The Knights of the Dawn King by Scott E. Stabler

He did, however, generously donate a signed copy to Bluefield College's Easley Library, which is grateful to him and the many other authors, over the decades of the library's history, who have honored us with similar kindness.) This is, IMO, a strong start to a promising series! If I could give half stars, I'd have given 4 1/2 I rounded down rather than up only because this doesn't equal some of the previous five-star fantasy series I've read, such as LOTR, and because of a few stylistic flaws noted below. (Note: Scott Stabler and I are Goodreads friends, but he did not give me my review copy of the book. Hounded across mountain and realm by unspeakable evil and fettered by a burden of shame and guilt, he will come to understand true friendship, sacrifice and courage, and will, in the end, discover his place within the decrees of a King. Hounded across mountain and realm by unspeakable evil and fettered by a burden of shame and guilt, he will come to understand true friendship, sacrifice and courage, and will, in the end, discover his place within the decrees of a King.The sun is setting over the realms of Un'Etheia.The lands have forsaken the memory of their liege and drift toward an age of horrific enslavement.Prophetic utterances are reaching fulfillment, while rumors of war multiply in the north and whispers of the Black Horde arise from the south.The mysterious race of the First-Born gather to reclaim their ancient homeland, even as the ruling houses succumb to greed and power lust.Over it all an ancient and dark force rises to crush the only adversary who would yet make a stand against the swelling tide of its evil designs - a once proud and honored knighthood, now fractured and held in little esteem, their allegiance to the true High King waning from within.Thrust into seemingly random circumstances and prevailed upon by harbingers of myth and legend, one man is driven to desperate measures to save his family and in so doing learns the true peril facing the lands.

Thrust into seemingly random circumstances and prevailed upon by harbingers of myth and legend, one man is driven to desperate measures to save his family and in so doing learns the true peril facing the lands. Over it all an ancient and dark force rises to crush the only adversary who would yet make a stand against the swelling tide of its evil designs – a once proud and honored knighthood, now fractured and held in little esteem, their allegiance to the true High King waning from within. The mysterious race of the First-Born gather to reclaim their ancient homeland, even as the ruling houses succumb to greed and power lust. Prophetic utterances are reaching fulfillment, while rumors of war multiply in the north and whispers of the Black Horde arise from the south. The lands have forsaken the memory of their liege and drift toward an age of horrific enslavement.

The sun is setting over the realms of Un’Etheia.

The Knights of the Dawn King by Scott E. Stabler