Robert Jones's Blog

Promise of Blood Review

Imagine its the 18th Century, you’re somewhere in Europe, magic is real and gods exist.

Welcome to Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage series, the promise of blood is real and you’re going to have a great time. That pretty much sums up the review so you can stop reading now and go and get yourself a copy of the book if you haven’t already. Go on now… wait… you’re still here? Okay, let’s take a look at what I thought.

World Building

I think what drew me to this book originally was someone said the term “flintlock fantasy” and that just got me going.

I love this era of history, I love the way the world was changing, how the literal size of it was rapidly expanding as European powers began moving out into the unexplored corners of the globe. I love the power struggles between the people and the aristocracy, how governments crumbled and revolutions of every kind swept across countries. The changing views on religion and the rise of technology, the way war became industrial, yet things weren’t so far advanced as to destroy the old social expectations or dogmas.

Promise of Blood delivers everything I love of that era but presents in a fantasy. There are several countries with backgrounds and relationships with one another that are quite complex that form a quasi-Europe and then there are far-off lands that are our quasi-colonies. That might send some eyes rolling, but it really isn’t cliche, not in my opinion, because McClellan seems to base most of the setting within a place called Adro that seems to be inspired more by Hungary than England. So even though we get the cool European influence, its a side of Europe that is often overlooked.

The novel itself is almost entirely set in the city of Adro itself, which gives us a good look at the specific culture of that place. We get to see several aspects of the city from the top governmental level to the soldiers with their boots on the ground, and the seedy underworld through the eyes of an investigator. I personally thought McClellan did a great job of using his various POV characters to give us these different settings while chasing the same overarching plot.

However, with that said, I can’t help but feel that when reading, everyone except the immediate characters are a bit lifeless. You don’t get the same imagery of everyday life that you do in say Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind. Even when there are big fights or battles, I find the writing struggles to put across a sense of overwhelming sensory action in the way other writers do. Not that this is a deal breaker, it’s just something I noticed.

Story Telling

McClellan’s storytelling is rock solid. The book has a great premise and is delivered in an even greater plot. It’s not full of mind-blowing twists or countless characters and factions but has enough of all these elements to keep it tasty.

Magic

There are three distinct styles of magic and two others that are a bit mystical. I’m going to give a brief synopsis of each starting from weakest to strongest, but before I do, I should explain that they are all (seemingly) based on the same magical law that seems universal in the universe. The way standard magic works is through manipulation of the elements that are found in the world. If my memory serves me, these were your standard earth, fire, water, air, ether (don’t quote this…).

Knacked – Normal people with 1 or 2 very specific skills… or knacks. For example the ability to not need sleep.
Powder Mages – A new type of mage that has an affinity for black powder. The substance can be consumed for great perception and manipulated to devastating effect.
Privileged – These are your bread-and-butter fantasy magicians. They play and manipulate with the elements around them to do the things you expect mages to do… fireballs.
Predeii – Super old privileged that are basically ‘super-wizards’.
Gods – Super old predai that are basically ‘super-super-god-wizards’.

McClellan uses the old as a foundation for things I haven’t seen before. For example, I thought having knacked was really really cool, both as a story element and just as a world-building thing that adds fluff to his universe. I also really liked the savage magic of Ka-Poel which was a pumped-up voodoo.

What is great about Promise of Blood is that it uses these magic systems in different ways to really add a depth to the reading experience. Privileged magic is quite ‘showy’ and is used to add FX to the book, while the powder magic is used to solve problems, and Ka-Poel’s voodoo adds an element of sinister wonder.

All-in-all, the magic is fun and satisfying.

Highlights

There is this street gang in Adro called The Black Street Barbers which are as vicious as they sound.

In essence, their psychopathic thugs who accept jobs to assassinate people and usually go about their business with straight-edged razors. They were such a cool element of McClellan’s world and he uses them to great effect. To me, it really added an essence of Gangs of New York which was so fitting for both the story and the world building.

I also loved the fat chef, Mihali, and how McClellan flips the ‘god-trope’ around. Instead of an all powerful deity that is hellbent on destroying things, we have a loveable man who just wants to feed his people. Genius.

Flintlock fantasy. The entire idea of it was genius. I’m too lazy to see if McClellan invented it but it was my first introduction and by George, I want to write my own. The smell of black powder, the rattle of wagon wheels, the shadowy alleys of big cities. I love it.

Conclusions

If you haven’t read the Powder Mage series then I implore that you do. The rest of the series is high on my TBR list and I know he has more books and short stories in the same world which I am itching to get at.

This was a great book, not the greatest, but it was an easy to read, fun yarn, and at the end of the day, reading shouldn’t be a chore! A solid 4.5 stars from me for the package as a whole. Thanks for the experience Mr Brian McClellan.

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The Children of Hurin Review

I totally judged a book by its cover… and its author.

I am a huge fan of Tolkien, The Hobbit was my first foray into fantasy as a young boy and even though I read LOTR later (in my mid-20s), I still consider it one of the greatest book I have ever read. I mean, I’m the guy who’s watched the movies too many times to count, and even love The Hobbit movies (don’t judge me) and am eagerly awaiting whatever comes next from Tolkien’s world to the silver screen.

So, I saw the cover to Children of Hurin, knew it was Tolkien, and just said gimme! Seriously, look at that cover, I think it is such an awesome piece of art… anyway… So, I got the book on Audible, saw it was only 7 hours long and was like, meh, let’s not judge. Then, I began to listen, and I was thinking, is Saruman narrating this bad boy to me? I checked the audio file, Narrator: Christopher Lee.

It took a moment for the penny to drop…. Saruman was narrating to me!

After 15 minutes, my excitement fizzled away and all I could think was BORING! Because it was boring. It felt like I was getting a very dry account of Beleriand history spoken to me. It was like I was listening to the Herodotus’ Histories (actually… that sounds cool, I’m going to go see if that’s on Audible. EDIT: It is and I am going to download it…) Anyway, I was expecting an epic quest like I was used to from Tolkien’s more famous works. I knew this was an unpublished piece that had been finished by his son, but I still thought it would be cool.

So, I stuck with it, forced my way through the first hour and then it clicked. The Children of Hurin is awesome. But you have to know what you’re getting yourself in to. See, the way I see it is, this is part of Tolkien’s lore, it is one of the foundation stories that live in the mythology of the 3rd age (The Hobbit and LOTR). And in keeping with the idea that this is myth, the book is written that way.

I mean, when I was thinking about this, I immediately thought of the Welsh stories in the Mabinogion. That is how it is written.

There are no massive character developments which was a shock at first because I had just finished The Name of the Wind, but there is a plethora of fantastic history, heroic deeds, and an air of epic mystery about it. Children of Hurin isn’t really an Epic Fantasy novel so much as it is a little added extra to a world we all love.

Would I recommend it? I would to die-hard Tolkien fans.

Would I read it again? I will, and the next time I will actually read it. It’s so cool having Saruman read to me, but I think to really get the most out of Children of Hurin, you need to sit down and read a hard backed copy with a nice map. Plus I hear there is more artwork inside the print edition.

Has it inspired you to sit down and actually finish The Silmarillion? Shhh… I’ll get back to it when I have time…

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The Name of the Wind Review

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

4.5 Stars

By Tehlu’s beard this was the greatest fantasy novel I have ever read. Hands down, no exceptions, and I am a harsh critic. Everything about The Name of the Wind was absolutely breathtaking. So you might be asking, ‘where did it lose half a star?’… well, dear reader, read on…

Story Telling

5 Stars

There are many points to discuss in Rothfuss’ ability to spin a great yarn and I think it all comes down to his grand ability to invoke the emotion of the characters within the reader. Take for example Kvothe’s lute playing which is a recurring theme. Now, this point is going to make a lot of sense to the musicians reading this and it strummed a chord in my own heart (see what I did there) because I am an avid guitar player. Rothfuss’ doesn’t so much talk about the music so much as he talks about the emotional response to it. When Kvothe is learning to play, we feel the frustration, when he can’t afford strings we yearn with him to find the money so he can go on. There is a several-year gap where he cannot play, and when Kvothe see’s another man rocking out on the lute after all that time, we can empathize with his pure jealousy and lust to play for himself.

That is what Rothfuss does, he invokes a great empathy within the reader for what is happening within the story.

There is a great addition to this… when I was watching interviews with the author, he mentioned that he doesn’t even play an instrument, and yet he absolutely nails these emotional reactions. Too me, that spells a master craftsman of authorship.

The storytelling within The Name of Wind carries on this great empathetic mastery in more ways than just music though. Rothfuss invokes an emotional rollercoaster that envelopes all of the human emotions. We feel first love again with all its fear and excitement. The irreplaceable emptiness of family loss. The joys of victory and the anxiety of school. Whatever part of Kvothe’s story we are in, we are in 100% with him. I haven’t felt that kind of journey in a long time.

So what more can I say? Pat Rothfuss’ ability to tell a story is perfect, so perfect that I can safely say that he is the greatest author I have ever read – and I don’t say that lightly.

Characters

5 Stars

Every character in The Name of the Wind is so well rounded. It feels like you really get to know them as an individual and want to sit down and have a drink and a chat. Even the minor characters have this air about them and I think it is because Rothfuss drips information to us in such a subliminal way that before you know it, you’re invested in their motivations and laughing at their jokes.

There are several main characters, Kvothe, our protagonist, has been described in other reviews as ‘pure male power-fantasy’. There is a lot to be said about that description, but I think it also takes too much away from his finer details. He is a great storyteller, and let’s face facts, if he hadn’t led an interesting life then we wouldn’t be reading his story. At times his confidence can be overbearing, but it is well justified.

It took me a while to decide if I liked him or not. His emotional register seemed to flicker between maudlin and cocky, quite a bit, but, that is actually in keeping with the larger story. Even after having read the book, I feel like he’s actually not really that nice a guy… but I don’t hate him. In fact, he intrigues me, and that’s what good storytelling is about.

As we follow Kvothe’s life, we meet a great range of characters who are all colorful and interesting in their own right. Some you will hate, some you will love, and others leave you asking questions. There is too many to go into detail, so a simple summary will have to suffice.

Rothfuss’ character’s may as well be real people, that was my impression during the reading anyway. They are the beating heart of his story, they populate his fantastic world and breath life into it.

World Building

5 Stars

The world of The Kingkiller Chronicles is breathtaking in its breadth. I mean, imagine trying to explain our earth with all its complexities… that is literally what it feels like to try and do this. We have a magic system that is the most genius thing I have ever seen because it is rooted in real-world anthropology. A zoologist’s dream of crypto-creatures. Various cultures and religions, each vibrant and alive. And the best thing is, despite how broad and so detailed the world-building is, Rothfuss eases the reader in so there is no huge info dumping, nothing that feels awkward, and everything is presented just the way it should be. I won’t be able to explain Rothfuss’ world in its full, but let me try and explain a few slices of it.

Magic

I get really excited when I talk about Rothfuss’ magical system. You see, when I was writing Mythology Unveiled I was reading a lot of anthropological work, and one turn of the century book, The Golden bough by Sir James Frazer describes the magic in Rothfuss’ world. They even share the same name – sympathetic magic. So I got super excited when I started to see it work in the novel and started to think that Rothfuss must have read Frazer and thought ‘hmmm… I wonder what would happen if this was real?’

So what is sympathetic magic? It’s an idea that two separate objects can influence each other by association. Voodoo dolls are a pretty typical example. You make the doll, add some hair or a photo of the victim, and there is the link. You poke it with pins, and the linked object (person) feels stabbing pain. In The Name of the Wind, it works the same way, but Rothfuss ramps it up by asking questions like ‘how variable can the strength of the link be?’ For example, let’s say there is a voodoo doll, but the only link you have is a really old photo. Would the magic be as strong as if you had blood, hair, and a recent photo all attached to the doll?

It’s fun. The sympathetic magic system in The Name of the Wind is really enjoyable and it is presented in a way that’s actually interesting. Plus, because we know how it works, we can really appreciate when Kvothe uses the magic to get out of situations.

But it doesn’t end there, because in this world, sympathetic magic is more of an advanced science, and real magic is a system that works on naming. By calling the true name of a thing, you can command it, and this too has a lot of history in our real world. This side of magic is seen and hinted at a little in the first book, but I really haven’t seen enough to pass judgement…

But my-oh-my am I looking forward to seeing how it goes in the rest of the series.

Cultures & History

Although there are a plethora of cultures both existing and extinct in The Name of the Wind, we only ever really see one region of the world (that being within the Commonwealth). But the fact remains that there are all these other places and people and history out there and it gets sprinkled throughout the story to add spice. We have people from other lands speaking foreign languages. We hear histories of places and hints of greater wheels moving in the background. The world is rich with religion and Rothfuss shows us in glimpses the corruptions, the purity, the dogma and the superstitions.

Culture is used as another way to bring a spark of life to the world. There are festivals that make you feel like you are alive on the streets. Each town and city seems to have its own unique customs. We get to experience the life of a travelling troupe, the bitter trials of homelessness, and the stress and anxiety of university. Rothfuss takes us through big cities to small towns and everything in between. Everything feels real, nothing is out of place and the world is given to us as if it really is. That is a kind of magic of itself.

Creatures

Dragons and demons and razor-blade-legged-spiders, oh my!

I never felt like the fantasy creatures in The Name of the Wind were a really central thing. Most of the world is populated with familiar animals like horses and dogs, but every now and then, we get to see something really cool. For example, our hero runs into a dragon, or, as he knows it, the common dracus. And seriously, it turns dragon fantasy on its head because instead of your typical trope dragon, we’re looking at something that reminds me of a giant monitor lizard. And if you think about it, that’s kind of what a dragon would actually be like. I’m not going to ruin the book for you, but that part of the book is awesome.

Rothfuss throws in narcotics, a burning town, and a dragon all into the mix at the same time.

Story Line

4 Stars

And now we have come to where Rothfuss’ writing falls to its knees with the crushing loss of half a star (can you hear the sarcasm in my voice?).

People hate to admit it, but stories do in-fact follow a pretty well established structure. It’s just hard wired into our brain to consume a story in certain ways. In a nutshell, the structure looks like this: Beginning (hero runs into a problem) – Middle (hero tries to work through the problem) – End (Hero solves the problem).

But The Name of the Wind isn’t presented to us this way and I think it is because of Rothfuss’ lifelong background as a D&D player. The book is presented in the way you would play a game, just with more structure. We follow Kvothe as he grows up slowly and undergoes all sorts of awful adventures, but there is no defined moment of ‘and so begins the quest!’ So, I was left at times thinking, “Wow, this book is so great, but when is something going to happen?”

Meanwhile, everything was happening… but it was happening in a ‘real-life’ kind of random way, and not the story structure way I was expecting.

You could argue that there is an overarching story structure. I will concede that. There are some big-bad chandrian evil guys at the start, and they do something (no spoilers here) that sets Kvothe off to go find them. But that plot line is a real slow burner and is often forgotten about.

So, is Rothfuss’ storytelling style really an issue? Only slightly. The fact remains that the story is SO original, the setting is SO breathtaking, the characters are SO amazing, and the writing is brilliant. Even the sometimes directionless plot pulls you in because it feels so real.

Final Thoughts

I don’t get much time to read these days (hot-tip: audiobooks rule and save me a lot of time), but I can assure you that I will be making time for the rest of The Kingkiller Chronicles. I said it once and I will say it again, The Name of the Wind was the best book I have read in a long time… maybe the best book.

 

What do you think? Have you read the book? Did you like? Hate it? Let me know by leaving a comment below!

Oh, and if you want a free copy of my own epic fantasy, The Black Witch, sign up below and I will email it to you!

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How I write my books!

I do a lot of plotting when I write, but sometimes to really imagine a scene or something special I have to draw it and try and conceptualise it in my mind. My fiancee, Lisa, bought be an awesome leather-bound notebook just for this and I have been filling it as I work when I need too.

Concept Map

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This is one of the original concept maps I made for The Black Witch which slowly grew to the map I showed you a few days ago. I did it by hand and tried to work out distances, geography, landscapes, etc.

The Sword of Astrid Dragonslayer

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This is the design I had in mind for Isolde’s sword. It’s a pretty rough drawing but I wanted to see for myself how it would look with the runes. Here’s a secret, the runes are real and I used Latin as the language. It reads “IN MANU DEI” which means ‘In the hand of God’.

Notes & Sigils

Here’s just a page of notes about things I had to remind myself to fix or change or add. I was up one night with Lisa and we were jotting down ideas for cool sigils and signs. She actually came up with this one which I later changed slightly.

The Notebook Itself!

This is the leather-bound notebook I use. I would be broken hearted if I ever lost it.

My style of writing has changed since the good old days. I still use this notebook quite a bit, but the books I write now a lot bigger with a tonne of complex storylines all interweaving. I use a program called Scrivener to write which has a virtual cork-board which is pretty cool. But you can’t beat pen and paper, it does something to the brain that makes the creativity flow.

Don’t forget, you can check out the whole Isolde Saga as a box set now. CLICK HERE to find it on Amazon

Ravenscar – Gateway to the North

Ravenscar – Gateway to the North

Hello from rainy Adelaide!

I just wanted to write a quick post with some extra background information on Shadow of Ravenscar. I hope you enjoy!

Ravenscar is the fortress city that straddles the mighty River Thurso. Its position gives it control of both the river and the land as it is the only place for convenient crossing between the fertile south and harsh north.

Because of this, the city has become a place of strategic power for kings and conquerors. Whoever holds the city can enforce a harsh toll to cross the river and control those of the north and south.

The Raven Keep dominates the city from its central rocky island outcrop, known as The Raven’s Rock. The fortress’s origins have long been forgotten, but its oldest tower eludes to an even darker past.

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Making The Map

I composed this map from early concept sketches. I wanted to make it feel like a much older document, and if you look, in certain spots you can see faded runic writing. These are real runes and can be translated into sentences that give extra information to the map and world.

Anyway, that’s it for now, just a bit of fun background

The World of the Isolde Saga

The World of the Isolde Saga

This is the world of Isolde! The great realm of the north! This is only a slice of a much bigger world I have created but is the stage for everything which happens within the saga. You can see Ravenscar dominates the north as it straddles across the mighty River Thurso. Eyndale is on the centre-right along the River Jule, and north of that is the huge Watcher’s Wood which Isolde must travel through in search of the Black Witch, Orlog.

What I loved about writing The Black Witch…

I had so much fun writing Isolde’s adventure. There is something magical about creating an entire world and all these people out of thin air and making them undergo such an extravagant drama.

I think a highlight for me was writing the scene in the standing stone (Gareth Nuir) because it allowed me to revisit my travels through England and Wales. I wanted to capture that fantastic experience of being among the ancient stone ruins of places like Stonehenge.

Names Are Important

I love etymology, there is something about the origins of words and how you can use them to give double meanings that really enchants me. With the Isolde Saga, I wanted to keep a Norse feel to the world, so I used a lot of Old Norse words where it was possible. For example, Ravenscar does actually mean “Rock of the Raven”. The River Thurso means “River of the Bull”, which I wanted to use for its strength.

There are a few other places where I play with words. ‘Sidhe’ from The Black Witch is Irish for faerie. Jotunn is the name of the giant race in Norse mythology. The River Jule is named after the old custom of Yule and the Yule log. Skaldi is not any word of its own but is derived from an Old Norse word which means poet. I wanted to use this because, in our Pagan past, poets and bards were the ones who were wanderers and the keepers of knowledge.

Anyway, I just wanted to share some inside info on my world building and creativity. I would love to know what you think, email me if you have cool ideas or want to say hi.

Have a great day,

Robert D. Jones

PS) The entire Isolde Saga is now available as a box set! Find it on Amazon by CLICKING HERE

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7 MUST READ DYSTOPIAN NOVELS FOR TEENS

Love YA Dystopian Books? Check out the list below!

“This book was wild. I read tons of Young Adult dystopian stuff, but I found this to be a bit more mature.” ★★★★★

200 years after the world ends, their future begins.

In 2157, a mysterious gas known as Variant spreads across the globe, killing or mutating most organic life. The surviving humans take refuge in an underground city, determined to return home. But after generations of failures and botched attempts, hope is beginning to dwindle. That is, until a young scientist makes a unique discovery–and everything changes. Suddenly, there’s reason to hope again, and it rests within a group of genetically engineered children that are both human and Variant.

Terry is one of these children, modified and trained to endure the harsh conditions of a planet he cannot begin to understand. After years of preparation, Terry thinks he knows what to expect. But the reality is far stranger than anything he can imagine–and what he will become is far more dangerous.

Get The Amber Project On Amazon

How far would you go to save your friends?

When Chase finds survival gear hidden in the attic of his boarding school, he realizes Ashwood Prep isn’t what it seems. Thrust into a conspiracy that is centuries old, he can choose to run or stand up and fight.

After an earthquake cuts the school off from the rest of the world, Chase has to figure out who’s a friend, who’s an enemy, and if there’s really any difference at all. As the world starts to collapse, trusting the wrong person can have deadly consequences. Caught between his classmates and the professors’ schemes, he can’t afford to choose wrong. It would all be a lot easier if Taylor and Maya weren’t pulling him in opposite directions.

Is it really the apocalypse? Or is it something much worse?

Get Collapse On Amazon

“Stay on guard. Be aware of your surroundings. Notice the nuances. Cover your tracks. Always be prepared. Question everything. This is how you stay alive, Joy. This is how you keep the ones you love alive.”

The words of sixteen-year-old Joy Montgomery’s late father, Zephyr the Magnificent, urge her onward in this quest for truth and freedom, with the allusion that all is not as it seems in Bygonne.

Faced with the exhausting task of building mechanical trees that produce the precious oxygen they breathe, the Greenleigh orphan slaves piece together clues about the existence of a possible forbidden paradise beyond The Wall. To find the truth, shatter the illusions, and free the children, Joy must entrust the aid of an unlikely ally who harbors dangerous secrets.

This is the first book in the internationally bestselling Treemakers Trilogy, a series that appeals to fans of The Maze Runner, Divergent, and The Hunger Games. With heart-pumping action and spine-tingling plot twists, it’s sure to leave you flipping pages until the wee hours of the morning.

Get The Treemakers On Amazon

You’d think time-travel would be a useful gift.

For cheating on tests and winning the lottery – stuff like that. I might have even enjoyed it… if I hadn’t discovered humanity only had a few more years on earth. Now I’m torn between my present-day crush, whose father might accidentally destroy civilization, and my mysterious savior from the future, who won’t exist if I succeed in saving the world from a zombie apocalypse.

Only I have the power to stop what’s going to happen. But I might need to kill someone to do it. Can I do what it takes to save the world… and do I even want to, if it means losing the one thing I want most?

Get Prescient On Amazon

On the brink of extinction, being human means more than just surviving. 

In Lib’s world, it’s dangerous to deviate from the norm. In fact, for someone who doesn’t live up to the Artificial Intelligence’s standards, it’s practically a death sentence. Lib learns this the hard way when she wakes up in a barren wasteland, with her memories erased, and only one thought lodged in her mind:

“It’s all my fault.”

Lib is a Glitch—an imperfect human component of the utopian world called the Norm. Now she’s thrown out, Lib will be forced to team up with another Glitch, Raj, and the mysterious Rogue Wolf and his clan to survive. Wolf only cares about the survival of his group, but Raj thinks they can hack the A.I. and change the Norm for the better.

Now, Lib will have to decide which path to choose—whether to go with striking loner Raj or stay with Wolf and his tight-knit group. Her heart is drawn to both, but she’s carrying a deadly secret that could jeopardize them all. Will she be able to save her newfound family and stop the A.I. before it’s too late?

Get The Glitch On Amazon

Block out thoughts.

Talia Lyons has one goal at the McDonough School for the Talented: learn to use her Talent as a Mental Manipulator to kill the man who murdered her parents.

Block out pain.

She’ll deal with anything. The brutal physical demands.The emotional toll.Whatever it takes to reach her objective.

Block out friendship.

With only one year left in the program, though, seventeen-year-old Talia is suddenly finding it harder than ever to ignore the rest of her life.

Block out love.

Even worse, she can’t seem to turn off her psychic connection to her first love…or quit thinking about her fascinating new teammate.

Feel only vengeance.

Ian Crane. The man who destroyed Talia’s life. The one she’s determined to eradicate.

Now focus.

It’s time to kill.

The Talented Saga is an award-winning (Next Generation Indie Book Awards) Dystopian Romance series about the life of a girl with extraordinary psychic powers, and what happens when a heart is torn between love and rage…

Get Talented On Amazon

“The Hunger Games meets The Village with a young Jack Reacher as a protagonist.” – Donny Meader

Locked in the merciless confines of Meritropolis, the highest-scoring inhabitants get to stay and work, while the weakest get thrown out to unspeakable monsters beyond the city walls.When his brother is killed, Charley plots to overthrow the system in this mind-blowing young adult dystopian thriller.

When his brother is killed, Charley plots to overthrow the system in this mind-blowing young adult dystopian thriller.

Get Meritropolis On Amazon

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HAVE YOU READ THESE YA SWORD & SORCERY BOOKS?

YA Sword & Sorcery is a huge genre right now! Here are some of the books making waves on Amazon right now. Have you read any of them? I’m personally looking forward to The Black Mage series.

Before the age of seventeen, the young men and women of Jerar are given a choice –pursue a trade or enroll in a trial year in one of the realm’s three war schools to study as a soldier, knight, or mage…

For fifteen-year-old Ryiah, the choice has always been easy. Become a mage and train in Combat, the most prestigious faction of magic.

Yet when she arrives, Ry finds herself competing against friend and foe for one of the exalted apprenticeships. Everyone is rooting for her to fail–first and foremost among them is Prince Darren, the school prodigy who has done nothing but make life miserable since she arrived.



Will Ry survive, or will her dream go down in flames?

GET THE BLACK MAGE: FIRST YEAR ON AMAZON

In a world full of magic and mystery, eighteen-year-old Maia is the exiled princess of Comoros and rightful heir to the throne. Forced to live as a servant in her enemy’s home, Maia flees her captors and begins a perilous quest to save her people. To survive, she must use magic she has learned in secret—despite the fact that women are forbidden to control it. Hunted by enemies at every turn, Maia realizes that danger lurks within her, too. Her powers threaten to steal not only her consciousness but also her sense of right and wrong. Can she set herself free and save the realm she loves—even if her people have forgotten her? In bestselling author Jeff Wheeler’s fantasy epic, the answer may be only the beginning to Maia’s journey throughout the mystical land of Muirwood.

GET THE BANISHED OF MUIRWOOD ON AMAZON

In the fairy tale realm of Arilland, stories are told at children’s bedsides–and not the stories you think you know. Tales of Arilland is a collection of fairy tales, presented in the magical topsy-turvy way that only Alethea Kontis can do. Discover the story of Bluebeard’s first wife (“Blood From Stone”), what really happened to Snow White in those dark woods (“The Unicorn Hunter”), how dangerous the Little Mermaid might have been (“Blood and Water”), and just how far Little Red Riding Hood was willing to go (“Hero Worship”). Included in this collection is “Sunday,” the original novelette that inspired the award-winning novel Enchanted, as well as “The Cursed Prince,” the previously untold history of Prince Rumbold of Arilland…and more.

Woodcutter enthusiasts will rejoice at this opportunity to delve into the secret worlds beyond Kontis’s intricately woven fantasy novels. And if you are not a fan yet, you will be!

GET TALES OF ARILLAND ON AMAZON

The arrival of the mysterious Magi, along with their near invincible guardians, signals a change. For Jakob, apprentice historian, and son of a priest longing for adventure, it begins an opportunity.

When his home is attacked, Jakob starts a journey that will take him far from home and everything he has ever known. Studying with a new swordmaster, he gains surprising skill, but also strange new abilities that make him fear the madness which has claimed so many has come to him. He must withstand it long enough to finish the dangerous task given to him, one that with his new abilities he may be the only person able to complete.

With a strange darkness rising in the north, and attackers moving in from the south, powers long thought lost begin to return. Some begin to suspect the key to survival is the answer to a lost prophecy, yet only a few remain with the ability to find it.

GET THE THREAT OF MADNESS ON AMAZON
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The Black Witch has returned and she is whispering for Isolde…

Isolde dreams of heroic deeds and yearns to live the life of a shield-maiden. However, in the sleepy town of Eyndale, those dreams may as well be dead. She envies the stories of her long-deceased mother and wishes that her father might see her for the grown woman she has become.

When the wanderer Skaldi turns up at her doorstep, he brings horrific news. The animals have been rotting in the fields and the barbaric armies of Ravenscar are flooding down from the north. Something dark is being whispered on the wind. It hisses and laughs as it seeps down through the ancient forest. The Black Witch has returned and she is calling out to Isolde.

With no other choice, Isolde must put her trust into the mysterious Skaldi and chance the foreboding woods. But they soon find themselves being hunted when ancient curses come back to life. Isolde is plunged into her worst nightmare, but this is only the beginning.

The Black Witch is for fans of The Witcher, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Narnia, Maleficent, Seventh Son, Merlin, Snow White and the Huntsmen, The Dark Crystal, and Dungeons and Dragons.

GET THE BLACK WITCH FOR FREE ON AMAZON

 

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YA Summer Scavenger Hunt Stop #48

Welcome to the YA Summer Scavenger Hunt Stop #48

Do you love epic fantasy? Why don’t you pick yourself up a free copy of an all-new adventure while you’re entering the grand prize? (If you’re new to the competition, Click Here to start your journey to amazing prizes!)

[image error] The Isolde Sage | Book One: The Black Witch

Isolde dreams of heroic deeds and yearns to live the life of a shield-maiden. When the wanderer Skaldi turns up at her doorstep, he brings horrific news. The Black Witch has returned and she is calling out to Isolde. With no other choice, Isolde must put her trust into the mysterious Skaldi as she is plunged into her worst nightmare… but this is only the beginning.

GET YOUR BOOK FOR FREE!

“This story is certainly well-written and really keeps you involved with everything that’s going on. I thought that the balance between dialogue and action was well-done.” – Mark White (5-Stars)

“I don’t usually go for this sort of other-world, other-time fantasy stuff but this wasn’t bad. Mr Jones is a promising writer and should do well.” – James Hold (5-Stars)

[image error]The Black Witch has returned and she is whispering for Isolde…

Isolde dreams of heroic deeds and yearns to live the life of a shield-maiden. However, in the sleepy town of Eyndale, those dreams may as well be dead. She envies the stories of her long-deceased mother and wishes that her father might see her for the grown woman she has become.

When the wanderer Skaldi turns up at her doorstep, he brings horrific news. The animals have been rotting in the fields and the barbaric armies of Ravenscar are flooding down from the north. Something dark is being whispered on the wind. It hisses and laughs as it seeps down through the ancient forest. The Black Witch has returned and she is calling out to Isolde.

With no other choice, Isolde must put her trust into the mysterious Skaldi and chance the foreboding woods. But they soon find themselves being hunted when ancient curses come back to life. Isolde is plunged into her worst nightmare, but this is only the beginning.

LAST CHANCE TO GET THE BOOK FOR FREE

So now we come at last to the secret keyword for stop #48!

Are you ready!?

woods,

Thank you for visiting and goodluck on your adventure! The next stop is #49 with Ashley Maker!

 

The post YA Summer Scavenger Hunt Stop #48 appeared first on Robert D. Jones.

YA Summer Scavenger Hunt

In June, the Alliance of Young Adult Authors is sponsoring a massive young adult scavenger hunt. This is a chance to meet some new authors, grab a bunch of free books, and sign up to win a whole bunch of epic prizes!

RULES

Each author will be given a special keyword, which will be bolded and all caps like this: BUTTERFLIES.

All you have to do is visit all the author’s sites in this order, write down the special keywords to discover the short story, then enter the giveaway with the completed secret legend HERE.

There will be one main giveaway for the main prize, but most of the participating authors will also have smaller giveaways for free books, amazon credit and author swag, so make sure you read their post carefully to see what else they’re offering while you’re on their site for the keyword.

THE MAP (participating authors)








Cindy Ray Hale
Katherine Bogle
Melle Amade
David Kudler
A.M. Yates
Alethea Kontis
Stevie Rae Causey
Katlyn Duncan
Debbie Manber Kupfer
Meredith Rose
N.M. Howell
Lara Ann
K.M. Robinson
J.A. Culican
Heather Karn
Rob L. Slater
Dylan Keefer
Sarah K. Wilson
L.J. Higgins
Gina Marie Long
Em Kazmierski
Travis Hall
Heather Young-Nichols
Anna Santos
J.L. Weil
Jo Schneider
Rebecca Fernfield
Kristin D. Van Risseghem
Martine Lewis
Tara Benham
Stacy Claflin
Beth Hammond
Erica Cope
Nicole Zoltack
Char Webster
Sabrina Ramoth
T.J. Muir
Raquel Lyon
Beth Rodgers
S.L. Beaumont
Eva Pohler
Melanie McFarlane
Cheryllynn Dyess
Audrey Rich
Amanda Zieba
Sandie Will
Elle Scott
Robert D. Jones
Ashley Maker
Mandy Peterson
Audrey Grey
Elisa Dane
Amy McNulty
Melinda Cordell
Monica Leonelle
Claire Luana
Frost Kay
Preeti C. Sharma
Bentz Deyo
April Wood
Lena Mae Hill
Angel Leya
Wendi Wilson
Wendy Knight
Chogan Swan
Tamara Hart Heiner
Norma Hinkens
Patti Larsen
Megan Crewe
Jamie Thornton
Jessie Renée
T.A. Maclagan
Lydia Sherrer
Phyllis Moore
P.D. Workman
J.A. Armitage
K.N. Lee
Angela Fristoe
Rhonda Sermon
G.K. DeRosa
Erin Richards
Ali Winters
Larissa C. Hardesty
Kristine Tate
Debra Kristi
Bella Rose
Cortney Pearson
Jeff Kohanek
Kristal Shaff
Rachel Morgan
Emma Right
C.L. Cannon
Joanne Macgregor
Lindsey Loucks
Farah Kuck
Erin Hayes
Jesikah Sundin
Dorothy Dreyer
Danielle Annett
C.J. Ethington
L.C. Hibbett
Madeline Dyer
Katie John
Nicole Schubert
Rachel Medhurst
Tee G Ayer
May Freighter
Heather Dyer
Jen Minkman
J.L. Gillham
Karen Tomlinson
Kate Haye
Megan Linski
Martina Billings
Jo Ho
Brian King
Inna Hardison
Rachel Bateman
Sally Henson
J.L. Hendricks
A.L. Knorr
T.M. Franklin
Konstanz Silverbow
felisha Antonette
Jake Devlin
S.F. Benson
Laurie Treacy
Emily Martha Sorensen
Leia Stone
T. Rae Mitchell
J. Keller Ford
Kat Stiles
Jessica Hawke
Elyse Reyes
Sophie Davis
Bianca Scardoni
Jenetta Penner
David R. Bernstein
Olivia Wildenstein
Derek Murphy










Starts June 1st!

Just go through the “treasure map” above to find the keywords and reconstruct the secret legend. Once you’ve got it, enter for the grand prize HERE. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for other giveaways or free books as you search for the keywords, most authors will be offering their own prizes as well.

For rules, updates or trouble-shooting, make sure to check out this main post which will stay updated.




TIMELINE

Authors will post the rules and the full list of participating authors sometime in June, and have their post up and visible on their site/blog, with their keyword, by June 1st. Readers just need to go through the list, find the words, and use the story to enter for the grand prize.

 

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