Toric's Dagger

Publisher's Summary

A fast-paced and action-packed adventure, set in a detailed and compelling fantasy world.

Toric's Dagger is just another religious relic, until it's stolen. Belwynn and her twin brother, Soren, volunteer to lead a team tasked with its retrieval. Drawn into a world of danger and treachery, they must rely on Soren's magical abilities, and on the telepathic bond they share.

Now, as kingdoms and empires start to fall, the twins confront the dark forces that threaten them. They must not let the Dagger fall into the wrong hands. But when mercenaries, zealots, and sorcerers are all hunting for the same weapon, who should they trust?

Book one of the Weapon Takers saga, an epic fantasy series in the tradition of Tolkien, Tad Williams, & George R. R. Martin. The story is told from multiple points of view and is perfect for listeners who like their fantasy done on a grand scale.

Connect with the author at jamieedmundson.com.

"Outstanding...Quite simply, this is the most fun I've had reading since the Kingkiller Chronicles" (readper)

©2017 Jamie Edmundson (P)2018 Jamie Edmundson

Good Start to the Series

I listened to Toric’s Dagger as an audiobook. It has two narrators for each of the main characters, one male and one female, which provided a unique listening experience.

Toric’s Dagger was an interesting book, and I really loved the worldbuilding throughout the book. There are some very cool pieces of history around the dagger and the religious and historical importance of it. There are also introductions to very different cultures and how they work.

The two main characters, Belwynn and Soren, had a really interesting relationship with some awesome abilities. The magic system that Soren used had consequences which can be seen frequently when he overdoes himself, however, it is often the saving move which gets them out of a multitude of issues. The rest of the main cast is large, and as such a lot of their motivations aren’t developed as much as I’d like.

The plot flowed well for most of the book with a few red herrings and events linking back to things that happened earlier. I did have a bit of issue with where the book ended, however. In my opinion, it ended right in the middle of the climax without a real ending to wind the tension down. I wasn’t a massive fan of this because it detracts from the feeling of the novel being its own story, and makes it feel more like it’s just trying to wind up to the rest of the series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A quest story with some fun twists

Okay, I've got to admit, I didn't give this book a fair crack of the whip. I've had other stuff going on that was somewhat distracting, and I was also reading Chasing Graves and We Ride the Storm in the same period.

On to Toric's Dagger. The story tells of twins Belwynn and Soren, who take on the job of retrieving an ancient religious relic,that doesn't seem to have any real value. They were wrong. Their road leads the twins and their merry band down a twisting path that leads to a war that could end all wars. Can they hang onto the dagger, or will one of the other "interested parties" steal it for their own nefarious means?

I liked what I heard of this book. The story was good, the characters were likeable and funny, and it had a dark touch that always puts a smile on my face. The two narrators was an interesting idea. Normally it would be mostly redundant, but the twins could communicate telepathically,so the having a female voice for Soren made a lot of sense when trying to figure out who was talking.

I am going to get back to this, probably give it a reread/listen in a couple of months. Well worth checking out for fans of dark or epic fantasy. 4/5 stars.

Great Story!

This was a very entertaining and action packed story. I very much enjoyed the multiple characters adventures. I can't wait to read/listen to the next book in the series.

The story was a bit hard to get into. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and they are all sort of introduced at once. The book was a bit hard to follow with so many characters. But, I really go into it very quickly. I had to listen sometimes. :)

I recommend this book to any fantasy lover.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great Narration in Slow Moving Well Written Story

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own.

This is the first book in the Weapon Takers Saga. It is not a standalone book -- the ending is abrupt and the book does not resolve many of the story arcs developed. I am not a fan of this -- I don't mind having a series or minor events which occur in the current story which foretell a continuing series but I would like a satisfactory resolution to part of the main story.

This is a well written book and there is a lot of world building which occurs, along with a lot of politics between the different factions within the world. The best part of the book, for me, was the opening planning of the theft and the actual theft of the dagger, but unfortunately, this occurs at the very beginning. As to the characters -- there are a lot of them and most of are a bit underdeveloped and it was frequently unclear why they were joining the quest. The two most developed and most interesting characters are twins Belwynn and Soren. They mostly communicate telepathically -- the presentation of two narrators for the twins was really great. I enjoyed that there are consequences for magic use and the history of the dagger was interesting.

The narrators Greg Patmoreand Bridget Thomas are fantastic. There are differenct voices for each of the characters/creatures and they were wonderful in creating the atmosphere and tone of the story. They really enhanced the story for me.

slow building but great

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

So, all in all, this is a really good epic fantasy story. This is book 1, so there is a LOT of character and world building going on. This isn't unexpected, but it does make the first bit a little slow. It is one of those necessary evils to creating a truly fantastical world. I really think this is building to an amazing series. The narration is great and really does a good job of bringing the story to life. I don't often like when there are mutliple narrators. The transitions between them can be jarring and interrupt my level of engagement in the story. This duo, however, do a good job of having clean transitions. All in all, it is slow starting but good and I would recommend it to all fans of epic fantasy.

A Delightful Surprise

Toric’s dagger took me by surprise. It is a creative high fantasy that is engaging, complex, and imaginative. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.

Plot- The scope of this book is huge. Therefore, getting oriented and understanding the direction could take some time. The entire book, although slightly meandering at times, is clearly directed toward an epic conclusion. Unfortunately, the conclusion doesn’t happen in this book. The ending was and abrupt cliffhanger (2.5 stars )

Characters - The Characters are diverse and interesting, However, keeping track of all their names and roles is a lot like remembering the which dwarf is which in the hobbit. ( 4 stars)

Storytelling - The author's style is steady buildup of momentum and scope, and while I had a hard time getting into it, by the end I couldn’t wait for the next book. (4 stars )

World Building - Jamie Edmundson’s imagination is awesome. The world is vivid, detailed and described in a way that brings it to life. (5 stars)

Magic System- this was typical of classic High Fantasy in that it is a undefined entity that is somewhat spiritualized. (3 stars)
I received this book free, in exchange for an honest review.

Morality rating- there is not a lot to say here overall the book is pretty clean and appropriate for teens. There is some violence and death but it’s not gory or excessive. Some sexuality and sexual tension is present but nothing is explicit, as well as maybe two instances of language.

Balance skewed towards series building

When an author is writing a series, it can often be difficult to get the balance between being a strong book in it's own right as well as setting the scene for the books to follow and this time I think the author didn't get the balance quite right with the ending in particular seeming too abrupt. Despite this complaint, I did enjoy this book overall with it having a varied and interesting cast and effective world-building that should continue to payoff in subsequent books.

The performances of the narrators were both enjoyable and obviously helps to make the characters more distinctive with the two of them sharing the duties which nicely enhanced the overall performance.

Overall, this book is a strong first part of this series and I will look out for future installments, but it could have been a bit stronger in it's own right.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]