Official Author Website
Order the book HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Goblin Emperor
OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFORMATION: Katherine Addison is a pseudonym for acclaimed writer Sarah Monette who has previously written ten novels including a trilogy co-written with Elizabeth Bear. Her short fiction has been selected by The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and The Year's Best Science Fiction. She lives near Madison, Wisconsin. She previously wrote The Goblin Emperor.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting.
In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. And human beings remain human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent.
Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows.
OFFICIAL FORMAT INFO: The Angel Of The Crows will be published on June 23rd, 2020 by Tor books. It is 448 pages divided over thirty two chapters and an epilogue. It is told in the first person from the point of view of Dr. Doyle. It is available in ebook, audiobook, and hardcover formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: In Victorian London, every public building is watched over by an angel, a supernatural being that protects and assists the people inside its dominion. When Dr. Doyle arrives in London after sustaining an injury in the Afghanistan War, he could never have predicted he would have ended up with an angel as a roommate. But Crow is not like the other angels. He doesn't guard a single building. Crow is the Angel of London, and as such, offers his services as a consulting detective to any being, supernatural or otherwise, with a mystery to solve. But after a string of successful cases, Crow and Dr. Doyle find themselves with their toughest case yet. Prostitutes are being brutally killed in the East End by an unknown assailant - one the newspapers will eventually call Jack the Ripper.
Have you ever wanted to read the original Sherlock Holmes adventures, but with supernatural creatures and elements mixed in? If so, have I got a book for you! The Angel Of The Crows is a faithful (sometimes too faithful) retelling of many of the original short stories. While the lead characters have been renamed, they still live at 221 Baker Street in the late nineteenth century, they frequently work with Inspector Lestrade, and yes, they will absolutely take a trip to the countryside to investigate the Hound of the Baskervilles. But this is a world where the Hound might realistically have demonic origin, and if someone claims they've seen a ghost, that isn't a notion to scoff at. Werewolves and vampires openly walk in the streets, and a young woman can receive a respectable certification in clairvoyance.
As someone who has avidly consumed several iterations of Sherlock Holmes over the years, from the original short stories to the Jeremy Brett TV series to Elementary, I had mixed feelings about this latest outing with the famed detective. On the one hand, these are well-written adventures written much in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original tales, and are certainly a cozy way to pass the time. On the other hand, I found myself most enjoying the book when it offered a new angle or element to the material, and that was something it didn't do enough.
The Angel Of The Crows has one broad mystery - that of tracking Jack the Ripper - but the majority of the plot follows Crow and Doyle over a series of several mysteries of varying length. Some take place over several chapters, while a few are only a chapter or two long and serve as an interstitial that allows a deeper dive into Crow and Doyle as characters and serve up some secrets about Doyle's background in particular. Sherlock enthusiasts will recognize several cases, from The Sign of the Four to The Speckled Band, many of which have been given a supernatural twist. The more I saw of this London with its angels and hellhounds and vampires, the more I craved to see, to the point where I found myself wishing that the author had created original adventures for Crow and Doyle set in this world, rather than being largely guided by the source material.
That, at the end of the day, is what defined my takeaway from The Angel Of The Crows: the desire for more. I had a perfectly lovely time with Crow and Doyle, but I wanted to know more about them, especially Doyle, who has a surprising backstory that merited more exploration than what we are given. A little more explanation about some of the author's original elements, like the angels, or the difference between a vampire and a hemophage, would have also shored up the book. Nevertheless, The Angel Of The Crows is a book I enjoyed, and can certainly be recommended to those looking for a comfort read with a splash of new supernatural elements.
Order the book HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Goblin Emperor
OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFORMATION: Katherine Addison is a pseudonym for acclaimed writer Sarah Monette who has previously written ten novels including a trilogy co-written with Elizabeth Bear. Her short fiction has been selected by The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and The Year's Best Science Fiction. She lives near Madison, Wisconsin. She previously wrote The Goblin Emperor.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting.
In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. And human beings remain human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent.
Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows.
OFFICIAL FORMAT INFO: The Angel Of The Crows will be published on June 23rd, 2020 by Tor books. It is 448 pages divided over thirty two chapters and an epilogue. It is told in the first person from the point of view of Dr. Doyle. It is available in ebook, audiobook, and hardcover formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: In Victorian London, every public building is watched over by an angel, a supernatural being that protects and assists the people inside its dominion. When Dr. Doyle arrives in London after sustaining an injury in the Afghanistan War, he could never have predicted he would have ended up with an angel as a roommate. But Crow is not like the other angels. He doesn't guard a single building. Crow is the Angel of London, and as such, offers his services as a consulting detective to any being, supernatural or otherwise, with a mystery to solve. But after a string of successful cases, Crow and Dr. Doyle find themselves with their toughest case yet. Prostitutes are being brutally killed in the East End by an unknown assailant - one the newspapers will eventually call Jack the Ripper.
Have you ever wanted to read the original Sherlock Holmes adventures, but with supernatural creatures and elements mixed in? If so, have I got a book for you! The Angel Of The Crows is a faithful (sometimes too faithful) retelling of many of the original short stories. While the lead characters have been renamed, they still live at 221 Baker Street in the late nineteenth century, they frequently work with Inspector Lestrade, and yes, they will absolutely take a trip to the countryside to investigate the Hound of the Baskervilles. But this is a world where the Hound might realistically have demonic origin, and if someone claims they've seen a ghost, that isn't a notion to scoff at. Werewolves and vampires openly walk in the streets, and a young woman can receive a respectable certification in clairvoyance.
As someone who has avidly consumed several iterations of Sherlock Holmes over the years, from the original short stories to the Jeremy Brett TV series to Elementary, I had mixed feelings about this latest outing with the famed detective. On the one hand, these are well-written adventures written much in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original tales, and are certainly a cozy way to pass the time. On the other hand, I found myself most enjoying the book when it offered a new angle or element to the material, and that was something it didn't do enough.
The Angel Of The Crows has one broad mystery - that of tracking Jack the Ripper - but the majority of the plot follows Crow and Doyle over a series of several mysteries of varying length. Some take place over several chapters, while a few are only a chapter or two long and serve as an interstitial that allows a deeper dive into Crow and Doyle as characters and serve up some secrets about Doyle's background in particular. Sherlock enthusiasts will recognize several cases, from The Sign of the Four to The Speckled Band, many of which have been given a supernatural twist. The more I saw of this London with its angels and hellhounds and vampires, the more I craved to see, to the point where I found myself wishing that the author had created original adventures for Crow and Doyle set in this world, rather than being largely guided by the source material.
That, at the end of the day, is what defined my takeaway from The Angel Of The Crows: the desire for more. I had a perfectly lovely time with Crow and Doyle, but I wanted to know more about them, especially Doyle, who has a surprising backstory that merited more exploration than what we are given. A little more explanation about some of the author's original elements, like the angels, or the difference between a vampire and a hemophage, would have also shored up the book. Nevertheless, The Angel Of The Crows is a book I enjoyed, and can certainly be recommended to those looking for a comfort read with a splash of new supernatural elements.
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Monday, June 15, 2020
Guest Post: The Fantastical World Of Perilisc: A Reader Compendium For The Works of Jesse Teller
Order Legends Of Eastgate over HERE
Add to Goodreads
GET LEGENDS OF THE EXILES FOR FREE
Read Fantasy Book Critic Interview with Jesse Teller
Today is the day for a surprise release from my world. It is a shock to most, but a few were given fair warning. The only people who knew I would be releasing a book today were those subscribed to my newsletter.
Today I release Legends of Eastgate, the third book in the Legends series. All the Legends books are collections of short stories and novellas, some tightly linked, others not. Legends of Eastgate is meant to be read alongside Legends of the Exiles. With today’s release we find ourselves halfway through Act One of my world. I’d like to talk about the concept behind my writing and the inspiration that brought it to be.
The concept of my work is very simple. The reader decides their level of involvement. In a lot of big series, you have to read a large stack of books in order to enjoy it. I wanted to get around that. I wanted to be able to tell a large story but allow readers the freedom to read just part of it. I wrote five series, each separate and containing one story. But when shuffled together in chronological order, they would tell one long tale, with scores of story threads woven into it.
The reader is able to choose if they want to read just one series and get a complete story, if they want to go digging for stories around the series they’ve chosen, or if they want to read a large number of books for the full scope of my work. When talking about it like this, it gets confusing, so let me give you an example. Let’s look at The Manhunters series.
Add to Goodreads
GET LEGENDS OF THE EXILES FOR FREE
Read Fantasy Book Critic Interview with Jesse Teller
Today is the day for a surprise release from my world. It is a shock to most, but a few were given fair warning. The only people who knew I would be releasing a book today were those subscribed to my newsletter.
Today I release Legends of Eastgate, the third book in the Legends series. All the Legends books are collections of short stories and novellas, some tightly linked, others not. Legends of Eastgate is meant to be read alongside Legends of the Exiles. With today’s release we find ourselves halfway through Act One of my world. I’d like to talk about the concept behind my writing and the inspiration that brought it to be.
The concept of my work is very simple. The reader decides their level of involvement. In a lot of big series, you have to read a large stack of books in order to enjoy it. I wanted to get around that. I wanted to be able to tell a large story but allow readers the freedom to read just part of it. I wrote five series, each separate and containing one story. But when shuffled together in chronological order, they would tell one long tale, with scores of story threads woven into it.
The reader is able to choose if they want to read just one series and get a complete story, if they want to go digging for stories around the series they’ve chosen, or if they want to read a large number of books for the full scope of my work. When talking about it like this, it gets confusing, so let me give you an example. Let’s look at The Manhunters series.
This is, on the surface, a story about a man who puts together a crew of people to hunt down escaped criminals. If that interests you, you can read the trilogy, get a satisfying conclusion, and you will have read the abridged story of the Manhunters. But if you are looking for every nuance, the backstory of every character, you can dig a little deeper.
You can prepare yourself for the first book of The Manhunters by reading other books in the timeline before it. If you really want to know everything there is to know about the Manhunters story, then you have the option of starting at Legends of Perilisc. It’ll give you backstory behind one of the characters and with that in hand, you can enter the trilogy. But you still won’t have the whole tale. In order to get the entire scope of The Manhunters series, you must also read Legends of the Exiles, Legends of Eastgate, Liefdom, Onslaught of Madness, Wrath of Madness, Crisis of Fate, Plight of Madness (releasing October 5, 2020), and Fate of Madness (releasing April 15, 2021), then you’re ready for books 1-3 of The Manhunters. The more information you want to gather to prepare yourself for the entire story, the more you can read, the more tomes you can sort through.
You can prepare yourself for the first book of The Manhunters by reading other books in the timeline before it. If you really want to know everything there is to know about the Manhunters story, then you have the option of starting at Legends of Perilisc. It’ll give you backstory behind one of the characters and with that in hand, you can enter the trilogy. But you still won’t have the whole tale. In order to get the entire scope of The Manhunters series, you must also read Legends of the Exiles, Legends of Eastgate, Liefdom, Onslaught of Madness, Wrath of Madness, Crisis of Fate, Plight of Madness (releasing October 5, 2020), and Fate of Madness (releasing April 15, 2021), then you’re ready for books 1-3 of The Manhunters. The more information you want to gather to prepare yourself for the entire story, the more you can read, the more tomes you can sort through.
So, I’ve put together a graphic that will guide you through a few of the storylines and character arcs. If you’re interested in the Hoodsmen, follow the red line and it will take you through every book you need to read in order to understand that group of villainous heroes. This small collection of storylines gives you a taste of what we’re looking at here, to allow you to read just one series or everything that leads up to it and everything that comes after. As it stands, we are halfway through the first act. I have three planned, but I’m not ready to talk about them. What I can say is that you can read Act One by itself and get one satisfying, complete story, or you will be able to line them all up and see the full scope of the worlds I’ve created.
I’ve had to release my books as series, even though this took me out of chronological order. I did it this way because, if I released them in chronological order, I would have to release book one, and it would be many years before the next book of that series came out. I was unwilling to do that. There is, in the fantasy genre, a growing frustration for long waits between books, and I did not want to force that upon my readers.
Now there exists on my website a timeline that pulls apart the short stories found in the Legends series and shuffles them in chronological order among the novels. It is possible, if you’re willing to jump between books, to read Act One in the order it is occurring. This is possible because every story I publish begins with a year, a year lined up around one great event.
With my work, I have been able to free the reader of the commitment of reading every single book in my world, to allow them to pick and choose what stories they want to read and which characters they want to follow. I hope this gives readers the comfort and freedom to decide their level of involvement. So use this graphic and choose the stories you want to read about. As we go along, I’ll add more every six months. And maybe on days like today, a little extra.
I’ve had to release my books as series, even though this took me out of chronological order. I did it this way because, if I released them in chronological order, I would have to release book one, and it would be many years before the next book of that series came out. I was unwilling to do that. There is, in the fantasy genre, a growing frustration for long waits between books, and I did not want to force that upon my readers.
Now there exists on my website a timeline that pulls apart the short stories found in the Legends series and shuffles them in chronological order among the novels. It is possible, if you’re willing to jump between books, to read Act One in the order it is occurring. This is possible because every story I publish begins with a year, a year lined up around one great event.
With my work, I have been able to free the reader of the commitment of reading every single book in my world, to allow them to pick and choose what stories they want to read and which characters they want to follow. I hope this gives readers the comfort and freedom to decide their level of involvement. So use this graphic and choose the stories you want to read about. As we go along, I’ll add more every six months. And maybe on days like today, a little extra.
*---------------*---------------*---------------*
Official Author Website
Official Author Information: Jesse Teller has loved fantasy since the age of five. It has gone from love to hobby to professional life. He now spends his time writing novels and short stories in a fantasy world of his creation. Here you can find his thoughts on the genre, samplings of his work, and his process in creating it. Jesse Teller lives in Missouri. He hasn’t always, but like storytelling, it snuck into his bones. He fell in love with fantasy when he played his first game of Dungeons & Dragons. The game gave him the ability to create stories and characters from a young age. He started consuming fantasy in every form and, by nine, was obsessed with the genre. As a young adult, he knew he wanted to make his life about fantasy. His books explore violent issues without flinching.
Official Author Information: Jesse Teller has loved fantasy since the age of five. It has gone from love to hobby to professional life. He now spends his time writing novels and short stories in a fantasy world of his creation. Here you can find his thoughts on the genre, samplings of his work, and his process in creating it. Jesse Teller lives in Missouri. He hasn’t always, but like storytelling, it snuck into his bones. He fell in love with fantasy when he played his first game of Dungeons & Dragons. The game gave him the ability to create stories and characters from a young age. He started consuming fantasy in every form and, by nine, was obsessed with the genre. As a young adult, he knew he wanted to make his life about fantasy. His books explore violent issues without flinching.
Order Legends Of Eastgate over HERE
GET LEGENDS OF THE EXILES FOR FREE
Official Book Blurb: Eastgate is a city of exiles ruled by the last survivors of a royal clan. Though most residents have been banished from their mountain tribes, they are not without pride or might. In this companion collection to Legends of the Exiles, heroes will fall as the next generation rises. War brings the tribes together against a new enemy, and all hope for peace rests on hatred and guile.
GET LEGENDS OF THE EXILES FOR FREE
Official Book Blurb: Eastgate is a city of exiles ruled by the last survivors of a royal clan. Though most residents have been banished from their mountain tribes, they are not without pride or might. In this companion collection to Legends of the Exiles, heroes will fall as the next generation rises. War brings the tribes together against a new enemy, and all hope for peace rests on hatred and guile.
Official Author Website
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Woven Ring
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Imbued Lockblade
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Glass Dagger
Official Author Website
Order the book HERE (US) & HERE (UK)
AUTHOR INFO: Matthew Ward is a writer, cat-servant and owner of more musical instruments than he can actually play (and considerably more than he can play well). He’s afflicted with an obsession for old places – castles, historic cities and the London Underground chief amongst them – and should probably cultivate more interests to help expand out his author biography.
After a decade serving as a principal architect for Games Workshop’s Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 properties, Matthew embarked on an adventure to tell stories set in worlds of his own design. He lives near Nottingham with his extremely patient wife – as well as a pride of attention-seeking cats – and writes to entertain anyone who feels there’s not enough magic in the world.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: A shadow has fallen over the Tressian Republic.
Ruling families -- once protectors of justice and democracy -- now plot against one another with sharp words and sharper knives. Blinded by ambition, they remain heedless of the threat posed by the invading armies of the Hadari Empire.
Yet as Tressia falls, heroes rise.
Viktor Akadra is the Republic's champion. A warrior without equal, he hides a secret that would see him burned as a heretic.
Josiri Trelan is Viktor's sworn enemy. A political prisoner, he dreams of reigniting his mother's failed rebellion.
And yet Calenne Trelan, Josiri's sister, seeks only to break free of their tarnished legacy; to escape the expectation and prejudice that haunts the family name.
As war spreads across the Republic, these three must set aside their differences in order to save their home. Yet decades of bad blood are not easily set aside. And victory -- if it comes at all -- will demand a darker price than any of them could have imagined.
FORMAT/INFO: Legacy Of Ash was published in paperback in the US on April 9th, 2020 by Orbit Books. It is 800 pages spread over 69 chapters and a prologue. It is told in the third person across multiple viewpoints. This is the first book in the Legacy Trilogy. It is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Fifteen years ago, Katya Trelan led the southern dukes in a failed rebellion to break away from the Tressian Republic, a failure that ultimately led to her death. Since then, her two children Josiri and Calenne have lived under house arrest at their estate near the border of the empire, trying to appear model prisoners while each plotting their own way out. Calenne's future lies in her upcoming wedding, when she can finally shed her mother's name and abandon the tainted legacy; Josiri wrestles with when, if ever, he will take the scattered remains of his mother's rebellion and lead them in defiance once more. But all plans are for naught when the Hadari Empire begins to invade at the nearby border. The invasion brings Viktor Akrada to the Trelan's doorstep. Viktor was responsible for crushing their mother's rebellion, but now he offers full pardons to anyone who helps fight back the invaders. Can Calenne and Josiri trust the Republic to keep their word? If only it that were the only question on the table. There are darker, more magical forces at play, and the gods themselves may be nudging fate...
If you like big, sprawling tales of empire where the intrigue among noble houses is as critical as the battles between nations, have I got a book for you! Legacy Of Ash is a book of moves and countermoves, with assassins, bribery, and conspiracies in the capitol city, and sweeping epic battles on the fringes of the empire. Alliances are made and broken as houses scrabble for power. These were the best parts of Legacy Of Ash, and I have to admit I was always faintly sad when the POVs broke from the power struggle at the capitol and returned to the duchy of Eskavord and the struggles with the Hadari. Those who like big battles will find plenty to like here as well, the siege of Eskavord taking up a considerable section of the book.
Magic occupies a curious space in the world of the Tressian Republic. Only magic that is considered derived from the benevolent goddess Lumenestra is allowed, and only then when practiced under the control of the state. Viktor, we soon learn, has a different kind of magic, one he's struggled to conceal for fear of being burned at the stake as a witch. You won't find hard magic systems here, but more nebulous magics derived from different gods. Magic outside of Lumenestra's in both feared and but also falls into the realm of myth; it's the boogie man that makes you lock your door at night, even as you protest it isn't real. But even without hard and fast rules, the magic was fun to watch and at times eerie. I particularly liked the kraikons, mechanical constructs powered by "sanctioned" divine energy and controlled through a talisman.
Where the book worked a little less for me was with the characters. That's not to say they're badly written; I personally just had a hard time connecting with people when I spent only a few pages at a time with them as the action bounced all over the empire and between factions. There are several POVs outside the three "main" characters, ranging from servants to council members. I definitely had favorites: Halvor and Kurkas were an interesting duo, and I rooted for Melanna, a princessa of the Hadari struggling to be respected and treated as an heir when woman are considered not fit for the battlefield. (Side Note: the Tressian Republic is fully egalitarian when it comes to the sexes, with women serving in the army and in politics without a second thought.) And Viktor himself was the core of the story, as he struggles to unite factions within an empire that are determined to hate each other. Nevertheless, I always felt a bit at a distance, and sometimes found motivation for character choices slightly lacking. There are likely plenty of readers who won't have this issue; for me personally it stopped the book juuuust short of being a four-star read.
The book is also one that takes a commitment, not just because of the 750+ pages, but because there's a sizable amount of set-up. Things do eventually take off; the ending in particular ramped-up the tension and pacing considerably as events came to ahead. Still, a late third act development introducing a new villain did feel a bit tacked-on. I can only assume this is part of the overall conflict for the full trilogy but for me it felt a bit disjointed, especially as the main conflict died down, only to have someone pop up and go "Excuse me, we have an unrelated situation over here, can you come deal with it?"
CONCLUSION: Legacy Of Ash is going to scratch the epic fantasy itch for a lot of people, particularly if you love watching people plot against each other. I enjoyed my time reading it, and can certainly say if this sounds like your cup of tea, go check it out! If you're frequently put off by hefty tomes that require patience before pay-off or have a yen for deep character work, than this might not be the one for you. Otherwise, grab a hot beverage and settle in for a grand tale of intrigue and battle!
Order the book HERE (US) & HERE (UK)
AUTHOR INFO: Matthew Ward is a writer, cat-servant and owner of more musical instruments than he can actually play (and considerably more than he can play well). He’s afflicted with an obsession for old places – castles, historic cities and the London Underground chief amongst them – and should probably cultivate more interests to help expand out his author biography.
After a decade serving as a principal architect for Games Workshop’s Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 properties, Matthew embarked on an adventure to tell stories set in worlds of his own design. He lives near Nottingham with his extremely patient wife – as well as a pride of attention-seeking cats – and writes to entertain anyone who feels there’s not enough magic in the world.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: A shadow has fallen over the Tressian Republic.
Ruling families -- once protectors of justice and democracy -- now plot against one another with sharp words and sharper knives. Blinded by ambition, they remain heedless of the threat posed by the invading armies of the Hadari Empire.
Yet as Tressia falls, heroes rise.
Viktor Akadra is the Republic's champion. A warrior without equal, he hides a secret that would see him burned as a heretic.
Josiri Trelan is Viktor's sworn enemy. A political prisoner, he dreams of reigniting his mother's failed rebellion.
And yet Calenne Trelan, Josiri's sister, seeks only to break free of their tarnished legacy; to escape the expectation and prejudice that haunts the family name.
As war spreads across the Republic, these three must set aside their differences in order to save their home. Yet decades of bad blood are not easily set aside. And victory -- if it comes at all -- will demand a darker price than any of them could have imagined.
FORMAT/INFO: Legacy Of Ash was published in paperback in the US on April 9th, 2020 by Orbit Books. It is 800 pages spread over 69 chapters and a prologue. It is told in the third person across multiple viewpoints. This is the first book in the Legacy Trilogy. It is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Fifteen years ago, Katya Trelan led the southern dukes in a failed rebellion to break away from the Tressian Republic, a failure that ultimately led to her death. Since then, her two children Josiri and Calenne have lived under house arrest at their estate near the border of the empire, trying to appear model prisoners while each plotting their own way out. Calenne's future lies in her upcoming wedding, when she can finally shed her mother's name and abandon the tainted legacy; Josiri wrestles with when, if ever, he will take the scattered remains of his mother's rebellion and lead them in defiance once more. But all plans are for naught when the Hadari Empire begins to invade at the nearby border. The invasion brings Viktor Akrada to the Trelan's doorstep. Viktor was responsible for crushing their mother's rebellion, but now he offers full pardons to anyone who helps fight back the invaders. Can Calenne and Josiri trust the Republic to keep their word? If only it that were the only question on the table. There are darker, more magical forces at play, and the gods themselves may be nudging fate...
If you like big, sprawling tales of empire where the intrigue among noble houses is as critical as the battles between nations, have I got a book for you! Legacy Of Ash is a book of moves and countermoves, with assassins, bribery, and conspiracies in the capitol city, and sweeping epic battles on the fringes of the empire. Alliances are made and broken as houses scrabble for power. These were the best parts of Legacy Of Ash, and I have to admit I was always faintly sad when the POVs broke from the power struggle at the capitol and returned to the duchy of Eskavord and the struggles with the Hadari. Those who like big battles will find plenty to like here as well, the siege of Eskavord taking up a considerable section of the book.
Magic occupies a curious space in the world of the Tressian Republic. Only magic that is considered derived from the benevolent goddess Lumenestra is allowed, and only then when practiced under the control of the state. Viktor, we soon learn, has a different kind of magic, one he's struggled to conceal for fear of being burned at the stake as a witch. You won't find hard magic systems here, but more nebulous magics derived from different gods. Magic outside of Lumenestra's in both feared and but also falls into the realm of myth; it's the boogie man that makes you lock your door at night, even as you protest it isn't real. But even without hard and fast rules, the magic was fun to watch and at times eerie. I particularly liked the kraikons, mechanical constructs powered by "sanctioned" divine energy and controlled through a talisman.
Where the book worked a little less for me was with the characters. That's not to say they're badly written; I personally just had a hard time connecting with people when I spent only a few pages at a time with them as the action bounced all over the empire and between factions. There are several POVs outside the three "main" characters, ranging from servants to council members. I definitely had favorites: Halvor and Kurkas were an interesting duo, and I rooted for Melanna, a princessa of the Hadari struggling to be respected and treated as an heir when woman are considered not fit for the battlefield. (Side Note: the Tressian Republic is fully egalitarian when it comes to the sexes, with women serving in the army and in politics without a second thought.) And Viktor himself was the core of the story, as he struggles to unite factions within an empire that are determined to hate each other. Nevertheless, I always felt a bit at a distance, and sometimes found motivation for character choices slightly lacking. There are likely plenty of readers who won't have this issue; for me personally it stopped the book juuuust short of being a four-star read.
The book is also one that takes a commitment, not just because of the 750+ pages, but because there's a sizable amount of set-up. Things do eventually take off; the ending in particular ramped-up the tension and pacing considerably as events came to ahead. Still, a late third act development introducing a new villain did feel a bit tacked-on. I can only assume this is part of the overall conflict for the full trilogy but for me it felt a bit disjointed, especially as the main conflict died down, only to have someone pop up and go "Excuse me, we have an unrelated situation over here, can you come deal with it?"
CONCLUSION: Legacy Of Ash is going to scratch the epic fantasy itch for a lot of people, particularly if you love watching people plot against each other. I enjoyed my time reading it, and can certainly say if this sounds like your cup of tea, go check it out! If you're frequently put off by hefty tomes that require patience before pay-off or have a yen for deep character work, than this might not be the one for you. Otherwise, grab a hot beverage and settle in for a grand tale of intrigue and battle!
Official Author Website
Order Phoenix Extravagant over HERE(USA) or HERE (UK)
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Yoon Ha Lee is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, known for his Machineries of Empire space opera novels and his short fiction. His first novel, Ninefox Gambit, received the 2017 Locus Award for Best First Novel.
FORMAT/INFO: Phoenix Extravagant is out in hardback on the 9 June 2020 (US) and 11 June 2020 (UK), and will follow in paperback in 2021.
OVERVIEW: Just look at his cover - magnificent, isn’t? Dragons are cool, but automatic dragons are something else.
Phoenix Extravagant, set in a fantasy version of Korea during the Japanese occupation, revolves around politics, war, and rebellion. Instead of showing the conflict through the eyes of devious politicians or fighters, it follows Gyen Jebi, a non-binary painter destined (or rather maneuvered) to shift the scales of the conflict. A delightful change from the smash and bang seen often in occupation narratives. Gyen wants to paint, and they care little about politics or war.
The Empire of Razan conquered Hwaguk and transformed it into Administrative Territory Fourteen. Gyen’s sister, Bongsunga, has revolutionary ties. She feels betrayed when her sibling registers for Razanei name, hoping it’ll allow them to secure a job. Jebi accepts an offer from the Razan government’s defense sector. His job involves reducing classic Hwagugin artworks to magical pigments necessary to program the behaviors of automata used to control the populace. A neat magical system. Without getting into details, Gyen ends up teaming up with a mecha dragon against the government.
The world, while inspired by history, is extravagant, atmospheric, and mysterious. The book tackles the theme of colonialism and various forms of response from colonized nations (resistance, acceptation, partial assimilation). As mentioned before, politics happen in the background but influence Jebi’s life to the point where they can’t remain impartial. The choices they face and erratic actions they make pulled me through the novel.
While they unravel the mysteries surrounding recent massacre, they grow involved with the lives of a sizable cast of characters, including Arazi - a sentient mecha dragon. Gyen’s actions are never thought-out. They react on impulse and often finish in even bigger troubles.
Lee does a fine job breathing life into each of the protagonists, imbuing them with hidden depths that slowly reveal over the course of the book. That said, Gyen’s relationship with Vei felt slightly forced. I didn’t feel any chemistry between them. In contrast, Gyen and Arazi banter made me regularly smile.
Even though I liked the book, it has a few downsides. First, it’s somewhat predictable. Second, the climax of the book moves at jet speed but it doesn’t resolve all conflicts, and I would expect a stronger closure from a book marketed as a standalone.
Despite its stumbles, Phoenix Extravagant was well worth the time spent reading it. It’s fun and entertaining. I wouldn’t mind seeing more entries in this well-crafted world. The open (sort of) ending gives hope Arazi will return. Fingers crossed.
Phoenix Extravagant, set in a fantasy version of Korea during the Japanese occupation, revolves around politics, war, and rebellion. Instead of showing the conflict through the eyes of devious politicians or fighters, it follows Gyen Jebi, a non-binary painter destined (or rather maneuvered) to shift the scales of the conflict. A delightful change from the smash and bang seen often in occupation narratives. Gyen wants to paint, and they care little about politics or war.
The Empire of Razan conquered Hwaguk and transformed it into Administrative Territory Fourteen. Gyen’s sister, Bongsunga, has revolutionary ties. She feels betrayed when her sibling registers for Razanei name, hoping it’ll allow them to secure a job. Jebi accepts an offer from the Razan government’s defense sector. His job involves reducing classic Hwagugin artworks to magical pigments necessary to program the behaviors of automata used to control the populace. A neat magical system. Without getting into details, Gyen ends up teaming up with a mecha dragon against the government.
The world, while inspired by history, is extravagant, atmospheric, and mysterious. The book tackles the theme of colonialism and various forms of response from colonized nations (resistance, acceptation, partial assimilation). As mentioned before, politics happen in the background but influence Jebi’s life to the point where they can’t remain impartial. The choices they face and erratic actions they make pulled me through the novel.
While they unravel the mysteries surrounding recent massacre, they grow involved with the lives of a sizable cast of characters, including Arazi - a sentient mecha dragon. Gyen’s actions are never thought-out. They react on impulse and often finish in even bigger troubles.
Lee does a fine job breathing life into each of the protagonists, imbuing them with hidden depths that slowly reveal over the course of the book. That said, Gyen’s relationship with Vei felt slightly forced. I didn’t feel any chemistry between them. In contrast, Gyen and Arazi banter made me regularly smile.
Even though I liked the book, it has a few downsides. First, it’s somewhat predictable. Second, the climax of the book moves at jet speed but it doesn’t resolve all conflicts, and I would expect a stronger closure from a book marketed as a standalone.
Despite its stumbles, Phoenix Extravagant was well worth the time spent reading it. It’s fun and entertaining. I wouldn’t mind seeing more entries in this well-crafted world. The open (sort of) ending gives hope Arazi will return. Fingers crossed.
Official Author Website
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Crimes Against Magic
Today we count ourselves lucky to have Steve McHugh with us. Steve is an Indie best-selling phenomenon who was since then been published by 47 North. Steve was gracious to answer a few questions about his upcoming novella Frozen Rage featuring his nearly immortal protagonist Nate Garrett. So read along to find out what Frozen Rage is all about...
Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic Steve. To start with, could you tell us what inspired you to be a writer in the first place, and why you choose to go the self-published route? Anything else you’d like to share about yourself and your past?
SJM: It’s a pleasure to be here, thanks for having me on the Fantasy Book Critic.
I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I fell in love with it during creative writing classes in English when I was 14 or so. I started to read Pratchett, Gemmell, King, and a whole bunch of other authors and decided I wanted to do that.
I self-published my first book in 2012. Crimes Against Magic was then picked up by a publisher 8 months or so later, and they’ve published all of my books since, but I get to self-publish my novellas. It’s nice to be able to have both sides of that creative experience, and my novellas let me tell stories that just wouldn’t fit in the main series.
Q] You have gone for a Shawn King original cover with your novella. What convinced you to indulge his artistic skills?
SJM: I’ve known Shawn for a while now on Facebook and have always loved his work. I was looking for an artist to do the cover to Frozen Rage and thought that his style fitted the idea of the cover I had in my head. Turns out he managed to make it even better than the idea in my head, so that’s always a great thing.
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Crimes Against Magic
Today we count ourselves lucky to have Steve McHugh with us. Steve is an Indie best-selling phenomenon who was since then been published by 47 North. Steve was gracious to answer a few questions about his upcoming novella Frozen Rage featuring his nearly immortal protagonist Nate Garrett. So read along to find out what Frozen Rage is all about...
Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic Steve. To start with, could you tell us what inspired you to be a writer in the first place, and why you choose to go the self-published route? Anything else you’d like to share about yourself and your past?
SJM: It’s a pleasure to be here, thanks for having me on the Fantasy Book Critic.
I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I fell in love with it during creative writing classes in English when I was 14 or so. I started to read Pratchett, Gemmell, King, and a whole bunch of other authors and decided I wanted to do that.
I self-published my first book in 2012. Crimes Against Magic was then picked up by a publisher 8 months or so later, and they’ve published all of my books since, but I get to self-publish my novellas. It’s nice to be able to have both sides of that creative experience, and my novellas let me tell stories that just wouldn’t fit in the main series.
Q] You have gone for a Shawn King original cover with your novella. What convinced you to indulge his artistic skills?
SJM: I’ve known Shawn for a while now on Facebook and have always loved his work. I was looking for an artist to do the cover to Frozen Rage and thought that his style fitted the idea of the cover I had in my head. Turns out he managed to make it even better than the idea in my head, so that’s always a great thing.
(Cover design by Shawn T. King)
Q] I loved the cover for Frozen Rage. What were your main pointers for Shawn as you both went through the process of finalizing it? What were the main things that you wished to focus on in it?
SJM: I wanted a snowy forest landscape, I wanted Nate in the front, using his magic. After that, I just let Shawn do his thing. I have a tendency to come up with cover ideas that are completely unworkable for a book, so I’ve learned that keep it simple and let the experts do their job and you’ll get something awesome out of it.
Q] Frozen Rage is I believe part of your Hellequin Chronicles and focuses on Nathaniel Garrett. What made you write this novella about him with his magic still intact?
SJM: The Hellequin Chronicles is seven books long, and there’s quite a bit of time that happens between the books, so it’s a good spot to put a side story. Between Promise of Wrath and Scorched Shadows (the 6th and 7th books) are three years, so that was a good place to put this story.
Q] Let’s talk about Frozen Rage’s chronological place in the long life of Nate Garrett. Where/why is it set?
SJM: It’s set in the realm of Dreich, which is essentially this barren, snowy wilderness that at some point in the not too distant past had part of it converted into a getaway for the rich and powerful of the magical world.
SJM: I wanted a snowy forest landscape, I wanted Nate in the front, using his magic. After that, I just let Shawn do his thing. I have a tendency to come up with cover ideas that are completely unworkable for a book, so I’ve learned that keep it simple and let the experts do their job and you’ll get something awesome out of it.
Q] Frozen Rage is I believe part of your Hellequin Chronicles and focuses on Nathaniel Garrett. What made you write this novella about him with his magic still intact?
SJM: The Hellequin Chronicles is seven books long, and there’s quite a bit of time that happens between the books, so it’s a good spot to put a side story. Between Promise of Wrath and Scorched Shadows (the 6th and 7th books) are three years, so that was a good place to put this story.
Q] Let’s talk about Frozen Rage’s chronological place in the long life of Nate Garrett. Where/why is it set?
SJM: It’s set in the realm of Dreich, which is essentially this barren, snowy wilderness that at some point in the not too distant past had part of it converted into a getaway for the rich and powerful of the magical world.
It’s set just after Promise of Wrath (Hellequin book 6), and Nate is in a weird place at the time. A lot of stuff has happened to him over the last few years, and now he’s found that things are quieter, and he doesn’t know what to do with himself, so he accepts a job from his friend.
As things tend to do when Nate is involved, it goes badly pretty quickly.
Q] Can you share something about the novella that’s not mentioned in the blurb and why Nate Garrett fans should be excited for this new addition?
SJM: It’s a murder mystery with returning favourite characters before Scorched Shadows when everything changed for Nate and his friends. And Nate and Tommy get to team up, which I haven’t done much of since the Hellequin Chronicles ended.
Q] So for someone who hasn't read any of your novels, how would you describe the type of stories that you write, what would be your pitch for this novella?
SJM: I write fun action-adventure books with magic. The bad guys are awful, the good guys aren’t always much better, and there’s lots of mayhem and humour that happens before the end. I write the books that I want to read, which in my head is how all authors should do it.
The pitch for Frozen Rage would be: "Nate and Tommy stop murderers from re-starting a war."
Q] In closing, do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?
SJM: I just hope that everyone who has read the Hellequin, Avalon, and, or the Rebellion books, enjoy the novella. It’s always fun to write about Nate, and even more so when I get to put his best friend with him.
Take care of yourselves, and stay safe.
As things tend to do when Nate is involved, it goes badly pretty quickly.
Q] Can you share something about the novella that’s not mentioned in the blurb and why Nate Garrett fans should be excited for this new addition?
SJM: It’s a murder mystery with returning favourite characters before Scorched Shadows when everything changed for Nate and his friends. And Nate and Tommy get to team up, which I haven’t done much of since the Hellequin Chronicles ended.
Q] So for someone who hasn't read any of your novels, how would you describe the type of stories that you write, what would be your pitch for this novella?
SJM: I write fun action-adventure books with magic. The bad guys are awful, the good guys aren’t always much better, and there’s lots of mayhem and humour that happens before the end. I write the books that I want to read, which in my head is how all authors should do it.
The pitch for Frozen Rage would be: "Nate and Tommy stop murderers from re-starting a war."
Q] In closing, do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?
SJM: I just hope that everyone who has read the Hellequin, Avalon, and, or the Rebellion books, enjoy the novella. It’s always fun to write about Nate, and even more so when I get to put his best friend with him.
Take care of yourselves, and stay safe.
*---------------*---------------*---------------*
OFFICIAL NOVELLA BLURB: The Realm of Dreich is a getaway for the rich and powerful, a medieval-inspired town in the middle of a vast frozen wilderness. Now it’s the site of a wedding, intended to join two feuding families who have spent centuries in an uneasy truce with each other.
When Tommy Carpenter asks his best friend, Nate Garrett, to help him with the security of the wedding, Nate reluctantly agrees, knowing that it will be a long weekend of work and, in all probability, treachery.
It is only a matter of time before members of each family are found murdered and it is up to Nate and Tommy to find the killer before more bodies fall, potentially reigniting a war.
NOTE: Author picture courtesy of Steve McHugh himself.
When Tommy Carpenter asks his best friend, Nate Garrett, to help him with the security of the wedding, Nate reluctantly agrees, knowing that it will be a long weekend of work and, in all probability, treachery.
It is only a matter of time before members of each family are found murdered and it is up to Nate and Tommy to find the killer before more bodies fall, potentially reigniting a war.
NOTE: Author picture courtesy of Steve McHugh himself.
Official Author Website
Order the book HERE
OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFO: Nick Martell was born in Guelph, Ontario, where he lived for 7 years before moving to Huntington, New York. Nick started writing in 5th grade, beginning to explore the world that would fully emerge in The Kingdom of Liars.
Nick attended Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in French. Since then, Nick has done a wide range of jobs that had nothing to do with his major in university from a Quality Insurance Tester for an engineering company in New York City to a volunteer on an organic farm in Ireland.
The Kingdom of Liars is his debut novel.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Michael is branded a traitor as a child because of the murder of the king’s nine-year-old son, by his father David Kingman. Ten years later on Michael lives a hardscrabble life, with his sister Gwen, performing crimes with his friends against minor royals in a weak attempt at striking back at the world that rejects him and his family.
In a world where memory is the coin that pays for magic, Michael knows something is there in the hot white emptiness of his mind. So when the opportunity arrives to get folded back into court, via the most politically dangerous member of the kingdom’s royal council, Michael takes it, desperate to find a way back to his past. He discovers a royal family that is spiraling into a self-serving dictatorship as gun-wielding rebels clash against magically trained militia.
What the truth holds is a set of shocking revelations that will completely change the Hollows, if Michael and his friends and family can survive long enough to see it.
FORMAT/INFO: The Kingdom of Liars was published in hardcover in the UK on May 5th, 2020 via Gollancz. It will be published in hardcover in the US on June 23rd, 2020 by Saga Press. It is 608 pages spread over fifty three chapters, with a prologue and epilogue. It is told in first person through Michael Kingman. It will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Ten years ago, Michael Kingman's father was executed for murdering the Crown Prince. Since then, Michael has grappled with dueling legacies: that of the Kingman ancestral duty to be protectors and advisors to the royal family, and that of the ruined family name that comes with being the son of a traitor. He has searched for years for answers as to what happened that fateful night without success. But when he comes to work for High Noble Domet, the man becomes a surprising ally in Michael's quest for the truth. With Domet's help, Michael joins the Endless Waltz, the annual nobility courtship events, where he hopes to gain access to information kept secret by the royal family. As he delves deeper into court politics, it becomes clear that there are gaps in his memory from the time of the attack, and entire people he no longer remembers knowing. But if his father wasn't responsible for the death of the prince, who was?
The Kingdom of Liars is a novel that has an incredibly intriguing setup that I ultimately just didn't connect with. Let's start with the good parts. There were many aspects of the worldbuilding I enjoyed, including the idea of a magic system where overusing your abilities could cause you to lose your memories. This meant magic users have to take precautions to keep memories safe, from journals to tattoos. The shattered moon that occasionally rains debris onto the city was also something I'd never seen before, and I loved the concept of the Endless Waltz, a series of events the nobility attend to arrange marriages and form political alliances.
After the broad strokes of worldbuilding, however, I found myself lost in the minutia of details that were left vague or unexplained. To name a few:
- How exactly (in normal times) did the Kingman family operate in their role as intermediaries between commoners and the royal family?
- What exactly is a person who is a Sacrifice?
- How on earth did a character who was a commoner when the book began suddenly show up as part of the Crown Prince's inner circle?
Some of these questions are answered late in the book, and it was at the point that things started being explained that I finally found myself enjoying the intrigue at hand. The night of a fateful ball in particular was an outstanding scene, full of tension and confrontation, but also providing understanding of some key concepts that had been eluding me up to that point.
I also found myself struggling to connect with the characters. Most of them felt only roughly sketched out. Some of this stems from the fact that, for an unknown reason, Michael can't recall certain details of his childhood, including specific faces of friends he knew for years. But even the close friends he had in present day felt more like acquaintances than people Michael would put his life on the line for.
As for Michael himself, he's purposely written as brash and impulsive, which can sometimes make him a bit hard to read. But he also does carry an enormous burden. Since childhood, he's had the weight of being literally branded a traitor, reviled by everyone for his father's actions. At the same time, there's the weight of the ancestral family name - Michael comes from a long line of legends, of men and women who don't live history, they cause it. He wants to uphold this legacy, not out of any sense of nobility, but because it's what he was raised to do. It's hard not to feel some sympathy with a character who is hated for something he had no control over, who is also under pressure to live up to the names of heroes.
The Kingdom of Liars was a book I unfortunately wanted to love much more than I ended up doing. Although it has some original concepts, it just didn't deliver as wholly realized a world as I hoped. I will say that the last third of the book went much better for me than the beginning, as reveals and twists finally brought things to a head, especially as Michael uncovers what is buried in his missing memories. There were scenes where I could definitely see why this book has resonated with others (again, the scene at the ball is my favorite of the book), but overall, it fell just short of making me want to continue onward.
The Kingdom of Liars is a novel that has an incredibly intriguing setup that I ultimately just didn't connect with. Let's start with the good parts. There were many aspects of the worldbuilding I enjoyed, including the idea of a magic system where overusing your abilities could cause you to lose your memories. This meant magic users have to take precautions to keep memories safe, from journals to tattoos. The shattered moon that occasionally rains debris onto the city was also something I'd never seen before, and I loved the concept of the Endless Waltz, a series of events the nobility attend to arrange marriages and form political alliances.
After the broad strokes of worldbuilding, however, I found myself lost in the minutia of details that were left vague or unexplained. To name a few:
- How exactly (in normal times) did the Kingman family operate in their role as intermediaries between commoners and the royal family?
- What exactly is a person who is a Sacrifice?
- How on earth did a character who was a commoner when the book began suddenly show up as part of the Crown Prince's inner circle?
Some of these questions are answered late in the book, and it was at the point that things started being explained that I finally found myself enjoying the intrigue at hand. The night of a fateful ball in particular was an outstanding scene, full of tension and confrontation, but also providing understanding of some key concepts that had been eluding me up to that point.
I also found myself struggling to connect with the characters. Most of them felt only roughly sketched out. Some of this stems from the fact that, for an unknown reason, Michael can't recall certain details of his childhood, including specific faces of friends he knew for years. But even the close friends he had in present day felt more like acquaintances than people Michael would put his life on the line for.
As for Michael himself, he's purposely written as brash and impulsive, which can sometimes make him a bit hard to read. But he also does carry an enormous burden. Since childhood, he's had the weight of being literally branded a traitor, reviled by everyone for his father's actions. At the same time, there's the weight of the ancestral family name - Michael comes from a long line of legends, of men and women who don't live history, they cause it. He wants to uphold this legacy, not out of any sense of nobility, but because it's what he was raised to do. It's hard not to feel some sympathy with a character who is hated for something he had no control over, who is also under pressure to live up to the names of heroes.
The Kingdom of Liars was a book I unfortunately wanted to love much more than I ended up doing. Although it has some original concepts, it just didn't deliver as wholly realized a world as I hoped. I will say that the last third of the book went much better for me than the beginning, as reveals and twists finally brought things to a head, especially as Michael uncovers what is buried in his missing memories. There were scenes where I could definitely see why this book has resonated with others (again, the scene at the ball is my favorite of the book), but overall, it fell just short of making me want to continue onward.
Continuing from yesterday, here’s part deux of our intriguing titles spotlight. The books we are highlighting within this post caught our eye due to their blurbs, their covers, as well as potential subject matter.
We would like to reiterate that this list is in no way an indicator of our choices going forward in the contest. But simply details titles that we WOULD like to read.
So without further ado, here's a list of the noteworthy titles (in random order):
Of Honey And Wildfires by Sarah Chorn
Official Book Blurb: From the moment the first settler dug a well and struck a lode of shine, the world changed. Now, everything revolves around that magical oil.
What began as a simple scouting expedition becomes a life-changing ordeal for Arlen Esco. The son of a powerful mogul, Arlen is kidnapped and forced to confront uncomfortable truths his father has kept hidden. In his hands lies a decision that will determine the fate of everyone he loves—and impact the lives of every person in Shine Territory.
The daughter of an infamous saboteur and outlaw, Cassandra has her own dangerous secrets to protect. When the lives of those she loves are threatened, she realizes that she is uniquely placed to change the balance of power in Shine Territory once and for all.
Secrets breed more secrets. Somehow, Arlen and Cassandra must find their own truths in the middle of a garden of lies.
We would like to reiterate that this list is in no way an indicator of our choices going forward in the contest. But simply details titles that we WOULD like to read.
So without further ado, here's a list of the noteworthy titles (in random order):
Of Honey And Wildfires by Sarah Chorn
Official Book Blurb: From the moment the first settler dug a well and struck a lode of shine, the world changed. Now, everything revolves around that magical oil.
What began as a simple scouting expedition becomes a life-changing ordeal for Arlen Esco. The son of a powerful mogul, Arlen is kidnapped and forced to confront uncomfortable truths his father has kept hidden. In his hands lies a decision that will determine the fate of everyone he loves—and impact the lives of every person in Shine Territory.
The daughter of an infamous saboteur and outlaw, Cassandra has her own dangerous secrets to protect. When the lives of those she loves are threatened, she realizes that she is uniquely placed to change the balance of power in Shine Territory once and for all.
Secrets breed more secrets. Somehow, Arlen and Cassandra must find their own truths in the middle of a garden of lies.
The Flight of the Darkstar Dragon by Benedict Patrick
Official Book Blurb: Impossible world. Impossible dragon. Impossible adventure.
Lost with her ship and crew in an unfamiliar land, Min’s first command could be her last. Nothing here behaves the way it should:
The magic that powers her skyship has been drained, rendering it immobile.
The sky is an endless twilight, lit by the luminous fish that swim in it.
Off starboard, there’s also the country-sized dragon that is looking particularly hungry.
It will take all of Min’s training and experience to get her people safely back home, but as the truth about the Darkstar Dimension begins to be revealed, Min will have to prove to her crew - and to herself - that she is still the best person for the job.
Official Book Blurb: Impossible world. Impossible dragon. Impossible adventure.
Lost with her ship and crew in an unfamiliar land, Min’s first command could be her last. Nothing here behaves the way it should:
The magic that powers her skyship has been drained, rendering it immobile.
The sky is an endless twilight, lit by the luminous fish that swim in it.
Off starboard, there’s also the country-sized dragon that is looking particularly hungry.
It will take all of Min’s training and experience to get her people safely back home, but as the truth about the Darkstar Dimension begins to be revealed, Min will have to prove to her crew - and to herself - that she is still the best person for the job.
The Brightest Shadow by Sarah Lin
Official Book Blurb: The arrival of the Hero was worse than anyone could have imagined.
To take her place as a full warrior of her tribe, Tani must travel across the vast grasslands of the Chorhan Expanse. But she has her sights set higher than a mere ritual journey: she wants to uncover a solution to the impending war that threatens her people. Her world has never been peaceful, torn between the many cultures that meet on the Chorhan Expanse, but the greatest threat is an expansionist army of monstrous non-humans who call themselves the mansthein.
Legends tell of monsters who will attempt to conquer the world, but are the mansthein those monsters? Tani believes that peace may be possible, but there are others on both sides who believe in the legends with zealous devotion. All around her, warriors have their eyes on a glorious victory with no concern for the piles of bodies they'll create on the way.
Tani will be joined by a killer pretending to be a healer, a mansthein commander struggling with his orders, a thief who pawned her heart of gold, and a strategist exiled from a foreign land. But none of them are the Hero. It doesn't matter how many shades of gray might exist, some people see only in black and white. And the terrifying truth is that the stories they tell might not be just legends.
Official Book Blurb: The arrival of the Hero was worse than anyone could have imagined.
To take her place as a full warrior of her tribe, Tani must travel across the vast grasslands of the Chorhan Expanse. But she has her sights set higher than a mere ritual journey: she wants to uncover a solution to the impending war that threatens her people. Her world has never been peaceful, torn between the many cultures that meet on the Chorhan Expanse, but the greatest threat is an expansionist army of monstrous non-humans who call themselves the mansthein.
Legends tell of monsters who will attempt to conquer the world, but are the mansthein those monsters? Tani believes that peace may be possible, but there are others on both sides who believe in the legends with zealous devotion. All around her, warriors have their eyes on a glorious victory with no concern for the piles of bodies they'll create on the way.
Tani will be joined by a killer pretending to be a healer, a mansthein commander struggling with his orders, a thief who pawned her heart of gold, and a strategist exiled from a foreign land. But none of them are the Hero. It doesn't matter how many shades of gray might exist, some people see only in black and white. And the terrifying truth is that the stories they tell might not be just legends.
Rumble in Woodhollow by Jonathan Pembroke
Official Book Blurb: Sydney was bored--bored with mixing potions in her aunt's alchemy shop and bored of life in the faery homeland of Sylvan Valley. So when her sister Marla sends her a letter and asks Sydney to bring some family documents to the crime-ridden city of Woodhollow, Sydney leaps at the chance--only to discover Marla in charge of one of the criminal syndicates competing for control of the Woodhollow underworld.
Before she knows it, Sydney finds herself embroiled in a gang war and must maneuver her way through the plots of rival thugs, ogre peacekeepers, and the semi-immortal ruler of the city. And through it all, she learns she has drawn the attention of a mysterious order of assassins...who want Sydney for some sinister purpose of their own.
Official Book Blurb: Sydney was bored--bored with mixing potions in her aunt's alchemy shop and bored of life in the faery homeland of Sylvan Valley. So when her sister Marla sends her a letter and asks Sydney to bring some family documents to the crime-ridden city of Woodhollow, Sydney leaps at the chance--only to discover Marla in charge of one of the criminal syndicates competing for control of the Woodhollow underworld.
Before she knows it, Sydney finds herself embroiled in a gang war and must maneuver her way through the plots of rival thugs, ogre peacekeepers, and the semi-immortal ruler of the city. And through it all, she learns she has drawn the attention of a mysterious order of assassins...who want Sydney for some sinister purpose of their own.
Night of the Bloody Tines by Rogan Feltmate
Official Book Blurb: ENTER the city-state of Klinghammer, a former global superpower run by old guilds and older families. Its archaic corporatist government is the last of its kind, and Lord Mayor Trav Pinion sees the writing on the wall. With a pending bid to join the Concert of Tines—an international economic and military alliance—Klinghammer is on the cusp of taking its seat on the global stage once more. However, the Corporation’s repressive policies against magic have sparked outrage across the land, prompting Kasters to rise up…
Amid the tumult, Chelsi Ashbruner applies for an internship at Guildhall, and gets much more than she bargained for. She is hired as the Auxiliary to Airn Dutta, an up-and-coming political luminary and a descendant of the City’s most powerful industrial dynasty.
An attempt on the Lord Mayor’s life ignites a political powder keg, threatening to expose Klinghammer’s dirtiest secrets. An aged vigilante, a legendary swordsman, and a detective fallen from grace, are forced from retirement. Along with Chelsi and Airn, they’ll soon discover whether the City can survive its past when confronted by its eldest foes…
Official Book Blurb: ENTER the city-state of Klinghammer, a former global superpower run by old guilds and older families. Its archaic corporatist government is the last of its kind, and Lord Mayor Trav Pinion sees the writing on the wall. With a pending bid to join the Concert of Tines—an international economic and military alliance—Klinghammer is on the cusp of taking its seat on the global stage once more. However, the Corporation’s repressive policies against magic have sparked outrage across the land, prompting Kasters to rise up…
Amid the tumult, Chelsi Ashbruner applies for an internship at Guildhall, and gets much more than she bargained for. She is hired as the Auxiliary to Airn Dutta, an up-and-coming political luminary and a descendant of the City’s most powerful industrial dynasty.
An attempt on the Lord Mayor’s life ignites a political powder keg, threatening to expose Klinghammer’s dirtiest secrets. An aged vigilante, a legendary swordsman, and a detective fallen from grace, are forced from retirement. Along with Chelsi and Airn, they’ll soon discover whether the City can survive its past when confronted by its eldest foes…
Shadow of the Lantern Bearer by Chris R. Underwood
Official Book Blurb: Magic is a disease. It spreads like a plague and drives the infected mad with power. Death is the only cure.
Seventeen-year-old Kole Felmen is destined for a life spent executing infected sorcerers and disposing of their tainted remains. But his first execution ends in disaster. Fearing he has been infected with the sorcerer's plague, Kole sees only one option: flee his village before his mind snaps and he destroys everyone he loves.
His chance for escape lies with a band of treasure hunters traveling to a lost ruin from a plague-ravaged empire, where ancient dangers lurk and the shadows of the past still linger…
Official Book Blurb: Magic is a disease. It spreads like a plague and drives the infected mad with power. Death is the only cure.
Seventeen-year-old Kole Felmen is destined for a life spent executing infected sorcerers and disposing of their tainted remains. But his first execution ends in disaster. Fearing he has been infected with the sorcerer's plague, Kole sees only one option: flee his village before his mind snaps and he destroys everyone he loves.
His chance for escape lies with a band of treasure hunters traveling to a lost ruin from a plague-ravaged empire, where ancient dangers lurk and the shadows of the past still linger…
Feast of the Mother by Miranda Honfleur and Nicolette Andrews
Official Book Blurb: Beneath the murky waters of the lake, an ancient being slumbers, and Brygida is its servant. Kept sheltered in the woods by her mothers from the nearby village, Brygida has never had so much as a friend—until the day she meets a charming stranger painting by the lake. He invites her to the village’s harvest feast, but her taste of the forbidden ends with a murder.
Called into service for the first time, Brygida must take up her ancestral duty as Reaper of Death and solve the murder within three days. If she brings the murderer to the lake on the third day, the being she serves will be sated. If she fails, Brygida herself will be drawn beneath the murky waters, and the village massacred. There’s only one problem: the main suspect is her charming painter, Kaspian.
As Brygida investigates, the dangers are many and answers few. The village and her family stand against her, and with time running short, the lake demands a price. Brygida believes Kaspian is innocent, but can she stake her life on it, when failure means condemning the rest of the village, and being dragged into the deep...?
Official Book Blurb: Beneath the murky waters of the lake, an ancient being slumbers, and Brygida is its servant. Kept sheltered in the woods by her mothers from the nearby village, Brygida has never had so much as a friend—until the day she meets a charming stranger painting by the lake. He invites her to the village’s harvest feast, but her taste of the forbidden ends with a murder.
Called into service for the first time, Brygida must take up her ancestral duty as Reaper of Death and solve the murder within three days. If she brings the murderer to the lake on the third day, the being she serves will be sated. If she fails, Brygida herself will be drawn beneath the murky waters, and the village massacred. There’s only one problem: the main suspect is her charming painter, Kaspian.
As Brygida investigates, the dangers are many and answers few. The village and her family stand against her, and with time running short, the lake demands a price. Brygida believes Kaspian is innocent, but can she stake her life on it, when failure means condemning the rest of the village, and being dragged into the deep...?
The Obsidian Psalm by Clayton Snyder
Official Book Blurb: Betrayed by those he trusted. Resurrected by a man he should loathe. A head full of memories he didn’t make. Rook is forced into a bargain that might kill him if he refuses, and if he accepts, could mean the end of existence. Trapped in a shadow war between necromancers, his choices are dwindling to one: Cut a bloody swathe of revenge across humanity’s last remaining city.
Official Book Blurb: Betrayed by those he trusted. Resurrected by a man he should loathe. A head full of memories he didn’t make. Rook is forced into a bargain that might kill him if he refuses, and if he accepts, could mean the end of existence. Trapped in a shadow war between necromancers, his choices are dwindling to one: Cut a bloody swathe of revenge across humanity’s last remaining city.
Limbo by Thiago d'Evecque
Official Book Blurb: The fate of the world hinges on a forsaken spirit, a mad god in a sword, and 12 mythological beings.
The Limbo is where all souls — human or otherwise — go to after dying. Some don't realize where they are. Death is a hard habit to get used to. Gods and mythological figures also dwell in the plane, borne from humanity's beliefs.
A forsaken spirit is awakened and ordered to dispatch 12 souls back to Earth to prevent the apocalypse. Many don't take kindly to the return. Accompanied by an imprisoned mad god, the spirit must compel them.
Each of the 12 unlocks a piece of the spirit's true identity. Memories unfold and past wounds bleed again. The journey will reveal buried truths about gods, angels, humanity, and the forsaken spirit itself.
Official Book Blurb: The fate of the world hinges on a forsaken spirit, a mad god in a sword, and 12 mythological beings.
The Limbo is where all souls — human or otherwise — go to after dying. Some don't realize where they are. Death is a hard habit to get used to. Gods and mythological figures also dwell in the plane, borne from humanity's beliefs.
A forsaken spirit is awakened and ordered to dispatch 12 souls back to Earth to prevent the apocalypse. Many don't take kindly to the return. Accompanied by an imprisoned mad god, the spirit must compel them.
Each of the 12 unlocks a piece of the spirit's true identity. Memories unfold and past wounds bleed again. The journey will reveal buried truths about gods, angels, humanity, and the forsaken spirit itself.
Chains Of Blood by ML Spencer
Official Book Blurb: One is the son of a demon. The other, the son of a hero. Together, they must break the chains that bind them to their past and forge their own legacy.
Rylan Marshall is the son of the most despised Battlemage to ever walk the earth. Gil Archer is the son of a dead hero whose legend still haunts him from the grave. In any other war, they would be bitter enemies.
But this is not a war about enemies and allies. It is a war for the human spirit.
When their homeland is invaded by a society that roams the world preying on others, Rylan and Gil must put aside the ghosts of their past in order to fight them. For their enemy uses chained mages as weapons, and capture means assimilation.
As the trilogy unfolds, the stakes get higher and the enemies more diverse and powerful. The series spans thousands of years, visits civilizations both thriving and fallen, and hurls two different worlds into a collision course. It is a bold chronicle of gods and man, demons and pawns, magic and warfare, and the very nature of humanity.
Official Book Blurb: One is the son of a demon. The other, the son of a hero. Together, they must break the chains that bind them to their past and forge their own legacy.
Rylan Marshall is the son of the most despised Battlemage to ever walk the earth. Gil Archer is the son of a dead hero whose legend still haunts him from the grave. In any other war, they would be bitter enemies.
But this is not a war about enemies and allies. It is a war for the human spirit.
When their homeland is invaded by a society that roams the world preying on others, Rylan and Gil must put aside the ghosts of their past in order to fight them. For their enemy uses chained mages as weapons, and capture means assimilation.
As the trilogy unfolds, the stakes get higher and the enemies more diverse and powerful. The series spans thousands of years, visits civilizations both thriving and fallen, and hurls two different worlds into a collision course. It is a bold chronicle of gods and man, demons and pawns, magic and warfare, and the very nature of humanity.
Incursion by Mitchell Hogan
Official Book Blurb: Seventeen years have passed since the Necromancer Queen Talia was overthrown and slain, and her capital city destroyed by the Knights of the Order of Eternal Vigilance.
Anskar DeVantte, raised in the sacred disciplines of the Order, is now ready to face the brutal initiation trials to become a consecrated knight-sorcerer.
But the further Anskar rises in the ranks the more his faith wavers, and he is beset by harrowing dreams and uncertainty. As troubling powers awaken within him, a schism grows between Anskar and his hallowed Order, and he draws the hungry gaze of the vanquished queen’s fanatical followers.
As Anskar pieces together the mysteries of his early life, and begins to understand the malevolent forces gathering in his path, he finds himself with a crucial choice to make:
Remain loyal to the Order’s righteous mission, or control the dark powers growing within him. Either way, his destiny is steeped in war. The only question is, which side will he be on?
Official Book Blurb: Seventeen years have passed since the Necromancer Queen Talia was overthrown and slain, and her capital city destroyed by the Knights of the Order of Eternal Vigilance.
Anskar DeVantte, raised in the sacred disciplines of the Order, is now ready to face the brutal initiation trials to become a consecrated knight-sorcerer.
But the further Anskar rises in the ranks the more his faith wavers, and he is beset by harrowing dreams and uncertainty. As troubling powers awaken within him, a schism grows between Anskar and his hallowed Order, and he draws the hungry gaze of the vanquished queen’s fanatical followers.
As Anskar pieces together the mysteries of his early life, and begins to understand the malevolent forces gathering in his path, he finds himself with a crucial choice to make:
Remain loyal to the Order’s righteous mission, or control the dark powers growing within him. Either way, his destiny is steeped in war. The only question is, which side will he be on?
A Prince's Errand by Dan Zangari and Robert Zangari
Official Book Blurb: The history of the amulet…
…is the stuff of dreams and legends.
But what if the myths are true?
It is called the Crimson Eye, hidden for centuries by the Keepers of Truth and Might. An aging warrior is asked to find the Keepers by a mysterious scholar named Krindal. Cornar is a reluctant adventurer at first, but eventually he agrees, and his life is changed forever.
They have one lead…
…a magical map.
Has Krindal done enough to truly give them a chance?
This long journey, cloaked in secrecy, takes Cornar and his band through lands plagued by violent earthquakes and controlled by the Wildmen—descendants of the Klindala Dynasty twisted by magic. They are not the only threat. The Sapphire Guard searches, too.
Who will win the race to rediscover the Keepers?
Official Book Blurb: The history of the amulet…
…is the stuff of dreams and legends.
But what if the myths are true?
It is called the Crimson Eye, hidden for centuries by the Keepers of Truth and Might. An aging warrior is asked to find the Keepers by a mysterious scholar named Krindal. Cornar is a reluctant adventurer at first, but eventually he agrees, and his life is changed forever.
They have one lead…
…a magical map.
Has Krindal done enough to truly give them a chance?
This long journey, cloaked in secrecy, takes Cornar and his band through lands plagued by violent earthquakes and controlled by the Wildmen—descendants of the Klindala Dynasty twisted by magic. They are not the only threat. The Sapphire Guard searches, too.
Who will win the race to rediscover the Keepers?
Fires that Forge by R.J. Hanson
Official Book Blurb: Murder... Betrayal... Magic? One knight takes up his hammer to hunt a killer concealed. Will he discover the truth in time to rescue a friend from the executioner’s ax?
Murder in Moras is treated as an everyday affair; until it touches the nobility. The aristocracy demands someone pay for these heinous crimes. Yet, they want someone to hang before too many questions can be asked. What old truths do they fear? What if the one that stands accused is innocent?
Amid the shining streets and dark alleys of this great trade city, events will twist the Fate of two life-long friends. In this city of knights and rogues, templars and merchants, a career soldier must become a cunning detective. A young physician must prove his innocence before the hangman calls. When Dunewell learns that his good friend, Silas, is the sole suspect, the decorated veteran turned King's Inquisitor undertakes the duty of saving him. The only way? Root out the killer.
Official Book Blurb: Murder... Betrayal... Magic? One knight takes up his hammer to hunt a killer concealed. Will he discover the truth in time to rescue a friend from the executioner’s ax?
Murder in Moras is treated as an everyday affair; until it touches the nobility. The aristocracy demands someone pay for these heinous crimes. Yet, they want someone to hang before too many questions can be asked. What old truths do they fear? What if the one that stands accused is innocent?
Amid the shining streets and dark alleys of this great trade city, events will twist the Fate of two life-long friends. In this city of knights and rogues, templars and merchants, a career soldier must become a cunning detective. A young physician must prove his innocence before the hangman calls. When Dunewell learns that his good friend, Silas, is the sole suspect, the decorated veteran turned King's Inquisitor undertakes the duty of saving him. The only way? Root out the killer.
The Bloodless Assassin by Celine Jeanjean
Official Book Blurb: An assassin with a fear of blood.
A mouthy street girl.
They can't seriously be the city’s only hope?
Being Damsport’s most elegant assassin is hard work. There are devilish poisons to concoct, secret identities to maintain…and tailoring to consider. But most importantly Longinus must keep his fear of blood a secret or his reputation will be ruined.
When Rory discovers Longinus’s blood phobia, she makes him a deal. Train her, and she won’t ruin his reputation. What she doesn’t expect is that her new master has more eccentricities than a stray dog has fleas. And that in aligning herself with him, she now finds herself in the crosshairs of another, far more dangerous assassin.
Now, not only does Rory have to keep herself and Longinus alive, she has to stop a conspiracy that threatens to bring the city to its knees.
An impossible task?
It's even harder with Longinus under the delusion that he’s the hero of the story. That would be funny, if it didn't make Rory want to throttle him.
Official Book Blurb: An assassin with a fear of blood.
A mouthy street girl.
They can't seriously be the city’s only hope?
Being Damsport’s most elegant assassin is hard work. There are devilish poisons to concoct, secret identities to maintain…and tailoring to consider. But most importantly Longinus must keep his fear of blood a secret or his reputation will be ruined.
When Rory discovers Longinus’s blood phobia, she makes him a deal. Train her, and she won’t ruin his reputation. What she doesn’t expect is that her new master has more eccentricities than a stray dog has fleas. And that in aligning herself with him, she now finds herself in the crosshairs of another, far more dangerous assassin.
Now, not only does Rory have to keep herself and Longinus alive, she has to stop a conspiracy that threatens to bring the city to its knees.
An impossible task?
It's even harder with Longinus under the delusion that he’s the hero of the story. That would be funny, if it didn't make Rory want to throttle him.
Midnight Monster Club by Gerhard Gehrke
Official Book Blurb: Digger and the fel of Loom Island have one law above all others: harm a pureblood and lose your life.
But when an enigmatic woman named Isabel invades his brother’s bar seeking refuge, it gets hard to play by the rules.
A gang of pureblood noblemen is hot on Isabel’s heels in pursuit of a stolen treasure. But helping her puts Digger’s neck and everyone else he loves in line for the chopping block.
Digger will have to trust Isabel and a group of lowlifes as they fight to protect the bar and avoid the gallows. As the law catches wind of the unrest, the unraveling situation threatens to reveal secrets Digger thought long buried. And word of Isabel’s ill-gotten prize has only started to spread.
Official Book Blurb: Digger and the fel of Loom Island have one law above all others: harm a pureblood and lose your life.
But when an enigmatic woman named Isabel invades his brother’s bar seeking refuge, it gets hard to play by the rules.
A gang of pureblood noblemen is hot on Isabel’s heels in pursuit of a stolen treasure. But helping her puts Digger’s neck and everyone else he loves in line for the chopping block.
Digger will have to trust Isabel and a group of lowlifes as they fight to protect the bar and avoid the gallows. As the law catches wind of the unrest, the unraveling situation threatens to reveal secrets Digger thought long buried. And word of Isabel’s ill-gotten prize has only started to spread.
The Longest Shadow by Stephen Murray
Official Book Blurb: A charnel wall of fog creeps across the western horizon bringing with it ancient terrors and walking nightmares, spoken of in fearful whispers as the Perash. On the farthest reaches of the Hardic Empire, disgraced general Tybir Galingar is faced with a dire choice between certain death at the hands of the Perash or, to return to his former home and the vengeance of an Emperor he once sought to usurp.
The Stillborn King, Hector Aris sits atop a teetering throne. Cursed by his inability to sire an heir, his enemies circle ever closer and the weight of the crown grows heavier with each passing day. With the Hardic Empire in a crisis of succession and an otherworldly threat encroaching from the west, Hector is forced to confront the failings of his past if he is to salvage any future for his people.
In the secretive order of the Praetory, a young girl named Pan toils reluctantly to join the caste of imperial guards and spies known as the Praetors. Abandoned by a war-mongering father and ward to an Emperor, Pan finds herself embroiled in a web of conspiracies, wending a bloody path towards the throne.
All paths converge in Virangan the jewel of the Hardic Empire, where knives are drawn in shadow-draped streets and a climatic confrontation with the Perash decides the fate of all.
Official Book Blurb: A charnel wall of fog creeps across the western horizon bringing with it ancient terrors and walking nightmares, spoken of in fearful whispers as the Perash. On the farthest reaches of the Hardic Empire, disgraced general Tybir Galingar is faced with a dire choice between certain death at the hands of the Perash or, to return to his former home and the vengeance of an Emperor he once sought to usurp.
The Stillborn King, Hector Aris sits atop a teetering throne. Cursed by his inability to sire an heir, his enemies circle ever closer and the weight of the crown grows heavier with each passing day. With the Hardic Empire in a crisis of succession and an otherworldly threat encroaching from the west, Hector is forced to confront the failings of his past if he is to salvage any future for his people.
In the secretive order of the Praetory, a young girl named Pan toils reluctantly to join the caste of imperial guards and spies known as the Praetors. Abandoned by a war-mongering father and ward to an Emperor, Pan finds herself embroiled in a web of conspiracies, wending a bloody path towards the throne.
All paths converge in Virangan the jewel of the Hardic Empire, where knives are drawn in shadow-draped streets and a climatic confrontation with the Perash decides the fate of all.
Dragon's Reach by J. A. Andrews
Official Book Blurb: The truth is neither plain, nor simple.
Sable, a reluctant thief from the slums, can feel truth when people speak. For years she’s been using that skill to try to break free from the vicious gang boss she's indebted to. Escape comes in the form of an odd set of companions:
-a dwarf running from the past,
-an actor with a magical, glowing tree
-a too-helpful kobold,
-a playwright with a knack for getting stories out of people, and
-a man and woman with suspicious, magical powers.
But Sable’s freedom is short lived. Out on the edges of civilization, they discover hidden, terrifying lies in the offers of peace from the brutal Kalesh Empire. Now, she must return to the city she fled, and along with her companions, attempt an impossible task—convince everyone, including the powerful Dragon Prioress, of the truth.
Except the Kalesh web of lies has ensnared everyone. With her land, her people, and everything she loves hanging in the balance, Sable is the only one standing between freedom, and certain death.
Official Book Blurb: The truth is neither plain, nor simple.
Sable, a reluctant thief from the slums, can feel truth when people speak. For years she’s been using that skill to try to break free from the vicious gang boss she's indebted to. Escape comes in the form of an odd set of companions:
-a dwarf running from the past,
-an actor with a magical, glowing tree
-a too-helpful kobold,
-a playwright with a knack for getting stories out of people, and
-a man and woman with suspicious, magical powers.
But Sable’s freedom is short lived. Out on the edges of civilization, they discover hidden, terrifying lies in the offers of peace from the brutal Kalesh Empire. Now, she must return to the city she fled, and along with her companions, attempt an impossible task—convince everyone, including the powerful Dragon Prioress, of the truth.
Except the Kalesh web of lies has ensnared everyone. With her land, her people, and everything she loves hanging in the balance, Sable is the only one standing between freedom, and certain death.
The Sword of Wisimir by Allen Stroud
Official Book Blurb: Opportunistic thief, Jack Von Drey thinks his luck is in when he steals the Governor's taxes from the back of a treasury wagon. But it turns out, this is a game with higher stakes than he bargained for.
City Minister, Urin Braymes makes one bad decision. Unfortunately for him, it opens him up to being blackmailed for the rest of his life.
Magister Leel's scheme to recapture his position of power seems to be right on track. But, when he makes a bargain, he finds he has unleashed magic that even a wizard cannot control.
And Jarno Herren? Well he just wants to find out the truth.
The Sword of Wisimir is a fantasy tale of crime, intrigue, life and death. Where ideals are cheap and, in the end, everyone finds out what they'd sacrifice to survive...
Official Book Blurb: Opportunistic thief, Jack Von Drey thinks his luck is in when he steals the Governor's taxes from the back of a treasury wagon. But it turns out, this is a game with higher stakes than he bargained for.
City Minister, Urin Braymes makes one bad decision. Unfortunately for him, it opens him up to being blackmailed for the rest of his life.
Magister Leel's scheme to recapture his position of power seems to be right on track. But, when he makes a bargain, he finds he has unleashed magic that even a wizard cannot control.
And Jarno Herren? Well he just wants to find out the truth.
The Sword of Wisimir is a fantasy tale of crime, intrigue, life and death. Where ideals are cheap and, in the end, everyone finds out what they'd sacrifice to survive...
The Dragon’s Banker by Scott Warren
Official Book Blurb: Finance: The lifeblood of any country’s beating heart and the life’s work of Sailor Kelstern — Merchant Banker. While wizards brood in their towers and great warriors charge into battle Sailor is more interested in the price of ore, herbs, and alchemicals carried by the trade ships.
But when a spell of bad fortune and bitter rivalry leaves him scrambling to turn a profit on little more than winds and whispers, one such whisper catches Sailor’s ear— a dragon has been seen in the west. Sailor soon finds that the dragons are very real, and not at all what he expected. And they practice a very different sort of economy — one of subterfuge and fire.
Official Book Blurb: Finance: The lifeblood of any country’s beating heart and the life’s work of Sailor Kelstern — Merchant Banker. While wizards brood in their towers and great warriors charge into battle Sailor is more interested in the price of ore, herbs, and alchemicals carried by the trade ships.
But when a spell of bad fortune and bitter rivalry leaves him scrambling to turn a profit on little more than winds and whispers, one such whisper catches Sailor’s ear— a dragon has been seen in the west. Sailor soon finds that the dragons are very real, and not at all what he expected. And they practice a very different sort of economy — one of subterfuge and fire.
Immortals by Joshua Smith
Official Book Blurb: For thousands of years, stories had been told of the terrible Sorceress who'd given all her power to end the ancient world. But those were just stories. Now, new stars dot the sky—signs of Sorceress Jocina's power returning so she can finish the job.
For A’banna, these signs mark the end of her service to the Sorceress as priestess. Commanded to sacrifice a living being in Jocina's name, she can't go through with it. A’banna flees into the jungle, but the wide world is much different than she knows. Further, she’s being hunted by Jocina’s sadistic son and her monstrous creations. Nature itself seems set against her.
Bedel and Raynt, two of the Magical Affairs Commission’s elite agents and powerful essencers, might be her only hope. They've dedicated their lives to holding back the tide of Jocina's darkness, and preventing her inevitable return, but when they discover A’banna on the edge of death, all missions are postponed in an effort to protect her.
Might this strange, defecting priestess hold the keys to defeating the Sorceress once and for all? Or will she cause two of the most powerful remaining essencers to meet their doom for nothing?
Official Book Blurb: For thousands of years, stories had been told of the terrible Sorceress who'd given all her power to end the ancient world. But those were just stories. Now, new stars dot the sky—signs of Sorceress Jocina's power returning so she can finish the job.
For A’banna, these signs mark the end of her service to the Sorceress as priestess. Commanded to sacrifice a living being in Jocina's name, she can't go through with it. A’banna flees into the jungle, but the wide world is much different than she knows. Further, she’s being hunted by Jocina’s sadistic son and her monstrous creations. Nature itself seems set against her.
Bedel and Raynt, two of the Magical Affairs Commission’s elite agents and powerful essencers, might be her only hope. They've dedicated their lives to holding back the tide of Jocina's darkness, and preventing her inevitable return, but when they discover A’banna on the edge of death, all missions are postponed in an effort to protect her.
Might this strange, defecting priestess hold the keys to defeating the Sorceress once and for all? Or will she cause two of the most powerful remaining essencers to meet their doom for nothing?
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