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Ashes of Ailushurai
Ashes of Ailushurai
The Esfah Sagas: Relic Quests #1
Dwarves, elves, & goblins collide…
…Esfah is another world originally from the creators of Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance.
Here there be dragons!
When a reluctant Dwarven adventurer undertakes a quest on behalf of his blind father, he accidentally awakens an ancient evil banished ages ago. Now, with dark elves and goblinoid trogs snapping at his heels, Hy’Targ must prevent a powerful lich from reuniting with the ancient bones of his lover. Failure means a new age of darkness will spread across the land.
Journeying towards the creature’s dark tower, he enlists the help of the few souls who believe him, one of whom is an imprisoned thief that must first be freed… a thief who is linked to their problems more closely than they realize. He stole the sacred bones the lich is after and undead scouts pursue his every move. Can this band of unlikely heroes prevent a second rise of the Black Tower?
…Esfah is another world originally from the creators of Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance.
Here there be dragons!
When a reluctant Dwarven adventurer undertakes a quest on behalf of his blind father, he accidentally awakens an ancient evil banished ages ago. Now, with dark elves and goblinoid trogs snapping at his heels, Hy’Targ must prevent a powerful lich from reuniting with the ancient bones of his lover. Failure means a new age of darkness will spread across the land.
Journeying towards the creature’s dark tower, he enlists the help of the few souls who believe him, one of whom is an imprisoned thief that must first be freed… a thief who is linked to their problems more closely than they realize. He stole the sacred bones the lich is after and undead scouts pursue his every move. Can this band of unlikely heroes prevent a second rise of the Black Tower?
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10/27/2021
JD
J. Daniel Francis
I thought this book was significantly more immersive than the others I have read so far. The story is great, with good character development that got me right away interested in their affairs.
There's still some word choices that bug me, such as the overuse of the word "busted" (as opposed to broken or other synonyms).
All in all though, a good read, enjoyable.
09/23/2021
DO
donald obrien
an engaging story, with interesting characters and an immersive setting. Great reading
02/24/2021
JP
J. Persson
An immersive world of High Fantasy. A dynamic coming of age tale mixing family, friendship, magic, and survival in a brutal world; Esfah. The dwarven prince, Hy' Targ, is a relatively young and scholarly dwarf stepping out into the larger world on a quest to heal his father, the dwarven king Hy' Mandr. Not only to gain his father's respect, but to experience life beyond reading about it. Fate would have it that his quest will evolve to a much higher purpose, with the resurgence of his nemesis, the powerful undead lich, Melkior. Melkior's back story is the essence of the books title. In the spirit of Dungeons & Dragons, Forgotten Realms, LOTR, and World of Warcraft, Christopher Schmitz carries the Dragon Dice fiction torch to new heights. AOA stands on its own as a modern fantasy cult classic. Loved it.
08/09/2020
JW
Josh Wood
I preordered this book with Rise and Fall of the Obsidian Grotto from the publisher, Treeshaker Books for the exclusive promo dice that comes with the physical copies. Both books came in together and Ashes was recieved about 1 week before the official release date. Christopher knocks it out of the park again. Another thrilling installment into the world of Esfah sees an unlikely band of heroes teaming up against the forces of the dead. New characters and species never before seen in the games or other books make their debut in Ashes. The author again plays to his strengths of compelling dialogue and thrilling action sequences.
However, nearly every page has some sort of error on it. Sentences or paragraphs that start with the names of the species of Esfah (selumari, trogs, etc.) are almost never capitalized, occasionally there will be an improper tense, and one instance of "connectionconnection", among others. These minor annoyances were never enough to take me fully out of the adventures of our heroes, but they were very noticeable. These issues were not present in Rise and Fall and I don't know if it's only because I got my preordered copy early that they were there at all, or if they were fixed for the official release.
I eagerly look forward to more of Christopher's works in Esfah!
07/20/2020
Z
zach
A tale of a dwarf son trying to find his way in a world and fill the footsteps of his aging father and find himself along the way in the second age of Esfah. Fantastic to see the world of Esfah and Dragon Dice bloom and flourish. Many references to the first age and the old world are in place that help give the world a feel of forgotten history. A great cast of characters brought together by tragedy, convenience or circumstance and find the need of each other in this first book of the Relic Quest series. Totally recommend!
07/13/2020
GR
Glenn R. Moyer
As part of the first new Dragon Dice fiction in at least a decade I really looked forward to this book. It did not disappoint me.
If you are just looking for fantasy fiction and not a fan of Esfah/dragon dice the story should still be a fun one...if you are a fan you should love it.
Trying to keep this relatively spoiler free, there was a lot of good lore in the book, the story grabbed my attention and was interesting, I was particularly happy to see a Coral Elf leader get something of a redemption at the last moment.
The tale of the Eldarim turned Lich was really good.
One note: I did not buy this through Amazon but directly through SFR (the company that makes Dragon Dice) as you got a bonus collector's die that way.
07/13/2020
TD
Travis Dean
This novel starts out during a relatively peaceful era in the world of Esfah. But even in peaceful times, there is conflict and danger, or even just the urge for adventure. But what starts out as seemingly safe adventuring leads to unleashing a chain of events, releasing a great Undead evil sealed away ages ago.
What I love most about Chris's writing style in this book is he starts out with enough of a prologue in the book to lay the foundation. Why should I suddenly believe there is some great evil of untold power? Why was it never dealt with before? Why should we suddenly go from safety to peril? The beginning of the book lays out the background story in just enough detail to truly realize why this is a threat and feel the same impending doom that our hero feels. The characters themselves all have their own personality and feelings, which are portrayed clearly to the reader to understand why the characters act in the way they do. It all comes together to make the story feel more real and believable. I was engrossed in the book from beginning to end and enthusiastically look forward to Christopher's next books in the Esfah Sagas!
As a bonus to Dragon Dice players who are familiar with the Dragon Dice game, there are numerous parallels with the game that help engross you deeper into the story and make the book come even more alive!
07/13/2020
WF
Wiggs Family
Obviously this book is based off a long standing game. If you are a fan of the game you will find familiar pieces and some exciting expansion of the concepts it it contains.
If you are NOT a player of that game you can still enjoy this as a pure piece of fantasy fiction. It is familiar and also expands traditional fantasy notions.
Either way a nice balance of the comfortable and the novel.
