Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

At the end of this first of (hopefully) many installments of Cole and Anspach’s incursion into the genre of epic fantasy, The authors thank Rangers for their input in the research, and it shows. I’d learned more than I had expected to about the training, equipage and mental makeup of the Rangers, and I agree they would be particularly suited to being dropped into a world of magic and monsters. Our protagonists quickly determine the efficacy and limitations of contemporary firepower, how to incorporate the eldritch arsenals available, what the objectives are, proceed to pursue them. The worldbuilding also excels, with new twists on fantasy and D&D tropes – the magic is more pyrokinetic D&D than Tolkien. There’s a great big world to explore, and new uncanny magical applications to try out. The main character’s borderline stream-of-consciousness narration is excellent for presenting the story, recreating the feel of a war journal and combining deadly serious, gallows humor, smartmouth comments and sheer wonder. Whether he will continue as the chronicler of adventures in the Forgotten Ruin or future books will follow other characters in the third person, I look forward to reading more. Whether battling insurgents or Orcs, Rangers will Ranger!