Thurmond's Saga is a fun, in places hilarious coming-of-age fantasy book, with our young hero Thurmond, who desperately wants to be one of the famous group of adventurers, growing up and coming into his own, while everybody around him exploits his greenness and naivete with great comical effect. When he finds a map that leads the way to a secret treasure, how could he resist? He brings together a band to tackle the adventure - only to find that they are not the only ones looking for this particularly treasure.

MacKenzie is clearly widely read and draws on a wide field of background texts, both from fantasy and outside of it. Fans of David Eddings will feel just at home as fans of Norse mythology (the Dwarf's saga had me in tears, it was such a great imitation), Kings of the Wyld or even The Three Musketeers.

This story is a fun coming of age adventure that is set in a medieval fantasy. Thurmond, a peasant boy from a village in the middle of nowhere, dreams of becoming an adventurer. Unfortunately, the Order of adventurers will not accept him because he lacks training and equipment, which leads to him working odd jobs in the city until he gets his big break. One fateful day, Thurmond is approached by a stranger with an opportunity to get the experience he needs, which sets him off on a series of life-changing adventures that give him the opportunity to (maybe) become a professional adventurer himself one day. He faces a series of obstacles, including trolls, goblins, and powerful witches, all of which test his mettle and ideals.

There is so much to like about this book. The attention to detail about the medieval setting is very good. I learned a lot about the armor and weapons from this time period. Thanks to reading this on my Kindle, I learned a lot of new words, as well. I found the writing and story to be engaging throughout the book. It was easy to follow and full of action until the very end. The romance element was incorporated in a fun way and progressed naturally without overshadowing the rest of the story.

The characters were amusing. I particularly enjoyed the humor of the dwarf and the way Sarah was characterized and utilized in the story. She was just as much the hero as any of the male characters, and I liked that the author showed the internal struggle of the men to accept her as a vital part of the group despite the prevailing attitudes of the time toward women. Thurmond's adventures also led to him learning important lessons and losing some of his naivete as the story progresses.

There wasn't much I didn't like about this book. However, the characterization of many of the other characters in the book was a bit one-note, especially the villains. They were portrayed as pretty dumb and prone to having fits of rage or hysteria, which were a bit over the top and almost comical. While this was fun to read, it took away a lot of gravitas the book could have had otherwise.

All in all, Thurmond's Saga is a fun, fast-paced fantasy adventure set in medieval times. It is a great coming of age story for both the main protagonist, Thurmond, and one of his companions, Sarah. The detail of the world-building and structure of the story are easy to follow and understand. While the main villains came off a bit flat, I definitely recommend this adventure to people who enjoy fantasy, magic, and the medieval world. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Set as a medieval fantasy, this novel tells the tale of Thurmond, a fresh faced youth from the country who dreams of joining the ranks of an adventurer’s guild. A purloined treasure map leads to an adventure filled epic quest for Thurmond and his crew of misfits. This is a light hearted, coming of age story with laugh out loud as well as cringeworthy moments where Thurmond wins out against the antics of others who attempt to take advantage of his naivety. In the end lessons are learned leaving Thurmond ready for his next adventure.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel!

I was given a free copy of Thurmond’s Saga by Robert John MacKenzie (author), BooksGoSocial (publisher), and et Galley to provide an honest review. Thurmond’s Saga is the first book in the Chronicles of the Medieval Underworld series with Contessa of the Red Contessa (book #2) and Battle of Gorgonholm (book #3) are also available.

This review will spoiler free.

I would characterize Thurmond’s Saga as high fantasy or epic fantasy because there is a quest to find treasure as a major thrust of the story.

I found the world-building to be familiar and typical medieval settings and served the story and the characters and did not find them to be distracting.

The magic system is also familiar and did not find it to be distracting. A character is a novice mage who is trying to learn magic on her own. She learns by reading, studying, and memorizing spells from spell books.

The strongest part of this novel are the characters. The main character is a runaway apprentice who arrives in a large city and wants to join an organization of adventurers. Mr. MacKenzie does an admirable job of creating a main character that is three-dimensional, developed, engaging, interesting, and who I wanted to root for and see be successful. The three major minor characters of the novice mage and the two seasoned adventurers and each of them is unique, has something to do that adds another layer to the story, and very engaging.

What I also appreciated about the characters is each of the villains is unique, has his or her own character arc, and quite believable.

Another strength of the story is the plot which I found to be interesting, and each chapter kept the story propelling forward. I did find some parts of the middle to be a sluggish, but I was never taken out of the story, and really enjoyed the ending.

I would recommend Thurmond’s Saga to any reader who enjoys a story about quest that features standard fantasy tropes (such as dwarves, goblins, dungeon crawls, and treasure) but is written in such a way that is engaging with interesting characters and story.

I rate Thurmond’s Saga 4 stars.

I would like to thank Robert John Mackenzie, BooksGoSocial, and Netgalley for the free arc.

Thurmond's Saga by Robert John MacKenzie, a fun tale to read when in the mood, Only reason I didn't rate it higher is because it meandered so much.

First off, the storyline was great, the characters were awesome, and adventuring they went. Thurmond, Sarah, Roscoe, Torgul, and the other adventurers, had an exhilarating time of it. What was most hilarious was the way they went about it, blundering their way through this treasure hunt, filled with misdeed, betrayal, greed, and the unexpected. This book was engrossing, well-written, entertaining, exciting, hilarious, and an all-out fun read.

this was a great start to the Chronicles of the Medieval Underworld series, it had what I wanted from a fantasy novel. This had great characters and a interesting premise.

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.