Order The Murdstone Trilogy HERE

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Mal Peet published his first novel, Keeper, in 2003. It was translated into several languages and won the Branford Boase Award. He next won the Carnegie Medal in 2005 and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 2009, as well as a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor in 2012 for Life: An Exploded Diagram. Born in Norfolk, England, in 1947, Mal Peet passed away in 2015.

OVERVIEW: Award-winning YA author Philip Murdstone is in trouble. His star has waned. The world is leaving him behind. His agent, the ruthless Minerva Cinch, convinces him that his only hope is to write a sword-and-sorcery blockbuster. Unfortunately, Philip—allergic to the faintest trace of Tolkien—is utterly unsuited to the task. In a dark hour, a dwarfish stranger comes to his rescue. But the deal he makes with Pocket Wellfair turns out to have Faustian consequences. The Murdstone Trilogy is a richly dark comedy described by one U.K. reviewer as "totally insane in the best way possible."

FORMAT: The Murdstone Trilogy is a dark comedy and the first book for adults written by YA author Mal Peet. The story is told in three parts, one for every installment in the titular trilogy. It was published in the US by Candlewick on September 22, 2015 and is available in Hardcover and as an E-book and audiobook.

ANALYSIS: Reminiscent of Terry Pratchett in the best of ways, The Mursdtone Trilogy is sometimes silly, sometimes hysterical, and at all times ridiculously fun. Though comic fantasies that poke fun at genre tropes that have worn themselves into clichés are far from unique, Peet’s novel is entirely fresh and far more than a simple satire of fantasy. It’s also a brutal yet empathetic caricature of the life of a writer and a sarcastic look at the sometimes ludicrous fanfare accorded to fantasy novels.

I was immediately hooked by Peet’s beautiful narrative voice. Each sentence is packed full of detail, with every word carefully chosen so that they fit together perfectly. I often found myself rereading sentences out loud so I could hear their rhythmic sound and feel them roll off my tongue. From start to finish, the language masterfully captures the droll nature of the story.

Peet’s characters are all wonderfully detailed and appropriately exaggerated to fit the satirical tone of the novel. Personal favorites include Minerva Cinch, the self-serving agent who will do anything to maintain her hard-earned reputation and publish the next big hit; the crazy old twins referred as the Wyrd Sisters that run the public library in the small town of Flemworthy and finish each other’s sentences; Pocket Wellfair, a foul-mouthed dwarf straight out of a fantasy novel (literally); and Philip Murdstone himself, an author of literary YA fiction that has never read a fantasy novel before and yet is commissioned to write one because that’s what sells.

The story told is a dark comedy that feels very British in nature, like a fantasy version of Hot Fuzz. In it, author Philip Murdstone is asked to write a very particular type of fantasy novel, one in which there is a magical world referred to as a realm, elves that live in trees, dwarves that live underground, a dark lord who is oppressing everyone, and other classic aspects of an epic fantasy series. And then, in a drunken stupor, he is approached by Pocket Wellfair, a dwarf from just such a world who recounts its history and thus provides him with just such a story. Readers are left to decide for themselves whether or not the dwarf, the realm, and the rest are products of Murdstone’s intoxication or not. Regardless, as the story progresses, Murdstone becomes more and more involved in the happenings of the Realm, much like a writer whose own life is consumed by his or her books.

CONCLUSION: The Murdstone Trilogy is an absolute pleasure to read. I would highly recommend it for anyone with a sense of humor, especially aspiring or published authors of epic fantasy.

10) Disciple Of The Wind by Steve Bein – Disciple Of The Wind is the ending volume of the Mariko trilogy as described by the author and as far as endings go, has more literal bang to it than any Michael Bay movie. Mixing urban fantasy with magical swords but by taking a GRRM-esque route with it. Steve Bein finishes the trilogy while leaving the readers desperately wanting more stories set within his world.

Honorable mentions to the following titles that narrowly missed out on this list: 

- The Fold by Peter Clines, 

- Silver On The Road by Laura A. Gilman, 

- Winter’s Reach and The Instruments Of Control by Craig Schafer

TOP TEN DEBUT NOVELS:

1) The Girl With The Ghost Eyes by M. H. Boroson – The Girl With The Ghost Eyes is a debut that almost slipped me by. Set in the cusp of the twentieth century San Francisco, and mixing Chinese mythology, Asian monster mythos and a very engaging protagonist, this debut just wowed me through and through. I can’t mention enough how enthralling this story is and once you are finished with the book, like me you will want to read this author post to read a sequel short story.

2) The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson – Seth Dickinson’s debut was a magnificent one for a couple of reasons; firstly the characterization that was top-notch and the protagonist held the reader’s attention throughout. Secondly this is a dark story and not just grimdark level but something that makes most dark fantasy seem light hearted fare. I’ve very high hopes for the sequel based on the promise shown here.

3) Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myers – This was a surprise for me, Ilana Myers produced a stunning magic system that is intricate and reminds me slightly of Dan Abraham’s debut series. Mixing epic fantasy with striking characterization and a fascinating magic system. Last Song Before Night is easily a debut that heralds the arrival of  Ilana Myers as a major talent to watch out for.

4) The Library At Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – This was another doozy of a debut, Scott Hawkins basically wrote a version of Hogwarts and the Harry Potter world as imagined by Cormac McCarthy of Road fame. It’s a solid gut punch of a story about a group of quasi-immortals who have been brought together by a scary “Father” figure who does his best to harden them for a task. What the task is and what is actually happening in the story is for you to find out but safe to Scott Hawkins marked himself out.

5) Beyond Redemption by Michael Fletcher – This debut has to be possibly the debut with regards to the conceptualization of a magic system. Focusing on a world wherein magic arises from delusions, and other mind disorders, Michael Fletcher gives us a story about individuals who are borderline insane, very dangerous and wholly intriguing. Kudis to the author for coming up with such an original magic system and dark storyline.

6) The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble’s Braids by Michael McClung – This was a debut which I came across via the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off. Combining Sword and sorcery elements but with a dark flair akin to Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard books, Michael McClung gives us Amra Thetys and the world she inhabits. A debut about a thief with morals and an impending apocalypse, I can’t recommend this debut enough and will be very excited to read the sequels forthcoming.

7) An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – A YA book that managed to outgrow it’s genre trappings and focused on compelling characters. Sabaa Tahir’s story of young characters caught in a maelstrom of freedom struggle, betrayal, revolution and kindness was a fun read and I look forward to the sequel to see where she takes the story.

8) The Rules Of Supervillainy by C.T. Phipps – This was a superb debut that focuses on the authors love for comics and catch-22 situations most comic book villains find themselves in. Written as an ode to comic book stories in the 80s & 90s, C. T. Phipps manages to brilliantly combine compelling characters and superpowers to give us a story that will have you heartily cheering for a super villain who’s figuring out that he might not be one after all.

9) Grace Of Kings by Ken Liu – Grace Of Kings was a solid epic fantasy entry based on Chinese medieval history and mythology. Ken Liu’s prose was lofty and the way he structured the story, it was hard not to get drawn into the fascinating struggles between human, immortals and the kingdoms they inhabit.

Long time readers of the blog know how much I love indie authors. One such indie author is Rob J. Hayes whom I discovered back in 2013. Rob released his books in quick succession and won me over with his brand of dark fantasy. He was then picked up by upcoming small press Ragnarok Publications who re-released his debut trilogy in 2014-15 with snazzy covers and re-edited books.

Recently Rob signed on with Ragnraok to release a sequel duology and a collection of short stories. Joe Martin owner of Ragnarok Publications was super kind to allow us to do a cover reveal for both books and Rob also answered a few questions about the upcoming books and the fantastic covers that they share.

Read ahead to feast your eyes on these fabulous covers and find out what lies ahead for the denizens of First Earth.

Q] Congratulations on these fantastic covers Rob and for the new series contracts. Please tell us as to how all of this came to pass?

RJB: Thanks and thank you for having me back again.

Well The Ties that Bind (TTtB) was never intended as a stand alone trilogy in the world of First Earth. It's actually a part of a much larger story that I want to tell. I mentioned this to Joe Martin and he bit my hand off at the elbow. So no sooner had I finished the first in my It Takes a Thief... series, I started work on Best Laid Plans, the follow up to The Ties that Bind and the next part in the story of First Earth.

Q] If I remember correctly, The Bound Folio was first announced, followed by Best Laid Plans. Please tell us a bit more about both these projects.

RJB: It was indeed. Actually The Bound Folio was first announced early in 2015, but it's taken a while for us to pull it all together.

The Bound Folio is a collection of eight short stories set in First Earth and expanding both on the world and giving a bit of back story to some of the characters. Two of them were actually written before The Ties that Bind and have been sitting gathering dust since then. It feels good to finally give them a home.

Best Laid Plans is the follow up to The Ties that Bind. It's a duology (which I'm still not entirely certain is a real word), and is set roughly 1 year after the events of TTtB and works as a stand alone story, but it's also intended to fit into the much larger story I'm telling in First Earth.

Q] The Bound Folio is a collection of stories that run the gamut of heroes, villains, psychopaths and everything else in between. Who are some of the characters that are featured in it and what made you write about them?

RJB: Wow. That's actually a big question. Each story focuses on a single point of view, but also has a supporting cast, some of whom folk might recognise from TTtB. I'll try to keep it succinct and just mention a few.

We'll start with Derran Fowl, the Sword of the North. He's a living legend in the current era of First Earth and is thought of as pretty much unbeatable. He's a Blademaster, the same order of warriors as Jezzet Vel'urn, and she referred to him as the shade of death... so he's pretty damned good in a fight. I wanted to give a bit of a back story to the Sword of the North because he's actually where the whole world started for me. He was the first character I created and fitted into the world. He also makes a brief appearance (for the first time) in Best Laid Plans, so I decided to give him his own little story.

The Kid is about a certain character who appears in The Heresy Within (THW). After I released the book a lot (and I mean A LOT) of people stated this character as the most unlikeable bastard I had created, which is no small feat considering the cast of THW. So I decided to write a short story featuring this character, giving them a bit of a back story and also humanising them a bit more. I like to try to make people hate my likeable characters and like my hateable characters.

Beck is a story about Arbiter Beck who was mentioned in The Price of Faith, but only briefly during one of Thanquil's memories. She has a starring role in Best Laid Plans and I wanted to give her a swashbuckling pirate adventure before that role begins so the short story brings her right up to where Where Loyalties Lie starts.

Q] The Best Laid Plans duology features a storyline and characters who weren’t quite major players in previous trilogy except one pirate who seems to be everywhere. What was your reasoning for this change in characters and world location?

RJB: Well I love pirates almost as much as I love witch hunters so I figured I should write a book about them.

The wheel keeps turning and there's more to the world than the wilds. I wanted to give a view of a different, but equally as dangerous and gritty, part of the world and the events that transpire in Best Laid Plans will fit into the larger story I'm telling. Some of the major players from TTtB will return, although in bit parts, but for the most part it's a fresh new cast.