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Top reviews from the United States

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Amazon Customer

A Great First Book

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2020

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I enjoyed this book. It was a little difficult to get into, but once I became invested in the lives of the characters, the story flowed at a good pace. I'm not sure how to classify this book. It's part coming of age story, part Arthurian legend retelling, part urban fantasy, part portal fantasy. It's pretty ambitious. I feel like Speakman has enough skill to pull it off, but just enough. I've read a little of his later short fiction and felt it worked better than this book did.

To be honest, there are some issues, some redundancy, a bit of klunky or awkward dialogue, etc., that I think would put off some more experienced readers who have read more experienced authors.

I'd recommend this book to readers just getting into fantasy or those who know how to avoid nitpicking and just enjoy a good story. Because when all is said and done, the story is quite good and even fairly original. Another bonus is that no loose ends were left to dangle. It felt complete and didn't leave me wondering what happened to such and such character or such and such plot point. I look forward to reading what follows in the series.

Shawn R. Veltheim

Awesome book, but about to be 10 years later and no book 2...

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2020

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Dear Mr. Speakman,

This is a special book full of awesomeness. However, I'm putting you on a list with GRRM and Rothfuss. The short stories are great, but if you aren't going to publish more books in this series, I kind of wish I'd never started it.

To Potential Readers,

I read this book years ago and the characters and setting continue to haunt my dreams and imagination. This book is an immersive, unforgettable experience.

-Shawn

Simnsays

Poor Sentence Structure

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2018

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Maybe 2.5... It had everything I thought would be a great read but... The writing is not good. The sentence structure is painful to endure. I found myself rereading sentences just trying to understand what they were saying (not unlike reading Faulkner except he is worth the effort). The punctuation was equally off. I'm an older person so maybe it is just me but I've begun to wonder if some younger folks with good ideas just do not understand proper sentence structure, good prose and proper punctuation. If that is true, it is a shame because many of them have very good concepts.

Michael Tracy

A terrific journey crafted by a skilled writer

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2016

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I loved reading The Dark Thorn by Shawn Speakman. My favorite thing about the story was probably some of the mythology related to the old Arthurian tales. I've always been a fan of legends like that, old Greek god stories, and magic relics. It's fun to play with these themes and tie it into a more modern day style Seattle background, along with a new fantasy realm that I was excited to explore. And having been to neither place, I was happy to have the detailed descriptions that would supply the fuel for imagination to picture these locations.
The weapons were the most exciting part of the mythology, even one item in particular that was used as a weapon that's never traditionally been thought of as one. The imagination in using that item in that manner was really inspired. I believe that this is probably one of the biggest strengths of this book. The ability to take the myth of something you know a little bit about, and turning into something that is set aside from other stories that have come before it. Brilliant.
The depiction of the Catholic Church was very interesting as well and helps to solidify the myth and the importance of some of these items. And as a side goofy note, I'm a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, anytime I see someone that's tied to a Cardinal in a novel (even a religious one) I can't help but root for them. Lol.
I also enjoyed the length of the novel as well, as I was able to really sink my teeth into the book without feeling like it was over too soon. But it still left me ready and excited to read the next installment of this series. There was a strong sense of pace throughout the story, and lots of action to keep the reader entertained.

The fact that Shawn Speakman can produce such a great story in early in his writing career speaks volumes for the work that he put into it, using his resources and learning from them while maintaining his own unique style, and also to the strength of what his writing can become as he continues to write more and more. So far this is the only thing I've read from this author so far, but I fully intend on diving into the short stories and works that share this novel's world next. I can't to wait to see what other magic up his sleeve.

Top reviews from other countries

Charles F Bond

A Fantastic Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2015

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I bought this book because Shawn Speakman is the guru of best selling author Terry Brooks, whose books I adore. Before I read this I thought this was going to be somewhere along the lines of a Brooks novel, and as I read through the first chapters I found myself half convincing myself it was going to be. (This isn't a bad thing, but every author needs to have their own voice, world, etc.) On reading this book, I found Shawn Speakman does have his own voice, and I enjoyed it immensely.

It has an Arthurian feel, with one of the characters being none other than... no, I'm not going to spoil that surprise, you will have to read to find out for yourselves. And it comes with the Arthurian weaponry, some of us, me included, have grown up with, again you will have to read and discover which ones. (I really don't like giving too much away, I like surprises when I read and this is one reason I don't read reviews, I take into account ratings, but never read reviews.)

As I read through the pages I discovered Dean Forest, but not as I remember it. I walked through parts of this wood in my later teens, and remember the usual scurrying of the small animals, and tweets of its birdlife, but Shawn opened my mind to a darker, more enchanting place. (Thanks.)

To some up, this is an enchanting, enthralling read and I encourage and fantasy readers to go out and give The Dark Thorn a go.

Amazon Customer

A good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 31, 2012

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This was a good read but I did find it difficult to keep interested and it has taken me a long time to finish. I must say I was glad that I did. My only criticism is there do appear to be many similarities to Terry Brooks's books and other fantasy. This did not put me off as Terry Brooks is my favourite writer; however there were times were I had to laugh as parts almost mimicked some of Brooks work. But if you like Terry Brooks then you will love this book! After all Terry Brooks first book was very similar to The Lord of the Rings books and looked how that panned out. I wouldn't rush out and buy the next book but I would be interested to see how the stories and Speakmans work develops.

Kindle Customer

Darkthorn

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2019

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Loved this book.it was gripping from.the first page the character hero was someone you could feel his very anguish for and how strong he was the characters and story were mind blowing loved it

M W C

Annan!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2017

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This story of two worlds fighting together is well written and entertaining. The characters are interesting and come alive on each page.
I look forward to reading more of Shawn Speakmans stories.

Diana

A very interesting read for fantasy fans!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 15, 2015

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I'm a big fan of fantasy and I have to say this book was a nice treat for me! I really enjoyed getting lost in the Annwn world! It is also a bit unusual as there is a bit of urban fantasy added to this otherwise epic fantasy. Overall, a great read for anyone who loves fantasy, magic and a bit of conspiracy!

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