Fantasy – Page 12 – Everything Is Better With Dragons

November Bonus Review #5: ‘Tempests and Slaughter’, by Tamora Pierce

Published By: HarperCollins UK

Publication Date: 20th September 2018

I.S.B.N.: 9780008304331

Format: Paperback

Price: £8.99

Blurb

The legend begins.

In the ancient halls of the Imperial University of Carthak, a young man has begun his journey to becoming one of most powerful mages the realm has ever known. Arram Draper is the youngest student in his class and has the Gift of unlimited potential for greatness . . . and of attracting danger.

At his side are his two best friends: clever Varice, a girl with too often-overlooked, and Ozorne, the ‘leftover prince’ with secret ambitions. Together, these three forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms.

But as Ozorne inches closer to the throne and Varice grows closer to Arram’s heart, Arram realizes that one day – soon – he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie.

In the Numair Chronicles, fans of Tamora Pierce will be rewarded with the never-before-told story of how Numair Salmalín came to Tortall. Newcomers will discover an unforgettable fantasy adventure where a kingdom’s future rests on the shoulders of a boy with unimaginable gifts and a talent for making deadly enemies.

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Bonus Review #1: ‘Elysium’s Shadow’, by Matthew Munson

Published By: Inspired Quill

Publication Date: October 2015?

Format: Paperback

Price: £9.99

I.S.B.N.: 978190860069

Bought from here

Blurb

“It’s been a hell of a first day.”

Jon May has been the Governor of Elysium for a few hours, and he’s already facing a belligerent Chief of Security, an ex-Operations Manager imprisoned for killing the previous Governor, and an amorphous energy mass that has its own agenda.

So now Jon has to decide who to trust; his Security Chief will barely talk to him, and his only allies people who are, according to the Republic, dangerous criminals.

With less than 48 hours to delve into the shadows surrounding Elysium’s recent but tumultuous past, May is about to uncover more about this job than he bargained for.

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Bonus Review #1: ‘Snuff’, by Sir Terry Pratchett GNU

8785374 Published by: Doubleday UK

Publication Date: 13th October 2011

Format: Hardback

I.S.B.N.: 9780385619264

Price: £18.99 (And yes, I did pay that much, I used to get my Discworlds as soon as I could)

Blurb

According to the writer of the best-selling crime novel ever to have been published in the city of Ankh-Morpork, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a policeman taking a holiday would barely have had time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse.

And Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is on holiday in the pleasant and innocent countryside, but not for him a mere body in the wardrobe. There are many, many bodies and an ancient crime more terrible than murder.

He is out of his jurisdiction, out of his depth, out of bacon sandwiches, and occasionally snookered and out of his mind, but never out of guile. Where there is a crime there must be a finding, there must be a chase and there must be a punishment.

They say that in the end all sins are forgiven.

But not quite all…

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Review: ‘So I Might Be A Vampire’, by Rodney V. Smith

So I Might Be a Vampire Published By: Lost Bajan Publishing

Publication Date: 13th February 2018

I.S.B.N.: 9781775007210

Format: Paperback

Price: £13.99

Blurb

Nobody expects to get turned into a vampire, especially a guy like Bob. Everybody hopes that if they somehow get transformed into a vampire, they will instantly become some kind of superhero vampire out of the movies. Bad news guys: not gonna happen. More likely than not, you’re gonna be one of the poor clueless bastards hanging out on Thursday nights with Bob in his vampire support group.

You may think you know what being a vampire is supposed to be like, but Bob is here to set you straight. He’s made it his personal mission to get answers about the reality of being a vampire. He’s been shot, stabbed, thrown off rooftops, survived bad coffee and endured crippling boredom – all in the name of answering the eternal question of what it means to be a vampire.

If you think you might be a vampire, this is the book for you.

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Review: ‘iHunt’, by David A Hill Jr

#iHunt: Killing Monsters in the Gig Economy by [Hill, David] — Cover for the UK Kindle edition

Published By: Independently published

Publication Date: 11th August 2017

I.S.B.N.: 9781522077435

Format: Kindle & paperback

Price: £3.85 or £11.54 (paperback)

Blurb

It’s like Uber, but for slaying monsters!

Lana is a monster hunter. She kills vampires, werewolves, demons and all the other terrifying creatures of the night. She doesn’t do it because she’s the chosen one. She doesn’t do it because it’s her duty. She does it because working one job just doesn’t cut it for a millenial in Southern California.

She takes contracts using iHunt, an app which freelance monster hunters use to find profitable prey. It’s like Supernatural meets Uber, Buffy meets Airbnb, and sadly, Blade meets Fiverr.

Lana’s story is about making ends meet, about economic anxiety, and about what a person’s willing to do to pay the bills. It’s a equal parts horror, dark humor, slice of life, and social commentary on the gig economy.

She deals with the same problems other millennials face: begging the landlord to extend your rent due date until the next paycheck comes, dating guys not concerned about their partners’ orgasms, dating women who have to sleep all day because they burn in the sun, the cost of clothing you need to replace because you got into a fight with the undead, and trying to explain that the security footage where you’re killing a guy is actually a viral social experiment to advertise your new film. You know, normal millennial issues. I’m sorry, I meant to say #millenialissues. Gotta get those views!

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Review: ‘Misfortunes of Vision’, by Christy Nicholas

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Misfortune of Vision by Christy Nicholas,

Book #4 in The Druid’s Brooch Series

Historical fantasy set in 12^th century Ireland

~ Prophecy can be dangerous ~

In 12th century Ireland, Orlagh has been Seer to her king for forty years. He doesn’t want to hear her prophecies of war and destruction, and dismisses her efforts to warn him. Therefore, she is determined to fulfill her own quest: to find a worthy heir for her magical brooch.

In the course of events, she must pass judgment on a thief, escape a Norman war camp, and battle wits with a Fae lord. She receives some prophecy of her own and enlists the help of a grizzled old warrior, who happens to be a long–time friend.

Links:

Publisher link: http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Nicholas_Christy/index.htm

Website: http://www.greendragonartist.com

Blog: http://www.greendragonartist.net

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/greendragonauthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/greendragon9

Author Bio:

Celtic Fairies, Fables, and Folklore! Bestselling author (top #100 Amazon Canada, #1 in Paranormal Fantasy, Amazon Canada)

Christy Nicholas, also known as Green Dragon, is an author, artist and accountant. After she failed to become an airline pilot, she quit her ceaseless pursuit of careers that begin with ‘A’, and decided to concentrate on her writing. Since she has Project Completion Disorder, she is one of the few authors with NO unfinished novels.

Christy has her hands in many crafts, including digital art, beaded jewelry, writing, and photography. In real life, she’s a CPA, but having grown up with art all around her (her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother are/were all artists), it sort of infected her, as it were.

She wants to expose the incredible beauty in this world, hidden beneath the everyday grime of familiarity and habit, and share it with others. She uses characters out of time and places infused with magic and myth.

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Review: ‘Black & White’, by Nick Wilford

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Publication Date: 18th September 2018

Published by: Superstar Peanut Publishing

I.S.B.N.: 9781370304622

Format: e-book

Blurb

What is the price paid for the creation of a perfect society?

In Whitopolis, a gleamingly white city of the future where illness has been eradicated, shock waves run through the populace when a bedraggled, dirt-stricken boy materialises in the main street. Led by government propaganda, most citizens shun him as a demon, except for Wellesbury Noon – a high school student the same age as the boy.

Upon befriending the boy, Wellesbury feels a connection that he can’t explain – as well as discovering that his new friend comes from a land that is stricken by disease and only has two weeks to live. Why do he and a girl named Ezmerelda Dontible appear to be the only ones who want to help?

As they dig deeper, everything they know is turned on its head – and a race to save one boy becomes a struggle to redeem humanity.

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Review: ‘The Eye Of Nefertiti’, by Maria Luisa Lang

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I received this book directly from the author in return for an honest review.

Published By: CreateSpace Independent Publishing

Publication Date: 29th November 2016

I.S.B.N.: 9780996335218

Price: £6.70

Format: Paperback (also available as a Kindle ebook)

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy

Wrappa-Hamen is a wise-cracking, funny, slightly self-deceiving cat blessed by Bastet with the ability to walk and talk like a human. And eat like a human. A mysterious letter arrives at Wrappa-Hamen’s abode in New York, the home of Elena Knowall and her ancient Egyptian husband, the High Priest of Amen Ra, Gato-Hamen, and their son, Alexander, the reborn Pharaoh Wrappa-Hamen served thousands of years before. Elena learns to read the Tarot, much to Gato-Hamen’s shock and anger, especially after he interupts her reading for Wrappa-Hamen. Something momentous is going to happen to the cat.

The letter arrives from a woman in Bath, England, who wants Elena to write her biography. Elena accepts and the family, by one means or another go to Bath. Elens and Alexander fly, Wrappa-Haman and Gato-Hamen travel in the Boat that they arrived in New York on in the first book, via Stonehenge 1000 B.C.E. At Stonehenge they meet a mysterious Egyptian priestess. Arriving finally in Bath, the pair explore Bath with Elena and baby Alexander. Finding secret passages and discovering the mysterious woman from the Tarot reading and a dream Wrappa-Hamen has, the High Priest and Cat travel back to the city of Akhetaten in about 1330 BCE. The woman is Nefertiti, wife of the heretic Pharaoh Ahkenaten, and mother of Tutankhamun. They must find out why she has no memory of a period of 10 days and why she can’t die.

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Review: ‘Hall of Heroes: A Fellowship of Fantasy Anthology’

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Publication Date: 21 Jun. 2017

I.S.B.N.: 978-1548275334

Format: EBook or Paperback

Price: £0.00 (Ebook); £12.57 (Paperback)

Blurb

Twenty-Seven Thrilling Tales from Amazing Fantasy Authors!

Whether they are unwitting, plucky, or just plain epic, heroes capture the imagination and rescue us from everyday life. With stories set in fantastic, magical realms, gritty urban landscapes, and fairytale kingdoms, our heroes stand fast as defenders of good. Struggling against evil governments, wicked demi-gods, wrathful nature, supernatural con-men, and their own insecurities, each must find the strength to triumph and the will to persevere.

In the second anthology from the Fellowship of Fantasy, twenty-three authors explore the theme of heroes, covering genres ranging from steampunk and fairytale to urban and Arthurian. These are the heroes you’ve been waiting for.

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Review: ‘Outbreak Mutiny’, by James Sandlin

OUTBREAKMUTINYCOVER

Blurb

ALTERNATE HISTORY. WITH SUPERHEROES.

December 31, 1929, was a Day That Lived in Infamy. A war between extraordinary beings with superpowers ended in DEFEAT for the United States and her Allies. Darkness fell on a Golden Age of heroes at the hands of the REICH.

Ten years later, all still mourn the anniversary of the day the Reich seized control during Operation TripleReich. Life is a struggle for the Remnant States occupying the middle of the Old US.

A virus in the Chicago Zone reignites the conflict between good and evil as the Outbreak Mutineers gather to stop the plague’s deadly origins.

Join the Outbreak Babies: – Buccaneer, Clockwork, Atlas, and more- as they battle the Warlords of Reich. Their adventures stretch across the years and through the sewers, high-seas, and even a city park.

No Matter the Time or Place, their Choice is Clear:

Die Free or Live in Chains.

Available here: rxe.me/ZDL95Q

Author’s website: www.thenovelcomics.com

Publication date: 19th April 2017

Published Independently

I.S.B.N.: 978-1521106679

Format: Available as Kindle e-book and paperback

This book was sent to me by Bear & The Book in return for an honest review as part of the blog tour for Outbreak Mutiny.

Find Books & The Bear on Twitter @booksandthebear

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