Tag: Epic fantasy

Legacy of Ash – Matthew Ward

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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, Josiri’s sister, seeks only to break free of their tarnished legacy; to escape the expectation and prejudice that haunts the Trelan name.

As war spreads across the Republic, these three must set aside their differences in order to save their homeland. However, decades of bad blood are not easily forgotten – victory will demand a darker price than any of them could have imagined. Continue reading “Legacy of Ash – Matthew Ward” →

Blood of an Exile – Brian Naslund

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Bershad stands apart from the world, the most legendary dragonslayer in history, both revered and reviled.

Once, he was Lord Silas Bershad, but after a disastrous failure on the battlefield he was stripped of his titles and sentenced to one violent, perilous hunt after another. Now he lives only to stalk dragons, slaughter them, collect their precious oil, and head back into the treacherous wilds once more. For years, death was his only chance to escape. But that is about to change.

The king who sentenced Bershad to his fate has just given him an unprecedented chance at redemption. Kill a foreign emperor and walk free forever.

The journey will take him across dragon-infested mountains, through a seedy criminal underworld, and into a forbidden city guarded by deadly technology.

But the links of fate bind us all. Continue reading “Blood of an Exile – Brian Naslund” →

Queens of the Wyrd – Timandra Whitecastle

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Half-giant Lovis and her Shieldmaiden warband were once among the fiercest warriors in Midgard. But those days are long past and now Lovis just wants to provide a safe home for herself and her daughter – that is, until her former shield-sister Solveig shows up on her doorstep with shattering news.

Solveig’s warrior daughter is trapped on the Plains of Vigrid in a siege gone ugly. Desperate to rescue her, Sol is trying to get the old warband back together again. But their glory days are a distant memory. The Shieldmaidens are Shieldmothers now, entangled in domestic obligations and ancient rivalries.

But family is everything, and Lovis was never more at home than at her shield-sisters’ side. Their road won’t be easy: old debts must be paid, wrongs must be righted, and the Nornir are always pulling on loose threads, leaving the Shieldmaidens facing the end of all Nine Realms. Ragnarok is coming, and if the Shieldmaidens can’t stop it, Lovis will lose everyone she loves… Continue reading “Queens of the Wyrd – Timandra Whitecastle” →

Ravencaller – David Dalglish

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Magical creatures are attacking the capital city, seeking to retake what was once theirs, and no one is safe. Ancient cultists have cursed the highest members of the Church, turning them into twisted abominations. The only hope for a cure lies with Adria Eveson. To learn the cure, she must befriend an imprisoned cultist, and guard her heart against his seductive promises and twisted logic.

The fate of all races, human and magical, rests in her hands, and in the choices she makes. Should she choose wrong, only one person stands in her way: her brother, the Soulkeeper Devin Eveson. Continue reading “Ravencaller – David Dalglish” →

The New World – Mark Lawrence

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So, the other day on Twitter, Mark Lawrence asked if there were any bloggers interested in reading a new novella featuring Jal & Snorri, the two main characters from his Red Queen’s War trilogy.

My hand shot up like a kid who FINALLY knew an answer in class!

It’s wild to think that Mark Lawrence has four completed trilogies out in the world, but there it is. He’s one of my absolute favorite authors, and while Book of the Ancestor is currently my most favorite of his, The Red Queen’s War has a very special place in my heart. Lawrence’s humor comes through in all of his work, but The Red Queen’s War books are for sure his funniest. Of course they are also beautifully written, bloody & brutal, and insanely gut-punchy & emotional. But still fucking hilarious.

The New World is going to be included with the upcoming Grim Oak Press omnibus edition of The Red Queen’s War (I may or may not have shamed my sister into pre-ordering it for my birthday that just went by), but I couldn’t pass up the chance to reconnect with Jal & Snorri, one of the most memorable fantasy duos of ever!!

(Oh, if you haven’t read The Broken Empire and The Red Queen’s War trilogies…this might be a bit spoilery)

The New World finds Jal & Snorri reunited, and boarding a ship to set sail for the New World (which, if I’m understanding my Broken Empire geography, would be somewhere in North America). There’s a small crew aboard the ship, some familiar faces, some new. Jalan is now a cardinal, yet another job for which he seems rather ill-suited. But he’s happy, thrilled to be together with Snorri, and adventure is in the air.

Then they set sail and it’s one fucking nightmare after another.

Jalan is no great lover of the sea, but they have a very long voyage ahead of them. Like…long to the point where Jalan tries making stew out of old boot leather.

*ahem*

This is just a fun story, and it thrilled me to get to see Jal & Snorri together again! It has everything you’d want in a nautical fantasy tale…mutinies, funerals at sea, pirates, epic bad weather, puking, hardtack…The New World has got it all!

This is a quick story you could read in one sitting, but one of the most exciting things about it is the introduction by Lawrence. He mentions that while The New World stands on its own (it does), it was written as the begging of a new Jal & Snorri novel!

*dies*

Maybe that novel gets finished someday, and maybe it doesn’t. Either way, it was great to catch up with these two! I think Jalan Kendeth will forever be Lawrence’s funniest & most surprising character. And Snorri…oof…an over-sized Viking with a heart to match…they were the unlikeliest of duos, and the friendship that developed between them is one of my favorites in all the fantasy books I’ve read.

Thanks so much to Mark Lawrence for sending me a digital copy of The New World!!

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro – K. S. Villoso

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Born under the crumbling towers of her kingdom, Queen Talyien was the shining jewel and legacy of the bloody War of the Wolves. It nearly tore her nation apart. But her arranged marriage to the son of a rival clan heralds peace.

However, he suddenly disappears before their reign can begin, and the kingdom is fractured beyond repair.

Years later, he sends a mysterious invitation to meet. Talyien journeys across the sea in hopes of reconciling their past. An assassination attempt quickly dashes those dreams. Stranded in a land she doesn’t know, with no idea whom she can trust, Talyien will have to embrace her namesake. Continue reading “The Wolf of Oren-Yaro – K. S. Villoso” →

Guns of the Dawn – Adrian Tchaikovsky

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The first casualty of war is truth . . .

First, Denland’s revolutionaries assassinated their king, launching a wave of bloodshed after generations of peace. Next they clashed with Lascanne, their royalist neighbour, pitching war-machines against warlocks in a fiercely fought conflict.

Genteel Emily Marshwic watched as the hostilities stole her family’s young men. But then came the call for yet more Lascanne soldiers in a ravaged kingdom with none left to give. Emily must join the ranks of conscripted women and march toward the front lines.

With barely enough training to hold a musket, Emily braves the savage reality of warfare. But she begins to doubt her country’s cause, and those doubts become critical. For her choices will determine her own future and that of two nations locked in battle. Continue reading “Guns of the Dawn – Adrian Tchaikovsky” →

The Bone Ships – RJ Barker

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For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war.

The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted.

Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favour. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war. Continue reading “The Bone Ships – RJ Barker” →

Spellslinger – Sebastien de Castell

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Kellen is moments away from facing his first duel and proving his worth as a spellcaster. There’s just one problem: his magic is fading.

Facing exile unless he can pass the mage trials, Kellen is willing to risk everything – even his own life – in search of a way to restore his magic. But when the enigmatic Ferius Parfax arrives in town, she challenges him to take a different path.

One of the elusive Argosi, Ferius is a traveller who lives by her wits and the cards she carries. Daring, unpredictable, and wielding magic Kellen has never seen before, she may be his only hope. Continue reading “Spellslinger – Sebastien de Castell” →

Blood of Empire – Brian McClellan

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The Dynize have unlocked the Landfall Godstone, and Michel Bravis is tasked with returning to Greenfire Depths to do whatever he can to prevent them from using its power; from sewing dissension among the enemy ranks to rallying the Palo population.

Ben Styke’s invasion of Dynize is curtailed when a storm scatters his fleet. Coming ashore with just twenty lancers, he is forced to rely on brains rather than brawn – gaining new allies in a strange land on the cusp of its own internal violence.

Bereft of her sorcery and physically and emotionally broken, Lady Vlora Flint now marches on Landfall at the head of an Adran army seeking vengeance against those who have conspired against her. While allied politicians seek to undo her from within, she faces insurmountable odds and Dynize’s greatest general. Continue reading “Blood of Empire – Brian McClellan” →