Tales of Engines & Demons

by Matt Parker

A story is never a single tale.

Templar Sorath Rourke has spent his life hunting down the demonic relics of an old war, and is no stranger to death, but he is starting to believe that his latest assignment will be the one that finally kills him. Sent to the besieged city of New Broker by the secretive Guild of Engineers, he discovers evidence of a deadly creation that threatens the safety of his homeland, and his own mortality is suddenly the least of his worries.

Meanwhile, Yosh Morrina, accomplished thief and fraudster, leaves the wealth and technology of the capital behind him to journey beneath a desert’s rising sands in search of his lost love. Despite the fragments of nightmare that plague his sleep, he has no idea just how deadly his search has already become.

The actions of Rourke and Morrina will change the fate of the world. One of them is guided by duty and honour, the other by greed and love, but during the course of their journeys, both of them will come to realise that they are not the men they believe themselves to be.

Genres: Fantasy

Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2016

About the author

Matt Parker was born in the north of England. He lived for twenty or so years, doing the usual things that people do, before going to University to study art and creative writing. After that, he got a job doing something completely unrelated to those two things. Several similar jobs later, he was fortunate enough to be made redundant after the company he was working for relocated to the depths of some distant land, and with a pocket-full of severance pay, decided to take a holiday.
He went to Canada and Alaska, in the hope of finding peace and tranquillity. He found bears, and giant mosquitos, and his future wife.

Fifteen years later, and Matt Parker is living in Switzerland with said wife. After the birth of his first son, he decided it was time to try and earn a living by doing something he actually enjoyed, and started writing again. With the birth of his second son, he realised that starting a career in writing right at the point where there would be two screaming children in the house, was probably not the best idea he’d ever had.

Despite all that, he’s managed to write some books.

Reviews

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Parker provided me with an electronic copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review. My apologies Matt for taking so long to read this.

Where shall I start, well a summary I think: the book is amazing and I cannot wait for Volume 2. The world Matt has created is sooooo interesting and so are the characters. The action is non stop and travels across the world he's created from city to city. The way he's written the book you end up following half a dozen different stories, and gradually as you go through the book the stories join up, and right towards the end you realise all the stories have coalesced and then, well then it ends and you go "wow" that was fantastic, and start looking at when Matt is releasing Volume 2. I can't wait.

[Chris Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So here goes my first good reads review;

I f***ing loved this book!

From the first chapter to last the pace never died down, whether we are dropped into a sieging battle between armies of savage war engines, brutal creatures, half breed possessed humans and witty battle hardened protagonists, or following the twisted romance of a loveable rouge and his noble beauty, I could hardly stop to take a breath.

Within the scope (which I do think could have been bigger) the world building is exactly what I want from a book; I felt like I was being dragged along by a pack of huskies with branches and leaves hitting me in the face, my heart pounding, palms sweating, and brain dancing, all the while just being able to make out the drifting desert landscapes, the steaming boiler rooms and the dank mould ridden caverns of the world.

Not a hard-core steam-punk theme but enough to put an intriguing twist on the main stream fantasy. I would relate the images in my head to the beloved final-fantasy series of VG (which I grew up with and will continue to do so).

Matt has drafted up some very believable characters which I loved and loved to hate. the backstories as well as the stories running in parallel tie together so well and give form some fantastic OH SHIT!!! moments. I have expressed my love for one such character to Matt whom I hope will grant my wish to delve further into his past. As far as character building "you performed this task adequately"

Why 5 stars?
I don't have a great deal of spare reading time so when I do pick a book up it has to be something that grabs me by the junk, calls me its bitch and doesn't let go. I requested a copy of this book from the author because firstly; I am cheap, secondly I found the blurb interested me and thirdly the author originates from the north east of Gods country, so I was a little biased.

I think I found an absolute gem in this series and cant wait to read the rest.

From someone who reads for, entertainment, love, passion and blood thirsty, demon slaying, engine roaring, cavern questing, I hope you read and enjoy as much as I did. Thank you Matt Parker.

[Susan-Alia Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upon reading the opening sentence, I was filled with excitement at the prospect of reading this book. Unfortunately, that excitement soon turned to frustration. I was frustrated because all the elements are there for this to be a great novel, and I felt that it fell short in the execution.

With a world ravaged by a demon invasion as the central premise, there are two main narratives. The first is about Rourke, a disgraced Templar and his partner Warvitch a Forge-guard Engineer. Through this storyline, we have real, visceral characters, with depth and purpose. I enjoyed this part of the book very much. The author’s facility with action scenes shines through here. My main problem with this storyline is that I had no idea what their overall purpose was until about 80 pages in, and that’s too long to wait. On top of that, I had to wait even longer to find out the actual stakes. This was a problem that, unfortunately, plagued the entire book.

The second storyline is about Yosh Morrina and Eliza Grey, and their quest for something. I say “something” because we don’t find out what it is until close to the end of the book. Most of this is told in flashbacks, but truly there was nothing in these sections that couldn’t have been covered in a few sentences. Actually being shown these scenes did not benefit the narrative. Maybe it’s because the characters of Yosh and Eliza are too thinly drawn. Yosh is a “rogue” and Eliza is the daughter of a rich merchant. But who are they as people? Why should I care about them? Yes, they love each other, but why? I really felt that the author missed a great opportunity with these two. Their story is not about what happened in the past, but in who they are and why they chose this quest. What ideals brought them together? Do they know the import of what they seek? Is he just in it for love and money or is there a deeper more sinister motive? I believe that knowing that would have made a greater impact on the reader once their fates were revealed.

The ancillary tales, while interesting, only confused and delayed the narrative. It is true that by the end, everything finally made sense, but I was frustrated having to wait that long to finally understand why they were there in the first place. All the time I spent reading these tales took me away from the “main” action and the stories I was anxious to see continue. I wish the author had found a better way to integrate most of them while at the same time, strengthening the two main storylines.

Despite the problems that contributed to my frustration, the book was well written, and the author’s world building is solid. However, it is disappointing to me that this book missed the mark on coming together as a cohesive unit.

[Scott Spotson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tales of Engines & Demons is set in classic steampunk mode, definitely intended for fans of that genre. It is a genre that intrigues me when well done (speaking to my love of fantasy) but is not one I scour for when choosing books to read.

This author has committed to minimal back story, as if it is the plague. Actually, back story can be an author’s friend when used effectively—a chance to learn about the characters, their motives, and the world that they inhabit. Good back story can soar, enticing the reader to dive into the plot. When I got into the book, I was immediately thrown in a series of thrilling, fluid, well-written swashbuckling battles, feeling as if a demon was lurching after me, right in my room.

However, even when I was enthralled by the series of battles, with plenty of blood to spill, I grew frustrated. I stop caring about the book, because I was wondering who the characters were (all I could easily discern is that they worked on steam trains) and what they wanted (were they just characters who saw little past their day-to-day jobs and were caught up in swarms of monsters who loved nothing better than to attack, or were they operatives in a war, and if so, what was the war about and what did each side want? For some reason, almost all the monster attacks occurred on steam trains (called “steamers” in this book). Were the stream trains key to an agenda pursued by one side? I could not figure this out. Another problem was that several of the demons weren’t strategic, nor did they have a name or role for any of them… they were like a herd of wolves, so to speak.

There were references to a mighty warlord called Parus, and to the Predation Wars, but it was not adequately explained what he wanted, nor what the Predation Wars were about. To make sure, I did a word search after reading the book once, for “Parus” and “Predation,” read the relevant passages over again, and I’m still a little clueless.

There was a side story that took up several alternating chapters—Yosh Morrina searching for a love named Eliza Grey—that had nothing to do with the wars in the book. I’m not sure what that side story was about, even by itself.

This book is too cryptic for me, and hence frustrating. Perhaps if the author could try to tell this story not to himself but to readers who have no idea what is world is about, at the outset before the book begins, then I might be able to connect with the world he has created.

Pretty cool battles, though, and the writing can certainly convey excitement during those moments.

[Natalie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huh. Well it was good if not a little confusing, with the story jumping back and forth. I preferred Rourke’s side to Yosh’s, I only really got into that one at 80%. Favourite character was Warvitch with his axe and I liked the first trap. It’s a bit like a puzzle that you don’t fully see until towards the end.

[Jennifer Withers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I found the book to be a slow start at first, with too much description which would’ve been a lot more concise had it been cut a bit shorter. That said, the description did contribute to much of the world-building, which gave me a stronger sense of place and time.
Tales of Engines and Demons is part of a series, which may be a contributing factor to the lack of background detail. I know many readers hate backstory, but I felt some was needed to explain some of the terms in the story, as well as what happened before, to fill out the finer details of the world the story takes place in.
The main characters left me cold. Once again, I think this is due to insufficient backstory. The story lacks details on where the characters come from, who they are, and what’s important to them. It seemed the only goal for the one character, Yosh Morrina, was to find a way to be with the woman he loved, someone who, it seemed, was deemed unsuitable for him by her father. It seemed to be the only goal which drove him forward, and the only reason behind his every action. He’s painted as a rouge, a person of questionable character, and so it was difficult for me to believe that the driving force behind everything he did was love.
The other main character, Rourke, seemed to have no personal goal other than fighting against a villain called Parus, and extracting information about this antagonist from a clerk called Peemish. Although Rourke’s intentions are noble, with him engaged in fighting for what I assumed was a higher cause, I couldn’t get a sense of who he was. His Templar duties define him absolutely, and it’s too little information on the character to get to know him enough to really care about what happens to him.
I enjoyed the fact that the world was so painstakingly fleshed out, and how the twist towards the end caught me by surprise. It’s well-written, aside from the peculiar way the engineers of the story speak – for example “I am liking books. I am liking them for the knowledge they contain, and for the understanding they are having the capability of imparting.” I found this extremely jarring, especially considering that engineers are supposed to be intelligent, educated people, and this form of speech made them seem dull-witted and lacking even basic education. I’m not sure what the author’s intention was here. Perhaps it was an attempt to portray a certain manner of speaking among a specific group of people, but I’m not sure why that particular way was chosen.
The slow start of the story gains momentum further on in the story, gathering a decent pace and maintaining it throughout the rest of the book. An interesting read. I’d like to see where the author intends to take the story in the follow-up.

[Robert Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book feels like it was written in two parts with the switch occurring about a quarter of the way in. Up until that point, the story bounds along, hurried in its nature with the main protagonists, unclear. It feels like watching an action movie where the camera is moving too quickly to capture the detail clearly enough. Through this torrent of scenes and characters, it’s difficult to see where the story is headed. The motivations of the characters seem obscured, somehow simmering below the surface.

However, the story itself keeps the reader turning pages, stuffed as they are with action and pace. Scenes are filled with colour and depth where the characters romp from one situation to another. This is the book’s draw. It keeps the reader’s attention fixed past the limitations of the early part of the book into its more mature hinterland. This is where the main protagonists declare themselves and the tale unfolds into two distinct storylines.

That said; the characters still feel a little on the thin side. Understanding their emotional arcs is not clear as if the characters have not developed enough. This may be down to not hammering out clear motivations early on. This is also true of the narrative voice, which suffered from the early haste. Once past that, the voice begins to establish itself.

The premise of the book of a disintegrating society faced with an iniquitous invasion is a great idea. It hints at an almost limitless world to write epic steampunk fantasy about. It is with this anticipation that readers will demand a second book as soon as possible.

I received this book from the author – This is my honest review.

[David Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Tales of Engines and Demons. It was a well fleshed out and paced story. It was able to transport me to the world created by Matt Parker. I mainly liked this book because it was an all-rounder. The Characters were all well developed and had an individual voice, and the story was different from the traditional fables from this style of genre. I didn’t get lost following the stories, and the action certainly kept me turning pages.

The Characters were well rounded, but I did feel at times some needed more drive for the purpose of what they were doing … I felt the characters felt a little … wooden. I just couldn’t quite get there in believing in them or their quests and ambitions. I think this could be a great story but it just missed by a bit due to this fact.

The setting was my favorite part and I really liked how I saw a rather large scope of this world … or at least I felt the scope of it. In all this was a good read and certainly worth the time it took to read.
Enjoy

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fantastic book by a new author.

The story slowly unfolds, both past and present, through episodic chapters.

The action is great. The pacing is just right. And the world seems SO alien.

The ambiguous ending left me wanting more. I'm gonna keep an eye out for more by Mr. Parker in the future.

Recommended!

[Angie ~aka Reading Machine~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of tales showcases several story arcs following specific characters and places. I found this to be an easy read. The characters and stories were gritty, raw, complex, compelling, intriguing, down to earth, and pointed too. I look forward to more from this author in the future.

[Sheina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic tale of a world changed, yet somehow unchanged. Various characters on their own quests but all connected by the Predation Wars, three hundred years prior.

Matt Parker is a master in the way he has created the characters and the world they move through. The story draws you in slowly and subtly, and soon you find you're halfway through the book. I'm looking forward to the next one!