Review: " Ashar'an Rising"...if anything, better than book one
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 13, 2011
"Ashar'an  Rising (Nexus Wars Saga) is the second of a potential 5 to 7 book fantasy adventure series by author Robert Day. This Kindle e-edition only book is a 718 Kb download and retails for $2.99.General Theme *SPOILERS* (no specific details revealed)This book picks up were the first ended. However it differs from book one in that it follows several important people from a group that split up at the end of the first book. Val goes south towards Dak'mar, Kitara and Andrak go west toward the elven city of Lloreander while Kyle and Thorgast head north to the Barbarian city of Chul'hara.*END SPOILERS*The Pros:1a.) a definite improvement in the quality of  prose and story-telling by author Day over the first novel.1b.) hard to put a finger on, but there seemed to be a more palpable edginess to some the action scenes...a can't wait to turn the page to find out what happens sensation. I found this particularly true in some of the battles and during the cave treks.2.) better character development (even some of the bad guys). The author has spent some time bringing a sense of personality and perspective to many of his important characters.3.) spoiler...as with the first book, the unexpected demise of some important characters. BRAVO...nothing worse or more unbelievable in a fantasy adventure then having all your good guys sacrosanct.3.) a really good map. This is a story that appears to be expanding geographically. The map also has a distance scale so if you care (and I do) you can get a feel for the leagues between point A and point B on quests. This allows a reader to appreciate the time element (as well as the distance) spent traveling. This story, without a map, would be greatly diminished.4.) stunning cover art. I often wonder if authors (especially if the author is relatively unknown) realize how this can make or break a readers decision to buy a book or not...if it doesn't catch your eye right off...Concerns: (really only one)About a third of the way into this book, the story gets sidetracked with a prolonged historical description of the origins of good and evil factions and their ensuing conflicts that resulted in the Portal gates being placed on the world of Kil'Tar. Here's my peeve...while I like to know 'some' background material regarding important structures within a story, BUT not to be point of bringing the entire main story to a grinding halt. This type of info could be adequately revealed to the reader by brief dialogues between characters...rather than a show-stopping flashback.Conclusion:A very good second book...complete with all the normal trappings you'd expect in a well written fantasy tale...battles, magic, treks, interesting characters etc. This is a novel that gravitates to many diverse arrays of situational encounters...if you looking for lots of fantasy action  with some interesting narrative inbetween engagements, then this is a book you'll enjoy. Unfortunately it did have a small break in the mainstream tale as per my concern mentioned above...however still 5 Stars.Ray Nicholson