Defender: The Sanctuary Series, Volume One

I first picked up this book because it was free, and because it was by Robert Crane. I had been enthralled by the Girl in the Box series, and decided to give this other one a chance. I have to say that my first impressions were similar to those who complain that it is nothing more than a "D&D Manual", and so forth. Yeah - it starts out like a Tolkien thing, for sure. And no, I wasn't in the mood for that. But, Crane is a great writer, so I decided to at least read the whole first book before deciding to thumbs down it. Good call on my part. Yes, this is a somewhat typical fantasy novel with humans, elves, trolls, titans, gnomes, dwarves, druids, wizards, dark elves, and other less recognizable beings. Lots of magic thrown around, with no real science behind it. So -- typical fantasy novel. But, this is a Crane novel. So, the characters quickly become yours. They become complex and you are driven to find out what happens next. The suspense level is very high in these books (yes- I went on to read them all). The story becomes dense and impossible to predict. Some of the things that happen I foresaw, but, more often than not, I didn't see through characters all that well. It's very well written in that regard. Crane has also written an extra book with spoilers on major characters which shouldn't be read until after Book Four, and he also has begun work on a new series featuring Terian, one of the more complicated and interesting of all the players. I'm wholly invested in this series now, and am glad that I gave it a chance. Usually the mere mention of "Trolls" results in my tossing a book aside. Don't do it with this series. It's a very good one. 5 Stars, and you should read all of the books. They're worth it.

I love the Girl in/out of the box series. Robert is a masterful storyteller. So, I decided to start Sanctuary while I wait for the next in Sienna's story. The world building is well done, the characters are alive in my mind, and the plot for this story was intriguing. There were parts that dragged a bit, but overall, it was really engaging. The prologue and epilogue have me very intrigued about how this series will go. On to the next!

The author does a wonderful job of creating a world I would love to explore. Arkaria is a fascinating place full of danger and excitement...two things the main characters seek out constantly. This makes for an extremely fast and fun read that throws stuffy fantasy writing out the window and makes the book more enjoyable than it has a right to be. "Defender" is Robert J. Crane's first novel. We are introduced to Cyrus Davidon, the main character, and follow his adventures alongside a multitude of colorful and interesting Arkarians. Fans of the fantasy genre will recognize familiar races such as dwarves, elves, and dragons. The author's decision to stick with well-known races goes a long way toward making the book more accessible to the average reader and removes the burden of having to remember a hundred made-up names. The story builds to a satisfying conclusion that leaves the world wide open for more books (like Avenger: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Two , the sequel to "Defender"). I also want to note that this novel lacked the typos that usually make reading a self-published novel unbearable. It was formatted well and I never once thought that I wasn't reading something that should rightfully cost $20. "Defender" is a fun read and should satisfy anyone looking for a ton of action, witty characters, and an intriguing story.

It was a pretty decent book. Quick read. There wasn't much character development, which I didn't like. The storyline does seem a bit unique though, so that's a perk. It was sometimes a little stale in places though. On top of it, the book moved excruciatingly fast and wasn't very detailed for the most part. Life just kind of whizzed by for the characters and I wish there'd been more time actually spent of the story with less action. The action itself is pretty poorly done as well. I like the ingenuity during the second dragon kill though, as that's not something I've seen done in a fantasy novel where the hero has to slay a dragon. Unfortunately, for the most part there's no real description to the action either, which is a big deal when your novel focuses on that action. It was definitely disappointing in this area, but it's not an uncommon or necessarily rare problem. I see it all the time with any book with action sequences. Too often it's sub par. I like how it was a very fantasy oriented book- not just in terms of setting, etc, but also in terms of how it had a more DnD type feel to it. Guild systems, questing, etc. While some have called the magic use questionable and unrealistic, it's actually really not. The concepts of teleportation and resurrection, and the laws under which they operate in the novel are at least on par with the type of fantasy games that I feel this makes an attempt to emulate. To top it off it's realistic as well- unlike others which talk about it as if there are no laws or limitations. It's true to it's genre, at least. I think we've just gotten too cozy with realistic fiction, so this seems foreign to people who didn't grow up with these sorts of spells and systems, or who have never bothered to play a tabletop style RPG let alone a common computer-based MMORPG. One character I thought should have, truthfully, been the actual focus of the book is Vara. Cyrus is an interesting character (though definitely not as interesting as he could be, truthfully), but Vara was the only character in which we really got to see emotion and growth, and I wish it had been her story instead of Cyrus' in all honesty. None the less, it's a decent YA read if you want something quick. I'm actually interested in seeing what the rest of the series is like based on the teaser in the end of the book... Though not too sure if I'm invested enough to actually pick it up For more of my reviews, see my Goodreads account here: [...]

I'm now through book 5 of the main series as well as the companion (dark elf) books, and so I want to provide some thoughts to someone who might be contemplating trying this series. The 1st book in the series won't give you much hope about the future of the series, but let me tell you that overall it's worth diving into and my review above really speaks to my feelings about the published series as a whole, not just this book. Part of the joy of this series is watching the author slowly become a significantly better and more confident writer. During the course of that growth the world, the characters, and my love for the series has also grown. It starts out like a typical early 00's MMORPG and grows in depth and subtly with each passing book. I urge you give this series a chance and I hope by book 3 you'll have grown to love it as much I as do. Book 1: Boring, predictable, mediocre fantasy novel. The first half is particularly bad. 2 of 5 stars Book 2: Slightly better. The world begins to expand a little in this novel and the characters become a little more 3 dimensional. 3 of 5 stars Book 3: The world opens up, the main characters begin to have a real voice, and you feel the actual stakes at play within this universe. Most importantly the author finds how to incorporate his trademark snark and sarcasm into these relationships. 4 of 5 stars Book 4: The series asks questions that involve real more complexity including dealing with death, responsibility for our actions, and the importance of trust in relationships. 4 of 5 Book 4.5 Provides more color and complexity for one of the best characters in the series. 5 of 5 Book 5: I'm hooked. Can't wait to see the path that this story finally takes us down. 5 of 5 Book 5.5 More backstory, more complexity, just wonderful. This is basically Ender's Shadow to book 5's Enders Game. 5 of 5.

Don't pay any attention to the little blurb indicating what this book is about, it's not very accurate. I was disappointed at first waiting for something to happen per the preview of this book, but even though the story was different than I expected, I really liked it. I really like Cyrus and Vera. They are really likeable characters. Looking forward to the next book in the series. The climax of this part of the story was less than eventful, it happened over just a few pages, not that it's bad just ho-hum.

I have been searching for a very good fantasy writer to follow. I prefer an older style of writing, much like the classic Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, or like the original Dragonlance trilogy. These days, authors are told to write a certain way. Keep it simple, brief. To me, this takes the fun out of books. If you look at the best fantasy authors in history, none of them wrote in the styles pushed on us today. Therefore, after reading the "Top Fantasy Novels" of the last couple years, I had given up on the hope of finding any truly good writing. Along comes Cranes' "Defender". I love his writing style. The book has a prologue (something frowned upon these days), and it is very interesting. I was hooked on the novel well before the end of chapter one. By chapter three I decided I plan to read everything Crane has written. He's that good. The only negative is I got Defender for free. While it helped hook me on the author (which would not have happened otherwise), now I feel guilty for not paying for such great writing. Knowing how hard it is for authors to make a living these days, I hate that one has to put up more than one book for free to draw attention. This book is well worth a full cover price. Period. In the future, I plan to buy any of Cranes' books I can.

This is supposed to be a complete 10 book series so I started reading and it was quite enjoyable with a heavy dose of World of Warcraft type of characters. I just finished the 10th book and it is NOT complete. The probable end of series with the 11th book due in 2020 is likely not going to be written because I am writing this review in late November of 2021 with no probability for the forthcoming conclusion. While I enjoyed the books, if you think you are going to get closure you will not. I cannot recommend this series until it is finished.

I read the entire series twice and could not wait for the next one, Fated in Darkness. There are so many characters in the series but each have very distinct personalities, dialogue and sense of humor which is the best part. My favorite series among all Robert J. Crane's books. Has all the twists and turns and the unexpected. Gripping and unpredictable. Mr. Crane's series actually got me started reading again after a few year's hiatus. One awesome book and am back to my favorite pastime.

No he sido capaz de acabar el libro. Y eso que Robert J. Crane me gusta como autor y he disfrutado de otros libros suyos, pero de este no. Me gusta que me cuenten historias de fantasía, no una campaña de World of Warcraft o Dungeons & Dragons a la que ni siquiera se molesta en intentar dar algo de profundidad. Se nota que es la primera novela de Crane, porque explica demasiadas cosas y cuenta muy pocas, entre otros fallos de principiante. Lo bueno es que tiene libros mucho mejores, así que me dedicaré a ellos; de esta saga paso.

While it's certainly not the best book in the series nobody who loves this genre should miss out on this amazing series which developed to one of my favorites over the course of 8 +2 books (so far). If you read this one and you are not sure if you want to read the next, just do it. It's going to be an amazing journey with Cyrus and his friends. I wrote this review after reading all books of this series. I saw it had only 2 stars in the review section, so I had to something about. 5 stars not for book 1 but the whole series. It truly deserves it. Thank you Mr. Crane, keep going the good work

I have downloaded this book after reading Robert J. Crane's Girl in the Box Series (and I read that series after first book was free!). From the description I knew it was quite different from Girl in the Box, but since I enjoyed that series, I decided to give it a try. I have to say, I am now a great fan of both series! It has all the ingredients of fantastical suspense that make you turn pages and stay up late at night to finish just that one more chapter before turning the lights off... I have read all of the available books in less than a week! Yes, after downloading the free first volume, I happily purchased all the rest and am now stalking the authors blog and FB for the news of the release of the next one. There are heroes, villains, mystical beings (trolls, elves, dwarwes, dragons and even gods), there is war, love, secrets and mysteries that are slowly being revealed, but still so many to be explored. I do not want to reveal any of the stories, I recommend you read them for yourselves! One of my favourite fantasy authors!

Thoroughly enjoyable book. Lots of characters to contend with who reveal their characters with time. I will definately pick up the next volume!