"Transcendence - Part 2 of 3" Book 6 of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore

"Transcendence - Part 2 of 3"
Book 6 of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R.A. Salvatore
Mult-cast performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours


I'm rolling through "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore and I keep thinking, I should slow down, after all, the series only has 7 books and this latest one is book 6 and I'm two-thirds of the way through it. But as much as I would love to let these drag out and savor each one, the story is just too exciting to stop. I'm already opening part 3 and will start listening to it after this review.

The saga is one of the best pieces of fantasy fiction I've read/heard since "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. (Interesting that the good fantasy writers use initials instead of first names.) What makes this saga so good is that in the writing Salvatore is consistent with the characters and includes all the favorites through the entire saga. Some heroes die but they are not forgotten. The heroes that do live on while staying consistent with their central character, Salvatore knows how to write in the room for growth.

Even more exciting about this series is that I'm listening to the audiobooks produced by GraphicAudio. GraphicAudio turns these books into great auditory theatrical events. They achieve the "Movie in your Mind" reality by using excellent voice actors, superb sound effects and incidental music that pushes the excitement to even higher levels. Many times during great battles in the saga I found myself getting closer and closer to the edge of my seat and only able to relax once the music fades out. The special effects are achieved through some great sound effects, when the elves let an arrow fly you hear every detail from the moment the arrow is notched, through its flight and the sound of the arrow hitting the target, whether it is into flesh or stone. It's really amazing the effects that are achieved by GraphicAudio.

This installment continues with the adventures of Touel'alfar trained ranger, Brynn Dharielle. Brynn was trained by the elves to become a hero of her people the To-Gai who are being enslaved by the Behrenese. Brynn is trained and sent to Behren with the aid of her main trainer, Belli'mar Juraviel, elven trainer of the ranger, Elbryan (Nightbird) Wyndon. Along the way Juraviel & Brynn come across the Doc'alfar, the dark elves of legend. The elves send one of their own to accompany them under the mountains into Brynn's land. The party of 3 come across the lair of a dragon and are separated. Brynn escapes and goes on to her land to find a small revolution led by a prideful warrior. This warrior falls to his pride.

During the campaigns Brynn meets up with a Jhesta Tu mystic by the name of Pagonel. Pagonel rescues Brynn from death by the Behrenese army. Pagonel is one of the few mystics that has achieved the highest state of enlightenment. The mystics are able to perform magicks without the use of the magical gemstones like the Abellican Monks. Pagonel falls in love with Brynn and she with him. Pagonel begins teaching her the enlightenment of the Jhesta Tu.

In the meantime Juraviel and the female Doc'alfar also begin to fall in love while being held by captive by Agradeleas, the dragon. Agradeleas soon learns that Juraviel is duty and honor bound to escape and find Brynn. Agradeleas decides to accompany the 2 elves to find Brynn.

The Behrenese soldiers seek out Pagonel because he murdered one of their higher ranked soldiers. This brings war to the Jhesta Tu. The Jhesta Tu are at first winning the battle but more soldiers arrive, surrounding the mystics.

I will leave you hanging there until the next installment, enjoy.