BlackThorn, DeWayne M Kunkel

Today I am reviewing BlackThorn  by DeWayne M. Kunkel.  It is book one in a series, Chronicles of the Dark Sword. 

The tale begins with fifteen year old Cassius's village being attacked and overrun by raiders.  He is taken captive, with the intent he will be sold as a slave. Now held captive at sea, and tormented by Grel'g, the leader of his captors, the journey begins to go awry; the weather takes a terrible turn and Cassius escapes just as he is about to be sacrificed to apease the sea gods; wounding Grel'g in the process.  He seeks safety in the home of Carl and Winowa, who nurse him back to health and help him get to safety, with their nephew,Gayn; a scribe.

It turns out Grel'g's raiders were not randomly pillaging and plundering - they were eliminating a percieved threat for the evil enchanter Vool, who is less than pleased to discover one young boy has escaped. Telling him that he may have brought about the very thing Vool sought to avert, Grel'g is set back on the hunt for Cassius. B'jorn, Grel'g's overlord fears Vool and fear's Vool's Master even more; realizing he has doomed his people to a dark fate by casting his lot with Vool.

Cassius grows to manhood in the shop of Gayn the scribe, learning to love the craft. After 2 years, a job opportunity comes up that Gayn cannot fulfil as his wife is with child, but Cassius is more than willing to undertake it.  He travels by caravan, journeying to the far city of Elkrum. One night they are joined by a traveling minstrel who tells them there is trouble stirring in the north.  Once he arrives in Elkrum and delivers the contract, he is once again confronted by Grel'g. This time the confrontation is averted by the intervention of one Connell Malkor, known as the Eagle of Kesh.

Evil is afoot; ensnaring Cassius, and Connell.  Eventually they meet Marcos; a man who is much more than a man. He needs a swordsman, and wishes to hire Connell. Marcos is seeking a talisman which was lost in antiquity. As if things hadn't been interesting enough at to this point, things really become involved.  Magic, myth and legend are now entwined in Cassius and Connell's fate. The Evil of antiquity, Sur'kar stirs once again, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

This book is well plotted, and the characters are fully fleshed - the reader sees what they see and feels what they feel.  Cassius's adventures are both terrifying and engrossing.  Kunkel has written a true classic in this tale. The one complaint I have is it is definitely not a stand-alone book. Still,  I couldn't wait to get the second installment in the series! And as the author has priced the Kindle editions at .99 it is easy to afford them!

The Time Weaver, Thomas A Knight

Hello, I am back after an impromptu 2 week hiatus! The weather here in my area of the world has been awful, and I was without power and Internet for a long while so I had a mini vacation from blogging. But I was able to get in a lot of reading, and I have come across some Kindle gems.

Today's offering, ‘The Time Weaver’ by indie author Thomas A. Knight is an excellent first novel, and bodes well for his future efforts.

On the morning of Seth Alkirk’s 30^thbirthday, a book that his father left him and which was locked for 25 years mysteriously opens for him. He discovers that it is written in a language that he can’t understand and takes it to work in his lap-top bag for his friend and business partner Dave to have a look at.

At lunch that day there is a moment when a glass appears to fall to the floor in slow motion, before it breaks. That evening he is involved in an automobile accident in which time completely stops, allowing him to walk away from an accident that should have killed him. As he tries to absorb that, a rift opens and a beast emerges. Running through the silent, immobile city and trying to escape the beast, Seth is placed under a compulsion to face the beast down. Without knowing why he does so, he unleashes a powerful magic attack on the beast. Deterred momentarily but not stopped, the beast seizes him.

At this point I was hooked. The plot had me, and I put aside everything and did nothing but read until I had read the whole book.

It turns out that Seth is the son of the most powerful time-weaver in the history of the parallel world of Galadir. His inadvertent opening of the book and use of his powers has alerted both friends and enemies of his existence. Merek, the arch-magus, sends a warrior, Malia, to retrieve him. She rescues him from the beast (which is a demon-like thing called a Narshuk), and takes him back to Galadir through the rift that the beast had used. They must get to Findoor Castle, and have a long trip ahead of them. On their journey they meet a bard, Cedric and he eventually finds himself aiding them in exchange for their aid in getting him to Findoor, and vouching for him.

Unbeknownst to arch-magus Merek, his apprentice, Grian, has turned to evil. Upon hearing of Seth’s existence Grian steals a dangerous book. Catching him in the act of the theft, Merek exiles him to the Badlands. Unfortunately, that was where Grian wanted to be. The high council, of which his father is a member, goes to the Badlands to confront him. Grian murders the entire council including his own father in his effort to consolidate his power. Now the forces of evil are looking for Seth in the world of Galadir.

Even worse, in the world that Seth left behind General Mathers is looking for him also. The general has taken DNA left at the scene by Seth and Malia, and has used it to create a serum that can make a super-human. A mysterious man in black, Cy the Betrayer, murders the lab tech in charge of the experiments and uses the serum on himself. Now that he has used the serum he can return to Galadir, and he does so. It turns out that he is a vessel for the soul of Gladius, the leader of the forces of evil whom all had hoped was dead. This is where the action really begins happening.

This tale has some exciting twists and turns and just when you think it is going one way it goes in another. The characters are well drawn, and believable, and the worlds are vivid and colorful. Morganath, the Dragon is a wonderful character. There is romance and action, although there is a certain amount of rough language, and a great deal of graphic violence. For the most part these don’t detract from the tale.

Much in the way that Tad Williams does in The War of the Flowers, Thomas A Knight manages to create a neat meshing of urban fantasy and sword and sorcery. The ending is an exciting roller coaster of emotions, and I really enjoyed it right to the last word.  Knight has left me hanging, and waiting for the next book!

The official launch of the print book is January 31, 2012.  It will be available through amazon.com.  

Hemlock and the Wizard Tower by B. Throwsnaill

Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker’s Fire) by B. Throwsnaill

Indy author B. Throwsnaill has written a tale that is full of great characters, fantastic adventures with a riveting plot. This was the best .99 that I have spent in a long while! 

When the tale begins, Hemlock’s sister lies helplessly ill. The magic that might save her is fading. Hemlock fears that the wizards in the Tower have somehow siphoned off the magic that once infused the Warrens. Accordingly, she sets out to discover what has happened.

Using her special power to sense magic, she succeeds where no one else has and penetrates the terrible defenses of the tower. Once inside she sees many things both terrible and full of magic, and then meets Merit, a clockwork gnome who is both mechanical and magical. He answers her questions as well as he can.

She then meets a Bust (yes, a statue) that sings and enjoys rum.  I have to say that is one of the more entertaining scenes I have read in a long while!

Hemlock’s mentor, Safreon goes to great lengths to help her in her quest to restore the magic to the Warrens. He enlists the help of Gwineval, a renegade wizard, and Merit also helps her in her quest to free the magic which is controlled by the Wizard’s Guild and their leader, the rather schizophrenic Falingus. One moment he is kind and compassionate and another he is consumed with the desire for power, making Falingus an interesting character.  He has reasons of his own to want to keep Hemlock alive.

Hemlock’s effort to stop what she believes to be the siphoning of mana (magic energy) in the city goes awry, and she is inadvertently the cause of a dramatic reduction in the amount of mana, endangering her sister’s life.

This tale is very smoothly woven.  The characters are well drawn, and the magic has both a purpose and a logical basis.  The world they inhabit is clear and compelling.  Hemlock’s personal growth as she changes from a rash street urchin with a cause, to a heroine is both inventive and enjoyable.

Much of the story is told in flashbacks, which I found disconcerting at first, but the story was so gripping that I stuck with it and soon they didn’t distract me.  Indeed I soon began to enjoy the way the story unfolded through them. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys epic-quest-fantasy as much as I do. Throwsnaill draws from the modern literature of J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, Terry Brooks, and the myths and mythologies of many of the world's religions, without mimicking them. I think this very original tale has the potential to become a classic!