THE CONJURERS.

Quite a benchmark, today's book is the 800th book I've reviewed on Pen and Paper since I began blogging in April 2009.

THE CONJURER'S by DAVID WAID.

BACK COVER BLURB: A war of shadows spills into the night.

The magical knowledge that returned with crusaders from the Holy Land has spread in secret among the learned few. The world stands poised on a knife's edge between two futures - science or sorcery - and a cabal of ruthless wizards pursue two young people who can tip the balance forever.

When brigands savagely attack an Irish village, Eamon, a peasant's son, flees with his family. The night of trauma and terror that follows triggers a magical ability he doesn't understand and can't control. Four hundred league's south, Teresa, the fiercely determined daughter of a Genovese nobleman, uncovers her brothers murder and witnesses her father's wrongful imprisonment. Soon, she too begins to manifest magical powers.

The architect of their misfortune is Maestro Lodovicetti, chief of a secret order that knows the truth behind their burgeoning gifts. Lodovicetti will do anything in order to steal this magic and use it to shatter the restraints on sorcery. Separated by a continent and the circumstance of their births, Eamon and Teresa must come together and master legendary magic or be sacrificed as the Age of Kings comes to an end and a dark tyranny of sorcerers begins.

FIRST SENTENCE{Part One ~ Winter, 1380: 1. The Road To Dublin. Leinster}:

MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 242}: A roar of soundless fury engulfed the inn. The walls trembled with it, the door rattling in its frame. Even through the wooden portal, the hatred of it beat on Eamon in waves. Its rage blotted all fear, all thought.

SOURCE: A paper copy received for review from the author. Yet to be published, The Conjurers will be available on Kindle as from the 1st of June.

MY THOUGHTS: I'm confused. Very confused as to just what age range The Conjurers is intended.

A cover totally at odds with the books contents. Despite the sub-title of 'A Gritty Fantasy of Witches and Wizards' I really hadn't expected such an incredibly dark tale with quite as much graphic violence including (albeit fairly brief and thankfully not too graphic) child cruelty and animal dissection.

A book that isn't without potential. Just when I thought I'd come across everything as far as magical characters goes, it was refreshing to come across something that bit different - 'Heket', 'Geistmage', Maleficarum', anyone?

The first in a series. It stands to reason that the foundation for future books is being laid and yet for me personally there were too many threads left wide open (including the establishing of just exactly what these characters are and how they became what they are).

Set in the 14th century. The story is told via main protagonists, Eamon and Teresa, the drama unfolding between Ireland and Genoa as the characters converge. The problem here (for me at least) being there wasn't any real sense of time nor place.

Still, intrigued by this, a series I feel could go places. I'm just that tad bit disappointed that it didn't have a stronger start.