Beyond the Pale: Book One of "the Last Rune"

Read this book years ago and couldn't find a copy anywhere but here there was one. Love the Last Rune series, brilliant read for anyone who loves fantasy books. The book arrived in good time and was in brilliant condition. Thank you!!

Excellent service and goods

An exciting, wonderful time travelling, parallel worlds crossing fantasy.I did not get it from Amazon, it was a discarded library book on sale for 20p. It is not a new bestseller, but the best 20p I have ever spend.Beyond the Pale is the first book of the series The Last Rune. It is not the latest book in Fantasy, actually, it has been around for more than a decade but it holds its ground very well, and has nothing to prove with later fantastic stories.I was so happy to find that Amazon got the series back, I had to trail the Net to find Number two and three, now I can get the rest from here. Shame they are not on Kindle.I recommend it to anyone who loves a good fantasy story. The story starts in Denver, Colorado but ends up in Eldh, a parralel world. Runes, ancient evil trying to return to our world, suspense, strong heroes and heroine, an excellent story line... what more could a reader wish for?

This was bought as a gift for me and what a prezzie it turned out to be. This first book in the 'Last Rune' series starts in a backwater town in Colarado where Travis Wilder runs a bar. Everything in his life is humdrum and normal but that is about to change with the arrival of a strange travelling show, headed by Brother Cy. At the same time there is a parallel story about a young doctor, Grace Beckett who feels there is something lacking in her life. She is about to find out what.Mark Anthony has produced an excellent introduction to a series that moves between Earth and Eldh (a medieval type world). He creates an atmospheric tale that manages to be original and engrossing. His characters have depth and facets to them that make the reader care about them. Highly recommended for any fantasy fan or lover of a good story.

It came super fast and was a good copy.

I have to admit that I wasn't really expecting much from this book. The blurb on the back cover was what prompted me to buy it in the first place; I'm a sucker for good "advertising" like that when it comes to fantasy novels.But, surprise! I opened to the prologue, with the unlikely title of "Brother Cy's Apocalyptic Traveling Salvation Show", and was instantly hooked. This is a well-written beginning to a six-book cycle, which apparently concerns threats not only to the other-dimensional world of Eldh, but also to our Earth as well.Anthony does not seem to develop his two Earthly protagonists too well. I could not get a clear picture of Travis; one could compare him to Clark Kent just beginning to discover his powers, but that's a very broad generalization. And Grace Beckett strikes me as a Vulcan transported to the world of fantasy who is beginning to learn about her emotions. There is also a strong indication that she was abused in some way in her childhood, but nothing definite is mentioned. Hopefully Anthony will expand on their characters in later volumes.The residents of Eldh, however, are much more fleshed out and well-defined - the Lady Kyrene seemed very sinister, King Boreas is a little more intelligent than his hulking appearance makes him seem, and Durge and Beltan are just a bit more than the standard noble defenders of the realm.Of necessity there are some characters who are cloaked in mystery. Falken the bard and the Lady Melia, as well as Queen Ivalaine pose more questions than answers at this point. Exactly who are they, and what do they know? Are they trying to save Eldh or do they have other purposes in mind?I do not see even vague similarities to Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series here, despite several reviewers' claims. In fact, there are far more similarities to David Eddings' "Belgariad" and "Mallorean" cycles than anything else.I look forward to the next book in this series.

This is one of the strangest series I've ever read. A lot of things that happen feel like they've been made up on the spot, but the heart of the story is so big, and the characters so lovable, that I can't help but adore it. A must read for the fans of stories like Dreamfall.

One of the coolest unknown fantasy series. Found this by accident and decided to read the rest of the series (5 more books) based on the excellence of this one. I can't believe that this series is out of print! The writing is quality, the fantasy world is original, and the characters are interesting and memorable. Great stuff and thoroughly entertaining!

A bit wordy but otherwise a great story. On to book 2 can't wait to see what happens next very excited.