Rating: 
Summary: Definitely worth a read
Review: Interesting. I bought this after seeing it dominate Amazon's Science Fiction & Fantasy Top Seller list for most of April. It was usually in the top 5 and Stanek's Elf Queen's Quest wasn't far behind. That got me interested in the book, but I held out buying for a few weeks because I'm not one to follow what the crowd is reading. Still it sounded interesting and there seemed to be a lot of original thought behind it. What I didn't realize was that it was going to be an incredible mix of fantasy and adventure, mystery and intrigue and action. Mr. Stanek has delivered something wonderful hear. It is fun and definitely represents a strong start. Many other reviewwers have sung the praises on the characters. This is another truth. I love this many characters. They are fascinating. Adrina is a [cool] chick! She is beautiful and strong yet she has very human flaws and concerns. Xith is my second favorite. He's dark and mysterious.
Rating:
Summary: I love this book!
Review: I'm not much of a fantasy reader. But someone recommended this book to me. He was always talking about it, so I read it. And LOVED it. I just couldn't stop reading it. Its like my eyes were stuck to the pages, and one hand was always ready to turn the other page.
Rating: 
Summary: Just awful!
Review: This book without a doubt is the most poorly written novel of any genre that I have ever had the mispleasure to read. There is no aspect of "Ruin Mist" that is not absolutely terrible: The plot is incomprehensible; the characters are laughably one-dimensional; the descriptive passages are unbelievably simplistic and child-like; and the grammar and spelling are atrocious. To make a long story short, this book is awful beyond description.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: This is the best fantasy book I've read in so long. I loved everything about it. I really understood and felt all the characters vibes. I couldn't even put the book down. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A very entertaining, well written, easy to read book
Review: Who would have guessed... I've just finished reading Keeper Martin's Tale for the second time and can hardly believe I held off originally. Thankfully a friend at work convinced me to at least read the first book and give this a try. If you had told me then that I would have flown throught the book in 2 days and couldn't wait to start the second I wouldn't have believed you. But I throughly enjoyed the book more than I can ever express!Stanek's Ruin Mist is immense, complete with its own creatures, history, and breathtaking landscapes... I believe few books (save Tolkien's masterpiece and perhaps Jordan's Wheel of time) have started so well. This book is myth (a tale of Robert's creation). It is not an allegory where there is direct theological, political, or psychological correspondence to aspects of the real world. Here we meet people and things like Emel Brodstson, Seth, Xith and Keeper Martin... elves, gnomes, shapechanging wolmerrelle, watchers, wizards and of course, Men. And unlike most stories of fantsay the characters don't gravitate to one of two poles or extremes that can be seen as "good" or "evil". Oh, there is a struggle going on between the forces of light and darkness but to say who is truly "good" and who is truly "evil" at this point would be premature. We don't know (and Elf Queen's Quest makes us rethink any assumptions we've made so far). Instead of being at the extremes of "good" and "evil" Robert's characters are more real. You see shades of darkness, get insight into character's intentions and thoughts but as in the real world there doesn't appear to be true "good" or true "evil". An interesting thing about the first set of books is how Robert very subtly points to the reality that there are dark forces at work. We learn of Sathar who has survived the Dark Journey and war banners being raised in the Kingdoms of the Elves. But we don't see this firsthand; it is something looming on the horizon. We learn of the dark "change" that is coming to the Kingdoms of Men. First from the lady in the tower and then from the lady of the forest. Both are mysterious benefactors of Adrina. We know of a dark cleansing of magic in the lands of man as Vilmos is nearly of victim of this but don't know if the Priests of the Dark Flame are truly "evil" or merely carrying out orders. And the shapechanging beasts, the wolmerrelle, are but shadows of the possible darkness that lies in Under Earth. I will not bore you with anymore details. What I will say, however, that no matter what your age is, give Keeper Martin's Tale a try.... It is a very entertaining, well written, easy to read book. It is a very enjoyable change of pace. My best suggestion is for you to quit reading this, and just read the book. Or re-read it! If you don't like it, keep going. Book 2, Elf Queen's Quest, is an utter delight (and it provides insights that will change your opinion of everything). I highly recommend this book to everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Not fit for a library's shelf
Review: I actually work in a library and recommended that the children's librarian purchase this book. She did, but had not seen any reviews for it in any of the journals, so she decided to read a bit of it. After 2 or 3 chapters she decided not to catalog it. The grammar and quality of writing is so poor as to be actually detrimental to children reading it. Just a warning out there to all of you that are good teachers and librarians, I do not know what book the other supposed teachers and library workers that reviewed it here were reading but I'd advise you to provision your budget elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: Excellent book! I recomend it. If you enjoy epic adventure and fantasy this is good. Ruin Mist combines magic, action and a great story. Mr. Stanek is one of the few that can write a book that is so interesting that you can hardly put it down. I think you're going to like this.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting characters, magical world
Review: I've been reading Robert's work for some time now, and was not the least bit disappointed by this book. The combination of an intriguing backdrop, a bit of mystery and a lot of action, many captivating main characters and their developing relationships, and more than a few twists and turns, make this a delight. The story develops around the epic journeys of the characters. Another delightful aspect comes in the many subplots and historical tidbits about Ruin Mist and its inhabitants. All of our afore mentioned ingredients combine to give you a fantasy adventure for all to enjoy! I can't wait to see what happens nxt.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Although Stanek's basic story is not without some interest, the book is nearly unreadable due to the awkward writing, grammatical errors, and misuse of language. In no way does it compare with the better-conceived and better-executed fantasies with which it has been compared. Particularly annoying is the poor use of language; the author frequently appears to be mistaken in the meaning of a word he uses. There are also several examples of mixing homophones (bear/bare, for example.) This insensitivity to language on the part of an author is irritating. If the author is able to secure editorial assistance, he may well have interesting stories to tell. Until that time, however, I'll look elsewhere for reading material.
Rating:
Summary: Strong first book in series
Review: Keeper Martin's Tale is innovative, creative and thoughtful. I can't remember when I had so much fun reading a book. Robert's style is elegant, clean. The words flow so well it is easy to forget you're reading a book, not seeing it in your mind or hearing it from someone's mouth. The style is uncluttered and unpretentious. Robert taps into something here that is as wonderful as "Harry Potter" but written with a much more intelligent pen. The world Robert weaves, we start to see. It's an introduction as good as any other book I've ever read. I was left with a feeling of wonder, the sort of joy I haven't found since "The Hobbit" and "Ender's Game". The story is strong as are the characters. The descriptions come off the page and are a delight to the imagination. Those who don't understand the story may never like it; there is a complexity to this tale, and you really need to enjoy a bit of mystery as well as action and adventure. As far as an answer to the question of a previous reviewer "What are the rest of you reading?", my answer is that I'm reading Robert Stanek's Ruin Mist Chronicles and loving it, so are the students in my class. Last semester, we reviewed/critiqued "Lord of the Rings". In previous years during this semester, we've tackled "Chronicles of Narnia", "Harry Potter", "Dragonriders of Pern", "Foundation" and others. Before spring break, I asked the class what they'd like to review and critique. A proposal was put forth for this book by several enthusiastic students. I was intrigued as I hadn't heard of the book and delighted to find that the book was published by a small press and not one of the large commercial houses that churn out so much pulp, even more delighted to find this "underground" sensation was pretty good. But don't take my word for it, take the actions of my students. Coming back from spring break, all 28 students had read the book. That rarely happens and I can't remember the last time in truth. We should have a rip-roaring good time discussing the book: 19 students are happy readers; 7 aren't; 2 undecided. This split makes for an excellent debate.
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