Review: A multitude of magic but a meandering story
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 12 4, 2012
"The Abyss Wars: The One Council" is the first book in The Chronicles of Arnath fantasy series by author Yannis Karatsioris.  The tale follows "The One Council" (a large group of various magic using individuals) who after long years of reclusiveness must gather to oppose an ancient enemy.  Rising from from the shadows their foes assemble an army comprised of and array of motley beasts and barbarians who gather in Northern lands.  Learning of this threat, the One Council dispatches its best members to halt the advance.  In the end, six sentient (magic users) ones must turn the tide of evil or the entire land will be doomed to suffer under a twisted and tyrannical rule.  Here are my thoughts on The Abyss Wars: The One Council (The Chronicles of Arnath);Pros+ Many interesting characters of various magical abilities.  There are druids, mystics, mages, monks, necromancers and many others.+ No one is invincible.  Good guys can die just as easily as the villains.+ Plenty of varied and descriptive magic use.+ Some decent intrigue.+ Good amount of action.Cons <Contains SPOILERS>- Too many characters often with extremely lengthy names and titles.  It gets to the point where you can't remember who they are and begin wonder why you should care?  Dramatis Personae are definitely needed in this book.- Writing style can often be simplistic and repetitive.  Examples would be, "The tall man with long hair and scar on his face" or that characters simply went here, did this and said that.- Description of the magic users ruling structure is a bit too vague.  They're simply described as ruling councils from various locations.- No world map.  This tale took place in many different locations and often on other planes of existence so any sort of map would have really helped.- Many chapters felt very random in their occurrence.  I often was wondering why these characters were going here and to do what?"The Abyss Wars: The One Council (The Chronicles of Arnath)" really had some great and original ideas.  The author has a very special talent for describing how magic is used in the setting and how the characters are using it.  Unfortunately, a vast amount of characters hinders the overall tale.  Many times I found myself trying to remember which character was which, where they were from and what their role in the conflict was.  This left me confused as to the events that were unfolding.  Combine this with the lack of a world map or Dramatis Personae and I think some readers may be lost.  In the end, as much as I really wanted to enjoy this book I found it difficult to do so.  Although I finished it, I struggled at times and doubt I'll be continuing the series.  I think the potential for an enjoyable story is there but it really needs a bit more editing.