Sheila Kelly

Book Review: The Brood Chronicles, Book One: The English Legione by Dale Jackson

"The Brood Chronicles" is a satirical fantasy series by Dale Jackson, which is available on Amazon Kindle.  The first book, "The English Legione", begins the story of a pansexual woman living in Georgia, who learns of her English heritage, as well as her birthright to an empire of fantastic beings known as British Woode Folk, or Broods.  It has some adult language and situations and is not really suitable for anyone under eighteen years of age or might be easily offended by crude humor.
The story follows Connor Adams, a twenty-eight year old pansexual woman who learns that she is the only child of Maida Vale Kedgeree, the deceased queen of the British Woode Folk and Wylde Woode Kyngdom.  As such, she is expected to one day take the throne.  However, her tyrannical cousin, Lancaster Kedgeree, also has his eye on the empire.  In order to prevent him from acquiring the crown Connor must go out into the woodlands with her companions, the English Legione, and collect the "Five Throne Thingies", which will enable her to defeat her evil cousin easily.
"The English Legione" follows Connor and her friends throughout north Georgia and through a portion of the magical British woodlands known as the Awkward Mountains and Forest.  In north Georgia, she acquires the Ring of Power, which was stolen from her as an infant, by killing a giant, mutant Suffolk sheep named Janet.  In the Awkward Mountains she encounters the Awkward Satyrs and their village, whereupon she is asked to defeat a dragon that supposedly attacked the satyrs.  The dragon in question turns out to be a breed known as "Apathetic", and upon introducing the beast to the Awkward Satyr leader he is exonerated of all charges and Connor is given the Sword of Power.
As far as fantasy goes, this has all the elements of a great story.  There are mythical creatures, medieval melee weapons, clandestine locations, and a lot of original enchantments that are not found in a lot of similar novels (such as shrinking items so they fit in a hiking pack and the still-unknown "Pine Cone Sodomy Spell").  Rather than shunning modern technology, the characters in "The Brood Chronicles" seem to have embraced it and use their own powers to make it fit into their world (a satyr uses his mobile's GPS at one point).  This was really interesting and quite a nice change from other stories.
The characters also have traits and abilities that one does not usually read about in other novels.  Connor and Kenton both admit to being pansexual (they do not discriminate against any gender or variation of gender when it comes to love and sex) and a gay couple consisting of a faery and a satyr are prevalent throughout the story.  They also deal with many of the same problems that regular, mortal humans face every day, such as relationship issues, addictions, mental health concerns, prejudice, biological functions, and sibling squabbles that do not go away with age.  In short, they are portrayed as being just like any other sentient creature, human or otherwise.  These things made it very easy to identify with the characters and for a moment I wished I knew someone like Lucas Pilchard or Germaine Aubergine.
The comedy within the book mostly stems from Connor's anger management issues and her sarcasm.  She loathes Sister Finchley, a crabby, controlling cleric, and takes every opportunity to insult the woman.  ("What does she have you do when you get called away like that?  Polish her trophies for taking first place in Bitch-jutsu?î)  Her struggle with computers and simple magic lessons are also sources of satire, as is her social awkwardness.  But mostly it is her reaction to the many different races, beings, and locations that gives the reader a good chuckle.  Connor's contempt with the Awkward Satyrs and their care of the Sword of Courage never fails to leave myself or my friends rolling with laughter, especially when she begins pulling back the duct tape that holds its container together.
The only thing I did not like about the book is that there were a lot of unanswered questions at the end.  For example, Kenton and his sister have been fighting about something ever since Connor was born, yet he will not explain why.  He also knows a powerful secret about her, which he is forbidden by magic to reveal.  He has also promised to tell Connor why he gave her an Irish boy's name.  Aside from Kenton's secrecy, there is also the mystery of where Molly's potions went to (although she and I both have our suspicions), whether Sister Finchley is truly loyal to the team, and just how exactly do they accomplish their magical transportation spell?  And if Jerry Firewater, the Apathetic Dragon, did not attack the Awkward Satyr Village, who did?  I imagine that these will be answered in the second book and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for it.
The book is available only for Amazon Kindle at the moment, costs five dollars to download, and is part of the Kindle Loaning Program, which allows users to "lend" titles to others.  Book Two is expected by the end of Summer 2012, and I for one am looking forward to finding out why Kenton and Finchley are always fighting, whether Jeremy returns to the team, and if Sonia Crumpet turns out to be a good addition to the English Legione.  Most of all, I want to know where Connor's adventures take her and how she will react to creatures such as Condescending Elves, Laundry Goblins, and Emo DÊmons.

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Tags: Amazon, Book, Brood, Chronicles, Dale, English, Fantasy, Jackson, Kindle, Legione, More…Review, Satirical, The

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Rowan Adams Comment by Rowan Adams on January 9, 2012 at 6:00pm

Just read this on my kindle and loved it! It's sort of like the bastard child of Lord of the Rings and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Definitely not for kids. Jackson is already talking about book two on facebook and dropped a couple hints. So far it sounds like it will be awesome! Can't wait!

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