This short story does an excellent job of setting the background for Tredan's Bane, giving us a window into events that happen just moments before the book begins. A decent bite of what to expect from the book itself, and a fun snippet for those who have already read the book. ( )

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

(Spoilers within)

This is just a prologue for a series, so it's not very long at all. It's about three chapters worth of a story.

It might be a little bit too short. I haven't read the rest of the series, only this, and at times it felt rushed. There was often little description of their surroundings, so I could get lost. Sometimes descriptions didn't actually give me a picture of what to see. For example, when Tredan is in his shop and summons a ghost, it says this:

He wore a Sciomancer's old-fashioned Church vestments and had empty eyes.

I could see the empty eyes, but I have absolutely no idea what that outfit looks like in this fantasy world.

There's also the issue of those fantasy names. Like "Arnl'jhott". I have no idea how to pronounce that.

Besides that, it's a good setup. It's in what looks like a high fantasy world. While so much was happening in these chapters, sometimes without much explanation, but the time I finished the third chapter I had an idea of what kind of world this was and some basic overall premises. There's some sort of Church. It's evil and manipulative. The main character used to be part of it and has left. There's constant magic, etc.

I could see this being a prologue for a good book. Maybe if you want to see if you're interested in reading the series but you aren't sure, pick this up and see if it appeals to you. It's short, it gets a decent amount of information out in a long time, and it's not riddled with errors or anything. If you're looking for a high fantasy, or if you've read the story this is related to, I'd say go ahead and buy it.

I give it a 8/10.

Read more reviews here. ( )

In Wrath, Lita Burke immerses the reader in a seductive world, full of magic, ghosts and enchantment. The story, a prequel to her greater work, Tredan's Bane (which I am in the midst of reading now), centers around Tredan, a former enchanter, who leads an ordinary life running a magical shop with his wife, Lanith. But all is not what it seems with Tredan as the reader will soon find out. The arrival of what appears to be a benign package, containing what looks like an ordinary charm, catapults the reader into a dark world, full of peril and evildoers.

Ms. Burke's writing is, like her subject, magical. I found myself easily drawn into this alien world and, at the end of this short read, rushed to purchase the greater novel, Tredan's Bane. Wrath sets the stage for Tredan's Bane perfectly and I give it my highest recommendation for those who wish to be, for a short time, transported to a captivating, sensual world of magic!
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