Summary Sam Adams, sixteen-year-old wizard, has zero interest in saving the world—but staying out of the line of fire isn’t an option for wizards. When a new designer drug hits the streets, giving ordinary humans magical powers and leaving a trail of bodies in its wake, it threatens to turn his city of Williamsport’s long-simmering conflict between the haves and the have-nots into a full-scale war. The only one with the skills to protect the city, Sam finds himself thrust into a conspiracy far darker and more dangerous than he ever imagined, with tentacles stretching into the criminal underworld and...
Where to Start With Indie Books: 10 Authors to Start With Part 2
Continuing my Intro to Indie series, today we're going to check out authors Mark Timmony and James Lloyd Dulin, fantasy writers taking completely different approaches to the genre. Mark Timmony Mark Timmony is the author of the Eye of Eternity series, which currently consists of the novel The Blood of the Spear and the prequel novella Starbinder. This series revolves around two brothers who are the subject of a prophecy, and what that means for them politically. This series wears its Wheel of Time influences prominently and doesn't take itself too seriously. Mark is currently hard at work on the...
Soulstealer Origins by Reed Logan Westgate
Summary In the Lord's year 1303, a holy order of knights faces the brink of extinction. Their holy crusade falters as a fiendish monster from beyond the mist decimates their numbers. In desperation, the Knights Templar dispatch a unit to find an ancient relic hoping to tip the scales in the battle against the forces of darkness. Sir Marcus Le'heroux bravely leads the knights into the Hungarian wilderness, but when the weapon he finds buried in the Mátra Mountains turns out to be an awakened Soulstealer, he faces much more than he bargained for. Will the Order's new weapon prove...
Get to Know the Blogger: Michael Roberti
Hey everyone! Kavin and I realized that I haven’t done a “get to know you” post yet, so I’m doing that instead of my weekly review. I’ll be back with reviews next week with Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames! Anyway, for those of you who don’t know me: my name is Michael Roberti, but in conversation I go by Mike. I am a husband, father, former punk singer, current high school English teacher, and author. My first series, Crown and Tide, kicked off with The Traitors We Are in 2022, and I released the prequel novella, The Revenge...
Where to Start With Indie Books: 10 Authors to Start With Part 1
"I want to start reading indie and self-published books, where do I start?" I get this question a lot. Over the next five weeks I'm going to highlight ten authors that are perfect entry-points into the indie and self-publishing science-fiction and fantasy world, starting with Andrew D Meredith Andrew D Meredith is the author of two ongoing series. Thrice is book one in his Needle and Leaf series, a series that is inspired by Slavic mythology. The Needle and Leaf series is on the smaller scale compared to his other series. It has a smaller cast and smaller stakes....
The Return of the Knights by Gregory Kontaxis
Summary The Palace of the Dawn will soon be stormed. The most ruthless man of all time is one step away from assailing on Iovbridge and dethroning Sophie Delamere. The Queen of Knightdorn is now alone, with neither allies nor an army capable of rebuffing the enemy which is approaching her city. Everything appears to be over, until a mysterious young man, Elliot, makes his appearance. Entangled in a web of lies and politics, Elliot will try to draw Walter away from Iovbridge and face him in the stronghold of Wirskworth. He will attempt to rekindle relations and revive the...
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Summary This is the riveting first-person narrative of Kvothe, a young man who grows to be one of the most notorious magicians his world has ever seen. From his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that transports readers into the body and mind of a wizard. Review Your honor, my good people of the jury, I stand before you a simple man. A man that...
Phased by Victoria Tecken
Summary According to the Department of Domestication and Assimilation, Val and Lyla Blackwood are the most dangerous kind of werewolves. Although they were raised in the wild, their Trueblood heritage has made them little more than experiments for years. Now, their freedom depends on their ability to become as human as possible, thrown into an assimilation school with humans and werewolves who have never known what it means to be wild. Trapped in a world where they don't belong and fighting to stay one step ahead of the horrific past that chases them, any wrong move could send them back...
Silverstones Blog Buddy Read Announcement & Reveal
The Silverstones Blog team is doing our first buddy read! We're looking forward to what we hope will be a fun time for everyone. I've never participated in a buddy read, much less organized one, so I'm excited to get into it. But I bet you want to know what book we're reading. Okay I guess I'll tell you. We are reading Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio, book one in the genre-bending Sun Eater series! "Hadrian Marlowe, a man revered as a hero and despised as a murderer, chronicles his tale in the galaxy-spanning debut of the Sun Eater...
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Summary The first novel in the First Law Trilogy and debut fantasy novel from New York Times bestseller, Joe Abercrombie. Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he’s on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian — leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields...