Virtual Book Tour Dates: 9/8/14 - 9/22/14 Genres: Dark Fantasy (and General Fantasy) Release Date: August 23rd, 2014 A primeval fiend is loose in the ancient metropolis of Malkandrah, intent on burning it to a wasteland. The city's leaders stand idly by and the sorcerers that once protected the people are long gone. Maldren, a young necromancer, is the only person brave enough to stand against the creature. Instead of help from the Masters of his Guild, he is given a new apprentice. Why now, and why a girl? As they unravel the clues to defeating the fiend, they discover a secret society holding the future of the city in its grip. After betrayals and attempts on his life, Maldren has reason to suspect everyone he thought a friend, even the girl. His last hope lies in an alliance with a depraved and murderous ghost, but how can he trust it? Its sinister past is intertwined in the lives of everyone he holds dear. Can only evil defeat evil? Excerpt: At the door, she dragged her heels. “I’ll wait out here until you’re done.” I tugged her forward. “It’s too dangerous and I don’t want you out of my sight. You’re my apprentice, so you have to obey.” I winked. She rolled her eyes but followed me into the dark taproom. I separated our hands as we crossed the threshold. Necromancers don’t hold hands. The dregs of society were already congregating, weaving drunkenly among stable boys scattering fresh straw. True to the inn’s name, the stench of old vomit mixed with that of stale beer. Arms reached out to paw at Ayla, but when they saw my robe they slunk away into dark corners. I stood tall. Yes, you lecherous mob, the necromancer just stepped into your sleazy world. There was no sign of the Duke’s men, or anyone else trying to catch my attention. The back stairs creaked and bowed as we ascended, and I didn’t risk putting weight on the unsteady banister. The upstairs hallway was empty, so we strode past several doors that muffled ecstatic cries or snores, and I knocked on the rearmost door. No answer. Kristach, he’d left. I pushed it open and froze. I tried to block Ayla’s view but she slipped past me into the room. She gasped and her hands flew to her mouth. Then she doubled over in a crouch and threw up, spraying her breakfast all over her feet. I hurried inside and shut the door. Thank Belaya she hadn’t screamed, but she uttered a low, haunting moan, at the same time clutching her abdomen and trembling. Buy Links: Amazon Kindle Amazon Paperback Barnes and Noble iTunes Kobo About the Author: Graeme Ing engineers original fantasy worlds, both YA and adult, but hang around, and you’ll likely read tales of romance, sci-fi, paranormal, cyberpunk, steampunk or any blend of the above. Born in England in 1965, Graeme moved to San Diego, California in 1996 and lives there still. His career as a software engineer and development manager spans 30 years, mostly in the computer games industry. He is also an armchair mountaineer, astronomer, mapmaker, pilot and general geek. He and his wife, Tamara, share their house with more cats than he can count. Connect With The Author: Website Blog Google+ Goodreads Amazon Author Page Giveaway: Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card! This giveaway will run the length of the tour. Open internationally. Enter throughRafflecopter. Virtual Book Tour Dates: 8/18/14 – 9/15/14 Genres: Fantasy, Action Adventure, Science Fiction Tour Promo Price: Free “This is Safe Haven Refugee Camp. Can anyone hear me? “Hello? Is anyone out there?” “The End of the world has given us a harsh, merciless existence, where nature tries hard to push mankind to the very brink of extinction. Everything is against us, between us… “Untold miles of lawless, apocalyptic roads wait for our feet, and the Future, cold and dark, offers little comfort. Without CHANGE, there will be no peace. Only Survivors.” “Set along the lines of The Stand and The Postman, this is a chilling vision of the collapse of all society in the year 2012 and the rebirth of a nation by those who survived. It’s so much more than just another fantasy series.” -The Review Shop From dangerous trips into dark, apocalyptic cities, to patriotic rescues and furious revelations, Life After War is an action packed fantasy series where those left alive must come to terms with their mistakes in the old world, while fighting for a place in the new one. It’s the apocalyptic fantasy series that Stephen King fans have been searching for. This way, please… Summary in 20 words or less An action adventure quest, with a supernatural romance, and many other subplots, set during the aftermath of the apocalypse. So what’s really in this series? Here’s a short list: *The End of the World, right-up-close and full of apocalyptic horror. *A government conspiracy that caused the apocalypse. *An adventure into the wastelands to find family, supplies, and safety. *A supernatural romance with a dangerous secret about a child’s parentage and a love strong enough to survive the end of the world. *An invasion, ambushes, attacks from Nature and man – guns and magic. *A refugee camp with very different laws, picking up those who’ve survived. *A Hero you’ll love, even as you ponder the secrets that could lose him leadership. *A Witch, a Doctor, a government Storm Tracker, a TV Star, and three Marines struggling to keep their people alive and together as they prepare to defend themselves against Cesar’s Slavers. *A constant battle for survival that includes deadly trips into decaying American cities, insanity, relics of the past, and ghosts that stalk their every move. Life After War. Magic and Reality blended into a post-apocalyptic fantasy series that you won’t ever forget. The Survivors (book one) has been a bestseller on multiple retailers in fantasy series, dark fantasy, science fiction adventure, and romance series. It has sold, or been downloaded, more than 100K times. www.amazon.com/Survivors-Book-One-Life-After-ebook/dp/B0049B31FW Watch the book trailer on Youtube Excerpt: Like most days, the sound of the ocean haunts me. My name is Angela. I’m a mother, doctor, soldier, and now, in the year 2017, I am a leader of men. Thanks to the nuclear war that ended our world, I’ve become the guardian of an American refugee camp called Safe Haven. Surrounded by carefully watching guards, I sit in front the immense Pacific Ocean as my people work and play nearby, confident my army will look after them while I tell you about the War, and about how we were forced to flee our beloved country in the awful aftermath. The apocalypse was a nightmare from which we couldn’t wake. Some of us still haven’t, and soon we’ll be at the water’s mercy again. In less than two months, we are going home. The real America waits for us to reclaim and to rebuild, but mostly, simply, for us to return. Before we undertake that perilous journey, I have to get the three hundred fifty-seven souls here ready for the trip, and I only know one way it can be done—Adrian has to come back and lead us home, as he promised. Adrian… That incredibly patriotic man has been exiled, even though he is the only reason we survived. His secret was the excuse the camp needed to turn on him, but I won’t do that. I can’t. I swore myself to him the same as the rest of his Council, and like them, I still believe. I’ve gotten way ahead of myself, far beyond the beginning, when our future didn’t look as good is it does now. Most people here in New America won’t talk about the War or the long, ugly journey we made together. They say the memories have faded, but I know a lie when I hear one. Some horrors you never forget. Like our final battle with Cesar and his large band of ruthless Mexican guerillas. It’s been five years, but I still see the deep red streams of blood running down rain-soaked trees. I still smell men burning alive in their metal coffins. I dream of it sometimes, of the cold, wet night when I was the bait, and I’m sure Adrian does too. It was the moment we knew our people would live—because of one man’s dream and his terrible lies. Adrian kept us alive, gave us everything he had, and he always did what was best for the camp, no matter what it cost him personally. He taught us to be stronger than we thought we could be, to look out for each other and ourselves and through it all he lied by omission. He knew these scared, hurting survivors would never have trusted him, would never have given him a chance, if they’d known who he really was. We came a long way together in the year after the War, thousands of miles of heartbreaking devastation, and it hurts those of us who remain loyal to see him accept their unfair judgment without a fight. It makes everything we went through seem less important than it was, weakens the magic somehow, and I can’t allow that. I’ve been seeing open doors again, and that sly ocean cautions me, says the return trip will be just as hard as the one we undertook to get here. If there’s a storm headed toward the flock, it’s our Shepherd we’ll need to see us through it. So, for Adrian and for those of us standing by him, still ready to die for him, and for the dreams he made me believe in from almost the first minute I set foot in his refugee camp, I will tell our story and leave nothing out. Maybe then, these people will realize what he did for our country, accept how much we owe him, and allow him to reclaim what’s rightfully his—us. Before I tell you about our harsh, ugly journey, let me show you what happened on that day, what they did to us and what we did to each other. This is how America’s story of survival began… Buy Links: Amazon Barnes and Noble iTunes Smashwords Kobo Hello, I’m Angie. (Pen name) Little pleases me more than to explore the dark fantasy and horror stories in my head. Knowing other people like them, is second only to the magic of this new career I’ve chosen. As a die-hard Cincinnatian, I much prefer writing to the stresses of being a city Taxicab dispatcher. Thank you for making my dreams possible, and for looking at this page! Connect With The Author:Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, lets you and I take a little stroll. There’s a story I need to let out of its cage and I think it’s one you need to hear. It’s about the end of the world as we know it… Note: Many of my books were removed until the new editors, Kim and Sharon, and I, could get them into top shape. It was clear from the reviews, that we had a lot of work to do. We began in Feb. As of Oct., we now have 9 of 11 titles finished and back online for your reading pleasure. The remaining books will return as soon as we finish them. Website "I love the name of honor, more than I fear death." Julius Caesar Jim Hayes lives a quiet life in Wisconsin, training in martial arts and studying the warrior ethos. Unable to prevent the murder of his wife six years earlier, Jim is determined that the next time he is called upon to act, things will be different, and he can restore the sense of honor he believes he has lost. His estranged brother Mark, an Army colonel commanding a firebase in the mountains of Afghanistan, sees his career winding down and wonders what lies in store when he comes home. After years of dedicated service to his country, he fears nothing else will measure up when he removes the uniform for the last time. In lawless Somalia, al Qaeda chieftain Yusuf Shalita, tired of endless jihad, has decided to defect, in one last attempt at redemption. But Shalita has only met one American he has ever trusted, so he tells the CIA he will surrender himself to Jim Hayes, his old friend from their college days in Wisconsin. That demand will bring the Hayes brothers back together in a way they never imagined, as they fight to prevent a new and devastating terror attack on the very heart of America. QUEST FOR HONOR excerpt 1 July 2011 Somalia Every night, he saw the children. No matter how tired he was, no matter how preoccupied he was from the events of the day, no matter anything, he dreamed. And in his dreams, they came for him. Pain and supplication filled their eyes; a shadow, dark and menacing, loomed behind them. Sometimes he could hear its wicked laughter, smell its fetid breath. On this hot night, he woke up screaming. “No! Save them! Save them!” Bolting upright, the bedclothes fell away, drenched with his sweat. He was panting. The shadow had gotten close to him, as the children milled around, and he felt its cold tendrils snaking around him, drawing him closer… There was a knock at the door, then a muffled voice. “Yusuf! Are you all right?” He didn’t answer, and the door edged open. The face that peered in was that of Amir, his most trusted lieutenant. Did the man never sleep? “Are you ill, Yusuf? May I get you anything?” Yusuf shook his head, banishing the last wisps of the faces, knowing they would be back, perhaps as soon as he nodded off again. “Thank you, Amir, but I am fine. A bad dream, that is all.” “Shall I prepare some hot tea? It often helps me sleep.” Yusuf started to object, but said, “That would be good. Please, bring it to the library, and join me.” He rose, pulled on a dry robe, switching on the light. The lone overhead bulb sputtered but stayed on. At least the electricity was running, he thought. Otherwise it would be candles and lanterns, as it was some nights. How could this truly be part of the land of Allah’s people if it could not consistently provide even the bare necessities? Ah, but what necessities are we thinking of, Yusuf reminded himself. The ones you enjoyed back in America, at university? Or the ones the true believers scraped and scavenged for every day, here in the barren countryside, the crowded cities, that made up the lands of the Prophet, blessings be upon him? In the library, which was little more than a room with some shelves laden with books, a desk and his precious computer, Yusuf sat on one of the pillows along the walls as Amir joined him with a steaming pot of tea and two cups. They sipped in silence for a few minutes, and then Amir cleared his throat nervously. He was always so respectful, rather surprising for a Libyan; as a rule, Libyans tended to look down on central Africans, like Yusuf. “What is it, Amir?” Yusuf said. “You may speak freely, my friend.” “I—well, these dreams of yours, Yusuf, they must trouble you. I frequently hear you cry out.” Amir lowered his eyes. Men did not often speak of such things, especially the proud and, let’s face it, the arrogant men Yusuf worked with and led. In spite of himself, Yusuf smiled, his white teeth showing starkly against his black skin. He reached over and clapped Amir on the shoulder. “Amir, you are my brother, do not be embarrassed. It is proper for brothers to speak of such things with each other. Privately, of course.” He chuckled, and Amir, relaxing, did as well. Yusuf sighed, took another sip of the sweet Turkish tea, and said, “It is the same dream. It is about Katabolang.” Where to purchase Quest for Honor Amazon - Kindle Amazon - Paperback B&N - Paperback *Add to Goodreads* About the Author David's Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads David Tindell was born in Germany and grew up in southern Wisconsin. Today he lives up in the northwestern corner of the state, in a log home on a lake with his wife Sue, their Yorkie and two cats. After a career in radio broadcasting, Tindell went to work for the US Government and resumed the writing career he'd started in college. His first novel, "Revived", was published in 2000, but after that he put the pen aside for a time to train in the martial arts, earning a black belt in the Korean art of Taekwondo and instructor status in the Russian art of Systema. He currently trains in ryukudo kobujutsu, an art that combines karate with Okinawan weaponry. Like his protagonist in "The White Vixen", Tindell is a linguist, although not as accomplished as Jo Ann Geary; he's conversational in German and has also studied Italian and Russian. Follow the entire Quest For Honor tour HERE Hosted by Worldwind Virtual Book Tours The school holiday's are now over, this means that my lunch hour will consist of me eating a sandwich whilst browsing books to read. I'll be sharing with you the books I've come across that have caught my attention. If you've read them, then tell me what you think, should I read or should I avoid? I've recently finished Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence and was recommended this book because I liked it so much. The Lies of Locke Lamora By Scott Lynch has been described as "Fresh, original and engrossing... gorgeously realized" by George R. R. Martin, how can I not add this to my TBR mountain. If you've read the book I'd love to hear what you thought in the comments below. The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard #1) by Scott Lynch In this stunning debut, author Scott Lynch delivers the wonderfully thrilling tale of an audacious criminal and his band of confidence tricksters. Set in a fantastic city pulsing with the lives of decadent nobles and daring thieves, here is a story of adventure, loyalty, and survival that is one part "Robin Hood", one part Ocean's Eleven, and entirely enthralling...
An orphan's life is harsh — and often short — in the island city of Camorr, built on the ruins of a mysterious alien race. But born with a quick wit and a gift for thieving, Locke Lamora has dodged both death and slavery, only to fall into the hands of an eyeless priest known as Chains — a man who is neither blind nor a priest. A con artist of extraordinary talent, Chains passes his skills on to his carefully selected "family" of orphans — a group known as the Gentlemen Bastards. Under his tutelage, Locke grows to lead the Bastards, delightedly pulling off one outrageous confidence game after another. Soon he is infamous as the Thorn of Camorr, and no wealthy noble is safe from his sting. Passing themselves off as petty thieves, the brilliant Locke and his tightly knit band of light-fingered brothers have fooled even the criminal underworld's most feared ruler, Capa Barsavi. But there is someone in the shadows more powerful — and more ambitious — than Locke has yet imagined. Known as the Gray King, he is slowly killing Capa Barsavi's most trusted men — and using Locke as a pawn in his plot to take control of Camorr's underworld. With a bloody coup under way threatening to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the Gray King at his own brutal game — or die trying... I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, I don't always. Sometimes though a cover is especially eye-catching and I can't help but buy or add it to my TBR mountain. Today I feature three fronts which look fantastic. All three books are written by the same author, Paul Cave. The Keep is a fantastic novella which I reviewed (REVIEW HERE) some time back, it's had it's front refreshed along side his other books Cold light of Day and Dead Until Dawn.
About the author Paul developed a keen sense of imagination whilst reading dark fiction and watching cult horror movies throughout his teenage years. Heavily influenced by the likes of US Horror writer, Robert McCammon, and movie director, John Carpenter, Paul likes to take a seemingly normal character and put them into an extraordinary situation. AMAZON | GOODREADS | WEBSITE Keith’s in his early twenties. No girlfriend, no hobbies, no future. He spends his days working in an office and his evenings, weekends and just about all his free time looking after his alcoholic dad. And then the zombie apocalypse changes everything. Suddenly Keith’s free. For the first time in a long time, he’s got nothing to worry about (apart from several hundred thousand reanimated corpses heading his way). But then he meets Anna, and everything changes again. Cocky, cool, confident… she’s everything Keith isn’t. Holed-up together in an isolated bungalow, besieged by the living dead, will they survive, or will they tear each other apart before the dead get anywhere near? Review David Moody does it again! A fatal virus has turned most of the world’s population into mindless infected masses of rotting flesh wandering the earth without aim or purpose. Again, characterization is at the forefront of Moody’s story. The main protagonist is Keith; Keith is a nobody, a loner, abused by his father who is a drunk and someone who Keith blames for his mother departure. Keith is ignored and in some cases despised by his workmates and during one meeting where Keith is receiving his marching orders for his incompetence, an unexpected catastrophe takes place, everyone dies. This suddenness of the event is extremely fast, Keith’s reaction is what anyone would do, he heads home in a state of shock and unable to comprehend what has happened. Before Keith can make sense of what has transpired or construct a plan as to what he will do; events take a turn for the worse. People rise from the dead, stumbling around pointlessly. One of these is Keith’s father. Keith must then leave the safety of his bedroom and find sanctuary elsewhere, dodging the now aggressive hordes of zombies along the way. During a very close, physical encounter with a zombie in a supermarket Keith is saved by a teenage girl named Anna, they hold up in a small bungalow in the centre of an enclosed park, a relatively safe location. At this point in the story the zombies take a back seat and the characterisation, reactions and emotions of Keith and Anna make for an absorbing post-apocalyptic story. During a trip to scavenge for supplies events occur that change Keith and Anna’s relationship. Moody’s depiction of how their characters develop after the event is enthralling. Keith in particularly see’s the zombies for what they really are, easily dispatched and a non-threat. There’s plenty of gore, decapitation and violence. Anna is no longer the cocky, confident girl from the beginning, she needs Keith more than he needs her and this completely changes the dynamic of their relationship. Keith’s character metamorphoses from the useless and scared to the, what he declares himself, “king of the dead”. He might be “king of the dead” but what about the rest of the living? As a massive fan of Moody’s work, I was saddened to hear that this is his last zombie book for a while but excited and looking forward to what else he has in store. With isolation I was once again blown away by the recognisable settings and relatable yet engrossing characters. A gripping read. Treated to four more short stories within this book, all with different takes on zombie fiction, it’s a must have for zombie lovers, people who love gore and violence and people who love stories with exceptional characterisation. It’s one that’s not to be missed. |
AuthorBookBloke, a bloke who loves to read. Archives
April 2015
Categories
All
|