M. L. SpencerCritiques

Darkmage by M.L. Spencer is the second book in The Rhenwars Saga. Set 1000 years after Darkstorm, the Well of Tears is opened, yet again, and Darien Lauchlin is determined to close the Well of Tears, and keep it closed.

I enjoy Spencer's writing and world building. The characters are tormented, and emotions run high in this dark fantasy story. Spencer's writing takes us to the edge of darkness and keeps us there, hoping to find the light. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Darkstorm by M.L. Spencer is the first book in The Rhenwars Saga. Braden and Quin Reis, two brothers of great power, are the only hope to stopping a conspiracy of mages who are intent on unsealing the Well of Tears.

Plot 5/5 : Interesting plot with some twists.

Characters 5/5 : Well fleshed out characters

World building 5/5 : An interesting setting

Pacing 5/5 : Steady pace with spurts of action.

Writing 5/5 : Beautifully written with tastefully written scenes of sexual encounters

Overall 5 stars

M.L. Spencer's beautiful prose, world building, and character development breathe life into this tale of love, betrayal, determination, and intrigue. This is a must read book for anyone into fantasy.

Aiden and Darien Lauchlin are brothers, sons the Prime Warden, the highest of the mages. When Aiden unseals the Well of Tears and releases the Eight, it's up to Darien to fight the armies of the Enemy and seal the Well once more.
This is the second time I read this, mostly because I read it before the prequel Darkstorm which sets up the Eight and the Well of Tears. Once I read the prequel, I reread this one to continue the series and keep everything in order. It's well worth rereading.
This book takes place one thousand years after the first. Darien is a tortured soul, for a while the last of the Mages. He gathers a band of recruits to help him, but most of the responsibility rests on his shoulders.
This is a good fantasy series. Darien is an anti-hero in the mode of Thomas Covenant. He must make impossible choices, mostly to his own detriment in order to save his world. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the Rhenwars Saga.

Sent to Aerysius to avert a possible war, Ambassador Branden Reis of Bryn Calazar is also the lover of Sephana Clemley. Both are also mages. When Sephana's acolyte, Merris Bryar, uncovers a plot at a high level, Branden realizes there is more danger than just war between the two countries. He sends Merris to his brother, Quin Reis, to gain his aid in defusing the plot on that side.
I'll make a confession right here. Somehow I got confused in the order of these books and read DarkMage (the next book in the series) first. I liked it but realized I was missing some important backstory so now I'm reading these books in order. Darkstorm is a fastmoving epic with a lot of characters and magic, good, evil, and betrayal. The worldbuilding is excellent; the story pops with small details that draw the reader in and makes this world real.
The characters aren't realized as fully, but I was okay with that for the most part. I did wonder about motivations and emotions in some sections but I enjoyed the story too much to care much. The one exception was Merris; she was pretty schizophrenic in her motives as well as her apparent appearance. She starts out as an acolyte running through tunnels; I took her to be fairly young and untried. Suddenly, she's a femme fatale enticing all the men around. Her character does a 180 also though there's an explanation for that. But I wasn't buying the sudden confidence that apparently leads to her new beauty; if that was the case, why didn't she use sex to blackmail Prime Warden?
I also would have liked a longer book with more backstory. Maybe that's me, but I enjoyed the section about the horse people from Khazahar Steppe. I wanted to know more about them and then what happened to them. Maybe I'll get the answers in the rest of the story.
Still, there's some fine writing here. I'll keep going with the series and hope for more depth to this otherwise great story.

Darkstorm by M.L. Spencer

Plot 4/5 : Interesting plot with some twists.
Characters 4/5 : Well fleshed out characters
World building 4/5 : An interesting setting
Pacing 4/5 : Steady pace with spurts of action.
Writing 5/5 : Beautifully written with tastefully written scenes of sexual encounters

Overall 4/5

I definitely recommend this book.

Purchased from Amazon.

Darkstorm
The Rhenwars Saga, Book 0
By: M. L. Spencer
Narrated by: Simon Wright
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary.
I have to say that as soon as the book started I was drawn to the smooth and attractive voice coming from my tablet. I had not heard this narrator before and I was enticed right away. Loved his voice! This man could get away with murder! He delivered a flawless performance and and had me glued to his dreamy voice.
The book was wonderful also but different than what I am accustomed to. My heroes don't die normally! Sob, sob.... Great world building, interactions, characters, and plot. Loved the fantasy aspects too. Fresh and appealing, dark and aluring. I had bought all three books before I had the chance to review this book. Now I can't wait to read the other books. I may just wait and listen to them!
Enjoyed this book tremendously!

Darkmage is a dark fantasy, richly written, and filled with fascinating characters. The action starts almost immediately and takes the reader on a journey through a detailed and nuanced world.
Darien Lauchlin is an acolyte, called back to Aerysius, the city of the mages after a stint on the frontier guarding against the enemy in the Dark Lands. It is his time to rise up to the level of mage, an occurrence marked treason from within and the destruction of Aerysius as the Well of Tears is opened and chaos reigns supreme.
Darien has incredible powers but is bound by his oath as a mage not to unleash his magic despite the temptation to do so. Accompanied by the priestess of Death, Naia, and his new acolyte, Kyel Archer, Darien sets out to save his world without losing himself at the same time.
The detailed world-building is amazing. It is very easy for the reader to picture each scene in the various lands they travel through. The characters are diverse and always engaging. There is great poignancy in the romance between Naia and Darien, as well as his lost love, Merien, who was sacrificed to open the Well of Tears. The pressures on Darien are immense, but his responses are believable as well as his befuddled acolyte, Kyel.
I can't wait to read Darkstorm and the other coming books in the Rhenwars Saga. If you like dark fantasy, this is a book you want to read.