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ML Spencer

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Darkmage (The Rhenwars Saga Book 1) Kindle Edition

by ML Spencer (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 596 ratings

Book 1 of 4: The Rhenwars Saga

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Darien Lauchlin has already lost everything. Now the only thing he has left to lose is his soul.The Well of Tears was created to harness the power of the Netherworld to prevent a magical apocalypse. Now Darien Lauchlin is the last surviving mage capable of reversing the destruction the Well unleashed. Darien will be forced to sacrifice everything of himself and everyone around him—all to preserve a nation of people who despise him.Darkmage is the first installment of the Rhenwars Saga, a sprawling epic set in a morally gray world where there is no clear distinction between hero and villain.Experience epic battles, flawed heroes, and a brutal struggle where the triumph of good over evil is never guaranteed.If you enjoy the dark, sprawling world of Steven Erikson, the awe-inspiring magic of The Wheel of Time, and the compelling antiheroes of C.S. Friedman, then you’ll love The Rhenwars Saga.Pick up your copy today.
“A richly realized and immersive world” —Ed McDonald, author of Blackwing

IRDA Award for Fantasy

Semifinalist in Mark Lawrence’s SPFBO

★★★★★ “Betrayal, lies, and destruction follow across every page” Grimdark Magazine★★★★★ “Shines in its damaged characters” Fantasy Faction★★★★★ “One of the best books I have ever read” Goodreads Review

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A richly realised and immersive world" --Ed McDonald, author of Blackwing
"A masterful story with incredible depth of emotion, non-stop action, and tremendous questions about when to set your principles aside for the greater good." --Readers' Favorite

"A book full of fantastic magical military action and lots of really bloody battle scenes. M.L Spencer has a gift for writing action scenes and moral ambiguity." --BookNest"This book grabbed me by the throat from the very first page and would not let me go until the very end....I loved Darkmage. Loved. It. How's that for a review?" --Readers' Favorite

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01AAZ1NRS
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stoneguard Publications; 2nd edition (January 6, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 6, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2356 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 485 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #262,700 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #490 in Asian Myth & Legend eBooks
- #693 in Asian Myth & Legend
- #3,944 in Dark Fantasy

Customer Reviews:
4.2 596 ratings

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ML Spencer

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ML Spencer lives in Southern California with her three children and two cats. She has been obsessed with fantasy ever since the days of childhood bedtime stories. She grew up reading and writing fantasy fiction, playing MMORPG games, and living, as mom put it, “in her own worlds.” ML now spends each day working to bring those worlds into reality.

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4.2 out of 5

596 global ratings

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Susan

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2017

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This dark and twisted story begins a thousand years after the first book. I felt like this book actually seemed more like a book one in a series with the first one more like a prequel. The story itself is quite amazing. Two brothers, Darien and Aiden. Darien is called back from the battle front and is deemed ready to receive his mage powers. The power is received through Transference from a dying mage to the recipient. Darien also must give the Oath of Harmony which though he rebelled against it to begin with knowing the dark forces are gaining on them, he gives his vow. His brother Aiden is in league with the evil of the Netherworld. Aiden opens the Well of Tears and allows the dark mages from the underworld access to the kingdom. They are eight evil mages, some of which we met in Book One. Aiden has opened the well through the murder of his brother’s beloved, Meiren. He steals her power and gains power over the eight evil mages but when he tries to steal Darien’s new found power, Darien chooses death over allowing that to happen and steps off the cliff into certain death. The Birdman, a mage of the Vale witnesses Darien’s fall from above a saves the young man through his magic, but the old man is near death and gives Darien his store of magic.
The story moves back to the warfront where we meet more well-developed characters, some will help Darien and others will hinder him. Darien will do anything to stop the evil including selling his soul to the devil, which in this case is Xerys, Lord of Chaos and the Netherworld. This is a well-developed world complete with a large cast of flawed characters. This series should be in every Fantasy Lover’s library!

21 people found this helpful

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S.D. Robertson

A well-told story in a great setting, with an awesome ending!

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2018

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I'll gush about the good stuff in a minute, but first let's get the "bad" out of the way.

ML Spencer tends to make heavier use of adjectives than I typically like to see, and she really likes the word "realized."

Ok, that's done ... On to the good stuff!

Spencer has a writer's voice that is reminiscent of Tad Williams, which is to say that I was instantly loving this book. Right from the opening scene, Spencer sucks you in. Her world comes to life with her descriptions. I'm a huge fan of environment detail, and the author delivers in grand fashion.

Her characters are well crafted and revealed in realistic fashion. Also, the author is not afraid to let parts of the story be told, or at least glimpsed, through the eyes of secondary or even tertiary supporting cast, and I really enjoyed this. As for the cast overall, I thought the number of POV characters was spot on; diverse, while not going overboard.

The setting is beautifully and passionately crafted. The magic system is integral to the history and shaping of the world, and I cannot tell you how much atmosphere this adds. If anything, I was only left wanting to get a greater sense of the world outside of the Rhen.

The story... very well crafted! There are twists galore, most of which coming later in the book, and at a time when you might have given up on any coming. And while I love the telling all the way to the end, I had indeed begun to think it was going to end rather straightforward. I was very, very wrong. I was surprised by the range of twists throughout the climax.

So, what I'm telling you all is this: Buy it! Read it! Review it! Pretty sure you're going to love it.

2 people found this helpful

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Don Estes

A Gifted Writer

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2022

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Having read the complete series now, I can offer my comments. I've been reading this genre for a few years since I got a Kindle, and no writer has impressed me more than M L Spencer. This is her second work for me. The first for me was, "Dragon Mage, An Epic Fantasy." To me, this novel is one of the best I've ever read and made me want to read more from M L Spencer.
Darkmage, The Rhenwars Saga, is a four-book series that reveals the genius of a gifted writer. While reading, I imagined a story where Bram Stoker's, Dracula meets the mythology of Mount Olympus: the horror is palpable, and the allegory is divine. In the end, the protagonist is granted a glorious redemption.
Loved this series; love this gifted author. Can't wait to start a new adventure with M L Spenser.

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Luap

Tough to Read at Times

Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2017

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The Rhenwars Saga second book was better than the First book. Darkmage could almost have been a stand alone or the real beginning of the series. For me the story flowed better and the characters were more interesting. I have the third book but will take a break from the series, the first two book were difficult to read at times.

5 people found this helpful

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Al

Dark Fantasy at its finest

Reviewed in Canada on October 18, 2018

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You may (or may not) remember I wrote a review for Darkstorm, the precursor to Darkmage, a while back. As far as I know (yell at me if I’m wrong), Darkmage was actually written (or at least published) before Darkstorm, so this is essentially book one, and Darkstorm is book 0.5. I liked Darkstorm, but most of the first 70% or so definitely wallowed in the YA range. Darkmage is very different.

AUDIOBOOK WARNING

Standard Young Adult fare tends to be less satisfying for not Young Adults (or me anyway), as it tends to skirt over issues that less young types find appealing . ML Spencer has skilfully crafted a novel that appeals to the broader audience by dealing with the likes of morality and loss, while maintaining well drawn characters and using a writing style that will appeal to younger readers (as in 18, not 8).

Darkstorm started hard, then softened for a significant chunk of the novel, although it still entertained. Darkmage, on the other hand, starts off dark with the death of the hero’s mother, and destruction of his city. From here, it’s all downhill.

The story revolves around two men, Kyle Archer, just your average Joe, or Kyle, who gets arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, and sent to Greystone Keep to guard against invasion. This sounds bad enough, but just after he arrives, a huge army shows up ready to attack. Out of the frying pan, and so on.

The other is Darien Lauchlin, a mage and son of the Prime Warden. When his brother Aidan kills their mother and open the Well of Tears, Darien finds he is all that stands between the end of the world. Or is he?

This book has it all – friendships are made and ended, political intrigue, epic battles and most importantly, hard choices and sacrifices must be made. As mentioned earlier, I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a terrific job, narrating the book as if the weight of the world was on shoulders, while capturing the tone and humour.

Want to check out a new series, or interested in checking out one of indie publishing’s finest authors, look no further. But don’t take my word for it, just read the darn book.

R

Great read!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2018

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This grimdark fantasy book follows the story of Darien Lauchlin, a rebellious but honourable mage who returns to his hometown to take his official mage oath only to see the city, and his loved ones, destroyed by his wicked brother. Said brother opens a portal to the netherworld and unleashes all kinds of hellish creatures on the real world. Darien must regain control, even if that means he has to break the oath he holds so dear…

The narrative is told for the most part from Darien’s point of view, as well as a character called Kyel who is in the wrong place at the wrong time with a gambler friend and is sent to the ‘front’. There is a war raging between the empire of The Rhen and The Black Lands, where the Enemy resides. The Enemy lives in darkness and is encroaching on Darien and Kyel’s land. There are a few other character POVs, including Darien’s mother and Darien’s soldier friends at the front.

Darien returns to the front after his hometown is destroyed and devises deeply-woven plots to hold back the Enemy, including bringing together the various armies across The Rhen to fight as one. He must make tough decision after tough decision and suffer some huge personal sacrifices in order to do his duty as one of the last surviving mages after his brother’s atrocity.

Kyel is a more down-to-earth character. He doesn’t have a powerful family like Darien or a deep feeling of duty and destiny. But he’s a good, decent guy. Basically, a run of bad luck leads him to fight at the front. He’s not a soldier, but realises he has some skill as an archer and comes to the attention of Darien. Darien devises ways for Kyel to learn and develop which aren’t always to Kyel’s liking.

From the opening prologue the emotional intensity of this book was high with a dark and ominous atmosphere that continues throughout. The looming conflict with the Enemy creates a wonderfully grim tension. And the desperate measures Darien and his allies take to attempt to save their world, and the people within, have a sense that they are just about clinging on but at any moment the thin thread will snap.

The characters are really well developed, and we spend a lot of time in the minds of Darien and Kyel. There is plenty of action and some epic fight scenes, as well as some more intimate moments between friends and lovers.

I really enjoyed this story, there was some interesting worldbuilding and magic concepts. However, I did want to spend more time with the one main female character, Naia, and not just through Darien’s perspective. I was also hoping we’d see more from Darien’s mother as well as a feisty Queen, Romana, but unfortunately not.

Darkmage is a treat for grimdark fantasy fans who appreciate well-crafted characters and a heavy sense that ‘good’ is probably not going to win. And if it does, it’s going to have to go through a lot of ‘bad’ to get there!

CT

Lots going on but no real emotion

Reviewed in Canada on January 10, 2021

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I feel like this book held so much potential but lacked the length required to hold the enormity of the events that occur. This book reads like a plot summary. Everything happens so fast. I'm utterly unable to feel the depth of the emotion that the characters supposedly feel for each other because there's nothing that occurs between them during the length of the novel to warrant those attachments. There are a lot of good ideas (even though I feel like this book borrows heavily from WoT), but quite a few of the events aren't even cohesive in the story (such as the Jenn) and they just kind of sit on top of the ice cube tray that this story is without really fitting into the mold. I'm not giving up on this series yet. I'll be checking the next book out.

Gloria

Even better than I expected!

Reviewed in Australia on April 19, 2017

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The second instalment of the Rhenwars Saga, Darkmage, is an exciting new adventure in Aerysius with characters old and new that captivate the readers attention from the very beginning. Definitely more adventurous than the first novel, Darkmage takes us into the future of Aerysius, where the Prime Warden continues to hold the power of rule, and Sentinels are the main source of protection for its people. However there is another threat, ready to destroy everything...
(For full review see the following link -
https://pumpkinandegg.wordpress.com/2017/04/19/book-review-dark-mage-m-l-spencer-2011-book-2-the-rhenwars-saga/)

One person found this helpful

Mrs. P Moss

I couldn't put it down!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 13, 2016

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Really enjoyed reading this book. Plenty of detail and a plot that's a little different to other fantasy books. I am looking forward to the next one! 4 stars as I was looking for book 1 and there isn't one...but the author was very quick to respond to my query and I can thankfully say another book is on the way!!

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Darkmage (The Rhenwars Saga Book 1) Kindle Edition

IRDA Award for Fantasy

Semifinalist in Mark Lawrence’s SPFBO

Editorial Reviews

Review

Product details

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About the author

ML Spencer

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