The Legacy (The Darkness Within Trilogy Book 1)

Loved the characters and the story twists and turns in ways you can't predict.

Certainly takes the clichéd heroes and villains and throws a wrench in their formulae leaving you guessing who is who.

Can't wait for the next installment as it will definitely be a must-read!!!

I was surprised to see this book received so many high reviews. Issues with the book include flat characters, dead end plot lines, too much magic wanding, bad conflict writing and even worse attempts at humour. (spoilers ahead).
Dead end plot lines
An all-destroying DeathWizard has been summoned from Earth back to the magical world of Tahlona. The king commands the Archwizard to destroy him at all costs. Fine, let’s ride out with urgency and then go investigate an interesting archeological find where we will learn….absolutely nothing.

Too many miracles.
Often the protagonist is placed into a bad situation from which he/she must escape using a mix of smarts, desperation, toughness, ability and luck. Here, the protagonist gets in trouble, and a miracle card nobody knew about gets played.
When ambushed by pirates.
Pirate captain: “We’re going to kill you all, but especially you Assassin, for what you did to Pirate Bob.”
Assassin: “But I loved Pirate Bob!!”
Pirate captain: “Never mind! Kill all of them!”
Miracles occur and the party escapes the pirates unscathed without ever finding out about poor Pirate Bob.
Conflict
Archwizard: “ZOMG Assassin, you just cast a spell that has not been seen on this world for 10,000 years! I must have it!”
Assassin: “Nay Useless Wizard, my magic is my own!”
Archwizard: “I then apologize from deep in my heart. Let us ignore this transgression and ride forth as nothing ever happened, and not mention this again.

Humour
“Hey Meat Shield, you almost got your face ripped off by that Wraith back there, let us now make humourous remarks. Who’s a good boy den? (punches shoulder).

Romance
DeathWizard:“Wow female magical healer, you are burning up with fever, let me remove your clothes so that I can put you in an ice bath.”
Healer: “Hey big boy, you’re taking my clothes off. I’m deathly ill, so this must mean romantic things.”
DeathWizard:”I’m so embarrassed!”

Characters
I’ll forgive a lot in the book if the characters are well drawn and I give a damn about how they proceed through the book. Here, the main character gets repeatedly injured, tortured, and persecuted. He seems to take it all in stride. In a magical prison being tortured by witches for months? Just another day at the office. Also, apparently if you are a small town cop in the pacific northwest, and get teleported to a magical world, you get upgraded with amazing bow and sword skills that are better than that worlds best warrior. I kept waiting for him to carve his way to a donut shop.

Honestly a disappointing book. I was captivated by the cover and the theme. The premis sounded cool as well but it just does not deliver. For a book focusing on Dark magic and Dark powers constantly you would expect this to be a bit of a dark fantasy.

This is where you would be mistaken. Some spoilers ahead. But also not really if you can see where the book is going.

Every single person who is in danger and a main character. Is never really in danger. There is no over reaching threat. Not one second for there to be cause for concern. And even when a character is tortured ( in an honestly very ineffective way, but granted painful way ) for months. Nothing changes to him either.

Honestly you can just kinda skip this one. Maybe two stars is harsh. But after reading a few hundred books in this genera. I would not recomend it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I liked the plot and the characters. It is hard for me to understand reviews that say too many characters. The authors create worlds and they are populated by "life". I understand that many want to follow a character or two (maybe three), but the world blossoms into its own reality when viewed from many aspects. The key is to write these various, abundant characters well and I thought the author did a great job of this. I enjoyed reading the story from the point of views of the different characters. One thing that threw me off on this book was that everyone vomited at least 2 to 3 times (I mean everyone). I get that things are happening, but every time a character was brought into the story, somehow they had the opportunity to vomit. Not sure I understood why that particular bodily function was harped on so much. I get that characters are in danger, they hurt or are injured, but I am not sure we need to know that particular part in every single scrape they get in. However, it is not my story and that must be something the author felt strongly about. With that said, the author writes an engaging story and I am anticipating the next book.

The world building was excellent. I loved the detailed descriptions and vast world. If you like world building in Token, Jordan, Sanderson novels, you will like this. 5 stars.

spoilers

This books needs an editor. There are too many coincidences. Why does everyone speak english? Why don't the characters from Earth ask this question or even wonder? One of them thinks about it weeks later, but that is strange. There were a lot of things like this.

The arc for Ember was beyond frusterating. She literally walked in circles. I felt like I was playing an RPG where the character almost gets to the end, is told to return to the beginning and then is sent off on in a new direction on an unrelated quest.

I was on the fence about reading the next book in the series. The editorial issues with arcs and logic frusterated me, but I see the potential of this author. However, I read the reviews for the second book and it appears that the author did not take the advice of many previous readers to hire/listen to a decent editor and it suffers with the same problems.

I hope the author considers reworking these first two books before moving on. This could be an epic series if the books had a few more revisions. I decided to watch the author just in case this happens.

This book had so much potential. The cross-world plot and the moral ambiguity of many characters results in a juicy and intriguing plot during the first third of the book. For reasons beyond my comprehension, the book's next third goes from having a satisfying intense pace into being a snooze fest. Endless droning on of internal dialogue and unnecessary auxiliary side stories plague the book. But the slower pace would be forgivable, if the last third of the book picked up the pace. Although the pace does pick up a little, it becomes unsatisfying. One of the main characters endures endless torture. Without exaggeration, there are at least 120 pages of nothing but torture in this book. I understand the need to create challenges and trials for the "good guys" to overcome, but come on. Unless the reader is a sadistic sociopath or masochist, reading hundreds of pages of torture is itself a form of torture. I can't help but wonder if the author needs to visit a psychologist. Really gruesome, horrific descriptions page after page, with practically no payoff at all. If I hated myself that much, I would just check myself into Guantanamo or a Myanmar prison. It is such a tragedy that a book that could have been a robust and entertaining fantasy devolved into a treatise on torture. Avoid unless you like that kind of thing.

Looks like its going nowhere fast, not really interested in finishing the series if its just going to keep leading me on and killing people while the main character sits in prison or narrowly misses catching up to see his loved ones before they disappear or he disappears, to know they are both alive. Lame, I’m sorry I will not sit and read a book that makes me sick with annoyance at plots that twist probability to keep the story going nowhere. Good books with great plots evolve they don’t stay the same basic plot from beginning to end. I see them, i see them oh damn look at that, once again.... a million miles away in the wrong direction.

I would tell you 2 things about this book, first, ignore any synopsis; like me you would probably moan to yourself "not again">which would be Mistake #1.
Second, I would urge you to get past the first 10 pages at all costs before you decide the book is a badly written caricature of a beaten to death trope. It is NOT.
Maybe a literary device, maybe a slow start (I think bad choice/overdone) device ....it makes the book seem like a woodenly written sterotype of a Land Of Magic and the first character we meet a knock off Merlin. Not the case, doesn't stay that way, and I beleive the author exagerated some qualities to illustrate the first and second view/narration/thoughts as different or alien to our world. It also plays a bit like melodrama but eventually helps explain the how and why certain people act, feel, or refuse to feel certain ways. If a father fails to feel sympathy or love for his child... it is because of loss, distance and the price paid in the events of these first 20 pages.

When later assinine behavior by these people is viewed through the lens of this loss.... the absence of attachment coupled with loss makes unforgivable acts understandable and even sympathetic.

We think we know the bad guys, we do know the good. We dont know if the good will do evil. By accident or as a result of the oul twisting effects of tramma, loss, shame, and pain.

Most of all the book does an excellent hob showing the danger of.a.little knowledge, the horrors born of false assumptions, and the root of depravity. Worship and false derision shape this world.of.magic, the politics, and even makes you think ....What do we "miss" or.pine for that was wrong, against us, or evil?

The book was tedious in the beginning. So much so that I was about to put it down. But I extended my 100 page rule and it eventually kicked in. The story is sound with strong plot development (it's saving grace). The grammatical errors are noticeable and somewhat clumsy. I thought the book was self published. JD Franks (is that a publishing company?) needs to hire some better editors. The MC goes through so much adversity and torture I felt the author himself was an offender. It get's monotonous. However, I will purchase the next book in the series when it is released. The author is clearly has talent; a bit more refinement and he/she would be top shelf.

A well developed set of arcs that you can finally see coming together, until a well executed cliff hanger ending that should hook you for the next book, but the character development isn't the greatest and the interactions between them absolutely cheesy. The conflicts seem to be entirely one dimensional with everyone reaching for their swords but never actually doing anything about it and the flirting just painful to read.

This was a really fun read filled with twists & turns.
It's an interesting twist on a story line that is like others that I've read before without following the standard formula.
Just enough description to keep you informed without becoming bogged down in descriptions.
I'm looking forward to tearing into the next book in the series. I'll be downloading it as soon as I get the current book that I'm reading completed.

I would recommend a reading of this book to start off then listening. The audible version is very confusing until one realizes how the chapters are treated. Furthermore, the narration does not distinguish between the characters enough. And then there are the explicitly described x-rated sex scenes! But the theme is an exciting one and I will continue the series nonetheless, now that I am aware of the author's style.

This book had a great storyline, but the author's storytelling skills need work. The interaction between characters seems awkward at times, and the attempts to inject humor and romance appear forced, sometimes out of place. The character development and setting is not quite at the level of other well-known authors, but one must give credit for the attempt, as the sheer number of characters necessarily involved and the very nature of the genre of epic fantasy are no easy feat to accomplish. That being said, the story progresses at a good clip, and was able to hold my attention, despite the numerous editing errors, which distracted me a bit (e.g
Use of the word "sight" in place of "site" and misspellings, etc), but mere technicalities did not prevent the story flow. Overall, a good weekend read.

The story was interesting and the writing was decent, however some of the dialogue, especially the "banter" between characters, was pretty poorly written. While I liked the story, it didnt advance very far given the length of the book and some reviews have indicated that the next book also doesnt progress, so I'm trying to decide if I will read it.

The author has devised an incredibly expansive world with plenty of mysteries and incredibly amazing ideas which can be fleshed out into an incredible addition to the fantasy genre.

Too bad, however, the poor writing gives the impression that you are reading the musings of a bored teen in class, rather than a published novel.

If many of the rather large issues can be resolved, this will absolutely be a series worth having.

My only consolation was that it was free on the kindle app for prime subscribers.

Wow, this is what you call a seriously epic story...swords and sorcery and so much more. Franx is a very strong writer with a great imagination, creating a world full of supernatural dangers and valiant allies. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys fantastic fiction.

This book at first seemed a little confusing because I didn't realize that the sections at the beginning of each chapter were selections from letters and history books providing insight into events that were happening in each chapter. Apart from that, I have to say that the Darkness Within Saga is possibly one of the best books I have read. The characters are compelling and story is suspenseful and well-written. After reading this book, I read another book from a different author in the fantasy genre and I couldn't help but note the superior quality of this book. This book is definitely worth a read 5 out of 5 stars.

The story was interesting to an extent, but was equally predictable and, at times, obnoxious. The characters at times seemed indistinct from one another and at points plot holes were offensively and glaringly obvious. That being said, I still found myself wanting to know more about how the story unfolds, and will continue the series while hoping that the author improves his craft over time.

This is the beginning of a trilogy that will keep you hooked. The depth of plot is mind boggling. His ability to write so many layers is astounding. You will read all of them back to back and again and again.

Great story, excellent writing. I also found the length of the story very good as it took me a while to read it unlike some of the shorter books I've been reading lately.

The author developed the characters and story well with enough depth while not getting caught in too much depth of mundane details.

I'm a fan now!

Greatly enjoyed the book featuring Wizards, magic, and alternate realms. Multiple complex characters lead you across lands savaged by death and war to ones of mystical and magical creatures. A multi-demensional plot engages readers from teens to adult. Best of all it is drawn out in detail of over 700 pages (kindel edition .) I do not appreciate other authors who chop a good long novel up into 200 page pieces.

Loved the first book. Am on second book now. Love all the different magic!!
Hated how close they were to each other, and missing the meet, great story. Love it, it takes me out of this world, we are destroying!!!
Keep up the good work!!??

If you accept that it is formulaic (yet another sword and sorcery tale with extreme torture filling many chapters) and the writing is not like Robin Hobb's or Rothfuss', the diverse characters with their different back stories and paths that you know will converge, and the quick tempo, will make this book interesting to read, and you'll want to read the next one in the series too.

If you accept that it is formulaic (yet another sword and sorcery tale with extreme torture filling many chapters) and the writing is not like Robin Hobb's or Rothfuss', the diverse characters with their different back stories and paths that you know will converge, and the quick tempo, will make this book interesting to read, and you'll want to read the next one in the series too.

More magic and wizardry than I normally go for but not entirely over-fantastic either.
Really like the epic world and story developing here.
I must admit that towards the last half of the book, it seems, whomever was in charge of proofreading went AWOL, which always pushes my grammar police buttons. Though, that is the only negative that I took away from this title.

I liked the book, I found the characters compelling and the story interesting. World building is progressing well, a complex world history which led to a complex magical society with terrible evils. And of course a world on the brink.

Very well written story. This book features perspective changes every few chapters, but for the first time in a long time I enjoy each and every perspective. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

This story of individuals being transported to different worlds & being thrown into absolute chaos was such a fun read! I love the idea of magic, and I love a great story about overcoming & disproving incorrect biases too! I can't wait for more of this journey in the next book!

The plot was phenomenal, the character arcs great, and the overall pacing was solid. However, there were a lot of grammatical mistakes. The vast majority of these were comma splices, at a rate that seemed to be a couple every chapter, with a few spelling errors and misused contractions.
In the end, it was a book well worth reading but will likely to cause the more grammar-savvy readers to wince from time to time.

The author does a great job striking a skilled balance between character and world development and a swift moving, never stagnant plot line. I am a converted fan and just bought the second book in the series.