The Summoner

Despite the bad reviews about this book has got I must admit that I really enjoyed it, now if your are expecting a masterpiece of fantasy fiction then you'll be sorely disappointed, this isn't an Erikson or a G RR Martin, what is is a decent but very enjoyable first book from a novice author, the book has likable characters, plenty of magic and some good battles, overall well worth reading The books starts with the brutal murder of Prince Martris "Tris" Drayke's whole family by his evil and power hungry brother Jared, who with the aid of the dark sorcerer Foor Arontala rests control of the throne, with luck and skill Tris and a couple of his friends manage to escape his brothers clutches. Tris heads to the country of the Principality to buy himself and army to help him destroy his brother and the evil that Foor Arontala is trying to awaken, but first he has to reach the Principality, while traveling he will fight bandits, kill assassins and escape the forces of the beast men.

Heir to the throne of Margolan, Prince Jared chooses to no longer wait for his father King Bricen to die. He and his mage Foor Arontala assassinate the monarch and the rest of the royal family except one. Warned by a ghost to beware of treachery, Jared's half-brother Martris "Tris" Drayke flees his home. He is accompanied by Captain of the Guard Soterius, the Court Bard Carroway, and the royal guard assigned to the younger prince Harrtuck. The quartet needs time and allies; as they know Jared and Arontala will hunt them down like rabid dogs. Time is not available as Jared goes after the only living threat to his iron clad rule and allies are not forthcoming at least amongst the living as few are willing to risk their lives in what looks like a lost cause. Feeling he is the SUMMONER heir to his late grandmother, the greatest sorceress ever known, Tris seeks supporters from the ghosts of the dead. At the same Tris struggles to survive, Jared tightens his control over Margolan and turns to the neighboring Isencroft whose ruler is dying from a spell and whose crops failed from what also looks like dark magic. He demands Princess Kiara Sharsequin marry him or else. Buying time that is running out, Kiara travels to the Sisterhood praying they can save her father and her people; if they cannot she knows her duty is to her people. This is an exciting opening fantasy thriller with an intriguing premise of a good guy raising an army of the dead. The story line is fast-paced while following the exploits of the beleaguered hero and heroine and the two nasty villains yet allows the audience to understand the people and cultures of the two kingdoms. Although an "outside" force the "Lady" who is not fully explained or developed" slows down the action with intervention at perilous moments, Heir to the throne of Margolan, Prince Jared chooses to no longer wait for his father King Bricen to die. He and his mage Foor Arontala assassinate the monarch and the rest of the royal family except one. Warned by a ghost to beware of treachery, Jared's half-brother Martris "Tris" Drayke flees his home. He is accompanied by Captain of the Guard Soterius, the Court Bard Carroway, and the royal guard assigned to the younger prince Harrtuck. The quartet needs time and allies; as they know Jared and Arontala will hunt them down like rabid dogs. Time is not available as Jared goes after the only living threat to his iron clad rule and allies are not forthcoming at least amongst the living as few are willing to risk their lives in what looks like a lost cause. Feeling he is the SUMMONER heir to his late grandmother, the greatest sorceress ever known, Tris seeks supporters from the ghosts of the dead. At the same Tris struggles to survive, Jared tightens his control over Margolan and turns to the neighboring Isencroft whose ruler is dying from a spell and whose crops failed from what also looks like dark magic. He demands Princess Kiara Sharsequin marry him or

Prince Martris "Tris" Drayke of Margolan learns what hell really is when his brother, Jared, murders their entire family and seizes the throne. Tris barely escapes and flees with a handful of loyal colleagues. The shock triggers the awakening of memories that his grandmother, the legendary sorceress Bava K'aa, had sealed closed from his conscious mind. Tris has always been able to see and communicate with the ghosts of Margolan year round, even though others could only see them during the annual Feast of the Departed. However, Tris has no idea of the years Bava K'aa had spent training him on the use of his power; power he had no idea he could wield. Jared's new ruling over Margolan is mainly through fear. To increase his land and power, he is forcing Princess Kiara Sharsequin of Isencroft to wed him. With the years of ruined crops and her father under some sort of wasting spell, Kiara fears she may not be able to stall the ceremony for much longer. After creating one last excuse, Kiara goes upon a Journey by the Sisterhood in hopes of finding a way to cure her father and save her people. Foor Arontala, a Fireclan mage, is Jared's chief advisor and dark sorcerer. He may be helping Jared claim the throne, but Arontala has his own evil agenda. During the Mage Wars, the Obsidian King's soul had been banished into a Soulcatcher orb by Bava K'aa, due to the major threat he caused to Margolan and the Winter Kingdoms. Arontala intends to release the Obsidian King's soul from the Soulcatcher. But there is more to fear about Arontala than simply the fact that he is a powerful mage, much more. Tris and his small group trek for a hidden place that may have the vital knowledge he seeks to help him understand and control his newly awakened power. As the group travels for a place that may not even exist, Tris must learn to call on a different set of allies: the ranks of the dead. ***** This is a THICK book, but I never grew bored, not once. Hand-to-hand combat, necromancy, goddesses, good and bad spirits, magical combat, betrayal... I cannot begin to describe all the different elements that the author, Gail Z. Martin, has spun together to create this outstanding tapestry. The book ends in, what I believe to be, the perfect place. When I finished reading the last page and closed the book, I sat for several minutes just thinking it all. I am in awe of this author's talents and have to wonder if she may be a sorceress herself. In a word, "PERFECT!" ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

It has been a long time since I have so thoroughly enjoyed reading a fantasy novel. Not only were the characters well developed, but the reading was smooth without making me want to skip pages, and the plot line was interesting. Certainly 'the displaced prince/king/noble' and 'the warrior princess' have been used by many writers in the past, but never with such a unique twist, one that made me want to keep reading. Two suggestions - the map was next to impossible to read and Gail's editor needs to stop cutting so much or at least in obvious places - more than once I moved on to a new section where it talked about something that had just happened to a character that was not included in previous chapters.

The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin is book one of The Chronicles of the Necromancer, an epic fantasy that has all the elements of a great story. The story itself is, as with all epic fantasy, of course, simple, and is passed on to the reader through wonderful example of storytelling. Prince Martrys Drayke is second heir to the throne of Margolan. Resolved to the fact he will not become king, Tris, as he is called, expects to live his life peacefully in a secluded manor away from the palace - content to let his brother, Jared, rule when the time would come. That night came far sooner than expected. After a violent run in with his brutal brother, Tris and his two childhood friends, a bard and a captain-at-arms, leave the palace to enjoy the autumn festival of the dead, a time when the gap between the spirit world and real world closed enough to allow ghosts to walk clearly among the living. The trio begin to notice little inconsistencies that pique there interest, especially regarding the new mage Tris' brother has enlisted. In an act of spontaneity, the trio decide to sneak a peak into the wizard's laboratory while he was busy with the festival by hanging from ropes to look inside the tower window. The scene they come across changes there lives forever; Tris witnesses Jared murdering the king, their father. The quick wit of the captain-at-arms saves Tris from crashing headlong into the window and into death. From there the story unfolds quickly and carries the reader along a fast paced escape from the palace. After finding the bodies of his sister and mother brutal murdered as well, Tris is forced to run in order to save himself and hopefully return for vengeance and restore the kingdom. Gail Martin spins a fast past adventure of a prince who finds he is much more than he believes, and brings together a variety of characters that seem to have been caught up in coincidence but find that divine providence may be the real reason. The story may sound cliché, an honorable prince found outside the protection of the castle, a noble fighter, a clever bard with many tricks up his sleeve, even a healer, a princess, and a vagabond. But Gail tells the story with a refreshing breath of zeal that lets you get carried along for the ride. I enjoyed the tale more than I thought I would, and seeing the book on the shelf I wasn't to sure why I was buying it. It has a nice cover, and the intro on the back cover is somewhat alluring. I think what drew me to it was my interest in the darker fantasy and this book alluded to necromancers, magic that operated between the life and death, and a sense that maybe I might encounter a dark hero. The magic is more based on softer concepts, like simple folk tales of natural - nature - energies and the necromancy is extremely weak to what I was expecting. But, I'm no died hard fan of such things, therefore I have an open mind. I bought the book and took it home thinking to put it on the shelf with the others I n