Tag Archives: Fantasy

Lokant (The Draykon Series Book 2) by Charlotte E. English – Review

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Title – Lokant (The Draykon Series Book 2)
Author – Charlotte E. English
Genre –  Fantasy
Publication – December 2011
My Rating – 5/5 Stars

Synopsis

The long-vanished draykon race has been restored to the Seven Realms, and the mystery of the istore stone is resolved. But Lady Eva Glostrum returns to Glour City with many questions unanswered. Who are the enigmatic sorcerers who woke the draykon? Their powers are beyond anything she has ever known. With one dead and one vanished – literally – Eva has little to go on save a book taken from a mysterious tower in the Lowers, its cover marked with the strange word “Lokant.”

Llandry Sanfaer is anxious to learn more about the glorious draykoni, whose story is so inexplicably bound up with her own. But when she brings another draykon back from the Long Sleep, she finds she has made a grave mistake. Worse, a white-haired sorcerer with a talent for mind control is stalking her across the Worlds…

As war builds between humankind and draykoni, Eva must uncover the identities of the sinister white-haired practitioners – and come to terms with the truth of her own heritage.

And Llandry must learn why she appears to be their primary target…

Review

This is the second book in the Draykon series and I absolutely loved the first. I’m just ashamed it’s taken me so long to get round to reading this one..

So we are back in the wonderful world of the Seven Realms and the troubles revolving around Llandry Sanfaer who discovered a mysterious stone which has caused so many problems. The Draykoni are an ancient race long thought extinct.. not any more….

Charlotte builds perfectly on from the established characters and events of the first book but so much more is added, more characters to enjoy and we get to know a lot more about the Draykoni history. Things start to piece together in places and you can see the big picture starting to form.

This book was a great chance for the author to work on the character development and it paid off big time.. we see the relationship between Tren and Eva develop. The storyline that unfolds for these two was brilliant.. frustrating and brilliant.. You just want to bang their heads together. What made it so go is you get to see things from each prospective which makes it easier to understand why they act the way they do.

One of the things I like the most about Charlotte’s stories is she isn’t scared of making a reader work, names and places you have to pronounce that make your brain work.. It’s not dumbed down. She also has a great way of making the characters personality come out in her writing, for example whenever you read a passage where Eva is talking you can always detect the slight superiority she has about herself. This makes it great to read as you can actually imagine the conversation happening rather than just reading the words… it makes reading it more fun.

The best addition to the book is Pensould, a Draykon, I won’t spoil him for you but his no nonsense approach has left me hoping he plays a bit part in the next book.

The other character I really enjoyed is named Krays, who gives fresh life to the tale and lots more mystery.. This man has motives we don’t fully understand and I can’t wait to get to grips with book 3 to find out more about him.

It’s very hard to write a review for this book as I don’t want to give anything away but if you like fantasy & mystery this is the series for you. This is exactly what I want from a fantasy book.

Ok.. if you haven’t heard of the Draykon series I urge you to have a look on Amazon.. It’s first book is free so why not give it a go? Links here to Amazon.co.uk & Amazon.com

What I did was read the first book then purchased the box set of 3 books, it offers better value and is definitely worth it.

Charlotte has solidified her place as a favourite author of mine so look out in 2016 for more reviews of her work 🙂

To find out more about Lokant head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

The Sun Shard by Rob Bayliss – Review

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Title – The Sun Shard (Flint and Steel, Fire and Shadow. Book 1)
Author – Rob Bayliss
Genre – Historical Fantasy
Length – 443 Pages
Publication – June 2013
My Rating – 4/5 Stars

Synopsis

Once, men and neanderthals shared the Summerlands between the Cheama Sea to the South and the Hailthorn Mountains in the North. But from across the seas the Empire came, borne on huge clockwork driven ships, their black powder alchemy proved stronger than flint axes, steel swords and naked courage. The old ways were seemingly lost, as the new Fire God blazed brightly; the tribes subdued, the Flint Folk exiled beyond the Hailthorns.
Seven generations later the Empire prepares for war with a ruthless and cruel enemy to the South. To fuel their war machine, the Empire demands levies of men and taxes from its northern provinces during the summer muster. One such levy is a young Gewichas warrior, Tuan Blackstone. Called to the banners, he faces a harsh future under the iron discipline of his Commander, but a brighter destiny is revealed to him that unites the cause of the peoples of the Summerlands in magic that predates the Empire’s alchemy.
But behind the light of his destiny long shadows grow, war and treachery have come to the Summerlands.But who will survive to see the dawn of a new Britannia, and who will fall to feed the ravens?

Review

We follow Tuan in world of magic, swords, guns and large beasts that taps into our own history. It’s a harsh world where men fight wars and women are can be used solely to please a man.

The whole idea of a Sun Shard was intriguing, the flint folk chosen by the shards to protect and use the power, suppressed and beating, waiting for the one to come to lead them back into the Summerlands.

Rob paints a very interesting world indeed with lots of colourful characters to enjoy, my favourites being Bronic (his back story was brilliant, really enjoyed seeing the big man’s motivations), and Kaziviere (The way Rob made my feelings about this character change during the book was brilliant).

Bronic has to be my favourite though; the back story coupled with his red rage gave him something the others in the book just didn’t have in my eyes. I’ve high hopes he will get more page time in the next book. I would love to see the way he communicates with Tuan become a vital part in the plot somehow.

So you’re wondering why only a 4 star.. well if I’m honest in parts I just felt things happened too fast..Tuan gets passed the sun shard and after the visions that accompany it his meaning in life changes in an instant and it would have been nice to see him have come to terms with the responsibility left at his feet a bit more. I also felt as Tuan holds the sun shard he would be the most pivotal character but he doesn’t develop much throughout the book for me..

The major plus point for this book is however another book is planned..We will hopefully see Tuan develop further. Rob has given us such a lush plot with so much potential that I’ll definitely be adding the next book to my TBR pile.

In conclusion Rob Bayliss brings us a brilliant historical fantasy book with so much going on, and that has so much potential that you really should read it. I can see this becoming a very good series of books indeed and I look forward to seeing how the plot progresses.

To find out more information head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

The Malykant Mysteries Compendium: Books 1 – 4 by Charlotte E. English – Review

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Title –  The Malykant Mysteries Compendium: Books 1 – 4
Author – Charlotte E. English
Genre –  Fantasy
Length –  330 Pages
Publication – Feb 2015
My Rating –  5/5 Stars

Synopsis

 Konrad Savast is the Malykant: foremost and most secret servant of the God of Death. His job? To track down the foulest of murderers and bring them to The Malykt’s Justice. No mercy. No quarter.

The Rostikov Legacy: When Konrad discovers the body of a wealthy society hostess lying in the cold, mist-shrouded reaches of the Bone Forest, the pressure is on to find her killer. Can he catch the killer without revealing himself as the Malykant?

The Ivanov Diamond: When three people turn up dead, their immortal souls missing, Konrad’s got a strange case on his hands. And it’s clear that it’s got something to do with the theft of a great and valuable diamond from one of Ekamet’s wealthiest citizens…

Myrrolen’s Ghost Circus: When a corpse turns up in the middle of Myrrolena’s famed circus, Konrad must uncover the weird truth behind the mysterious travelling show—and without falling foul of its enigmatic Ringmistress, Myrrolena herself.

Ghostspeaker: When a wealthy young woman takes her own life, Konrad is sent to investigate. Was it suicide, or murder? Or… both? To discover the truth, Konrad must navigate the combined perils of society gossip, an unregistered Ghostspeaker and a host of unquiet spirits.

Review

This compendium is made up of 4 short stories which have previous been released separately. I really enjoy collections like this as it not only offers value for money but also gives you more to read. I love a good short story but they always leave me wanting more.. a selection like this is perfect to keep you happy if you’re like me.

So these tales focus on the life of Konrad Savast. Savast has two sides to him, first being the wealthy and respectable citizen the second being the Malykant who basically deals out justice for those who have been murdered.

The idea for the Malykant really intrigued me, this dark avenger fighting for those who can’t. The added fantasy twists to the underlying tale of vengeance make for a very engrossing read.

I definitely think getting the compendium instead of the separate books is the way to go so you can move from tale to tale with the previous book fresh in your mind. You don’t need to do this but for me It gave something extra to the development of the characters, you can see Savast grow and struggle with his role as the Malykant and you can see his relationship with Nanda expand and motivations come to light in book 4 that tie things together nicely.

Also I really enjoyed Konrad’s companions in justice, Ootapi & Eetapi, their sense of humour fits perfectly with the theme of the book and I just loved them popping up.

I was already a fan of Charlottes before reading this collection and she has definitely kept me happy with this one. It’s beautifully written to help the reader understand the characters and their surroundings. The descriptiveness really did help paint a picture in my head as I was reading

I’ve given the book a 5* but I was left wanting more.. It credit to the author I guess.. Charlotte has managed to make 300+ pages seem like 100.. I got immersed so much I didn’t even see the end I sight. I’m looking forward to reading and review more of her work

To find out more head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Author Spotlight – Michael R. Hicks

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A little later than planned.. Here’s my next Author Spotlight.

Today I would like to bring to your attention to the works of Michael R. Hicks.

When I just started to get into reading regularly a few years ago I was looking to find a series of books and through a recommendation via twitter I looked at the In Her Name series by Michael R. Hicks.

The series is a science fiction novel with a bit of fantasy edge to it.

It focuses on humans not being alone in the universe and of an alien species of warriors. There’s fighting, swords, guns, love, death.. what more could you want?

For fear of giving too much away of the story that’s as far as I’m going to go.. but If science fiction is your thing you really should check out these books.

Here is the blurb for book 1 to get your taste buds going –

The Terran survey ship Aurora makes a startling discovery in an uncharted star system: two planets inhabited by an advanced, and decidedly unfriendly, non-human civilization. Disabled by gigantic alien warships before it can escape, the Aurora is boarded by nightmarish blue-skinned warriors with claws and fangs who slaughter the crew in ritual combat using primitive weapons. The sole survivor, Midshipman Ichiro Sato, is returned to Earth as a messenger bearing a device that warns of an impending attack.

 For that is the way of the Kreelan Empire, which has waged war against countless civilizations across the stars in its quest for a savior, one not of their own blood, foretold in an ages-old prophecy. With only a few generations left before their ancient species faces extinction, the Kreelans will wage their last war against humanity, hoping against hope for redemption of sins long past.

Currently Amazon.co.uk has 229 five star and 120 four star reviews for this book…I don’t know about you but numbers like that make me take notice…

What? You want another reason to get this book? OK.. how about the fact it’s FREE! Yep. The first book is completely free

Michael’s story telling is just wonderful and he created some brilliant characters and events over this series. I still have 3 books left to read of the 9 and I’m thoroughly looking forward to reading them.

One of the things I like the most is although you can read all 9 books the series is actually split into 3 distinct works. So if you’re not looking for a major commitment to nine books just get the first 3.. you won’t be disappointed .

In all honestly Michael has to be one of my favourite authors. So much so that after reading one book I purchased the next 5 straight away. What have you got to loose.. the first book is free. Give it a read and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear your views

Today I urge you to take a look at Michael’s website here – authormichaelhicks.com. From here he links you directly to where you can purchase the books and read the reviews.

Want to connect with Michael? You can do so via his website Twitter, Facebook,Goodreads or his Amazon author page.

The Warlords of Antares (First Contact) by Brian K. Larson – Review

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Title – The Warlords of Antares (First Contact)
Author – Brian K. Larson
Genre –  Fantasy/Science Fiction
Length –  298 Pages
Publication – 10th April 2015
My Rating – 4/5 Stars

Synopsis

Betelgeuse star went supernova 640 years ago. The explosion opened an unstable wormhole to Earth. It took all those years for the corridor to stabilized. The Warlord’s Emperor sent a scout to investigate the newly discovered life forms, and to bring back specimens for their arena games. Their Antarian blood lust must be quenched…and the Antarian Boreshog beast they must face, has never been defeated.

The benevolent Eridonians’ mission is to prepare the people of Earth for the coming onslaught. Join Navy Captain Jedediah Fitz and USMC Major Race Jennings on their quest to fight Earth’s newest enemy.

Prepare yourselves, the Warlords are coming.

Review

I must admit combining genres like Science Fiction and Fantasy work well for me.

The story is pretty straight forward, good guys & bad guys with added aliens, wormholes, nukes and blood. Pretty good mix if you ask me.

So to start with we learn about two races of aliens the warlord Antarians and the Eridonians. The Eridonians don’t like what the warlords do and want to stop Earth from being invaded.

A wormhole the Eridonians have been monitoring is now stable enough for the warlords to traverse and it leads straight to Earth!

Now the Eridonians have been watching us for some time and now they show themselves to us and enlist the help of the Earths forces to defend the planet from invasion

Things never go to plan and our heroes end up traveling through the wormhole to rescue some crew members who’ve been taken hostage.

We learn a lot more about the alien races at this point and learn about the bloodlust of the Antarians and the games they hold in their arena.

I don’t want to give the whole plot away but there’s an interesting tale being told with the bloodlust and the challenges our heroes face.

I’m a fan of Brian’s work anyway. His books suit adults and young adults as well. I think this is mainly due to his writing style as all his books flow well with a decent chapter length and you don’t get bogged down in too much detail.

The author manages to give the main characters some depth throughout the story and you may find out you like someone you initially thought you wouldn’t.

Now if you want me to be picky I felt the jump sequence used to travel space was a bit long. You hear it used throughout the book so i would have probably shortened it but that’s just me.

I guess my only complaint about the book which really isn’t a complaint is that it left me wondering what happened next.. I felt the ending of the book was good but i wanted more. Am i being greedy??

Overall i really enjoyed the book and i hope you do as well. Do i think the book is worth the money? yes definitely. Keep em coming Brian and i’ll keep buying!

I was never the best reader in the world..

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I thought it might be interesting for you to find out how i came to setting up this blog and how I’ve found the authors i have. I would be very interested to hear your own story’s

As a child i struggled with printed format, my eyes would get tired and blurry. Even after getting glasses i still struggled.

Up until a few years ago i basically never read any books other than what i needed to get by in life, instruction manuals etc.

One day i decided to treat myself to a tablet for twitter/emails and so forth. I found the kindle app and decided i might as well give it a go. I travel to work on the bus so have plenty of free time.

Not being a big reader i decided to look at the free books listed on Amazon under the genres i liked. I thought this was a good starting point and it introduced me to authors like David Dalglish and Michael R Hicks. Both authors offered the first book in one of their series for free and i liked the idea of getting into a series on books rather than just a stand alone novel.

Next i found Robert Southworth, I’m a massive fan of Spartacus and he had recently released a story about him and it had me hooked. This then led me to Gordon Doherty and his Legionary series

From there i headed to twitter, followed these authors and all of a sudden other authors were following me. I took the time to look at some of their work and have found some authors who managed to capture my imagination perfectly and surprising quickly.

I plan to do a write up of some of my favorite authors so far so keep and eye out for that 🙂

Now after getting sucked in by these authors i found myself enjoying books for the first time in my life. Because of this i decided to create this blog so i could interact with other readers but also to show these authors that their work is appreciated

I don’t know why it took me so long to get into reading but i’m glad i have

As always i welcome suggestions on books/authors i should acquaint myself with so feel free to drop me a line either by commenting below or send me an email davidsbookblurg@gmail.com

Cheers