Ratings4
Average rating4.8
From the dark depths of the past, comes the tale of the first wizard of Illeniel. Daniel Tennick lived simply, a young shepherd with few troubles and little to occupy his mind, until the warden appeared. Daniel’s power awakens, and he finds himself hunted by the servants of the cruel and uncaring forest gods. Trapped by his gift, Daniel will uncover the secrets of the deep woods and those who live there, a civilization created from the grave of an older one. What he discovers will light a vengeful flame within him, consuming everything he touches.
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3 primary booksEmbers of Illeniel is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2014 with contributions by Michael G. Manning.
Reviews with the most likes.
This series is called a prequel to the Mageborn series but this was my takeoff point for anything by Michael Manning. And I must say it was a superb takeoff. A well balanced tale of zero to hero while building an all round surrounding cast. The world building was pretty slow and not too much is revealed in this first installment. However, the strong female characters were refreshing as was the internal conflicts of Daniel. There are two reasons it does not make the cut to 5 stars. The first is that the magic system is a bit shallow and never seems to make much sense. The second and the bigger reason is that you never live Daniels life. It forever feels like a story narration (which it is), but never gets emotional enough. Onwards