Mordecai (The Riven Gates Book 1)

Best book in the entire series so far. Truly not everything has to have a worked out happy ending, for it to be a good read. Much like the Greek tragedies, you keep reading to see how the story plays out.

I started reading this series a few years ago. Great little light reads, entertaining, with great character development. I imagine the intended audience is younger, but this grown man has loved it so far.

I love the characters and being back in this world again, but this book felt a little bit rushed and disjointed compared to Manning's earlier novels. I definitely enjoyed it, and will continue to buy whatever else he writes, but this was the first book of his that I feel needed a bit more time and editing.

If you're wanting an emotional roller coaster ride then I definitely recommend this book. I do not know how to describe this book other than awesome. If you have read the Mageborn series you WILL love this book.

Manning knows how to inject humor and heart into a very good novel that blends fantasy with science fiction. I recommend to any fan of the genre. This is a continuation of his other books though so I suggest reading those first.

Another good story arc from Mr. Manning's world. For those new to the series make sure you read the other 11 books first!! Mageborn series of 5, embers of illenial series of 3, and champions of dawning dragons series of 3. In that order.

I love this entire story line. It keeps changing so as not to keep repeating plots, yet it's not so fantastic as to not seem like it belongs. Start with the first Mageborn book and be hooked like I was.

This book had what I felt was a different writing style. More background information and a lot not so necessary information on the previous books.
With that being said, I still loved the book. There were so many emotions I experienced through out, it was a good beginning to a new adventure. I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment.

For fans of the original Mageborn series, this is a fun return to our title character and a continuation of his saga. For fans of all of Manning's books, this is a lighter tale that takes place after the events of Demonhome. For those who started with Embers of Illenial, this is a lighter story that is more of an entertaining quick read, but lacking some of the depth of character we saw in that trilogy. As a fan of Manning's books, I really enjoyed seeing the story continue and had expected something "lighter" and was pleased with the book. Why four stars and not 5? Only because I really wish there had been a little less action and a little more character depth and development shown in the noon title characters. I feel like Rose, Lynn, Irene, and Moira got some good development... But Matthew, Gram, Connell, Alyssa, Karen, and Tyrion all got their stories moved forward without time being spent on their character development. Michael has engaged his readers to be invested in these characters, so it would've been nice to have a little more time on them and a little less time on "action."
More than anything I wish there had been more of Tyrion's perspective and story. More depth and conflict within the patriarch that started it all. We have a trilogy of books showing Tyrion as a complex, tormented, and conflicted man; a good person that becomes the unforgiving manifestation of the trials a brutal world put him through... Yet here he was just kind of a villain and brute, which bummed me out.

Overall though, a good and fun read for any fan of epic fantasy.

I follow along with all the authors books and enjoy following the updates on Facebook. This is another good read. The down side is the ending, same as all the others a book has to end. I will be watching closely for the next one.