Prophecy of the Guardian by J W Baccaro

"The Second Great War between the Light and the Dark has begun, and Abaddon the Demon Lord is searching for the four ancient Wizard Crystals of the Elements. Once the crystals are in his hands, and corrupted to evil, he will destroy the forces of Light upon the earth, and transform the world into eternal darkness.

But Darshun Luthais, one of the last Nasharin warriors, along with a few companions, set out on a quest to find the crystals first. Along the journey they encounter giant six-legged serpents, the ruthless Cullach, and other entities of darkness; yet the most challenging obstacle is Darshun's constant struggle against temptations of evil, and his vow to hold to the faith of all who are calling him the Guardian - the prophesied warrior who will bring down the Demon Lord." (courtesy of prophecyoftheguardian website)

Impressive debut fantasy series will keep you on the edge of your seat!  

Tons of action, great plot, gripping writing style.  Baccaro steps in to the fantasy/sci fi world and will hopefully go to the top!  As Baccaro sets up the world between Humans and Nasharins and their enemy's the Cullach he doesn't overdo the details.  You picture exactly what you need to, and it's not pages of boredom.  As soon as you open the book you're in the world, he brings in the backstory as you go along, tossing fights and suspense in between.  Well done!

I loved that this book covers the span of a little less than 20 years as we watch Darshun (Dar) grow.  Baccaro sets up Dar where you can relate to him and at the same time want to smack a little sense into him. :)  Dar's got great potential as a warrior and as a character I loved him.  (Seth and Mirabel too!  yeah, really like them LOL - ladies if you are looking for this to be a romance from a lot of the other stuff we read, that's not the deal, but you won't be disappointed because it's a great read. and I can appreciate the leading men *winks*) 

As the battles unfold, Baccaro keeps the story going with the suspense of the prophecy.  He tosses in a twist at the end of the book that had me screaming at Dar.  I loved the cliffhanger as you drop off at the end.   Book 2 - Seige of Darkness (also out at amazon) is in my hands already - I've got to see where Dar is going!

4 slices