Magnus Opum, Jonathan Gould

Today I am reviewing a fantasy, Magnus Opum published in 2012 by Aussie Jonathan Gould. I didn't know what to think when I began reading this book. It is a bit like Monty Python  and Weird Al Yankovic meet J.R.R. Tolkien at a fraternity party and they all get really, really drunk and decide to write a book.  Needless to say, while it is painfully funny at times, it kept me turning the pages. And I do mean PAINFUL at times, in the way Monty Python can be painful. But still we keep watching it and urging our friends to watch it too.

First off, there is NO blurb for this book, only a list of complimentary comments from reviewers that I won't post here. I admit that put me off, but the cover art is wonderful, very reminiscent of the old Tolkien covers and I always buy a book for it's cover.

The Story:

Magnus Mandalora lives in the small, homely village of Lower Kertoob.  Kertoobis are a bit ridiculous, and are quite given to celebrating the boredom of their regular, predictable lives.  One day Magnus's brother Jangos is stricken with a terrible disease that occasionally strikes the residents of bucolic Kertoob--the Grompets.  This is a terrible thing--it is a case of wanderlust in the highest magnitude.  Magnus's brother goes out into the world to see the sights and for several months his letters home are filled with delight at what he has found. Then one day Jangos's letters simply stop arriving. Magnus's worst fears are realized when he is told by  some wandering Doosies that his brother is dead, ambushed by a band of roving Glurgs.

Glurgs are a race of vile creatures with violent tendencies and apparently have no redeeming qualities.  All the histories of all the world's diverse people involve them being at war with them at some point. After all, anything that ugly and ill-mannered must be evil.

Magnus is overcome with anger at his brother's death, and decides to do something very un-Kertoobish--he decides to go join the war against the Glurgs.

Magnus meets a Cherine named Shaindor, a member of a race of people who are so beautiful it nearly hurts to look at them. Everything about them is beautiful, their art, their city, their faces. They have an army that is poised to go to war with the Glurgs and this is where Magnus's adventures really begin.

The changes Magnus goes through as he discovers the reality behind his most cherished misconceptions and discovers the true beauty of the world he lives in makes for a wonderful adventure.

Jonathan Gould's characters have a real life, even if it is one that is so obviously fantasy.  While you are reading this tale, they will seem real, even if some of the scenery and creatures described make you say "hmmm...."

I enjoyed this free-for-all and reccomend it to anyone who likes a painfully good laugh. 

Magnus Opum is available at Amazon.com for the very reasonable price of $2.99.

Two Moons of Sera, Pavarti K Tyler

 

 

Two Moons of Sera  by Pavarti K Tyler is a book released in serial form and is comprised of four volumes, each available for .99 US. This review covers all of them, volumes one through four. Once you come to the end of volume one you will get them all!

 

The Blurb: Two Moons of Sera Synopsis: In a world where water and earth teem with life, Serafay is an anomaly. The result of genetic experiments on her mother's water-borne line Serafay will have to face the very people responsible to discover who she really is. But is she the only one?

The Story: Sixteen-year-old Serafay and her mother are alone in the world. She has no father, as she was the result of lab experiments carried out on her mother by the technologically advanced land dwelling people, the Erdlanders. Her mother is of the underwater race known as the Sulawet people and was rejected by them when she refused to abort her unborn child. Not welcome in either world, they live in solitude on a forgotten coast.

 

Sera has many characteristics of the Sulawet people such as webbed toes and the ability to absorb oxygen through her skin. She is completely at home in the ocean. However, she has the long hair of the Erdlanders and needs to occasionally surface and use her lungs.

 

The two races are eternally at war, and the ocean is a dangerous place. Because of this, Sera is not allowed to forage with her mother when she returns to the sea for food and supplies.

 

One day while her mother is out foraging, Sera is surprised to meet a young man who is an Erdlander, but is an outcast. She keeps her friend a secret from her mother. As time goes on she finds out his name is Torkek. Tor and Sera develop a close friendship, as the need for comapanionship builds a bond between them.

 

One day her mother is killed, and Sera is forced to flee. Tor leads her to safety, and to his home.  This is when she discovers he too is an outcast because he is not, as she thought, an Erdlander. She doesn't know what race he is. He has the ability to create fire with his mind. He has been hunted by the Erdlanders all his life, though he'd been briefly adopted by a family.

 

 

I LOVED this series.  Sera and Tor are a great couple, and their struggle to find safety takes them to many dangerous places.  Still, they find others like them, others who do not fit in and who are unhappy with the atrocities committed in the name of war.

 

Buy the first installment for .99.  Just do it.

 

You won't be able to rest until you have read them all.

 

 



Winds of Khalakovo, Bradley P. Beaulieu

 

I am going to begin the year with a book that is not written by an indie author, but is a debut novel of great promise. Published in 2011, Winds of Khalakovo is an adventure from page one until the very last word.  I expect to read great things from the pen of Bradley P. Beaulieu in the future.

Khalakovo, a group of seven mountainous islands is center of trade and is serviced by amazing windships. Khalakovo stands at the crossroads of trade, making them prominent as a world power. Unfortunately, conflict exists between the ruling people, the Landed, and two other cultures, the Aramahn who are indigenous and the Maharraht, a strange, fanatical sect. Making matters worse, a terrible wasting disease has become epidemic.

A meeting of the nine Dukes is planned, but an elemental spirit attacks the windship carrying the Grand Duke, murdering him and all his retinue.

The heir to the scepter of Khalakovo is sent to discover the child who is believed to have performed the summoning, and discovers that the boy is an autistic savant. More importantly, Nikandr believes he holds the key to lifting the blight.

Nikandr suffers from the wasting disease, and the only known possible cure is both illegal and disgusting.  He cares about one woman, but is to be married to another for political reasons. He is not sure how he feels about his intended bride. He knows much intigue goes on in his society, but he knows nothing of what swirls around him, or of what the people he loves are really up to.  Still, he trusts few people, and he keeps many secrets of his own. The way Nikandr handles the various situations he finds himself in is real and honest, and I really liked the way he is written.

Revenge, magic, love, political intrigue and great plot twists – this book has it all.  The scenes are beautifully imagined, and the characters have been given a breath and life that makes them believable. I especially enjoyed the smoothness of the narrative, and found myself reading the book to the exclusion of everything else!  

It is not cheap – even the kindle download is $7.99. But every now and then I will splurge and buy a download that costs a bit more and I am glad I did. The New Year weekend was well spent reading this book. I give it four and a half stars!

Indie Book Covers of 2012

One of my favorite parts of posting book reviews is looking at the cover art, even on ebooks.  Some of the finest art out there is on Indie Books and I am well-known for buying a book for its cover!

 

One of the most beautifully illustrated books I have read in a long time is Ravenwild by Dr. Peter J. Plasse. The gorgeous illustrations are by the incredibly talented Michael Longenecker. Even if the book were a dud, I would recommend it just for Longenecker's richly detailed paintings and drawings which are sprinkled throughout the book! However, this book is a very good read. I spent a snowy day in March reading this tale, and I am now a confirmed fan.  This is definitely my cover of the year, and the artwork within is awesome.

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Hemlock and the Wizard Tower (The Maker’s Fire) by B. Throwsnaill. This was the best .99 that I have spent in a long while and the cover art was also fabulous.

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The Sum of All Men This book was first published in 1998, but for some strange reason I had never read any work by David Farland. That omission, however, has been rectified. He isn’t an indie, but I am now a drooling fan.

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Darkness Rising 3, Prism is the long awaited third installment in the sweeping Darkness Rising Series, by Dr. Ross M. Kitson. I love, love, love Hunor!

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FireseedOne by Catherine Stine – this was a guest review by Alison DeLuca. An awesome book!

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Northman is an excellent novel by an indie author. J.D. Hughes twists time and history into a paranormal page-turner that is one of a kind. The cover is simple and powerful, and caught my eye when I first saw it on his blog.

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‘The Time Weaver’ by indie author Thomas A. Knight was an excellent first novel, and I think it bodes well for his future efforts. He also opted for a simple cover design, one that is intriguing in its simplicity.

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Jeffrey Getzin’s breathtaking epic fantasy, ‘Prince of Bryanae’ is exceptionally well covered, in a fabulous fantasy cover that is as fine as we could find on a Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson novel. I would have given this book my cover of the  year vote, if I hadn't fallen in love with Peter Plasse's Ravenwild.

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Alison DeLuca's wonderful Steampunk books, The Crown Phoenix Series has three amazing covers, all of which really catch the eye, but there is something about this cover that I just love. Maybe it is that she reminds me of Wednesday Addams, only sweeter...

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I was also fascinated by the simple yet intriguing covers on LornaT. Suzuki's and Nia Suzuki-White's wonderful Dream Merchant Saga. I felt compelled to pick them up and take a good look when I first saw them and I am so glad I did!

 

All of these covers prove that even ebooks need good covers on them, because every one of these books was a Kindle or Nook purchase, and as I said before, I usually buy a book for it's cover.

These are by no means all of the fine covers which were featured on the Best In Fantasy this year, but they were the ones with most quickly caught my eye and while I could go on and on, there is only so much you poor readers are going to put up with.

Sigh.

I always loved looking at the pictures as much as reading the books when I was young, and I'm no different now! 

 

Darkness Rising 3, Prism by Ross M. Kitson

Darkness Rising  3, Prism is the long awaited third installment in the sweeping  Darkness Rising Series, by Ross M. Kitson.

In Books 1 and 2 we met Emelia, Jem, Hunor, Marthir, Orla and Kervin.  After their escape from Goldoria, Emelia and her companions begin their arduous journey into the swamps of Ssinthor. A land ravaged by ancient sorcery, it is a place of secrets and danger. In fact, the land is in many ways poisonous, and while it affects Kervin, the toxic land affects the druid, Marthir most extremely. Emelia also undergoes a profound change, and the personal stresses between the companions threaten their cohesiveness as much as the evil which surrounds them.

Deep in the mists and unhealthy fogs of Ssinthor, an insane lizardman sorcerer wields the green crystal to devastating effect. As darkness threatens to tear the comrades apart they must somehow challenge the awesome power working against them.  It is in Ssinthor that Orla comes into her own, and we see the woman as the honorable warrior she is.

In Artoria far to the west, Aldred and his new comrades travel on a misguided mission to save his cursed father. A chance encounter with a seer throws them into a rash digression from their path, deep into the Emerald Mountains, where a terrible foe awaits. Now Aldred is set on a path, for good or ill, which affects everyone.

Hidden in the secret recesses of a ruined fort, a crystal of blackest sorcery awaits its former master, Vildor, Lord of the Ghasts. Vildor’s underlings are legion, and his reach is long. Vildor is as obsessive unforgiving as any immortal can be.

Kitson’s world is fully fleshed in both its history and social structure, but he doesn’t fall into the trap of overly descriptive prose.  The reader’s mind is allowed to absorb the tale, free to imagine the places and the people unimpeded.  We are drawn in and live the tale with intensity, feeling a sense of loss when the final pages arrive, and we emerge from the tale only to realize we must now wait until Mr. Kitson has written the next installment in this brilliant fantasy adventure.

Northman, by J.D. Hughes

Northman is an excellent novel by an indie author.  J.D. Hughes twists time and history into a paranormal page-turner that is one of a kind. 

Academically brilliant, but haunted by the memories of her dead lover, Kate Elliot struggles to find the joy in her chosen career. An archaeologist, she is assisting Dr. Weatherall at a dig near Repton, England.  An unexploded bomb left over from WWII has exploded and opened up the barrow of a Viking warrior, Thorkild, exposing his bones and that of an infant. 

The night she finds the infant’s skull, strange things begin to happen to Kate, and somehow she finds herself running though the archaeological dig, pursued by the malevolent spirit of the Viking who is determined to possess her. Rescued by Michael McLaren, a B-Movie director, Kate is troubled by several terrible events which all have a common thread – the Northman, Thorkild. Soon others are trapped in the same web of terror and together they are thrust back 1200 years into 9th century England to face the Northman.

Life and death, death and rebirth combined with an amulet that won’t stay put and a Norse god with an agenda make this book a thriller that is completely addicting from page one.  Visual, and violent, sexually explicit and definitely not for the faint of heart, Hughes’s characters draw you in, even Thorkild is fascinating, albeit in the same way a live grenade is fascinating. You can’t look away, and you have no idea where the next plot twist will take you.  I absolutely love the originality and the way Hughes combines Norse Mythology and archaeology to weave one of the best books of the year.

I gladly give this book five stars!

The Dream Land, Stephen Swartz

I have long been a fan of Stephen Swartz's writing. In The Dream Land, Long Distance Voyager he has ventured into the realm of science-fiction and fantasy, and done it with his own inimitable style.

The Blurb:
High school nerds Sebastian and Gina discover a doorway to a new world. Adventure-loving Gina falls in love with the world of Ghoupallesz and wants to stay, but studious Sebastian fears losing touch with Earth, so he returns alone. Nevertheless, he sneaks back time and time again for his own adventures before finally giving it up after too many lost loves, betrayals, and war.

Years later, working night shift at the IRS, Sebastian feels the cosmic pull once more. Gina is in trouble. Again. Of course he must return and save her! Perhaps this time, he hopes, they can remain together. Returning through the inter-dimensional doorway, Sebastian must first gather his old comrades from the war, cross the towering Zet mountains, and free Gina from the evil Zetin warlord’s castle.

Unfortunately, Sebastian finds there are more questions needing answers. Is his adventure on the other side real? Or is it just the dream of a psychotic killer? That’s what the police want to know when his friends and co-workers go missing.

My Review:

Stephen Swartz has once again created a unique and believable world—both the world we live in and the world of Ghoupallesz. As always, his characters are deep and not always possessed of good intentions. Sebastian is both naïve and worldly, and he is both young and old.  Gina was never naïve, with her own agenda and is not exactly straight with Sebastian (or indeed with anyone). 

This is most definitely NOT a simple tale of boy rescues girl and they live happily ever after. It is instead a complex, richly layered tale of lives and deaths experienced, and also of dreams versus realities and the blurred line between. It’s a tale of discovery and coming to terms with one’s choices. I found it to be intriguing and not surprisingly, I found myself unable to put this book down once I began reading it.

I am definitely looking forward to Book II, Dreams of Future’s Past.