Seven Forges

Written by James A Moore

Narrated by David de Vries

An expedition into a hostile world leads to the discovery of a forgotten—and potentially dangerous—race in this “well-written epic fantasy series kickoff” (Publishers Weekly)

Captain Merros Dulver is the first in many lifetimes to find a path beyond the great mountains of the Seven Forges and encounter, at long last, the half-forgotten race who live there. And it would appear that they were expecting him. But when he returns home, an entourage of strangers in tow, he starts to wonder if his discovery is truly something to celebrate—for the gods of this lost race are the gods of war, and their memories of that far-off cataclysm have not faded.

The people of Fellein have lived with the legends of the Blasted Lands for many centuries. Lying far to the north, the Lands are a desolate, impassable place—the legacy of an ancient time of cataclysm. But even the dangers of the Blasted Lands cannot stop the occasional expedition into its fringes, where people search for any trace of the ancients and oft-rumored riches that once lived there.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Sep 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781480537637

James A Moore

James A. Moore is a Stoker Award-nominated author of over twenty novels, including tie-in work for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. James has written extensively for White Wolf Publishing in the World of Darkness setting. James lives in Atlanta, GA.

Reviews for Seven Forges

[Michael L Hart · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great, but where is the next book? I don't like being left hanging.

[D T · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book but there is a whole series here that Scribd only has the first book available. Kind of off putting.

[Gabriel Warren · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome book. Really wish they had the whole series

[ralphd00d-325171 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book description does not do this one justice. The story starts with an expedition in to a harsh land created by a great cataclysmic war hundreds of years before. They 'discover' a race of peoples from the area that they were sent to investigate. The party is welcomed in, and discover the wonders hidden on the other side of this divided land, and return to the empire with a small delegation of these new people.

That is just the start. The new people claim to have seven gods that tell them what to do, and they expected the Capt on the original expedition, and another that they trek to the Empire to meet, Andovar. I don't want to get to into details and spoil it, but events then lead us into the start of a war, with an un-yet known enemy.

This is a great start to what is appearing to me to be a great series. I am already half way through the next book, and see that there is a third, and soon to be a fourth. Definitely worth checking out!

[alissa1-7 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Actually, this was an odd read. I liked the tale, and finished the book, quite quickly, in fact, but on the whole, I felt the prose was missing, the dialogues were dull, and the character development a bit lacking. Also, there are many slow scenes, sometimes minor and boringly detailed, while other important parts of the plot are, in my opinion, hastily outlined, with a final rush at the end of the book which climaxes in a to-be-continued sort of scene, with the main characters abruptly thrown in the storm of events you could notice brewing from about mid-book. I don't really know how to feel about the book, or the abrupt changes and the way the characters react at the end, I guess I care enough to read the next installment.

[pmcnamee67 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good stuff. Opening and closing featured tense action. Middle has a lot of political social groundwork being laid for the series, but Moore keeps it interesting all the way.

[jenn.s · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written with potential of even greater things to come from this author. The plot starts out almost slow but captivating enough to pull the reader along into a very intriguing story that keeps your attention and desire to continue reading. The characters fit the genre while not feeling like every other similarly placed character types in other novels.

This is the sort of author we should be looking for and supporting. I found very few mistakes and the writing was very well done. Paragraphs where they belong, dialog where it belongs, the right amount of information and a lack of overly done flowery prose that detracts from a great novel. There's always room for improvement and polishing but this one has the potential of something great. I'm actually looking forward to the next installment.

[stefferoo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed Seven Forges. Still, I'll admit the book had me rolling with the punches for most of it. It left me cold for a long time, waiting for something awesome to happen, something to make me perk up and say, "Hey, now we're onto something."A lot of this has to do with the book's pacing, which is probably slower than I'd have preferred. I noticed while reading, for example, that even at more than halfway in, I was still treading in territory already covered by the blurb in the back of the book: a group from Fellein makes first contact with the mysterious warrior people of the Seven Forges mountains called the Sa'ba Taalor, and the expedition leader Merros Dulver brings a small entourage of them home with him. Of course, there were other developments along the way, but not many that helped me tease out what was supposed to be the main conflict, even as I was well into the book. The world James A. Moore created here is highly imaginative and the characters and cultures are intriguing, but I still wasn't seeing what all the fuss was about.And then, all of a sudden everything changed. Unexpected plot twists, shocking revelations, total chaos. Everything I thought I was signing on for when I picked up this book, I got. The only catch is? All this only started occurring in the last fifty pages or so.The question is then, can the final 10-15 percent of a book be so incredibly awesome as to impress me enough turn my opinion completely around? I struggled with this question and as a result also struggled with my review, but in the end, I have to say yes. And I don't come to this decision lightly; very rarely does a book redeem itself in my eyes simply for having an extraordinary ending, but somehow this one manages.I don't want to make it sound like I wasn't enjoying myself at all before this, though. I felt the book took its time getting to the meat of the conflict, yes, but even so, all the while I had the sensation it was there all along, just building up in a slow burn. Looking back now, I see that most of this book has the feeling of one very long introduction, all leading up to the point conflict finally ignites. And when it does, it happens in a very powerful, explosive way.Speaking of which, James A. Moore is in his element when he is writing scenes with fighting and big battles, and his strength is definitely in crafting very realistic, frenetic action sequences. On the other hand, areas I felt needed more attention included character development and dialogue. For example, Desh Krohan, the emperor's sorcerer adviser, was someone I was very interested in but would have loved to see more exploration into his character. He talks a lot about his magic, but even now, I'm not entirely sure what sort he does and what the nature of it is.I suppose all that will come in time, in subsequent books in this series. There's a lot of untapped potential when it comes to the characters, but at the same time I see things moving in the right direction. Even now I think a hero is emerging in Andover Lashk, a character whose place I wasn't sure of at the beginning, but now I see the author is actually raising him up in a very unique and unprecedented way, one I think I'll enjoy watching. Mission accomplished, Mr. Moore, you have me practically on pins and needles for the next installment.

[publiusdb-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Seven Forges is a roaring adventure, full of larger than life characters and cultures, in a world full of exotic peoples, magicks, and gods. And it’s a violent world, too, full of political intrigues, deadly diplomacy, and treacherous allies. Moore’s the story adeptly raises the stakes and dangers from every direction. If you’re looking for an adventurous escape from your desk, Moore’s Seven Forges will whisk you away to a world where swords and sorcery are as alive as ever.To think that I almost didn’t finish reading the first page of Seven Forges, James A. Moore‘s first foray into the fantasy genre. It was one of just several books next on my To Be Read list, several of which were sent from various publishers and authors looking for a review. I had that feeling you get after finishing a really good book (the very excellent The Sum of All Men by David Farland) where your mind is still half in the novel and struggling to come back to reality and nothing sounds quite as good as what you just finished…But I did. And then I flipped to the second page, then the third, and then I was flipping faster and faster….Yeah. So diving into Moore’s Seven Forges world was a bit rough as I perused that first page, but reading beyond was a ride worth the taking. Within mere paragraphs, Captain Merros Dulver has faced death not once, but twice, it was clear to me that I wouldn’t be able to stop reading anytime soon.Then, as I turned to the last page, I couldn’t help but wonder: “WHAT?! That’s it?”In other words: cliffhanger alert. I immediately took to the proverbial road (really, the internet and social media) to hunt down Moore and his publisher. “Before I write a review,” I told them, “Promise me that there’s another book in the series. Or at least in the Seven Forges world.”Because I guarantee, there’s no way I’m giving any amount of happiness to a book that sucks me in, wraps me up, and then leaves me hanging. (And yes, Moore promised me when I tracked him down. There will be more books in the series).Opening on a caravan of explorers traveling across the “Blasted Lands” that border the Fellein Empire, Seven Forges tells of Dulver and his discovery of the peoples that live beyond the “Seven Forges,” a series of what sounds like seven volcanos. They are a martial people, each a rippling pillar of strength, armor, weapons, and ability. Trained from birth to be self-sufficient, each is a killer, and each is ever ready to take the law into his, or her, own hands (come to think of it, it’s kind of like a libertarian’s dream come true). Directed by their seven harsh gods, they have been awaiting Dulver, and escort him to their land and follow him home when he returns.It is a meeting that will change the Fellein Empire forever.Alive and vibrant the Seven Forges world and characters are, the novel feels more like a prologue or opening act than a full novel. It’s never quite clear what the overarching problem or conflict is, and indeed, it doesn’t become clear until the end of the book what it is I have been watching and expecting. As the summary on the back of the book opens, “War is coming,” and the entire novel seems to creep the people of Fellein closer to that war with the peoples of the Seven Forges. However, as that war arrived, I wasn’t entirely sure which side of the war I would want to support. While it was clear that Dulver is our “everyman” hero from page one, and he maintains a sympathetic place throughout the tale. But the people that surround him are less clear. Sometimes this seems intentionally so, but other times it seem a result of the paucity of the book. It’s just not that long, but packs so many characters and personalities in that there just isn’t enough pages to explore whether someone is good, bad, grey or a victim of his culture.It also left me with a ton of questions, not just about things like “what happens next,” but others about textual clues and hints that aren’t answered in the story.Such as:–Why the veils? Everyone wants to know about them, but it’s never made clear what they are for.–How does the magic work? And why is there only one wizard(I suppose there could be others, but we really only hear about one…that I recall)? Gods? I want to hear more about them.–Who are the bad guys? And is it really? Who’s pulling the strings, here, anyway?The upshot to these questions is that Moore’s focus really is more on his story than on the intricacies of the world he’s creating. Yes, the world is there, but he’s not going to let a great story get bogged down in the details of how it looks, theology, or mysticism…though I do think it’d be fantastic to add more in this regards.But I better stop there to avoid spoilers. The story doesn’t hurt because of the unanswered questions because I suspect that Moore is intending to resolve them in later novels. However, it can occasionally be difficult to stretch too many unanswered questions along between novels in a series without resolution.Through it all, though, Moore keeps the story moving, and each page and chapter presents his many characters with problems to overcome and situations to solve. As I mention (and reiterate loudly), the book comes to an end all too fast, leaving me eager to read more. And indeed, I’m eager to read the sequel (which Moore has personally promised he’s writing).Seven Forges is an excellent, enjoyable, and thoroughly entertaining fantasy debut into a new world of swords and sorcery, complete with romance, intrigue, and danger. Pre-order it from Amazonor march over to your favorite brick-and-mortar, but don’t miss it on September 24, 2013 when it hits shelves. It’s a ride you won’t want to end.