Prophecy Foretold by Ron Hartman

By: Anonymous on Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Title:  Prophecy Foretold

Author:  Ron Hartman

Series: The Prophecy Chronicles #1

Published:   October 19th 2012 by Rogue Phoenix Press

Page Count:  387

Genre:  Fantasy

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

These are dark days for Naphthali. The king has been murdered, the land invaded by the Imperial Army. It will absorb Naphthali into an Empire that stretches across all of Enialé at any cost. The ravaged people cling to an ancient promise, an assurance that a prophesied savior will come to set them free.

Daniel Martin is trapped in a life that hasn’t gone as expected. His pharmacy is struggling and he is losing all hope of making a difference in his patients’ lives. His family is the one shining light in his disenchanted life, but he is torn from them when an accident draws him to Naphthali. The people need him, but Daniel is driven by his need to return to the family he loves. Is he the Prophesied One? Only time will tell as both the Empire and the Resistance battle for Daniel while the fate of Naphthali hangs in the balance...

Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages.

My Review:

I almost felt like I was reading 2 different books. The first half was full of partially developed characters and at times I felt that excessive violence rather than a solid storyline was propelling the story forward. This book I wanted to give a 2 star rating to. When I got about half way through the novel the story changed dramatically. I was now reading the story I’d expected from the synopsis. The characters were quite well rounded and approachable and the storyline took an upturn. Hartman’s way with words began to shine through and I was caught up in an exciting fantasy tale. I was captivated. This story I would have given a 4 star rating to. Though captivated by the second half of this book, I was really getting into it when it ended. I felt that it was a lot of set up for what is to come further in the series.

Hartman is an author who has mastered the art of graphic descriptions. You cannot help but picture what he puts on paper, in vivid detail. This includes some rather graphically violent scenes. However, it was not only the graphic scenes that were well described. Every time that Hartman put his pen to paper you get a masterfully crafted description. As a whole, this novel was quite well written. A great deal of time must have been spent on formatting and editing. Everything was immaculately laid out. There is a clarity to everything that Hartman has written. You can’t help but visualise and appreciate everything that he has put on paper.

The characters presented in this novel fell into 2 groups. The first were the warriors/Imperialists. These characters seemed to be nothing more than blood thirsty killing machines. The second group of characters, which is comprised of everyone else, were on a completely different playing field. These individuals were developed in detail. Each was a physical being with a personality and a family history.

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