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Shards - A Story of The Realm
by
They say the Malar Dorah is unbreakable.
For five centuries, the Realm’s mightiest fortress has stood unconquered. Now it is the final bastion of a retreating northern army, and the culmination of the long-raging Diamond Wars. The warlord Belerod stands at the Dorah's doorstep with a southern horde at his back, set on testing the meaning of unbreakable with his war-golems.
F ...more
For five centuries, the Realm’s mightiest fortress has stood unconquered. Now it is the final bastion of a retreating northern army, and the culmination of the long-raging Diamond Wars. The warlord Belerod stands at the Dorah's doorstep with a southern horde at his back, set on testing the meaning of unbreakable with his war-golems.
F ...more
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Full review is here, on my blog.
Oh Task. I missed you, you giant stony pile of fun!
This is a story that takes place in Task’s early life, while he is still with his creator and his brothers and sisters. They are more or less chasing an army into a fortress that is rather famous for never having been forcefully taken, but the army retreating there has a magic user to break in.
Well, the army chasing them has a bunch of golems to throw at it, so there!
This story is short enough that I read it in ab ...more
Oh Task. I missed you, you giant stony pile of fun!
This is a story that takes place in Task’s early life, while he is still with his creator and his brothers and sisters. They are more or less chasing an army into a fortress that is rather famous for never having been forcefully taken, but the army retreating there has a magic user to break in.
Well, the army chasing them has a bunch of golems to throw at it, so there!
This story is short enough that I read it in ab ...more
Lovely short story prequel. I wouldn't recommend reading it first, but it's a great companion piece to Heart of Stone. Quality audiobook too.
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True must read for fans of Task, the wind-cut, stone golem featured in Ben Galley’s 'The Heart of Stone.' In Heart, Task shares hints of his participation in wars of old, but never really explains to what extent and at what costs in his formation as a fighting machine. Shards, a short story fills in a gap in Task’s life providing readers a unique view of life with his brothers and sister as well as some great battle scenes and the storming of an impregnable fortress. The evil wizard, Casimo is i
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If you needed an introduction to the author that is Ben Galley, look no further than this prequel to his standalone novel, The Heart of Stone.
I first came across Galley in the 'Long Wolf Anthology', put out by Undaunted Publishing earlier this year. His short story, The Iron Keys, captured me and I put him on my list of soon-to-be household names. Shards continued that sentiment and pushed THoS up quite a bit on my TBR. Obviously not having read THoS, I'm glad Galley gave me an introduction to ...more
I first came across Galley in the 'Long Wolf Anthology', put out by Undaunted Publishing earlier this year. His short story, The Iron Keys, captured me and I put him on my list of soon-to-be household names. Shards continued that sentiment and pushed THoS up quite a bit on my TBR. Obviously not having read THoS, I'm glad Galley gave me an introduction to ...more
This was a short story begging to be told. In The Heart of Stone, Ben Galley introduces us to Task, a Wind-cut golem. He’s been fighting in the wars of mankind for over 400 years. In Shards, the author takes us back centuries to the Diamond Wars, when Task was “young” and his brethren were many. Excellent!
I really enjoyed this one. Ben Galley seems to have the ability to bring characters to life with very little effort, and that allows them to take over the story to where I didn't really feel like I was reading it at times but watching the scenes play out in my head of their own accord.
Task is our main character here, a golem constructed by a sorcerer to lead his army in an ongoing war. Task has many siblings, all very different (rock material, size, shape), and all clearly described and fun to ...more
Task is our main character here, a golem constructed by a sorcerer to lead his army in an ongoing war. Task has many siblings, all very different (rock material, size, shape), and all clearly described and fun to ...more
A fun short story in the same world as Heart of Stone. We learn more about Task’s past and get to see him interacting with other golems as they storm a fortress and chase down a wizard. Task remains an intriguing character and one I’m anxious to read more of.
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
This review is spoiler free.
Story Summary
Shards follows the main character of the Heart of Stone novel, Task. Task is a golem. That alone caught my interest. Sure, I’ve read about golems, but I’ve never read a book with a golem as the main character. I will start by saying that I have not yet read the Heart of Stone novel, so my first introduction to Task is here in the short story.
It’s a relatively common story thread. Group attacks fortress and seeks out the guy i ...more
This review is spoiler free.
Story Summary
Shards follows the main character of the Heart of Stone novel, Task. Task is a golem. That alone caught my interest. Sure, I’ve read about golems, but I’ve never read a book with a golem as the main character. I will start by saying that I have not yet read the Heart of Stone novel, so my first introduction to Task is here in the short story.
It’s a relatively common story thread. Group attacks fortress and seeks out the guy i ...more
A short story from the memories of Task- it's a book that you can't possibly understand without reading The Heart of Stone first. I loved it, while we knew of the golems role in the history, it was nice to read more of times when there were more Windcuts. Instant 5 star for anyone that liked the main story of Task.
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I hope there are more books featuring Task - I have got quite fond of him! Shards is a short tale about Task set in the time prior to Heart of Stone. I really would like more of this....Sometimes you come across a book that hits all the right places for you and then are disappointed when further books by the same author aren't working for you. Well I'm lucky enough to have found another great author to go on my 'Must Read ' authors list. Task is a golem, something I had to look up in a dictionar
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Shards
I hadn't known about this until recently after reading a heart of stone a few years ago I was pleasantly surprised to find out there was more to read in this world but now I am left with questions about the prophesy and hoping Ben adds another book to this where task goes looking for the wizards and fulfils the prophesy ...more
I hadn't known about this until recently after reading a heart of stone a few years ago I was pleasantly surprised to find out there was more to read in this world but now I am left with questions about the prophesy and hoping Ben adds another book to this where task goes looking for the wizards and fulfils the prophesy ...more
Great read
Loved this short story that gave more of Task's past. It introduces other golems as well. I'd love to read more about the culture and how golems are made. ...more
Loved this short story that gave more of Task's past. It introduces other golems as well. I'd love to read more about the culture and how golems are made. ...more
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Get The Iron Keys, an exclusive, FREE short story set in the world of Emaneska when you sign up to Ben’s Guild Newsletter.
Ben Galley is an author of dark and epic fantasy books who currently hails from Victoria, Canada. Since publishing his debut Emaneska Series, Ben has released a range of epic and dark fantasy novels, including the award-winning weird western Bloodrush and standalone novel The ...more
Ben Galley is an author of dark and epic fantasy books who currently hails from Victoria, Canada. Since publishing his debut Emaneska Series, Ben has released a range of epic and dark fantasy novels, including the award-winning weird western Bloodrush and standalone novel The ...more
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