Summary In a world where writing disappears when the author dies, Cael Oberlan watches the last gasping breaths of his best friend. As his friend's signature fades, he pulls a scrap of paper out of his pocket and a name disappears. Cael only wants vengeance for his friend; however, the nagging suspicion that his father, who started this war, hasn't given him the whole story about his role in this conflict threatens to unravel everything he ever thought he knew about himself and his people fighting for freedom. As the nephew of the King of Harfel, Emil Trestinsen should...
Where to Start With Indie Books: 10 Authors to Start With Part 3
This week we're talking about two authors that have taken the fantasy genre by storm in recent years with their dark and epic tales. John Palladino John Palladino burst onto the scene in the summer of 2022 with his debut The Trials of Ashmount. His books are firmly rooted in the grimdark genre of fantasy, and he's not afraid to remind you of that. Taking cues from authors like Joe Abercrombie, Mr. Palladino's Tragedy of Cedain series will have you hooked on the multi-pov tales of people that seem to just have no luck in life, or no love for...
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...
Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar: Review and Interview
Summary Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law is wrong? Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack. Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three years of watching your son wither away can break down even the strongest convictions. Then a dead girl washed up on the bank of the Brightwash, tattooed and mutilated. Where had...
Deathless Beast/Bone Shroud by Andrew D Meredith
Summary Deathless Best Fates intertwine – Pantheon calls – Darkness grows Far too many blame their own bad luck on Hanen and Rallia Clouw. When opportunity knocks, they leap to put their past behind them. In the turmoil of a holy order fraught with lies, frustration, and heresy, the paladin Jined Brazstein is called to deeper faith. When Katiam takes up a seemingly ageless seed pod from a botanist’s desk, she cannot guess at the change it will bring. While life stirs within that seed, while the path to deeper faith beckons, while there is coin to be made upon...
Heliotrope by Palmer Pickering
Summary Teleo is a retired soldier descended from Mages, who were cast out of power generations ago. After years of war and sorrow, he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life on his farm and work his stonemason’s craft. His wife and daughter had been murdered during a war raid several years earlier and his young son stolen by the enemy side. He spent years unsuccessfully searching for his son and returned home broken-hearted. At the local castle, he comes upon a war orphan stolen by his side from the enemy and rescues him from abuse, adopting him...
The Last Ranger by J.D.L. Rosell
Summary Betrayed. Hunted. Left for dead. But not even death itself can keep the last ranger from vengeance. Leiyn “Firebrand” is no stranger to a fight. A brash ranger of the Titan Wilds, she takes up her bow to ward against the colossal spirit creatures known as titans, ever a threat to the colonies she has sworn to protect. But no amount of skill can guard against treachery. When tragedy strikes the rangers’ lodge, Leiyn vows to avenge the fallen. But if she is to succeed, she must embrace a power within her she has long denied. Power to move...
The Price of Power by Michael Michel
Summary Prince Barodane could not hold back the darkness. Not even in himself. He laid an innocent city in its grave and then died a hero. In his absence, war whispers across the land. Power-hungry highborn dispatch spies and assassins to the shadows as they maneuver for the throne, while an even greater threat rises in the South. Monsters and cultists flock to the banners of a mad prophet determined to control reality…and then shatter it. Destiny stalks three to the brink of oblivion. A dead prince that isn’t actually dead. Barodane buried his shameful past in a stupor of...
The Traitors We Are by Michael Roberti
Summary In a world where writing disappears when the author dies, 22-year-old Cael Oberlan watches the last gasping breaths of his best friend. He pulls a scrap of paper out of his pocket as his friend’s signature fades. Cael only wants vengeance for his friend and to create a reality where he no longer has to bow before any man. However, the nagging suspicion that his father, who started this war, hasn’t given him the whole story about his role in this conflict threatens to unravel everything he ever thought he knew about himself and the people he is fighting...