C. J. Daley
The author sent me a very nicely signed paperback, and I’m lucky to have received it! This is a novel set within the author’s A Relics of War world, but it is a standalone story.
The novel opens up to Owen, a knight of the five kingdoms, on the eve of battle. He is alone, with just the city guard to rally the defenses. The way this started made it compulsively readable, as I just had to know what was going to happen. The fact that the author then practically subverts the expectation with there being little to no opening action, was what I thought was a strange choice at first, but ended up being a hit. It leaves the reader on the edge of their seat for the remainder of the novel…a “when is the action finally happening” that was never far from the front of my mind.
The Murkor, the race that was attacking, then turned saviors, add a dynamic to the novel I wasn’t expecting. The author makes you like them several times, through Owen and Aj’ana’s relationship for one example, to just keep reeling us back in with reminders of the humans’ captivity. I thought it was a unique display of Stockholm syndrome and how back and forth the process can be. The Murkor are not so free themselves, yet they are often complicit, while at other times they stick their necks out for the humans. It’s just the right blend to make you wonder the entire time.
After a very unexpected left turn, that gives the novel its name of Serpentus, we finally have our fully built climax. The mental, physical, and emotional ties are all set perfectly, with Owen at the forefront of bearing them all. It adds a layer of humanity onto what may be considered a loss of it. And the action that follows certainly pays off as well. Gods, several races, and the righteousness of fighting for freedom, explode into a terrifying and personalized description of battle.
I recommend everyone check this one out. Whether you are already a fan of the Relics of War trilogy, or a newbie like me, this one is well written and well done.
The author sent me a very nicely signed paperback, and I’m lucky to have received it! This is a novel set within the author’s A Relics of War world, but it is a standalone story.
The novel opens up to Owen, a knight of the five kingdoms, on the eve of battle. He is alone, with just the city guard to rally the defenses. The way this started made it compulsively readable, as I just had to know what was going to happen. The fact that the author then practically subverts the expectation with there being little to no opening action, was what I thought was a strange choice at first, but ended up being a hit. It leaves the reader on the edge of their seat for the remainder of the novel…a “when is the action finally happening” that was never far from the front of my mind.
The Murkor, the race that was attacking, then turned saviors, add a dynamic to the novel I wasn’t expecting. The author makes you like them several times, through Owen and Aj’ana’s relationship for one example, to just keep reeling us back in with reminders of the humans’ captivity. I thought it was a unique display of Stockholm syndrome and how back and forth the process can be. The Murkor are not so free themselves, yet they are often complicit, while at other times they stick their necks out for the humans. It’s just the right blend to make you wonder the entire time.
After a very unexpected left turn, that gives the novel its name of Serpentus, we finally have our fully built climax. The mental, physical, and emotional ties are all set perfectly, with Owen at the forefront of bearing them all. It adds a layer of humanity onto what may be considered a loss of it. And the action that follows certainly pays off as well. Gods, several races, and the righteousness of fighting for freedom, explode into a terrifying and personalized description of battle.
I recommend everyone check this one out. Whether you are already a fan of the Relics of War trilogy, or a newbie like me, this one is well written and well done.
I received an audible code to judge for the Indie Ink Awards, so thanks to the author and organizers. Richard Pendragon’s narration was great and added to the overall enjoyment for me.
The novel is a modern vampire urban fantasy. It starts with Ezra’s final boxing match before he’s ready to skip town again. Enter Killian, his last opponent, and so much more. From there, the novel spirals out of control, with estrangement and loss, deception and deceit. Oh, and vampires of course.
Through no fault of Ezra’s, naturally, some awful things happen to him, and therefore little choice is left when an injury threatens his life. Waking up a vampire certainly changes things, but I loved how grounded the novel read. The author does a great job of keeping the story going as it already was, only amping things up and adding in more supernatural elements over time. It made it read as a very personal story.
I also enjoyed the various bits that the author changed about what people think of vampires, especially as they were all done very underhandedly, which made them feel real to the story itself. Stakes to the heart, bullets, blood, this is a world of its own. I did like that there was a concert scene, as well as some later on werewolves, both of which felt like an Underworld club scene-esque nod.
The ending had stakes, the emotional connect was well made, and the somewhat supernatural explosion at the end read as warranted. This is not a typical read for me, but boy did I enjoy it. It was refreshing and different.
I received an audible code to judge for the Indie Ink Awards, so thanks to the author and organizers. Richard Pendragon’s narration was great and added to the overall enjoyment for me.
The novel is a modern vampire urban fantasy. It starts with Ezra’s final boxing match before he’s ready to skip town again. Enter Killian, his last opponent, and so much more. From there, the novel spirals out of control, with estrangement and loss, deception and deceit. Oh, and vampires of course.
Through no fault of Ezra’s, naturally, some awful things happen to him, and therefore little choice is left when an injury threatens his life. Waking up a vampire certainly changes things, but I loved how grounded the novel read. The author does a great job of keeping the story going as it already was, only amping things up and adding in more supernatural elements over time. It made it read as a very personal story.
I also enjoyed the various bits that the author changed about what people think of vampires, especially as they were all done very underhandedly, which made them feel real to the story itself. Stakes to the heart, bullets, blood, this is a world of its own. I did like that there was a concert scene, as well as some later on werewolves, both of which felt like an Underworld club scene-esque nod.
The ending had stakes, the emotional connect was well made, and the somewhat supernatural explosion at the end read as warranted. This is not a typical read for me, but boy did I enjoy it. It was refreshing and different.
This is a prequel novella to Zodak: The Last Shielder, however it may be best referred to as a precursor, as it’s entirely its own story.
Although I read these almost back to back, I found there to be little connection to Zodak at all, unless I just entirely missed it (totally might have). That’s not a bad thing at all, I was just keeping my eyes and ears peeled for those little threads to start seeding their way in. Set two hundred years before Zodak, I expected maybe something more direct in the prequel area to the shielders, but I’m still not mad at all with a more separate story.
Where Zodak follows a young character’s journey through finding out he may be more than just a farm boy, Throne Born is a story of splintering peace, political intrigue in multiple courts, deceptions, and betrayals. This difference might also be why it felt so totally different and unrelated to me as well. This novella is also on less of a grand scale. There are stakes, and things are very real, however it never quite gets off the ground to the level in which Zodak felt, which was awfully epic. With that being said, it’s also a simplified, more personal story as well, which absolutely worked in the novella format. Love, jealousy, and pride collide in a natural fashion, but still in a big enough way.
Enjoyable and worth checking out! I read Zodak first, and would probably suggest it in that order. While this does not follow the recent format of prequel being released after the novel, there was just more of what I loved in the full release that hooked me and made me want to go back. The Epilogue, the King’s Coda, read almost like something you’d find in Tolkien’s Appendices, and for that, I really enjoyed its addition.
This is a prequel novella to Zodak: The Last Shielder, however it may be best referred to as a precursor, as it’s entirely its own story.
Although I read these almost back to back, I found there to be little connection to Zodak at all, unless I just entirely missed it (totally might have). That’s not a bad thing at all, I was just keeping my eyes and ears peeled for those little threads to start seeding their way in. Set two hundred years before Zodak, I expected maybe something more direct in the prequel area to the shielders, but I’m still not mad at all with a more separate story.
Where Zodak follows a young character’s journey through finding out he may be more than just a farm boy, Throne Born is a story of splintering peace, political intrigue in multiple courts, deceptions, and betrayals. This difference might also be why it felt so totally different and unrelated to me as well. This novella is also on less of a grand scale. There are stakes, and things are very real, however it never quite gets off the ground to the level in which Zodak felt, which was awfully epic. With that being said, it’s also a simplified, more personal story as well, which absolutely worked in the novella format. Love, jealousy, and pride collide in a natural fashion, but still in a big enough way.
Enjoyable and worth checking out! I read Zodak first, and would probably suggest it in that order. While this does not follow the recent format of prequel being released after the novel, there was just more of what I loved in the full release that hooked me and made me want to go back. The Epilogue, the King’s Coda, read almost like something you’d find in Tolkien’s Appendices, and for that, I really enjoyed its addition.
I grabbed this in paperback in my quest to buy all indie novellas.
The author does a very good job of painting the picture of a loving family in a small number of pages. A working father, a dutiful wife and learning daughter, and a son that wants to prove himself while making his father proud. Time period appropriate, while still allowing the daughter and son their playtime. They eat dinner as a family and both children are tucked in each night lovingly…with maybe a couple visits from the tickle monster.
Teddy is soon to be a man, so his father is letting him know more and handle more responsibility. Carrying the water in from the well, attempting to swing the woodcutting axe on his own, and hearing all about his father’s traumatic childhood experience in the woods by their house. Of course a story like that would stick in a young boy’s mind, and of course it’s only a matter of time before something forces them back into those woods. Forces the past and the present to collide.
SOME SPOILER-Y THINGS
The first instance involving the entity is creepy, ambiguous enough to let your mind wonder, and of course fast enough to leave you asking, “what just happened?” And with that being said, the second does much the same for the reader while being entirely different. A house in the woods, the dog trapped, a woman in all black. But when Teddy’s sister wakes him up, was any of it real?
Much like the visits in the night that follow, as well as the echoes of what happened to his father’s best friend, Teddy’s decent into madness comes at a loss of sleep and a few bumps in the night. The descent might be quick, but the creepiness is awfully high.
I really love horrors that take childhood fears/monsters and turn them into real, flesh and blood nightmares. My main gripe with this one (while small) is that it didn’t actually do that, not entirely. The Tickle Monster is a manifestation of fear and anxiety for Teddy, and I suppose I was more so expecting a creature feature. Still very worth a read! Personally 3.5/5*.
I grabbed this in paperback in my quest to buy all indie novellas.
The author does a very good job of painting the picture of a loving family in a small number of pages. A working father, a dutiful wife and learning daughter, and a son that wants to prove himself while making his father proud. Time period appropriate, while still allowing the daughter and son their playtime. They eat dinner as a family and both children are tucked in each night lovingly…with maybe a couple visits from the tickle monster.
Teddy is soon to be a man, so his father is letting him know more and handle more responsibility. Carrying the water in from the well, attempting to swing the woodcutting axe on his own, and hearing all about his father’s traumatic childhood experience in the woods by their house. Of course a story like that would stick in a young boy’s mind, and of course it’s only a matter of time before something forces them back into those woods. Forces the past and the present to collide.
SOME SPOILER-Y THINGS
The first instance involving the entity is creepy, ambiguous enough to let your mind wonder, and of course fast enough to leave you asking, “what just happened?” And with that being said, the second does much the same for the reader while being entirely different. A house in the woods, the dog trapped, a woman in all black. But when Teddy’s sister wakes him up, was any of it real?
Much like the visits in the night that follow, as well as the echoes of what happened to his father’s best friend, Teddy’s decent into madness comes at a loss of sleep and a few bumps in the night. The descent might be quick, but the creepiness is awfully high.
I really love horrors that take childhood fears/monsters and turn them into real, flesh and blood nightmares. My main gripe with this one (while small) is that it didn’t actually do that, not entirely. The Tickle Monster is a manifestation of fear and anxiety for Teddy, and I suppose I was more so expecting a creature feature. Still very worth a read! Personally 3.5/5*.
I grabbed this in paperback in my quest to buy all indie novellas.
The author does a very good job of painting the picture of a loving family in a small number of pages. A working father, a dutiful wife and learning daughter, and a son that wants to prove himself while making his father proud. Time period appropriate, while still allowing the daughter and son their playtime. They eat dinner as a family and both children are tucked in each night lovingly…with maybe a couple visits from the tickle monster.
Teddy is soon to be a man, so his father is letting him know more and handle more responsibility. Carrying the water in from the well, attempting to swing the woodcutting axe on his own, and hearing all about his father’s traumatic childhood experience in the woods by their house. Of course a story like that would stick in a young boy’s mind, and of course it’s only a matter of time before something forces them back into those woods. Forces the past and the present to collide.
The first instance involving the entity is creepy, ambiguous enough to let your mind wonder, and of course fast enough to leave you asking, “what just happened?” And with that being said, the second does much the same for the reader while being entirely different. A house in the woods, the dog trapped, a woman in all black. But when Teddy’s sister wakes him up, was any of it real?
Much like the visits in the night that follow, as well as the echoes of what happened to his father’s best friend, Teddy’s decent into madness comes at a loss of sleep and a few bumps in the night. The descent might be quick, but the creepiness is awfully high.
I really love horrors that take childhood fears/monsters and turn them into real, flesh and blood nightmares. My main gripe with this one (while small) is that it didn’t actually do that, not entirely. The Tickle Monster is a manifestation of fear and anxiety for Teddy, and I suppose I was more so expecting a creature feature. Still very worth a read! Personally 3.5/5*.
I grabbed this in paperback in my quest to buy all indie novellas.
The author does a very good job of painting the picture of a loving family in a small number of pages. A working father, a dutiful wife and learning daughter, and a son that wants to prove himself while making his father proud. Time period appropriate, while still allowing the daughter and son their playtime. They eat dinner as a family and both children are tucked in each night lovingly…with maybe a couple visits from the tickle monster.
Teddy is soon to be a man, so his father is letting him know more and handle more responsibility. Carrying the water in from the well, attempting to swing the woodcutting axe on his own, and hearing all about his father’s traumatic childhood experience in the woods by their house. Of course a story like that would stick in a young boy’s mind, and of course it’s only a matter of time before something forces them back into those woods. Forces the past and the present to collide.
The first instance involving the entity is creepy, ambiguous enough to let your mind wonder, and of course fast enough to leave you asking, “what just happened?” And with that being said, the second does much the same for the reader while being entirely different. A house in the woods, the dog trapped, a woman in all black. But when Teddy’s sister wakes him up, was any of it real?
Much like the visits in the night that follow, as well as the echoes of what happened to his father’s best friend, Teddy’s decent into madness comes at a loss of sleep and a few bumps in the night. The descent might be quick, but the creepiness is awfully high.
I really love horrors that take childhood fears/monsters and turn them into real, flesh and blood nightmares. My main gripe with this one (while small) is that it didn’t actually do that, not entirely. The Tickle Monster is a manifestation of fear and anxiety for Teddy, and I suppose I was more so expecting a creature feature. Still very worth a read! Personally 3.5/5*.
A big thanks to the author for sending over an audio code. Dallin Bradford absolutely knocks it out of the park, this is some of the best narration I’ve heard in quite a long time.
This is a classic (in this case, farm boy) origin story, pulling from those of before like Frodo, Rand al’Thor, Eragon, even Jon Snow. So regardless of the genre tags you’d add to this, the one thing that stood out to me the entire time was “classic”. And I could definitely see this series going down as one. It feels so over the top professional, the author has whittled down the prose to the point where there is not a single unnecessary word throughout the entire novel.
Zodak lives with his aunt and uncle. Their two children, as well as his aunt, find him at best to be a nuisance, and at worst a complete mistake. And of course they can’t stand the fact that Ardon, his uncle, is so fond of him. It makes for one tinderbox of a household.
The impetus that sets Zodak in motion again feels very classic, very Luke Skywalker even, but it’s done so well and flows so brilliantly that I was 100% along for the ride. And while he does meet some help along the way, as well as a ranger-type that made me super happy, he does offer up an experience that's all his own, and his path isn't decided by those that came before him.
I really had to think over what to write here, as otherwise it would have been tons of ramblings and spoilers. And because of that I'd like to stress just how much I loved this! I love that Zodak appears to be the easy chosen one, just to have his newfound dreams crushed…but just maybe? This needs to be added to every TBR. Immediately.
A big thanks to the author for sending over an audio code. Dallin Bradford absolutely knocks it out of the park, this is some of the best narration I’ve heard in quite a long time.
This is a classic (in this case, farm boy) origin story, pulling from those of before like Frodo, Rand al’Thor, Eragon, even Jon Snow. So regardless of the genre tags you’d add to this, the one thing that stood out to me the entire time was “classic”. And I could definitely see this series going down as one. It feels so over the top professional, the author has whittled down the prose to the point where there is not a single unnecessary word throughout the entire novel.
Zodak lives with his aunt and uncle. Their two children, as well as his aunt, find him at best to be a nuisance, and at worst a complete mistake. And of course they can’t stand the fact that Ardon, his uncle, is so fond of him. It makes for one tinderbox of a household.
The impetus that sets Zodak in motion again feels very classic, very Luke Skywalker even, but it’s done so well and flows so brilliantly that I was 100% along for the ride. And while he does meet some help along the way, as well as a ranger-type that made me super happy, he does offer up an experience that's all his own, and his path isn't decided by those that came before him.
I really had to think over what to write here, as otherwise it would have been tons of ramblings and spoilers. And because of that I'd like to stress just how much I loved this! I love that Zodak appears to be the easy chosen one, just to have his newfound dreams crushed…but just maybe? This needs to be added to every TBR. Immediately.