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Shadows and Fire
In the parallel world of the future, mankind has created its own worst enemy - a supernatural species of animal-human hybrids that exact a high toll in return for peace. Step into the dark, and occasionally funny, world of the domes where a brother and sister bridging the gap between these two species struggle to reunite with one another. Meet the menagerie of creatures that impact their lives and a man who would bring redemption, providing he doesn't get lost along the way.
114 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2011
About the author
Jennifer Fales
14 books28 followersJennifer Fales is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and an east coast native who moved to Southern California back in 2004. She possesses an undying love for literature and a diverse background and perspective from having worn many professional hats over the decades, including those in the clothing and automotive industries, financials, and securities. She loves traveling, and people watching, and she considers herself a foodie and a wine enthusiast. From time to time she has also been known to sing somewhere other than the shower. She recently released her first erotica title, via Cobblestone Press, under the nom de plume Mischief Ardmore.
Pronunciation of last name: FAYLZ (sales with an "F")
Awards & Honorable Mentions:
2011 INDIEFAB Award
2013 INDIEFAB Finalist
2013 Reader's Favorite International Book Award
2013 Feathered Quill Award
2014 CIPA EVVY Award
IndieReader Approved 2015
LA Book Festival Honorable Mention, 2015
Association of Independent Authors Book of The Month March 2015
IndieReader 56 Best Self-Published Books of 2015
Pronunciation of last name: FAYLZ (sales with an "F")
Awards & Honorable Mentions:
2011 INDIEFAB Award
2013 INDIEFAB Finalist
2013 Reader's Favorite International Book Award
2013 Feathered Quill Award
2014 CIPA EVVY Award
IndieReader Approved 2015
LA Book Festival Honorable Mention, 2015
Association of Independent Authors Book of The Month March 2015
IndieReader 56 Best Self-Published Books of 2015
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 15, 2011
This is rather short book about Lilith and Laydon, twins who were separated at birth, and are trying to come together as adults. There is a whole slew of paranormal creatures, including a sexy dragonlady and protective wolfman.
I felt like this book gave me just a taste of a larger world. I wanted more out of it: more detail, more story, more exposure to the characters. At just over 100 pages, there just wasn't enough book for me. Luckily, this is just the first book in a series, so there should hopefully be more coming.
There is definitely lots of material hinted at in this book for future stories. The preface alone could be its own book. I want to read about Lilith and Laydon's history and powers, Maltha and Geoff'tan's relationship, and Father Augustin's history.
Overall, this is an exciting story, but much too short for my liking. You get a taste of a world and characters, but it is rather abbreviated.
I felt like this book gave me just a taste of a larger world. I wanted more out of it: more detail, more story, more exposure to the characters. At just over 100 pages, there just wasn't enough book for me. Luckily, this is just the first book in a series, so there should hopefully be more coming.
There is definitely lots of material hinted at in this book for future stories. The preface alone could be its own book. I want to read about Lilith and Laydon's history and powers, Maltha and Geoff'tan's relationship, and Father Augustin's history.
Overall, this is an exciting story, but much too short for my liking. You get a taste of a world and characters, but it is rather abbreviated.
January 16, 2017
This book was okay, I guess. A lot confused me. The supernatural people confused me. I was never quite sure what they were supposed to look like. They were often described as being their animal, so Maltha was a dragon and Finch was a rat, for example, but then they would be described as having hair or clothes or body parts that make me imagine a human. So mostly I was picturing some animal-human hybrid, or like humans with heads of animals, and it was just unsatisfying not knowing what it was supposed to be. And then there were times I didn’t really know what was going on, either. First off, at the beginning, there’s this short info dump, and then we start, but things still don’t make sense to me. There’s a lot of procedure and terminology that hasn’t been explained. For instance, I don’t think they ever made it clear that “craft” was car, or some type of vehicle…so I missed that the first few times it was mentioned. Other things weren’t so clear, like when Father Augustin was first described, he was retired and had “aged well,” apparently, so here I’m thinking this buff old man. (He is described as being buff, though.) But then another character starts falling for him (not very realistically) and there are more subtle hints that he might in fact only be middle-aged. It’s just all so confusing.
And then there’s Maltha, who apparently has a heart of stone but throughout the book I only ever see her as affectionate and caring. There’s Lilith and Laydon, who apparently have some sort of telepathic (and telekinetic) connection. Only Lilith is seemingly a human and Laydon is…well, I don’t know what the hell he is, or why he ended up under the dome while Lilith was outside of it. I don’t know how he ended up staying with Aamon and Maltha (is he a prisoner, or isn’t he? Why?). I guess the plot was sort of intriguing, but took too many random turns. It’s like it wasn’t quite sure what it wanted to be. One minute it’s fantasy-quest, the other it’s buddy-cop crime-solving mission. I will say it wrapped up well enough, but perhaps a little too well—all the storylines converged and they gave a clear picture of how things were going to proceed, but I had absolutely no desire to read on. True, the second book might reveal a bit more than this one did, but I wasn’t sufficiently hooked. It wasn’t that I had absolutely no investment in Lilith at all, or even Maltha—I liked them both, but I was content to leave things where they were. They’d get worked out and I didn’t really care how. Too much weirdness and confusion for me.
Another good thing—it made a short book not feel like a short book. There was a lot going on, so I read it more slowly than usual, and it took a while to get through. I felt like it was paced well and there was enough plot to make up a sufficient book.
See the full review on my blog, Awesome Book Assessment.
And then there’s Maltha, who apparently has a heart of stone but throughout the book I only ever see her as affectionate and caring. There’s Lilith and Laydon, who apparently have some sort of telepathic (and telekinetic) connection. Only Lilith is seemingly a human and Laydon is…well, I don’t know what the hell he is, or why he ended up under the dome while Lilith was outside of it. I don’t know how he ended up staying with Aamon and Maltha (is he a prisoner, or isn’t he? Why?). I guess the plot was sort of intriguing, but took too many random turns. It’s like it wasn’t quite sure what it wanted to be. One minute it’s fantasy-quest, the other it’s buddy-cop crime-solving mission. I will say it wrapped up well enough, but perhaps a little too well—all the storylines converged and they gave a clear picture of how things were going to proceed, but I had absolutely no desire to read on. True, the second book might reveal a bit more than this one did, but I wasn’t sufficiently hooked. It wasn’t that I had absolutely no investment in Lilith at all, or even Maltha—I liked them both, but I was content to leave things where they were. They’d get worked out and I didn’t really care how. Too much weirdness and confusion for me.
Another good thing—it made a short book not feel like a short book. There was a lot going on, so I read it more slowly than usual, and it took a while to get through. I felt like it was paced well and there was enough plot to make up a sufficient book.
See the full review on my blog, Awesome Book Assessment.
December 3, 2011
Publisher Outskirts Press, Inc
Pages - 108
Blurb from the back cover
"In the parallel future, mankind has created its own worst nightmare - a hybrid species of supernatural beings that demands a high toll in return for peace. Follow the adventure of a tortured man seeking redemption and a brother and sister, the unwilling product of both worlds, torn apart, determined to reunite with one another. And remember that nothing is what it seems under the dome."
My review
To be honest I was so close to giving this book a two for a few reasons. There are so many characters it is hard to remember who is who and what their part is and they were very fleeting and we only had a few pages for most of them. The main characters are the twins Lilith and Laydon, Father Augustin and the bad guys Aamon and Maltha (although there is more to Maltha than I first thought).
The chapters are very short which in a book so small they would be but I do like small chapters. The idea of the hybrids I really liked too, half human and half whatever animal has been spliced with human.
My main problem with the story is there isn't enough of it (yeah yeah I know good author always leaves you wanting more) but I think for the whole story to come together we need more. I feel and will have to confirm this with the author that this is just the start of a series in which case I would have waited and put them all together. Or the next one should be the prequel so we can get a better understanding of the hybrids and how they came to be so different and powerful.
That is a lot of complaining for a 3 star rating right? However the way she has wrote certain parts of it is so well done and she paints quite a picture than you can visualise some of the scenes in beautiful detail. And the basic idea is so unusual that I think anything below a 3 would be quite unfair. So for me 3/5 this time, I would read this author again as I like the writing style but I definately need more background and information on the origins and characters. A very quick read at just 108 pages and I feel we could definately have done with more and it would have added to the value of the story.
Thank you to the author for introducing me to her work and sending me a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine, I was not paid or influenced in anyway for this review.
Pages - 108
Blurb from the back cover
"In the parallel future, mankind has created its own worst nightmare - a hybrid species of supernatural beings that demands a high toll in return for peace. Follow the adventure of a tortured man seeking redemption and a brother and sister, the unwilling product of both worlds, torn apart, determined to reunite with one another. And remember that nothing is what it seems under the dome."
My review
To be honest I was so close to giving this book a two for a few reasons. There are so many characters it is hard to remember who is who and what their part is and they were very fleeting and we only had a few pages for most of them. The main characters are the twins Lilith and Laydon, Father Augustin and the bad guys Aamon and Maltha (although there is more to Maltha than I first thought).
The chapters are very short which in a book so small they would be but I do like small chapters. The idea of the hybrids I really liked too, half human and half whatever animal has been spliced with human.
My main problem with the story is there isn't enough of it (yeah yeah I know good author always leaves you wanting more) but I think for the whole story to come together we need more. I feel and will have to confirm this with the author that this is just the start of a series in which case I would have waited and put them all together. Or the next one should be the prequel so we can get a better understanding of the hybrids and how they came to be so different and powerful.
That is a lot of complaining for a 3 star rating right? However the way she has wrote certain parts of it is so well done and she paints quite a picture than you can visualise some of the scenes in beautiful detail. And the basic idea is so unusual that I think anything below a 3 would be quite unfair. So for me 3/5 this time, I would read this author again as I like the writing style but I definately need more background and information on the origins and characters. A very quick read at just 108 pages and I feel we could definately have done with more and it would have added to the value of the story.
Thank you to the author for introducing me to her work and sending me a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine, I was not paid or influenced in anyway for this review.
January 27, 2014
I did love the first half of the book once I got past the Dune-like overly complicated historical intro explaining the background of the world. (Personally, I would have rather seen it explained on the fly rather than as an info dump, while there were other things that neglected getting explained like how Lilith found she had a connection to her brother, how she found about him in the first place, her first reaction to him being a monster, etc). I love the idea of a world populated by genetically modified animals, but the problem here is that the book seems to be missing any descriptions of what the animals look like (except for a tail here and claws there). Do they look partially human? The question arises because each and every one of them speaks perfect english, but yet there's no mention of how they'd be able to form words if they're still entirely animal (even with being smart) and for that matter, how they'd be able to do human things, like work in a bar, if they walk on all fours with no hands. While the story was fascinating with Lilith journeying to unfamiliar territory, in search of a mysterious brother she could only hear in her head, and meeting interesting characters, and the characters of her brother, Aamon and Maltha were fascinating too, the story faltered once it hit the mid point and suddenly all sorts of new characters started getting thrown into the story, nearly at random with no descriptions to keep them differentiated in a person's mind, along with the problem of a sudden slow down in pace (as in Aamon and Laydon spent several chapters wandering around their house just so they could get some weapons and similarly Augustin and Alani spent several chapters wandering the streets, enountering new character after new character with very little to differentiate each and it got even more confusing when the author referred to several as just "beast" and "creature" which does nothing to describe what the character looks like). The best thing about this story though was how quickly I breezed through it. Even though it was all kinds of confusing trying to get a handle on what was happening and how to fit the animals into the settings doing basic tasks, it was an easy read with a wonderfully intriguing world and characters.
July 7, 2014
Having just finished reading “Shadows and Fire” by new author Jennifer Fales let me start off by saying it was an interesting read. Fales has a great writing style and the book’s characters and their dialogue are very believable which is extremely important since “Shadows and Fire” is definitely set in a Science Fiction / Fantasy world.
The premise of “Shadows and Fire” is this: more than a millennia has passed and mankind is no longer content to play “God” with our simple, common, household animals. Scientists and breeders have given up splicing animal genes together in an attempt to create that “better” housecat; that “cuter” puppy or that “faster” racehorse. Instead they have moved on to “bigger and better” or should I say “badder” even though that’s grammatically incorrect?
As evidenced in every century, wars have relentlessly raged and in an attempt to dominate those major and minor skirmishes mankind has created a hybrid species of man and beast. Using human and animal DNA the government attempted to create a better soldier; a perfect soldier. What they wound up getting wasn’t what they wanted, or expected, and as I read “Shadows and Fire” part of me idly wondered if the results would have been different had they had used human volunteers versus experimenting on those who were incarcerated but...I digress.
“Shadows and Fire” revolves around a tortured soul who has fought too long and lost too much and for what? These failed experiments were castoffs and branded “evil” by a church that Father Augustin later discovered would do anything, right or wrong, to get its way. “Shadows and Fire” also follows a set of twins, a brother and sister, who were born into this world as unwitting pawns of these failed attempts.
I’m not going to provide you with any more of this story; suffice it to say that “Shadows and Fire” is a fun read. My only complaint is that the book is a very short 108 pages. For someone who reads as fast as I do that only equals thirty minutes to get lost in a good book which honestly isn’t enough time!
(Reviewed in association with Rebecca's Reads).
The premise of “Shadows and Fire” is this: more than a millennia has passed and mankind is no longer content to play “God” with our simple, common, household animals. Scientists and breeders have given up splicing animal genes together in an attempt to create that “better” housecat; that “cuter” puppy or that “faster” racehorse. Instead they have moved on to “bigger and better” or should I say “badder” even though that’s grammatically incorrect?
As evidenced in every century, wars have relentlessly raged and in an attempt to dominate those major and minor skirmishes mankind has created a hybrid species of man and beast. Using human and animal DNA the government attempted to create a better soldier; a perfect soldier. What they wound up getting wasn’t what they wanted, or expected, and as I read “Shadows and Fire” part of me idly wondered if the results would have been different had they had used human volunteers versus experimenting on those who were incarcerated but...I digress.
“Shadows and Fire” revolves around a tortured soul who has fought too long and lost too much and for what? These failed experiments were castoffs and branded “evil” by a church that Father Augustin later discovered would do anything, right or wrong, to get its way. “Shadows and Fire” also follows a set of twins, a brother and sister, who were born into this world as unwitting pawns of these failed attempts.
I’m not going to provide you with any more of this story; suffice it to say that “Shadows and Fire” is a fun read. My only complaint is that the book is a very short 108 pages. For someone who reads as fast as I do that only equals thirty minutes to get lost in a good book which honestly isn’t enough time!
(Reviewed in association with Rebecca's Reads).
June 22, 2016
This book was originally published under Kurt’s Frontier on Invincible Love of Reading.
Synopsis:
Humanity has been playing with things it doesn’t completely understand and has created its own worst nightmare. Humanity has been playing with genetics and created a race of hybrid beings that are part human and part animal. Humanity’s price of peace with the hybrids is a Lottery administered by the human church and government and a council of hybrids. Humans are randomly selected and sent to the hybrids as breeders and laborers.
Into this unjust system comes Lilith, a girl who is the product of a union between a human woman with strong ESP powers and a hybrid. Lilith has come looking for her twin, Laydon. Befriended by a Maltha, a dragon hybrid female and Geoff’tan, a wolf hybrid, Lilith begins to explore her powers. The dragon hybrid male, Aamon, holds her brother and plays a dangerous game of subterfuge to test Liliths powers. The lottery system that has been set up is meeting resistance. With many powers moving, the twins are wild cards in the struggles to come.
Review:
Jennifer Fales has written a story where the individuals, and ties of family are set against a powerful and corrupt system. Using a paranormal/science fiction format reminiscent of the late Andre Norton, she creates a dark world of political maneuvers and treachery. This is a novella length story that could have easily been expanded into a full novel. The plot structure is fairly strong. However, the back story covered in the Preface might have been better worked into the body of the story. This could have allowed the author to develop the story further. As it stands now, the reader may feel that the story is rushed in a way that has nothing to do with pressures on the characters. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable story, and I look forward to reviewing the sequel, Sleight of Hand: Shadow Games.
Synopsis:
Humanity has been playing with things it doesn’t completely understand and has created its own worst nightmare. Humanity has been playing with genetics and created a race of hybrid beings that are part human and part animal. Humanity’s price of peace with the hybrids is a Lottery administered by the human church and government and a council of hybrids. Humans are randomly selected and sent to the hybrids as breeders and laborers.
Into this unjust system comes Lilith, a girl who is the product of a union between a human woman with strong ESP powers and a hybrid. Lilith has come looking for her twin, Laydon. Befriended by a Maltha, a dragon hybrid female and Geoff’tan, a wolf hybrid, Lilith begins to explore her powers. The dragon hybrid male, Aamon, holds her brother and plays a dangerous game of subterfuge to test Liliths powers. The lottery system that has been set up is meeting resistance. With many powers moving, the twins are wild cards in the struggles to come.
Review:
Jennifer Fales has written a story where the individuals, and ties of family are set against a powerful and corrupt system. Using a paranormal/science fiction format reminiscent of the late Andre Norton, she creates a dark world of political maneuvers and treachery. This is a novella length story that could have easily been expanded into a full novel. The plot structure is fairly strong. However, the back story covered in the Preface might have been better worked into the body of the story. This could have allowed the author to develop the story further. As it stands now, the reader may feel that the story is rushed in a way that has nothing to do with pressures on the characters. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable story, and I look forward to reviewing the sequel, Sleight of Hand: Shadow Games.
February 8, 2012
Don't let this 108 page book make you think there is little storyline to be worth reading. Shadows and Fire is packed with entertainment that keeps the reader turning the pages.
The preface in the book's opening, gives insight into the background of the author's world and gives you a heads up of the scene and atmosphere. It takes you into the head of the author and makes you relive the world she created.
..
Shadows and Fire is a fantasy set in a parallel future, where brother and sister are determined to find each other. The author describes their troubles and mishaps until they can find a way to unite. The world is in chaos and all they are trying to do is get their family back together.
The plot was clear and believable and the story ran smoothly and able to be understood and enjoyed. It appeared the main character was the brother, Laydon, who was orchestrating events in the story in order to aid his sister.
Jennifer Fales was able to portray the setting enough for the reader to immerse in her world. The story was not bogged down with descriptions to take away from the story but concentrated on character development and the relationship withe the minor characters.
There are a few different points-of-view but it does not get confusing as to who is telling the story. The reader gets to enjoy the character's mannerisms and dialogue.
I enjoyed reading the book and recommend it to anyone who likes a great story.
The preface in the book's opening, gives insight into the background of the author's world and gives you a heads up of the scene and atmosphere. It takes you into the head of the author and makes you relive the world she created.
..
Shadows and Fire is a fantasy set in a parallel future, where brother and sister are determined to find each other. The author describes their troubles and mishaps until they can find a way to unite. The world is in chaos and all they are trying to do is get their family back together.
The plot was clear and believable and the story ran smoothly and able to be understood and enjoyed. It appeared the main character was the brother, Laydon, who was orchestrating events in the story in order to aid his sister.
Jennifer Fales was able to portray the setting enough for the reader to immerse in her world. The story was not bogged down with descriptions to take away from the story but concentrated on character development and the relationship withe the minor characters.
There are a few different points-of-view but it does not get confusing as to who is telling the story. The reader gets to enjoy the character's mannerisms and dialogue.
I enjoyed reading the book and recommend it to anyone who likes a great story.
Read
December 15, 2011The author created a fantasy world the reader can fall into. The main characters, Lilith and Laydon, are brother and sister. As the summary suggests, the siblings are forced from each other and must find a way to reunite. There are quite a few other characters that could be considered main characters, there are others that walk the line between main and secondary characters as well. The reader will enjoy being introduced to these very different characters; the only problem with this many characters is that the reader may find it hard to connect to them and remember who is who.
The world the author created is very unique and surprisingly interesting. It is unlikely that the reader will encounter any other novel with the same plot. The events are fast-paced, though the reader will not be easily confused as the author carefully lays out the events. The idea behind this unique world is different and very innovative. The reader will find it hard not to enjoy the book.
One of the only complaints was that the book was too short. It would have been nice to get to know the characters and the world better. That being said, the author does a good job of drawing the reader in and holding his/her attention. This is only the author's first novel; hopefully, there are many more to come. This book is recommended to young adult/teen readers.
March 3, 2015
Shadows and Fire is a well thought out story. I like the premise and the colorful world that Fales has painted. She manages to creatively weave an intricate plot in a minimum of pages.
While the book is short, it is packed full of interesting characters. If I could find fault with this book, that is where it would be. I found myself taking a deep breath with each chapter as the characters changed and I had to try to remember who they were and what their role in the story was. Had the book been any longer, I was going to start making a list. Luckily, this is the first in a series and having peeked at the next book, there is a glossary at the front that gives me all the information that I felt I needed for the first book!
I would have given this book a 3.5.
I'm looking forward to Sleight of Hand which is up next!
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
While the book is short, it is packed full of interesting characters. If I could find fault with this book, that is where it would be. I found myself taking a deep breath with each chapter as the characters changed and I had to try to remember who they were and what their role in the story was. Had the book been any longer, I was going to start making a list. Luckily, this is the first in a series and having peeked at the next book, there is a glossary at the front that gives me all the information that I felt I needed for the first book!
I would have given this book a 3.5.
I'm looking forward to Sleight of Hand which is up next!
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
May 11, 2014
This is a great YA book. I am very intrigued by the idea for the story and look forward to continuing the series. I had a little difficulty imagining the animal hybrids, but kind of pictured the bar scenes from Star Wars to compensate, and any of the feline hybrids look like thundercats in my mind. I think someone younger than myself may have an easier time picturing the characters based on the descriptions because they're a little less set in their ways. Beyond that, I don't really know what else I can say without potential spoilers, but I did greatly enjoy this book.
Copy received through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.
Copy received through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.
January 4, 2012
A debut with lots of promise is what Shadows and Fire was to me. I was able to slip just enough away into the story to get a tiny glimpse of what I think will become a fantastic fantasy world full of memorable supernatural creatures and adventure. The book was just a bit to short for me to really make alot of noise over but it will be interesting to see brother and sister reunite and channel their powers and also to get to know the rest of the characters better. Jennifer has done an excellant job at laying the groundwork for a great story in the next book for sure!
January 1, 2012
This was a unique book. It was a little too short, leaving me wanting more. I am glad that this is just the first book in this series. The world building and character building are unique and wonderful. A mixture of animal and humans have created a unique hybrid character. The two twins were total opposites who obviously have a greater purpose once they are together. The problem is we don't know yet what that purpose is. I look forward to reading more from this author.
August 25, 2016
Won this on a first reads giveaway and loved it. Great fast-paced sci-fi with interesting characters and a plot that kept me riveted. My only complaint is that it was too short. Can't wait to start the sequel.
September 25, 2013
review to come
March 11, 2012
as a short story it just had too much going on it should have been spread to a full length novel because the story really is great just lacks more detail.
January 15, 2012
really interesting so far...
hmmm
review to come soon
hmmm
review to come soon
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews