The Path of Flames (Chronicles of the Black Gate Book 1)

Interesting believable Characters, Through the story the author explores suffering,prejudice, privilege, duty, vengeance and redemption in ways that make sense. It is a book worth rereading. I got the sense that this was not a book the author slammed out but spent a lot of time working through the story and it shows. Well worth reading.

Strange and not always sympathetic characters with names that don't exactly roll off your tongue inhabit these unusual and bifurcated tales of which I am not sure how they connect. I definitely will read the next book as there is some very good story telling going on here.

Tucker's latest is probably my favorite of his works to date. I highly recommend Path of Flames for anyone who enjoys epic world-building and a healthy mix of character development, palace intrigue, and sword-clashing action.

Other reviewers have made the comparison to Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire, which is certainly valid, given the multiple view points, the aforementioned palace intrigue, and the general setting. But for me, the closer comparison is probably the Wheel of Time series (without the bloat of some of the middle books in that series!). But fear not: this book isn't at all derivative of those books. It actually up-ends a number of fantasy tropes even while riffing on other familiar themes.

My favorite part of the book is the plot-line focusing on Tharok, an orc who exhibits some very un-orc-like behaviors courtesy of some magical accessories. In most book, orcs are basically nameless and brainless hordes bent on destroying and devouring everything in their path. Tucker fleshes out an entire race by showing us the politics and personalities behind the marauding tribes. It's great fun! And fans who fall in love with this book should definitely do some research into the origin of this section of the manuscript--it's an interesting story.

I have read several other works by Mr. Tucker, and this is a wholly different beast (pun intended; you'll understand after reading the novel). The reader is immediately ensconced in a vicious battle that has far-reaching consequences. The story spreads out from there, and the diverse characters draw you in and make you want to learn what their fates will be.

This is not a quick, easy, beach read. On the contrary, I found myself having to pay close attention to both the dialogue and the action, so that I didn't miss a thing. Reaching the end, you will find that you feel like you've taken a journey with these characters, and not that you have simply read about them.

One of the most enjoyable, well-written and well-crafted fantasy novels that I have read in a long time. The primary characters are vibrant, with their own internal and external struggles. They develop throughout the plot (rather than remaining tiresomely 1-dimensional as in the Wheel of Time). The plot is strongly character-driven, and while full of surprises, the reader is never overwhelmed with irrelevant tangents and subplots, or a slew of disposable characters (a.k.a Martin's Game of Thrones). Each chapter draws the reader towards the novel's climax,never bogging down in endless, going-nowhere cul-de-sacs (yes, another criticism of Jordan and Martin). And a truly fascinating and thoughtful world (history, religion and races included), but Tucker's world-building never becomes bloated, never detracting from the plot driving forward, never weighing the novel down with an encyclopedia of information. For future fantasy writers, Tucker is a model to emulate.

I'm halfway through and reading nonstop because of the great story and interesting characters. Unfortunately, I can only give it three stars because of the many dreadful typos and grammatical errors. I truly wish someone had proofread this as it distracts from a story I would otherwise have given five stars. It's just so annoying and sad to constantly be pulled out of the storytelling by another misspelling, typo or error.

I happened to come across this book after finishing the Prince of Thorns a while ago, but I'm finally writing a review that is long overdue. After finishing this book all I can say is I'm impressed. It gripped me. It really spoke to me. The book has many point of view characters, all of them unique, all of them flawed, and all of them wonderful to read. Not only does this book tackle issues of inequality and injustice, it tackles the flaws of religion, the meaning of faith, and the corruption of power. Now on its own, this doesn't seem to be anything groundbreaking. Many people have spoken about these topics, but something Phil does extremely well is make it believable. The characters challenges are so relatable and feel so modern even inside of a fantasy setting. But this doesn't read like a piece of preachy literature. Rather it brings these ideas to the front of the readers minds, and challenges it from all sides. This is impressive on its own. What's even more impressive is how there is an exciting story on top of that. I'm excited for the rest of this series. Also, it's great to see a POV from the analogue of an Orc. Really fantastic stuff.

A good introduction to the trilogy. I would give it 41/2 stars if that were an option. After a bit of a slow start, in terms of plot not action, the book began to move along quite rapidly. The imaginary world based upon medieval times with knights, squires, evil princes, ogres, magic, witches and sweet heroines is highly derivative of so many fantasy novels. What makes this a fun read are the characters and their development through the action packed story. Atho the squire to the evil king, and a product of the lowest caste of people in this society is knighted for his bravery in battle. The evil king's daughter, Emthe, trains secretly and becomes a knight too as she distinguishes herself in battle. Both of these characters are not only great fighters, but possess magical gifts of which they know nothing and only discover them in times of great stress or mortal peril. The sexual tension between them builds throughout. Likewise we are given hints both of them are destined for something far greater than their current lives which teases books two and three nicely. A parallel story regarding a non-human ogre-like group is told throughout. Clearly lines will cross in future books although we are not quite sure how or why at this time. All told this is a great escape from reality, one I enjoyed and would recommend.

I bought the first three books at a different site but I bought the final three here at the store. Although, there are a total of six books in the story, there are only five books dealing with the main story with the sixth book being a back story. Downloaded a sample as the first three books were offered for only .99 cents (not anywhere now). Wasn't expecting much (Phil Tucker is a very unassuming name for a fantasy writer) but I was pleasantly surprised. Lots of development and background of certain characters and some are very interesting. However, I guess I like the fighting the best and everyone fights, one way or the other. Long books for those that devour regular novels which was also enjoyable for me. It's not over early and it's almost impossible to figure out how it will end. There are some aspects of the story that picky readers may find lacking but for me, the fighting makes up for all of that. It's a good heroic struggle of Good versus Evil.

The story is complex, with a large cast of characters and is completely engrossing. The worlds are created with great detail and are believable. Fantasy fiction provides a writer great latitude when weaving a tale that will capture your imagination and this author has stretched out with an enormous project that, so far, is very successful. I've read the first two books and started the third, and I'm committed to finish the series. The characters are believeable, descriptions are rich and defining. At first I was at a loss about how everything would meld together, since the barbaric kraugh seemed so far off topic. Now I trust the story to merge at its own pace. The only thing I found disturbing was the "religion", how anyone would believe a practice that espouses bigotry. But finally I came to the conclusion that almost all religions seem strange and weird if you don't believe.

I wish this author or publisher (whomever decides these things) had chosen to include the first Five chapters instead of the first Four. Chapter Five contains some of the best writing I've ever read - full stop. Phil Tucker is a talented writer. He understands how to strike all the emotional cords while world building and developing characters. I don't want to include spoilers - so I'm purposely refraining from describing the plot. I would recommend you start this novel 'cold' without any preconceived notions. You'll be hooked after chapter five and wondering what kind of journey Phil's taking you on. Great book.

This is an extremely well crafted and told tale. These commits cover the prequel and first two books in the series. If you like fantasy stories of this type you will surely like this series. The events here could only happen in a fantasy and your trip though Mr. Tucker's imaginative mind will be well rewarded. You really need to start with the prequel as the world he leads you to is complicated and the detail is often puzzling if you don't first have all the back story you can get. The first book plunges you into a whole new world with new values, standards and detail that, at first, may seem confusing. In my opinion, he takes too long to connect the various fragments of his story. Some are yet to be connected by the time you finish the second book. His vocabulary and use of words is matched only by the detail that he presents in this story. It is well worth spending time with. My only negative, here, is that it could have benefited by another run by the proof-reader. Especially book two. It is slightly distracting but by no means a reason to skip this very good read.

Surprised.

That, more than anything else, describes how I felt while reading this book.

One of the things I dislike more than anything else about fantasy novels is the constant retread of Tolkein style elves and Gygax inspired monsters. It is discouraging to read through novel after novel and feel like I should be creating a character sheet to go along with the author. But not here.

This book surprised me by being so fresh. I love the religion, the reviling of magic, the political aspirations, and all of this without having to drown in monotony around the details. This is a fantasy that is plot driven, with a caste system and religious background that gives depth without being trite or ever feeling too familiar.

Phil Tucker is new to me, and obviously new to most of us. I am starting right in on the second in this series, and hope he keeps them coming.

The beginning of this tale was good enough to keep me reading and I am glad I did. While this is not quite Sanderson, Hobb, or even Weeks, it is nonetheless a good fantasy story with believable characters (so far at any rate) and an interesting magic system. Much better reading than a lot of garbage that seems to have bowled over the denizens of the storeland; "Dawn of Wonder", any book written by Ryan after his amazingly good epic, "Blood Song" , and too many others to mention so I will simply say etc.

I will try the second based on this first foray and hope the author succeeds in avoiding the traps too many fantasy authors fall into after a good (or even great) first effort.
Keep it real Mr. Tucker, avoid over complication and you should be ok. Not all series can be classics but most can avoid being garbage. Best of luck with the attempt.

Because I've read Phil Tuckers books before I jumped at the chance to read one of his new ones which went down a different avenue and I knew not to under estimate his style of story telling.
I won't go into the story because it's quite a difficult one to explain but I will say that if you like anything to do with medieval stories then this is a book for you.
If starts off a little bit hard to get what's happening in the beginning but after a chapter or two you can start to understand a bit of what's happening. But like I said it takes patience to keep on reading to really get the whole story as it goes along.
By the time I finished I was so indulged with it I was gutted that it ended where it did but that's what a good book 1 does leaves you gagging for book 2 and believe me I can't wait.
Enjoy the story don't rush it take your time and that way you will understand more and get to know the characters better.

The first of what , hopefully, will become a must read saga. The world created by Phil Tucker appears both similar and very, very different from our own. From the very start you are thrown into the heart of an epic battle. In the traditions of Tolkien and Martin you are led through the story through the viewpoint of various protagonists. Humans, Orcs, Dragons and Demons all populate the beautifully described landscapes. An epic read, can't wait for the next book.

Kindle Unlimited, except for 0.5 pretty sure that is permafree, know it's the prequel to the books below. This one comes after the first one listed as it's a prequel.

Escape from Bythos (Chronicles of the Black Gate 0.5) - The Path of Flames (Chronicles of the Black Gate, #1) - The Black Shriving (Chronicles of the Black Gate, #2) - The Siege of Abythos (Chronicles of the Black Gate #3)
The Chronicles of the Black Gate: Books 1-3 (The Chronicles Boxset)
*does not include those below
The Iron Circlet (Chronicles of the Black Gate #4) - Book 5 of The Chronicles of the Black Gate is slated to come out in the beginning of July

A very well written story. There was good character development and really interesting world building. The world created by the author was fairly unique, with an interesting religious premise of reincarnation and a caste system based on race. Yet neither of those issues overwhelmed the storyline in any way, even though it added subtext to how the world worked and how the different characters behaved.

I could not put this book down from start to finish. The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars was that there were a few typo/editorial errors in the kindle version.

I have already purchased the next 4 books. The story was that good. Can’t wait to sink my teeth into book 2.

Because I've read Phil Tuckers books before I jumped at the chance to read one of his new ones which went down a different avenue and I knew not to under estimate his style of story telling.
I won't go into the story because it's quite a difficult one to explain but I will say that if you like anything to do with medieval stories then this is a book for you.
If starts off a little bit hard to get what's happening in the beginning but after a chapter or two you can start to understand a bit of what's happening. But like I said it takes patience to keep on reading to really get the whole story as it goes along.
By the time I finished I was so indulged with it I was gutted that it ended where it did but that's what a good book 1 does leaves you gagging for book 2 and believe me I can't wait.
Enjoy the story don't rush it take your time and that way you will understand more and get to know the characters better.

The beginning of this tale was good enough to keep me reading and I am glad I did. While this is not quite Sanderson, Hobb, or even Weeks, it is nonetheless a good fantasy story with believable characters (so far at any rate) and an interesting magic system. Much better reading than a lot of garbage that seems to have bowled over the denizens of the storeland; "Dawn of Wonder", any book written by Ryan after his amazingly good epic, "Blood Song" , and too many others to mention so I will simply say etc.

I will try the second based on this first foray and hope the author succeeds in avoiding the traps too many fantasy authors fall into after a good (or even great) first effort.
Keep it real Mr. Tucker, avoid over complication and you should be ok. Not all series can be classics but most can avoid being garbage. Best of luck with the attempt.

Surprised.

That, more than anything else, describes how I felt while reading this book.

One of the things I dislike more than anything else about fantasy novels is the constant retread of Tolkein style elves and Gygax inspired monsters. It is discouraging to read through novel after novel and feel like I should be creating a character sheet to go along with the author. But not here.

This book surprised me by being so fresh. I love the religion, the reviling of magic, the political aspirations, and all of this without having to drown in monotony around the details. This is a fantasy that is plot driven, with a caste system and religious background that gives depth without being trite or ever feeling too familiar.

Phil Tucker is new to me, and obviously new to most of us. I am starting right in on the second in this series, and hope he keeps them coming.

I'm writing this review after finishing the 3rd book in the series.

World: Detailed and big with a few races and complex social structure. Very heavy on magic.
Character development: Good. There are a handful POV characters and they have different strengths and weaknesses. Only two of them undergo coming-of-age. The rest are adults.
Plot: More complex than I expected. However, it relies heavily on magic & religion and specifically the discovery of magic. There are a few places where it was predictable. A few fights went a bit too well for the protagonists.
Writing: Clear and fluid. A few typos in the Kindle editions.

Phil Tucker will soon become as well known as david gemmill and Brandon Sanderson he is that good
I have just finished throne after completing all of the black gate books and 5 older books
The main reasons why he will become a star are as follows
The characters he creates are very real and his ability to build a world around them that excites and makes you lose yourself for a few hours has not been done since david gemmill
If you like fantasy that excites and isn't so dark that you feel you are walking through tar
READ PATH OF FLAMES

Excellent fantasy read full of political intrigue, supernatural friends and foes, with well-drawn unique characters that make you care and keep turning the pages. A delight to read a novel in this genre with lots of strong female characters who are just as complex and interesting as the men. A grand tale of action and adventure in a fascinating world that grips you and keeps you wanting to know what happens next. David Eddings meets George RR Martin. Highly enjoyable and recommended.

I haven’t read a fantasy door-stopper like this since the last Wheel of Time book. I really enjoyed it! It’s not the usual fantasy door-stopper either, it’s different enough that I don’t see the usual plot devices and generic characters. Recommended! I look forward to reading the next book!

I am ready to continue reading with anticipation. I like the complexity threaded through the storylines. Also just enough is left out to keep interest peaked for continuing need to read on. I really like the use of descriptive language through out. I applaud the writer. Thank you for a very enjoyable read.?

Good start to what looks like a very interesting series. Strong characters and a new and different society with layers of class systems and a strange religion. I have been engrossed with this book and the characters grow in interest the more that you read. I highly recommend this book (I am halfway through the next in series and it gets even better!)

Gritty and unflinching, Path of Flames takes the reader into the depth of daubt of the Protagonist. My only Point is, that the world opens up at large at once. So you need to accept something without an explanation at first. Hopefully these points will be adressed in the sequels.

Awesome book, with great character development. The plot development is wonderful, letting you get to know the characters and the current state before throwing changes and developments at you. While at the same time never being stale. The synopsis come off as a bit of a sword book, but its a lot more fantasy than that.

Only chose this title because of Kindle unlimited... And I've been disappointed quite a few times. So naturally, I was skeptical. By the end of this first in a series, I am totally sold! Sometimes I felt like I was reading an Erikson book but different. This guy is great and I can't wait to finish the series.

Like any other fantasy stories with established cosmology, the book started with a cosmology of ascendancy where people start at a lower rung and through good deeds ascend to be reborn at a higher status. This caste system is well established at the start, and the story takes lots of twists and turns through the eyes of the heroes, to subvert the established cosmology. It's almost like fighting against the status quo, and it's so well written, you would think that it has something to do with how the cosmology began. Looking forward to the next books to have this question answered. Onwards.

Very interesting plot and the characters are well developed. My preference would be that all books be a cohesive whole, not just a piece of a set with an incomplete story or a cliffhanger. I want my attachment to the characters and involvement in the setting and premise make me want to get the next book. I may continue on or not but I did like it.

What a marvelous beginning to the Black Gate World! This epic adventure seems predicated upon the dark ages and times of heroic Knights. The pacing of the individual main characters' actions are intertwined in mystery yet move the plot forward in exciting bursts. This is a world of savage brutality, interspersed with magic and dampening religious belief, that makes this reader want the next book in this series NOW.

Just excellent! Great world building and character development.By the end of the book you're so invested ,waiting to turn the next page to see your favorite character progress . Totally enjoyed the slow burn romances and attachments building between characters. A must read .

Interesting story and world. I was a little confused in the beginning of the book about Asho's race. Namely how some are selected to live above ground and some below, and what they were doing in their underground city. I was also a little confused about what happened with his sister, there were a couple of different versions of her story and because it is a self published book I wasn't sure if that was an editing mistake or if it was meant to be there. Despite this confusion if you press on these questions get answered and become clear. All in all I really liked this book and look forward to book 2.

The characters are awesome, the editing is superb. The POV dance gets jarring, but it's not so bad once you get used to it. The story is ... fresh. Excellent. Interesting. I'm not sure where this is going, but I know I want to follow along. Recommended.

Absolutely amazing! I rarely write reviews, let alone come back to the first book to encourage others, but this series deserves it. World building, chatracters, all of it. I hesitated for awhile, the cover put me off for some reason, but was intrigued by the sample. Just finished book 5, utterly epic and satisfying!

What a great find in the store unlimited. Great fantasy with familiar genre elements (knights and nobility, magic) but with a fresh perspective (inter/cross dimensional travel, new races). And it all comes together well. I have read the first two and looking forward to the next.

This was a very enjoyable read. Amply and beautifully descriptive writing, interesting emotive characters with the depth I like. The intrigue and action kept me turning the pages.. A romping story which succeeded to engage me, unhindered by a few editing mistakes. I recommend to all fans of fantasy adventures!

What a great introduction into a fascinating world of very different beings. Interesting how the ascendant or beliefs of how death will affect them somehow ties them together but also tears them apart. I cannot wait to see how they all come together, men of different statures and man-beast.