The Adventures of Manny Lark: A Sip From The Bloodwell

by Joshua Cox-Steib

Follow the young(ish) half-dragon, Manny Lark, along on his mishaps and adventures in this novella length book. A fast paced, action packed, story of magic, aliens, dragons, and family skeletons (sometimes literally). Travel along with our supernatural protagonist as he tries to make it through one day at a time. Manny just wants to know how he wound up in a metal box, but a collection of cosmic powers known as the council of the ancients keeps him from this baffling mystery, and uses Manny's father, the Dragon Lord Braxus, to push him towards the undesired task of magical policing. It sounded like a case of unlicensed arcane business, and It should have been a straightforward job, but nothing is straightforward when dragons are involved..

Genres: Fantasy

61 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 21, 2015

About the author

I'm an avid reader, and have been ever since I fell into it by an oddity of fate in the sixth grade. My best friend wouldn't quit talking to me about a fantasy series that he was reading. I borrowed the first book from him to guard myself from any further ranting (he couldn't very well talk about parts of the series I hadn't read yet, could he?). I ended up reading the book almost by accident. I couldn't stop reading, and I still can't.
My wife and I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma - along with our small army of pets, and our books.

Reviews

[Linda Hamonou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very interesting mix of magic and technology with a lot of different creature.
You follow an half dragon in a quest given by the dragon elder and that guy is not always really smart but sure super curious and reckless. He makes improbable choices that I wouldn't personally have thought possible. Like he's supposed to drink something that will definitely be very painful and he does it, like hell that's a bad idea but lets see what happens, really, I was like tell the guy to screw himself and get on with whatever else you can get on with. But the main character does the reckless thing.
Of course if I could do probability magic maybe I'll be more reckless, I don't now.
All in all, it was a fun read and I'll be looking forward to the second book.

[Elizabeth Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very interested in this novel about a half man/half dragon. It features pretty solid writing skills and fresh ideas/concepts about magic and magical creatures. However, it was very rushed while at the same time dragging in certain areas. I feel like the climax finished abruptly with only a page or two of description while the pages spent describing his journey through the elven tunnel seemed to last forever. I think this would be an excellent NOVEL (currently just an EPISODE *shudder*) and it just needs a bit more editing and "tightening up". Really great concept though!

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novella. Fast paced writing and quirky characters make this a fun read. I'm eager to read more adventures about Manny Lark and all the other magical folk in this mystical and exciting world.

[Steve Steib · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a fast paced action packed novella with a unique combination of science fiction and fantasy. I found it to be a fun read and a real page turner. Reading this book is somewhat like playing a strategy video game and it keeps you on your toes. I am eager for the sequal.

[Bill Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manny Lark is a drunken sailor!

Really nice writing style but far too much -hell-damn_ and so forth is this adult fantasy? Sorry it killed my interest.