Man of Shadows by QM
Darras was a veteran of a brutal five year war against a despicable yet powerful enemy. Ordered to hold for three days as the last of his defeated nation’s people were loaded onto colonisation ships, he’d done the impossible and held for ten, leaving the invaders with nothing but an empty port and massive casualties. He then discovered that death was not to be his, with a new life and a new challenge with the blessings of a goddess who needed his help.
Size: 1233 KB (221,257 words)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Sex Contents: No Sex
Tags: Fiction, High Fantasy, Military
Review by Mythic Shadow [other reviews by Mythic Shadow]
Reviewed:
Man of Shadows is a story set in the fantasy genre. The main character Darras deals with gods and goddesses while doing Erren’s – the goddess of light – bidding in her fight against her brother, the god of darkness.
At the time of the review QM published 26 chapters, but I wanted to give a review already since I quite enjoyed the story so far. It’s one of those rare gems that once you pick it up, you’ll just keep reading until there is no content left to read.
QM created an interesting plot that is full of surprises and makes for an entertaining read. When it comes to personal appeal, I would have enjoyed the story even better if the hero had more challenges to overcome. Although the story is exciting to read, he can typically deal with the hardships that come upon without too much trouble. Still, the overarching plot and wanting to find out what happens next keeps me reading.
On the technical side this story has few errors. The repetitive use of Darras almost always appearing to chuckle and Erren almost always giggling instead of speaking normally is distracting, but in the overall story a minor nuisance. QM is far better versed in English than I am, however, since I learned roughly a dozen new words since reading his novel. English isn’t my native language, but I rarely come across new words, so it’s a compliment to his use of the language and actively using synonyms to create a more interesting story.
I can recommend the story very much and judging the score of the story many readers agree with me. Few stories score a solid 8 from the readers. To me this is a well-deserved grade.
Review by Jetcrash747 [other reviews by Jetcrash747]
Reviewed: - (Review Updated: )
Take a man, a warrior; let him become something more. You have Darras, a man who becomes the fighting hand of a Goddess, Erren.
When I started reading this week's adventure, it appeared to be just another medieval war story at the beginning of the first chapter. But as I became more involved with the story, Captain Darras is promoted to Colonel, captured, tortured, and dies. All the action in the opening chapter leads to Darras becoming the force of a vengeful goddess in a new reality.
I don't know if the Goddess is genuinely vengeful.
Darras becomes a force you root for in his quest to get the Goddesses' people back to following her. Less you forget who you should be thankful to. Let your pride, lust, or greed turn you away from the way. Darras has a way of getting to the root of your problems.
In the later chapters of the story, Darras joins forces with his fellow men, Dwarves, and Elves, in a war fostered by another god or omnipotent being.
An enjoyable story. Darras, righting wrongs and following his Goddess in his adventures, strives to succeed in his dealings with the world he has been cast into. QM has done a tremendous job in telling the story of Darras, "The Man of Shadows."
