The Darker Shade of Sorcery (The Realmers Series 1)

The Darker Shade of Sorcery

By William Collins

 

    After reading so many negative reviews about this book…I almost give up on reading it. However, surprisingly, The Darker Shade of Sorcery isn’t that bad. Moreover, it’s sort of good in some way. So? I’m glad that I didn’t abandon it although I receive this book from the author. And I must apologize for taking it so long without giving a review…I’m kind of busy…and…I don’t particularly like to read e-book. So, I printed it out.

 

The lonely and grieving Evan Umbra is the newest Venator to enter Veneseron, the school for demon hunters.

A Venator is a wizard, a spy and a demon hunter rolled into one. They’re taught how to wield their sorcery and enchanted weaponry by orcs, elfpires and aliens alike.

Their missions range from battling monsters and saving countless lives in the multiple worlds, to the more peculiar, like wrangling killer unicorns and calming down drunken yetis. In their free time Venators enjoy goblin soap-operas and underwater bubble travel, but they also understand that every new mission they’re given could be their last.

Whilst learning how to manipulate the elements, summon creatures to fight for him and shoot Spellzookas, Evan encounters a dangerous rival and meets a girl who makes him feel nauseous; but in a good way. He makes the first friends he’s ever had in the carefree Jed and the reckless Brooke. Whilst Jed gets on the wrong side of a rival Venator, Brooke finds herself falling for the enigmatic demon hunter who brought her to Veneseron, not knowing he isn't quite human. But it soon becomes apparent that Evan is more than just a Venator. Everyone wants to kill or capture him, from demons to Dark-Venators and even people he’s supposed to be able to trust.

Evan reckons he probably won’t survive his first year at Veneseron.

 

     Since I only gave it three stars, I think I’ll start with the part that I’m not so satisfied with. The Romance…oh come on! The romance is horrible. Really really horrible. I was particularly rolling my eyes all the time whenever there is a romance happening in front of me. I really like Brooke and Arantay…but come on!!! They are the copy of Twilight!!!!! An innocence, pure girl not afraid of a vampire…or should I called…elfpire?

 

 You all know I hate Twilight romance…please…thing between Brooke and Arantay definitely need to be sorted out. I was originally looking really forward to see Brooke transform into a strong and fearsome female figure…but then I was totally disappointed. There is no doubt that she is powerful, and skilled with magic…however, can you please stop screaming every time? Whenever there is something happening…her first reaction is “SCREAM!!!!!” SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM AND SCREAM.

 How disappointed. Really? That’s the best female character you can create? A screaming girl and an idiot?

    The other thing is about the similarity between this book and the others. I definitely see all the resemblance between this book and Percy Jackson. Hogwarts, Star War (Although I didn’t read it yet) and Twilight. The beginning of the book is quite similar to Percy Jackson about how the demigods are found in the human world. Venators come to the earth and recruit…or kidnap the potential teenagers to become one of them. And the academy…the stairs and rooms of the fortress moves! Sound familiar?



 And all the sic-fi scenes…so similar to the movie! And yes, I mentioned the horrible romance. I don’t mind an innovative similarity…as long as there is something new…but this is just too much! Besides the similarity…oh gosh…as usual, I guess who is the traitor from the beginning of this book. Yes, I know who he/she is. Although there are other false guesses as well…but when the characters first appeared…my sixth sense kept shouting “It’s her!!!! It’s her!!! Get away from her!!!!!”

 And of course…who can refuse a beautiful figure? Boys…

 

“After many missions in a plethora of peculiar realms, he’d managed to keep the fear of monsters locked away, but his own evil terrified him more than any demon.

Snow fell hard, bodies fell harder.

The snow was blue here, a shade lighter than the crystalline trees surrounding them. They were in the ice jungle of Eltika, where the undergrowth was littered with a thousand ice shards and the tree vines emitted vapour cold enough to cause frostbite.

Arantay took time to survey the battle before his next opponent.”

 

    Fine, enough of the complaint…otherwise you’ll start to wonder why I gave it three stars. Except all those…things above…I did enjoy the plot setting and some of the scenes and story lines. I love the details of this new planet and new worlds, it sort of remind me Ender Game…wait…it is Ender Game. However, well…other than the giant alien dominating part…I really love all those different portals and magic. It combines fantasy and sci-fi, which is pretty awesome. And the best part of this book is the actions. All the battle scenes are excellent. The moves, the motions…umm…forgot the romance part. I love how those scenes are describe and written. I wasn’t that into the entire story, but I enjoy every moment of the battle scenes and training sessions. And I love the ending twist. When I was reading, I was like “FINALLY!!!! WE HAVE SOMETHING INTERESTING HERE!!!! Something that makes me want to keep reading the sequel!!!!!” And I can see a great potential for the next two books. Will I kept reading? I will keep reading if I receive the books from either the publisher or the author…but I won’t buy it. But that is because it’s a kindle…so…I don’t buy e-books. But, if you are looking for a good, thrilling sci-fi fantasy, I’ll recommend this one. It’s not too expensive on Amazon and a good read to pass you time. Oh! And it’s free on Amazon now.

 

I received the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.