ARA Review by JohnParten of End of the Last Great Kingdom

[JohnParten]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, End of the Last Great Kingdom.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Title: "The Brimstone Chronicles ~ The Last Kingdom"
My Rating: 4 out of 5

Whilst searching for a new book to read, I came across "The Brimstone Chronicles ~ End of the Last Great Kingdom" by Victor Rose. The introductory pages before the first chapter were enough to persuade me that this was going to be the next read for me. In these pages, the author explains the ancient history of orcs, elves and humans. I like the touch where the elves are associated with plants and the orcs with animals. We then learn that trolls were derived from elves and orcs, dwarfs from orcs and humans, goblins from gnomes and trolls. With such a beginning we are likely going to meet all of these creatures in the story. I was not disappointed.

The principal character, a young boy, starts with the name "Richard", but this changes to "Leaf", "Leo", and eventually "Brimstone" as we read on. Magic magi play an important part in the setting, especially the battle magi. Surprisingly, even though young Brimstone defeats a mage controlling fire, he secretly claims to have no magic at all. He is accepted into Mage School, (similarities to "Harry Potter" and "Hogwarts"), where he is tutored by "Nova", the mage he defeated. Brimstone befriends two other apprentices, "Heat" and "Neutron" to form team Crimson for magic battle trials. The magic school is well thought out with the grading of the apprentices and the trials they must undergo. Brimstone's training is harsh. He acquires a bracelet that gives him extraordinary capabilities, which is quite fortunate as he needs a magic boot to replace a leg lost in battle. I like the concept of anti-magic manacles that can, by magic, restrain any type of mage rendering them helpless. This sometimes gives Brimstone the edge, as he is supposedly not a mage.

The "Order" is the far-reaching, corrupt, evil enemy organisation that undertake despicable acts that the School attempts to withstand. However, circumstances force team Crimson to flee to other parts of the land and adopt stealth tactics to survive. Brimstone is isolated and thought lost. He is blamed and held accountable for many of the calamities that befall the various towns and communities in his path. Meanwhile, Brimstone is cursed and encounters demons such as "Demeter" and "Poisedon", leading to surprising results.

Overall, I found the writing style easy to read. The story is well constructed and easy to follow. There are some excellent descriptions, such as the two moons in chapter 1 that transport the reader to another world. Also, the phrase "the proper fists were heavy with coin" describes bribery.

Many details embellish this work, eg the use of the school armbands to designate rank was a good concept, and the struggles the main character has to acquire new parts of his soul. I particularly like the way that sometimes ugly creatures that are easily associated with an evil force, turn out to be kind and honest. eg "Jarrabe" the orc and his family. The story has a certain amount of continuity as characters reappear. The giant squid incident is referenced in later parts of the story, both in the chapter "Rematch" and also later when Neutron confesses what he has done.

I have two areas of concern. First I have the impression that the author may not have read this story out loud to himself. I think he would have spotted a few chances to improve. eg missing word "you" (Chapter 6 Para 15) and repeated word "alive" (Chapter 1 para 10). Second, although the magic system is well thought out, towards the end of the story I felt that Brimstone had become too powerful and it was almost pointless to put any further obstacles in his way.

On reflection, the last two points reduced the score a little and I award 4 stars out of 5 for this imaginative piece of work.

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