Tower of the Forgotten

The Tainted Cabal #0.5

by Mitchell Hogan

This is a standalone novella of 17,700 words set before the events of Revenant Winds.

Niklaus, master swordsman, has not aged a day since being chosen by his mercurial goddess. A slave to her will, he moves from one cryptic mission to the next in the hope of ascending to become her equal.

But even a man who has lived for centuries can sometimes find himself out of his depth.

When Niklaus is sent to kill a sorcerer of the Tainted Cabal, overconfidence leads to a fatal mistake, and neither experience nor skill with a blade can prevail against the forces unleashed against him.

Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2017

About the author

*** Signup to Mitchell's New Release mailing list to be the first to hear about new releases, and for bonus chapters of A Crucible of Souls! ***




When he was eleven, Mitchell Hogan was given the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to read, and a love of fantasy novels was born. He spent the next ten years reading, rolling dice, and playing computer games, with some school and university thrown in. Along the way he accumulated numerous bookcases' worth of fantasy and sci-fi novels and doesn’t look to stop anytime soon.

His first attempt at writing fantasy was an abysmal failure and abandoned after only one page. But ideas for characters and scenes continued to come to him and he kept detailed notes of his thoughts, on the off chance that one day he might have time to write a novel. For a decade he put off his dream of writing until he couldn’t stand it anymore. He knew he would regret not having tried to write the novel percolating inside his head for the rest of his life. Mitchell quit his job and lived off dwindling savings, and the support of his fiancé, until he finished the first draft of A Crucible of Souls.

He now writes full time and is eternally grateful to the readers who took a chance on an unknown author.

A Crucible of Souls won the 2013 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel.

Mitchell lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife, Angela, and daughters, Isabelle and Charlotte.

Reviews

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing little tale set in the world of Mitchell Hogan's upcoming book Revenant Winds. We join master swordsman Nicklaus as he ventures into another mission. On a whisper from his goddess, a sorcerer of the Tainted Cabal is marked for death. Upon his approach to the sorcerer's building he joins forces with a local thief, Sly Diamond who strikes a deal to help Nicklaus with information Sly has gleaned while casing the joint. Good action and an interesting setting whets the whistle for the upcoming novel.
This is an interesting idea of releasing the prequel before the main story but in this case it worked for me because I will definitely be adding the novel to my tbr.
Many thanks to the author Mitchell Hogan for providing me with a free audio copy.

7/10

[Julia Sarene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella kept me well entertained and just upped my desire to read revenant winds... (Luckily I have an arc of that! :D )
It was fast paced and interesting. It felt a bit like two short stories strung together, as the same character has two different "adventures" independent of each other. That is the only reason I don't give 5* as the transition from one to the other didn't make it ONE story for me.
Otherwise I really enjoyed the new world to explore, the character was one I could click with right away, and the plot kept me well engaged!
I'm really looking forward to the next book by Hogan, as I loved all books by him I've read so far!

[WayneM0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Very short but a good read and really enjoyable.

This is a new series by this author and it's the introduction to this new world and it's characters.

The world building is good and even in such a short story you get a real sense of the world this is set in. It brings out the storyline well and adds to the weight of the story.

The characters are interesting and you get a real sense of their personality which is an interesting achievement in a novella this short. I am very keen to learn more about them in future books.
The main character also seems a little flawed and broken and I like to see where that leads to. I also enjoy reading about characters who develop and I think we will see that in this series.

The story is paced well and the plot is resolved quickly but it does leave the reader interested in learning more.

Overall I'm intrigued by this new setting and world and I'm keen to read more in this series.

Fans of Mitchell Hogan will really enjoy it but if you haven't read any of his books and like fantasy novels give this a go.

[FanFiAddict · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received a proof copy from the author. All opinions are my own.*

Tower of the Forgotten is a quick, enchanting read, set just before the beginning of Hogan's Tainted Cabal series. This prequel follows Niklaus, master swordsman and cocky SOB, who is given a divine mission from his goddess, one that will test is wit and his metal (no pun intended).

Written with the skill and craft shown in his Sorcery Ascendant Sequence series, Hogan shows that he can write darn good short stories too. No world building here, but enough sword clashing, magic fumbling, and trap laying fun to entreat even the most epic fantasy read peoples out there. Hogan's best quality is fleshing out characters and that is once again evident here.

Definitely pick this up before reading Revenant Winds (releasing in July), which will be easy as TotF is set to release in May!

Find more of my reviews over at
http://MighyThorJRS.wordpress.com

[Ian Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella was a free giveaway designed to drum up interest in an upcoming book or series, The Tainted Cabal, and to that end, it was successful. During the few pages this encompasses, I learned enough about the world and the writer that I will certainly be checking out the main work once it is released.

[Shaun (Lost in Books, Film, and Floss) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Loved this novella!! If the prequel novella is this good I cannot wait to get into the actual series.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short Fantasy

Metric system - Those are my personal opinions, you may discord, my final rating of the book is not necessarily linked to this system and may diverge from it.
Book Storyline
- Originality: 3/5 stars
- Development: 4/5 stars
- Enjoyment: 5/5 stars
- Writing stile: 3/5 stars
- Funnyness: 1/5 stars
- Epicness: 3/5 stars
- Scaryness: 3/5 stars
- Smartness: 2/5 stars
- Addictiveness: 2/5 stars
- Plot twists: 2/5 stars
- Pace: 4/5 stars
- Storyline planning: 2/5 stars OR /5 negative stars
- Ending: 3/5 stars OR /5 negative stars
- Holes: 1/5 negative stars
- Self contained (Y/N): √
- Cliffhanger (Y/N): ○
- Adult (Y/N): ○
- Mystery (Y/N): ○
- Treasure Hunting (Y/N): ○
- Violence level: Good, with some descriptions, murder and innocent massacre
- Tech level: Swords and bows, Alchemy
- Religion level: Fictional, full
- Main genre: Fantasy
- Subgenre: Dark Fantasy, sorceres, demons, gods, short fantasy
- Point of view: Main Character Self Narrative
- Aftertaste: Let's see some more
- Quote: His luck never seemed to change. Bad before, bad now, and surely bad in the future.
World
- Originality: 2/5 stars
- Variety: 2/5 stars
- Consistency: 4/5 stars
- Impact on the story: 3/5 stars
- Maps: 1/5 stars
- Real world (Y/N): ○
- Fantasy based on real world (Y/N): ○
- Journey (Y/N): ○
- Main scenario: Some city
Characters
- Total amount: 6
- Points of view: 1
- Main characters: 1
- Secondary: 1
- Ordinary: 4
- Overall quality: 3/5 stars
- Main: 3/5 stars
- Secondary: 3/5 stars
- Consistency: 3/5 stars
- Connection: 4/5 stars
- Dialogs: 3/5 Stars
- Interactions: 2/5 Stars
- Romance ( Y/ N): ○
- Underworld Crew (Y/N): ○
- Training (Y/N): ○
- Notable best characters: ○
- Notable worse characters: ○
Setting
- Historical importance: 1/5 Stars
- Historical deep: 1/5 Stars
- Historical score: 1/5 Stars
- Geopolitical importance: 1/5 Stars
- Geopolitical variety: 1/5 Stars
- Geopolitical score: 1/5 Stars
- Setting overall score: 4/5 Stars
- Supernatural (Y/N): √
- Non-human races (Y/N): ○
- Virtual Reality (Y/N): ○
- Monsters ( Y/N): √
Rules
- Devised system: 4/5 stars
- System complexity: 3/5 stars
- System explanation: 2/5 stars
- Impact on storyline: 4/5 stars
- Rulebreaker (Y/N): ○
- Type of Rule: Sorcery, Demonic lineage, Alchemy, gods given powers
Series Starter
- Feels fresh: 4/5 stars
- Gotta read'en all: 4/5 stars
- Impact: 4/5 stars
▶◀
A short story as a prelude for a new series.
If things in this book are indeed an accurate indicator of things to come, I'll expect a solid dark fantasy in a rich world.

[Jonathan Royan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given the ARC by the author in exchange for an honest review. I have previously read other works by this author and consider myself a fan.

This novella is a prequel to The Reverent Winds trilogy, first book out later this year. It tells the story of two characters meeting and sharing a brief adventure.

It's a nice little teaser to get you into this new world and also to get to know some characters and their back stories. Nicklaus is a devotee to his god, and hopes that he will earn his place by her side by doing her bidding, this generally seem to be killing whoever she decides needs killing. He's happy to do it, always hoping for her to chuck him a bone after he completes a task. Sly is a young boy thief he encounters on a roof, and ends up helping Nicklaus with his latest task, given to him by his female god.

I really like Mitchell Hogan's writing style. Rich, without being too heavy going. He has a fresh take on the fantasy genre that I've enjoyed immensely.

This story is only 17,000 words or so, making pacing very important. The pacing in a word is, excellent. The story gets going straight away with minimal chaff. I quickly warmed to the two characters. Nicklaus, though effectively a slave to his mistress, is a kick-ass type with depths you know doubt will be explored fully in the later books. Sly, although a bit of a fantasy clique thief, is believable and enjoyable and I look forward to finding out more about him in the follow up books also. Intrigue, action, magic and swordplay. All you could ask for in a short story.

They meet, they joint forces, they prevail...kind of anyway.

A great start into a fantasy world that I'm certainly looking forward to exploring more soon.

Cheers.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I'm ready for the main course, this story was a wonderful appetizer for The Tainted Cabal series. I can see there will be my main ingredient for a good story, and that's interesting characters. Just enough here to spark an interest in Niklaus, (master swordsman and assassin for a mysterious goddess) and a side character to hopefully see again, Sly Diamond (yep, that's what he calls himself) the thief that added a touch of comic relief.
Assassins, thieves, demons, sorcerers, swordplay and goddesses. Looks to be a good start, and with the great narration of Oliver Wyman, you can't go wrong.

[Lisa Maughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niklaus is in the service of the goddess Sylva. He is a swordsman, he sets up a meeting with an anonymous swordsman, he wants to fight the best to keep him sharp as he's getting a little rusty and may be called to a mission at any time. He has paid an agent to set up the fight. From the shadows, knives are thrown at him, once he sees his opponent he is a hulking figure. The fights starts, but Niklaus wins in the end. Niklaus is told by his goddess who is next target is, and he eagerly goes after him but probably wishes he didn't.
oh, exciting this story is. It gets better with each chapter. Good fight scenes. A fun read

[Rudi Opperman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is the first time that I’ve read any of Mitchell Hogan’s books and I will definitely look out for his other books. Action filled short story which gives you a good taste of the potential that the full length novels might have.

[Suki Rickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forgotten

This book was fun to read and had a few errors throughout. The plot was well done and interesting overall. The characters are developed well and overall were fun to read about. The main character is always talking about his goddess and it becomes repetitive.

[Keith Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicklaus, the near-eternal swordsman of the Goddess Sylva, is a fascinating character, and Tower of the Forgotten focuses on a perilous mission that has him fighting for his life. A really enjoyable prequel to The Tainted Cabal.

[Leigh Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to a new world by Mitchell Hogan.

[Barefoot Gypsy Jimerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start for a series!!!

A great start for a series. Looking forward to more. Niklaus sounds like a great character in the making. Damn good read.

[Miriam Michalak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this novella to get a feel for Mitchell Hogan. It;s safe to say I really enjoyed it and will be reading more by him.

[Beaumont · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series!

[Toby Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received a proof copy from the author. All opinions are my own.*

This was a very quick read and was a fantastic continuation of our learning about Niklaus. I was lucky enough to have read Revenant Winds as a beta reader, so had already met our main character.

There were no slow parts in this book, no background or world-building and instead we just got a nice quick dose of action, in a very entertaining story. It should really whet the appetite for the Revenant Winds release, the next big series from Mitchell Hogan, after the excellent Sorcery Ascendant Sequence.

I would describe this novella as simply 'fun', whilst still showcasing the immense talent that the author has.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a prequel novella to the novel Revenant Winds. Niklaus du Plessis, an assassin and master swordsman, serves the goddess Sylva Kalisia. The novel begins with a scene of a swordfight between Niklaus and Draglor, a barbarian swordsman, which ends with the barbarian clutching his bleeding leg.

I have never read anything by Mitchell Hogan before so this is my introduction to his writing. I wanted to like this novella but it was hard for me to get into the story and understand the characters. The storyline doesn't flow very smoothly and the dialogue often feels awkward. It's possible that this sword-and-sorcery tale is just not the type of story that appeals to me and that my personal preferences are influencing my judgment here but I feel that the prose was missing the heft and polish that I like. Still, there are ample scenes of sword fighting, sorcery, demons, and alchemy for those who enjoy those elements.