What do you think?
Rate this book
Blood & Iron
Magic doesn't exist, until a mage falls in the streets of Ashmor. In his last moments, he gives Rowan Vos, a thief for hire, a sword that will alter his future, and threaten not only his own life, but the lives of everyone around him.
Eldrick D'Eldar returns from the Kingdom of Meronia with dire news - three decades of fragile peace is unraveling.
And Griffon Alexander, the son of a minor noble relegated to the borderland keep of Braewood, is about to face the culmination of all of these events.
Eldrick D'Eldar returns from the Kingdom of Meronia with dire news - three decades of fragile peace is unraveling.
And Griffon Alexander, the son of a minor noble relegated to the borderland keep of Braewood, is about to face the culmination of all of these events.
- GenresFantasy
127 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2019
50 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Eli Steele
6 books14 followersI'm a husband, father, kayaker (love my hobie), and fantasy and sci-fi author.
Blood & Iron is my current fantasy project. Part 1 is Free on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XCTWXLH/
Join my MAILING LIST for Notifications of New Releases: https://mailchi.mp/770ef93e207a/elist...
Blood & Iron is my current fantasy project. Part 1 is Free on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XCTWXLH/
Join my MAILING LIST for Notifications of New Releases: https://mailchi.mp/770ef93e207a/elist...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 25, 2019
I recently joined a new group on Goodreads that gives reviews to authors who are trying to get their works out there. Just an FYI that this book is FREE on Amazon for the kindle app. This was a relatively quick read (about 130 some pages) so for those of you who want to read but can’t seem to find the time for a whole book, this will be a great read for you! Alright now, let’s get started!
I’ve never read a serial before, but this one made an incredible impression on me! While I would’ve liked to see more development with the characters as well as understand an internal conflict with Eldrick and Griffon, I was blown away by the author’s writing style!
Many may disagree with this, but I thought the story was original and the writing was methodical in a way I’ve never seen before. Each word lifts off the page and weaves a creative story in the readers’ head that cannot be forgotten. It is indescribably hard to figure out a word that best suits this read other than raw.
Had the idea behind the story been better developed and the thoughts carried out, this would’ve received a 5/5⭐️ rating. It most definitely wasn’t far behind, however, and I will definitely purchase the rest of this serial! As an aspiring writer myself, I can definitely tell that Steele had the creative idea in his head when he was writing this and I cannot wait to see how he continues to develop as an author!
Final grade: 4/5⭐️
I’ve never read a serial before, but this one made an incredible impression on me! While I would’ve liked to see more development with the characters as well as understand an internal conflict with Eldrick and Griffon, I was blown away by the author’s writing style!
Many may disagree with this, but I thought the story was original and the writing was methodical in a way I’ve never seen before. Each word lifts off the page and weaves a creative story in the readers’ head that cannot be forgotten. It is indescribably hard to figure out a word that best suits this read other than raw.
Had the idea behind the story been better developed and the thoughts carried out, this would’ve received a 5/5⭐️ rating. It most definitely wasn’t far behind, however, and I will definitely purchase the rest of this serial! As an aspiring writer myself, I can definitely tell that Steele had the creative idea in his head when he was writing this and I cannot wait to see how he continues to develop as an author!
Final grade: 4/5⭐️
January 26, 2020
I LOVED this! I love magic, especially when it isn't completely normal in such a world such as this. Something that just falls into your lap. It is shocking, exciting, and oh so thrilling, and I never wanted to put it down. I need the next part
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 21, 2019
Blood and Iron is a quick read about a brewing war between the nations of Beyorn and Meronia from the point of view of three different characters. It all revolves around a magic sword that everyone wants to either possess or destroy.
The plot is intriguing and the characters are well developed. I loved the interaction and ocasional banter between characters.
Climbing atop Bailey, Griffon said, “Did we wake up with the sun to talk shit, or ride?”
Some characters speak with an accent, I assume because the author spells some words unusually or abbreviated. I think that would have worked better in a movie, where you can hear the character speak rather than read their lines. That broke the pace and the flow of dialogue at times. Otherwise, this is a fast-paced novel. It's worth mentioning that I speak English as a second language, so native speakers may experience this differently. I remember reading Shakespeare in high school. I didn't like that either.
“Who goes ‘ere?” “Just a weary traveler. I seek shelter for the night.” “Gates close at dark, for good reas’n. Nothing but trouble on the road at this ‘or. Are you trouble?”
Read the full review here: https://www.summonfantasy.com/book-re...
The plot is intriguing and the characters are well developed. I loved the interaction and ocasional banter between characters.
Climbing atop Bailey, Griffon said, “Did we wake up with the sun to talk shit, or ride?”
Some characters speak with an accent, I assume because the author spells some words unusually or abbreviated. I think that would have worked better in a movie, where you can hear the character speak rather than read their lines. That broke the pace and the flow of dialogue at times. Otherwise, this is a fast-paced novel. It's worth mentioning that I speak English as a second language, so native speakers may experience this differently. I remember reading Shakespeare in high school. I didn't like that either.
“Who goes ‘ere?” “Just a weary traveler. I seek shelter for the night.” “Gates close at dark, for good reas’n. Nothing but trouble on the road at this ‘or. Are you trouble?”
Read the full review here: https://www.summonfantasy.com/book-re...
October 6, 2019
I didn't know it was a serial
This was an alright story. It's well written and has decent characters. However, nothing really stood out. It felt like a derivative of a thousand fantasy stories that have come before. I like these tropes, so the story was enjoyable, but I needed more. I read the whole thing in two hours. Instead of a serial, all parts should be combined into one normal-length novel. The author also added page breaks after every scene. This led to a lot of white space. It may bother some readers.
This was an alright story. It's well written and has decent characters. However, nothing really stood out. It felt like a derivative of a thousand fantasy stories that have come before. I like these tropes, so the story was enjoyable, but I needed more. I read the whole thing in two hours. Instead of a serial, all parts should be combined into one normal-length novel. The author also added page breaks after every scene. This led to a lot of white space. It may bother some readers.
December 8, 2019
"You’re a mad drunk and you drink all the time."
This is a promising start to a hopefully extensive journey. The stage has been set for a political war that will affect the lives of all the characters that have been introduced thus far. Part one has teased the reader with intriguing possibilities that have yet to be revealed.
Looking forward to Part 2.
This is a promising start to a hopefully extensive journey. The stage has been set for a political war that will affect the lives of all the characters that have been introduced thus far. Part one has teased the reader with intriguing possibilities that have yet to be revealed.
Looking forward to Part 2.
November 11, 2019
Entertaining enough, I rather enjoyed the characters and the plot, it kept me going back for more, needing to know what was going to happen next. A shame it's a serial, though, not a complete book, as it would - in my opinion - have gained with being presented as a full scale novel rather than short instalments as it is.
October 7, 2019
I really enjoyed reading this first the characters were Engaging & believable. There was alot of action and great story telling. If you have the chance check out this very interesting series.
October 29, 2019
Not bad
Not bad for a first read ,building up nicely plenty of interesting character,s looking to the next book will write more when read the 2nd book
Not bad for a first read ,building up nicely plenty of interesting character,s looking to the next book will write more when read the 2nd book
September 18, 2022
Title: Blood and Iron (B&I, #1) The title doesn't say much, but does become relevant in the story. I like a title that is relevant.
Cover: Horned demon. It is an attention grabber. It invokes the questions, "what is this story going to be about? Are there going to be angels and demons? These questions are answered a short ways into the story.
Publish method: Independent author. Indipendent authors typically have great story ideas. They may choose to independently publish their works because of the hassle of being published by a real publisher, or they may be uncertain about their styles, or they may just have bad grammar and it is the only way to get their stories out there. I have read several independent authors and have only been disappointed twice. They usually deliver a well thought out, well written story and write with meaning, and passion. I was not disappointed with this story in the least. It was engaging, and kept my interest to the very cliffhanger. I would gladly recommend this book to Dungeons and Dragons lovers, fantasy lovers, and those who like a quick paced and short read.
Cover: Horned demon. It is an attention grabber. It invokes the questions, "what is this story going to be about? Are there going to be angels and demons? These questions are answered a short ways into the story.
Publish method: Independent author. Indipendent authors typically have great story ideas. They may choose to independently publish their works because of the hassle of being published by a real publisher, or they may be uncertain about their styles, or they may just have bad grammar and it is the only way to get their stories out there. I have read several independent authors and have only been disappointed twice. They usually deliver a well thought out, well written story and write with meaning, and passion. I was not disappointed with this story in the least. It was engaging, and kept my interest to the very cliffhanger. I would gladly recommend this book to Dungeons and Dragons lovers, fantasy lovers, and those who like a quick paced and short read.
April 20, 2020
Edit: The author informed me a week after this review that they have pared back the italics. I haven't reread the book to confirm that, but it is quite possible that my biggest complaint about this book has subsequently been fixed. I'm leaving my review here as is since it reflects the book as I read it in, but know that my last paragraph and overall rating may no longer reflect the current state of the book.
I have very mixed feelings about this one; there is a lot of potential here that is marred by one persistent issue. The summary blurb actually gives you a pretty good idea of the direction the plot takes, so I won't rehash that. I will note that each of the characters mentioned by name is a PoV character, though two of them have more chapters than the third.
The good: Steele clearly has some talent as a writer. His descriptions of places are quite good at conveying the atmosphere and appearance of the location; when a character enters a forest or tavern you get a sense of what it looks like, smells like, and how the overall ambiance makes it feel like to be there. Some of the characters feel fairly close together in terms of personality, which isn't exactly great, but others feel quite unique; given enough time (this book is quite short) they could all develop unique voices. The dialogue is solid, and at times we get some pretty witty banter. The world is fairly interesting, if a bit generic, and we get tantalizing hints at events and mysteries that will (presumably) be explored in future books. Technical issues with the writing are minor, just a few typos in the form of unneeded commas or missing apostrophes.
The slightly bad: as previously mentioned this book is short, basically a novella in length. It is titled "Part One" and it truly does feel like it is just the first part of larger novel. Things do happen of course, but there just isn't enough time for events to really build up steam before the book ends. I likely would complain about this if I had bought this as the first book of a series or as a standalone, but given that this book is free it's more like this is a long free sample of the complete story. This seems relatively fair to me, though your opinion may differ.
The bad: I'm going to open this with a quote from Paul Robinson's essay "The Philosophy of Punctuation:"
Italics rarely fail to insult the reader's intelligence. More often than not they tell us to emphasize a word or phrase that we would emphasize automatically in any natural reading of the sentence.Steele either does not share this opinion, or he believes that all of his readers are idiots. Every sentence that ends in an exclamation point is italicized. All curses and swear words are italicized. Other words are italicized to make sure you absolutely understand what the speaking character is emphasizing. I believe that almost every single conversation had at least one italicized word, and most had multiple words or entire sentences. I never would have thought that I could be angered by perfectly legible typography, but the excessive amount of italics throughout the dialogue managed to distract me from what was happening and being said. If frequent use of italics as emphasis doesn't bother you then this is likely a non-issue, but for me it proved to be enough of an irritation to ruin my enjoyment of the story.
December 11, 2019
I just finished reading Blood & Iron #1 and it was great! It sets the scene well for the following books, which are being added to my reading list as I type.
The story is split over a couple of different characters viewpoints, which gave it a lot of depth over a relatively short story. I look forward to reading the following releases in the series.
The story is split over a couple of different characters viewpoints, which gave it a lot of depth over a relatively short story. I look forward to reading the following releases in the series.
November 3, 2019
B&I tells the story of a brewing war between the nations of Beyorn and Meronia through the eyes of three different characters. Griffin, son of minor lord; Eldrick, a Beyornian spy, and Rowan, a simple thief in the wrong place at the wrong time. At the center of this conflict is a magic sword, and the various factions that will do anything they can to possess or destroy it.
As far as multi-perspective books go, this one is much more in the vein of Lightbringer or First Law, with all the characters more-or-less pointed in the same direction, and the villain not given any particular sympathy or focus. Beyorn is unjustly attacked without warning or provocation, and the characters are too involved in defending to really consider the larger why’s or how’s. This isn’t meant disparagingly; I personally like a book that stays focused and doesn’t waste time meandering about.
And that is probably this books strongest point—the story moves at a lightning pace, from one crisis to the next. The few slower moments in the story are more a breath of fresh air from the constant assault rather than hiccups in the action, and Steele has remarkable skills making each transition or viewpoint change feel seamless.
The largest risk to a multi-perspective story is always that one viewpoint will be preferred by the reader over the others, and I certainly felt that while reading: Rowan the thief is without a doubt the star of this story, and the other two characters can occasionally feel like they’re holding up the more fascinating portions of the books. Fortunately, none of the chapters wax particularly long, and with that lightning pace I mentioned it is usually bare minutes before getting back to the parts I wanted the most.
I also enjoyed the way magic was slowly peppered and introduced through this story. There is clearly a lot more the author has planned to develop it and the world in general, but by the end I felt like I had enough to comfortably understand the major players and powers, with plenty of hints of what was coming in the future.
If I have any complaints about this series, it is probably the covers and the synopsis. While the covers are true works of art, they make the story appear to be something it is not: namely powerful characters fighting immense monsters, neither of which appeared in any way (with one possible exception in the prologue, but that feels shaky at best). Also, the synopsis made the story feel as if magic had only just appeared in a world that had been devoid of it previously, whereas it becomes apparent within the first few chapters that magic is simply a “secret” (and I use that word very loosely, as half the characters appear to either know of its existence or at least suspect something).
While neither of these were a problem, I went into reading this story expecting one thing, and got something else entirely. Fortunately, the story I got was fantastic, and well worth my initial disappointment.
As far as multi-perspective books go, this one is much more in the vein of Lightbringer or First Law, with all the characters more-or-less pointed in the same direction, and the villain not given any particular sympathy or focus. Beyorn is unjustly attacked without warning or provocation, and the characters are too involved in defending to really consider the larger why’s or how’s. This isn’t meant disparagingly; I personally like a book that stays focused and doesn’t waste time meandering about.
And that is probably this books strongest point—the story moves at a lightning pace, from one crisis to the next. The few slower moments in the story are more a breath of fresh air from the constant assault rather than hiccups in the action, and Steele has remarkable skills making each transition or viewpoint change feel seamless.
The largest risk to a multi-perspective story is always that one viewpoint will be preferred by the reader over the others, and I certainly felt that while reading: Rowan the thief is without a doubt the star of this story, and the other two characters can occasionally feel like they’re holding up the more fascinating portions of the books. Fortunately, none of the chapters wax particularly long, and with that lightning pace I mentioned it is usually bare minutes before getting back to the parts I wanted the most.
I also enjoyed the way magic was slowly peppered and introduced through this story. There is clearly a lot more the author has planned to develop it and the world in general, but by the end I felt like I had enough to comfortably understand the major players and powers, with plenty of hints of what was coming in the future.
If I have any complaints about this series, it is probably the covers and the synopsis. While the covers are true works of art, they make the story appear to be something it is not: namely powerful characters fighting immense monsters, neither of which appeared in any way (with one possible exception in the prologue, but that feels shaky at best). Also, the synopsis made the story feel as if magic had only just appeared in a world that had been devoid of it previously, whereas it becomes apparent within the first few chapters that magic is simply a “secret” (and I use that word very loosely, as half the characters appear to either know of its existence or at least suspect something).
While neither of these were a problem, I went into reading this story expecting one thing, and got something else entirely. Fortunately, the story I got was fantastic, and well worth my initial disappointment.
October 15, 2019
This popped up on /r/fantasy, so I decided to give it a chance. Unfortunately, it fell flat across the board and I was unable to make it to the end. The characters felt copy-pasted from stories we've read a hundred times and did nothing to hold my interest. This is just my opinion, but for fantasy to work for me, it has to be original. This wasn't. However, it could work for others. Like the characters, the scenes felt copy-pasted and stitched together, making it a dry read.
The writing itself didn't seem polished. It read like a draft of somebody's first novel, which really put me off from the start. The dialogue was especially difficult. The author chose to spell and abbreviate words to denote accents, which ruined the flow of dialogue for me.
At least the cover is rad.
The writing itself didn't seem polished. It read like a draft of somebody's first novel, which really put me off from the start. The dialogue was especially difficult. The author chose to spell and abbreviate words to denote accents, which ruined the flow of dialogue for me.
At least the cover is rad.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews