Half-Bloods Rising

Rogue Elf, Book 1

By: J.T. Williams

Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May

War calls the elves of Urlas to battle. But Kealin, a young half-elf training to be a Sacred Blade, and his three siblings, are forbidden to go. They are not ready, or so they're told. But Kealin's lineage has a dark secret and the High Council of Urlas fears what he may become . . .

Kealin is about to learn that secret and in the cataclysm emerging, Urlas will wish they had embraced it.

When the soothsayer of Urlas tells Kealin that doom comes for all that left for the war, he and his siblings set off on what may be a one-way journey to the edge of the world. Darkness is upon them and a specter that dwells between the borders of the living realms has been waiting for them.

The Rogue Elf awakens . . . but is it too late to save those he loves?

©2021 J.T. Williams (P)2023 Tantor

Pacing

The story and premise are both very interesting. But the issue is that it moves at such a rapid pace. It’s like you’re eating dinner but only have salad ever. No meat and potatoes. There’s a good amount of deus ex machina as well, for situations that the characters seemingly could have handled themself.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a good read…though, 8 chapters could easily be 30.

Performance was great story was lacking

I saw this series and author from the famous book tok and figured I would give it a try seeing as Daniel Thomas May is great for audiobooks. I was very impressed with his performance as always. However I am not sure if it’s because this is the first book in the series or just the writing style, but this story had a very hard time keeping me engaged. The characters seemed intriguing but with little to no growth or action in this first novel.