The Way of the Blade Takes Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy to a New Realm
If you’re looking for Xena: The Warrior Princess meets Mad Max then The Majla Chronicles are for you. The ass-kicking, “Viper”-wielding (more about that later) heroine, Malja, is on the war path again in The Way of the Blade, the fourth book in my post-apocalyptic fantasy fiction series. Today is the big release! I first introduced you to Malja in The Way of the Black Beast setting the stage for the magic, murder, and mystery that characterizes the series. Brandi Salazar of Fictitious Chronicle writes that Book One had her “hooked from the opening line” and was “blown away by the detail and mesmerized by the characters … I think I found myself a new favorite author!”
A Little Backstory From a Parallel Universe
I was thrilled when Books Two and Three, The Way of the Sword and Gun and The Way of the Brother Gods, respectively, garnered similar reactions from post-apocalyptic fantasy fiction readers. The first three books in The Malja Chronicles take place in a parallel universe on the planet, Corlin. Pre-apocalypse, magic ran the planet. Post-apocalypse, magic isn’t something you want to brag about. Malja was kidnapped as child by two powerful magicians who raised her (partly), and not only does she have some serious daddy issues, she despises magic. Hers is a quest for vengeance and her weapon of choice is a sickle-shaped sword she’s named Viper.
Something about Malja has struck a chord with readers, and I love telling her story. She’s one of my favorite characters to write—I often liken her to a female “Conan the Barbarian” or, for my younger readers, she’s got some Katniss from The Hunger Games in her, as well. Although Malja is a cold-blooded killer, she also has a conscience and forms meaningful personal attachments. She is a multi-dimensional figure with real-life vulnerabilities and invulnerabilities, qualities that are truly put to the test in The Way of the Blade.
The Way of Blade finds Malja Leaving Her Post-Apocalyptic Universe
The Way of the Brother Gods closes with Malja having stepped through a portal to another parallel world. She has one goal in mind—find others like her (they call themselves Gate). Like her, they all wear the same curious garment — the do-kha, a unique suit with unique abilities — you’ll have to read the book to discover those. What Malja doesn’t know is where to find Gate because her home planet had been destroyed long ago and the remaining Gate are scattered throughout the many parallel universes. When she exits Corlin only to discover a world ravaged by a civil war, she is compelled to stop the madness before other innocent lives are lost.
Now, in the company of her two closest friends, for whom she serves as a sort of surrogate mother, Malja seeks to unite a divided world while searching for her own—efforts that may destroy both at the same time. Caught between those she loves and that which she desires most, Malja will have to risk everything –friendships, lives, even her chances to get home – in order to save it all.
How would you like to hear more?
As I always do with the release of my books, this week’s installment of my podcast The Eclectic Review features a reading from the opening chapter. If you’d like to hear me read you a story, simply click:
[http://traffic.libsyn.com/eclectic/TER-Show_357-Malja_and_the_Shill.mp3]
Already Convinced?
Take a trip to the universe known as Amazon.com by following this link
[http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H0GO8G4]
I’d sure like to hear your thoughts, questions or impressions of The Way of Blade. If you’ve visited my blog before, you know what to do. Leave a comment down there (imagine my fingers pointing toward the section below where the comments go).
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