companion and deadliest assassin Rowen teaches the youngster other skills that a man needs to know. Geographically paying homage to the delightful classic Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea trilogy, Paul Kearney provides a fabulous coming of age character driven fantasy with the twist that the youth is being trained by the dark side. Psellos is terrific as he has a bit of mystery about his origins, which in turn augments the fear and increases his power. He is a malevolent being who sees humans as so beneath him they don't matter except in terms of what individuals can do for him. He is complemented by Rowen, a warrior siren who can kill as easily as she can kiss. These are Rol's "benevolent" teachers. This reviewer can't wait for more Sea Beggar tales starring this unholy trio. Harriet Klausner