Rating: 
Summary: thrilling heart pumping saga
Review: "this is a great book for fantasy lovers, it has an unexpected twist that every one will love. there is a great deal of action non-stop through the last part."
Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommended -- looking forward to Book 2!
Review: A thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing read.
The author provides a good mix of science fiction
and fantasy. The style is comparable to David Eddings 'Belgariad'. Once I started reading,
I couldn't put it down. I am really looking forward to reading the next in the series!
Rating:
Summary: A thoroughly pleasing and entertaining book to past the time
Review: A well written book crafted around the ideas of magecraft and familairs; there's a little bit of technology involved as well - not too much tho, just enough to add to the intrigue. The ending of Book I seemed a little abrupt, but I am still looking forward to the next book of David Coe's trilogy "The LonTobyn Chronicle." -Calvin
Rating:
Summary: Very Well written and delightfully convincing!
Review: Anyone who enjoys a good romp through believable fantasy will find this book a most enjoyable read. Uncomplicated and fresh; a convincing tale that leaves you dreaming of future tales yet to come with an anticipation equal to that instilled by the writtings of Anne McCaffery and David Eddings.
Rating: 
Summary: Other reviews of my book.
Review: As a general rule, writers are ill-served by responding to critics, and I
have no intention of doing so now. The reviewer for Kirkus did not like my
book, and that's fine. But for reasons beyond my comprehension, Amazon has
chosen to use the Kirkus review to market my book. For this reason I feel
compelled to comment, mostly to observe that Amazon could have chosen better
commentaries than this one: Children of Amarid has received good reviews.
In its April 15, 1997 issue, Library Journal had this to say about my book:
"In his first novel, historian Coe has crafted an elegantly written fantasy.
The Children of Amarid, mages who have protected the people of Tobyn-Ser for
a millenium may be behind the brutal attacks by their avian familiars. When
Jaryd joins the mages, he discovers a traitor responsible for the atrocities.
Recommended for fantasy collections."
In the "Books to Watch For" section of its October 1997 issue, Realms of
Fantasy wrote:
"Tobyn-Ser is the idyllic setting in this story of magic gone awry and a
violent disruption of peace and innocence. The Children of Amarid are an
order of Hawk-Mages and Owl-Masters. Their gifts can be used to heal or
destroy. A banished mage, Theron is rumored to be returned from the dead.
But perhaps instead, a terrible treachery from amongst their own is bent on
destruction. Jaryd, a novice mage of extraordinary and untested power is
called upon to save the Order and indeed the world! A journey of delightful
reading."
You, as a prospective reader may agree with one of these reviewers, or you
may agree with the reviewer from Kirkus. That is your prerogative. I'd like
it if every reviewer and every reader loved my work, but that's not possible.
My point in offering this comment is simply that the Kirkus review is no
more or less representative than these others.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing book; hard to put down
Review: As an avid fantasy reader, I picked up this book with a little sceptisicm. I hadn't heard of the author before, and I like to read series rather than one off novels. The cover first caught my attention. The story grabbed it from the first page. The dark hawk mage attacking a man and his child, and during a "bonding period" no less. Jaryd's character is immediatly likeable and grows as the book progresses. The link between the mage and his bird is a thrilling concept. The war to come between tecnocrat and magician leads us on to many more possiblilities. I highly recomend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Memorable characters and a fast-paced, gripping story.
Review: Coe has outdone himself in this wonderful work of fiction. It has all the ingredients of a great fantasy novel: Good characters, stunning description, and enough plot twists to keep you up late into the night. Watch Coe for more must-reads in the future!
Rating:
Summary: An excellently written story with 3D characters
Review: David Coe has done what so many Fantasy writers fail to do; create a fantasy realm and fill it with living, breathing characters in an interesting story. The Children of Amarid is creative, interesting, well written and a pleasure to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of Investment, Low Return
Review: David Coe's Children of Amarid is not inept. His premise is fascinating - a technology poor society defended by magic is under assault from a high tech society with no magic. Unfortunately, Coe is far too long winded. This book is huge - it needed nothing more than a good editing to tighten it up and construct the plot more carefully. Coe could lose 200 pages and the reader would not miss them. The characters aren't that interesting. The characters talk endlessly and say very little. You can safely skip 2 and 3 pages at a time and not lose track of the plot. The heroes are flat-footed and dull. Their dialogue is slow-moving and unenlightening. The love affair feels forced. They simply aren't compelling. The ghosts in the story end up being props not characters. The main character's trial in a haunted grove fell flat. This crap was supposed to drive him nuts? I don't think so. The heroes didn't even save themselves. It was a minor character who was promptly and conveniently killed off. In real life, that may be what happens, but in novels it's okay if the heroes do it themselves. It was hard to care about the heroes. To offset this problem, Coe needed a good villain. And he almost had a villain whose motives and personality were enough to carry the story. But, the villain was too glib, too sleazy and too splenetic. He ended feeling like a stock character. Coe is a historian and his solid grounding in history shows through this book. It props up the book's weaknesses. We get a strong sense for the society in this book and even the glimpses of the high tech society we get are enlightening. Except for a few cheap lines about the high tech society fouling its air and water, the history and societal relations are sharp and interesting. The book took too long to reach a climax and then it ends far to quickly. The events were too fast, too furious and over too suddenly. A bit of judicious rewriting and editing and Coe would have had time - and space - for a decent denouement. Coe's control of the technical side of writing - putting sentences and paragraphs and chapters together is strong. It's the contents of the form I have problems with. It's in content his weaknesses are revealed: character-development and plot pacing. That's the core of the problem. Technical mastery simply can't compensate for this book's uneven pace and poorly constructed characters. Readers have to care about the characters and their problems. I gave Children of Amarid 3 stars because I enjoyed reading it - it was escapist and diversionary - but not enough to buy the sequel. And that's a problem when the author is planning a trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: First off, I would like to state that I am an author and am actually in the process of getting a book published as I type this. So I write this both as a writer and as a literary fan and long time Fantasy reader. The first thing I noticed while reading this book was that it is a very simple read. There are not very many characters that you must keep up with and the plot and sub-plots are very easy to follow along with. The language that Coe uses is that of anyone who speaks common english and it is not necessary to read something through twice in order to understand what is happening (such as in Lord of the Rings). The suspence of finding out who the traitor is somehow sneaks up on you without you realizing it and before you know it, Coe sets up a perfectly written tone shift and progression. The plot turns and revelations are - as a previous reviewer has pointed out - very simple, yet unpredictable and enticing. One cannot go into reading this book (or any other book for that matter) thinking too much. You should read this book and let your imagination take you into Coe's world - which is completely and easily reachable due to his simple discription and character development - and live the magnificence of a very FUN book. I look foward to reading it's sequels in the very near future (I already have them on my book shelf) and I say that for someone knew to Fantasy (or even to reading itself) or for a veteran such as myself, you will not be dissapointed in this book.
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