The Chronicles of Luxaar Part 1: Luxaar & The Stolen Princess - Book Review

I loved reading this dark fantasy story and I’m looking forward to the next installment of the Luxaar Chronicles. It was packed with action and wtf moments, set in a world where magic is a common occurrence. While reading it there was no dull moment!

The story is written in first-person point of view and follows Luxaar through his misadventures with a touch of magic and mischief. Luxaar is by no means an honorable man, he’s a thief on a quest. Most books (at least the ones I read) have one of the main characters as a hero. The Chronicles of Luxaar is not like most books. If anything, Luxaar is the anti-hero of his world. The way Luxaar is portrayed reminded me quite a bit of Riddick (for those who aren’t familiar with the character, Vin Diesel played Richard B. Riddick in Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick). He’s no gentleman if anything Luxaar is a highly skilled predator and an extreme survivalist. He’s ruthless, morally flexible, and doesn’t think twice about killing what stands between him and his quest.

Although this isn’t a particularly gory story, it’s not for the faint of heart either. There are several passages you might want to skip if you’re squeamish about graphic descriptions of blood and death. Such as this:

“I drew my bow and fired. The arrow went straight through the door guard's throat, causing blood to bubble and spurt around the wound.”

This reminded me again of Riddick talking about his favorite killing method (about the voices in his head “The ones telling me to go for the sweet spot just to the left of the spine, fourth lumbar down, the abdominal aorta. It’s a metallic taste, human blood. Copperish. If you cut it with peppermint schnapps, that goes–”)

But back to the book at hand, Luxaar is not a hero. So when during a heist he finds a beautiful princess tied to a pole and kept prisoner, his first reaction is not to save her but to leave her behind.  

“She was young, beautiful and not my concern.”

After many pleas from his sidekick, The Rat, and the promise that her people would pay a hefty reward for her safe return, he reluctantly concedes to free her:

“Fine, free her. But let her know that if she gets in our way or can’t keep up, she is on her own. And if it turns out she is lying to us, I will sell her to the whore houses down in the Swarni district.”

One thing that I loved about this story is that it’s fast-paced, full of action, and doesn’t waste time with unnecessary descriptions. The flow of the story is excellent and keeps you on your toes. Perhaps I’m biased, but knowing it was written by a man I expected a lot of action, not a lot of love, and maybe some gore. Let me tell you something; it did not disappoint!

Something that makes this story stand out from other books in the genre is its lack of predictability. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, you realize that nothing is what it seems. It keeps you guessing until the very end and leaves you wanting more!