The Blazing Chief

by Matt Spencer

For untold ages, the refugees from the land of Deschemb have lived secretly beneath the surface of human society. Now modern civilization crumbles as their ancient feud boils to the surface. As chaos and brutality engulf the world, strange alien forces reshape the lands for a new beginning...for whoever survives.
In the frozen Canadian wastes, the United Deschembines take shelter in an abandoned military base, under the leadership of Jesse Karn, Zane Rochester, and Sally Coscan.
In the Louisiana swamps, Rob and Remelea press towards the ruins of New Orleans, for a final confrontation with Talino.
In Brattleboro, Vermont, a long-forgotten doorway opens, to a land beyond living memory, where two lifelong enemies must journey as allies, to save two worlds, or destroy them.

578 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2020

About the author

Matt Spencer is the author of the novels The Night and the Land, Summer Reaping on the Fields of Nowhere, Cult of the Stars (illustrated by Deirdre Burke) and The Drifting Soul (illustrated by Stephen R. Bissette), as well as numerous novellas and short stories (including award-winners The Red Duke and Petticoat Lane), and the collection, Story Time With Crazy Uncle Matt.

Mister Spencer has been a journalist, New Orleans restaurant cook, factory worker, radio DJ, and a no-good ramblin’ bum. He’s also a song lyricist, playwright, actor, and martial artist. As of this writing, he lives in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Reviews

[Julie E. (Bookshelf Adventures) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great end to a fantastic trilogy.

Full review here:

http://bookshelfadventures.home.blog/...

[Matthew X Gomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spencer wraps up his Descembine Trilogy in spectacular fashion, wrapping up the trials and tribulations of Rob Coscan, Sally Wildfire, Sheldon and the rest.

The first part is a bit bloated and drags in places, with the feeling that Spencer had so much he wanted to cram into the book that I’m a little afraid to see what was left on the proverbial cutting room floor. The worldbuilding and detail is highly original, eschewing the typical fantasy standards of elves and dwarves, or their urban equivalents in ghosts and werewolves and vampires. The downside to the originality is that at times stumbles with weaving the backstory into the narrative. If a writer says “vampire” or “werewolf” or “zombie”, you’e got a pretty good idea as to what to expect. But Crimbone? Or Spirelight? It’s going to take a bit to get into it. As a result, there are a number of infodumps that come across as intrusive and overwhelming and wishing Spencer would get back to the action.

And that is where he truly shines - when he cuts loose and lets the action (and blood, and gore) flow. There’s a Robert Howard-esque feel to the violence, less of following each sword stroke and parry, and more for a visceral sense of action and motion. And yes, I’m going to admit a certain bias to that. Some of the gore and viscera at times borders on the gratuitous, as if Spencer is letting out his inner ‘80s splatterpunk self, but it fits with his barbarian type characters – grinning through a veil of blood from their foes.

Spencer also has a more clear-eyed view of his characters this time, the fact that what is viewed as typical heroic (or even superheroic) actions can well be viewed as sociopathic behavior by others, and how some people can be the shining knight and the bloodied berserker all rolled into one.
This is definitely fantasy through a dark lens, at times bleak and hopeless, but it never (in my opinion) goes full grimdark. There are still innocents in this world, and the sides aren’t exactly black on black and at most, the heroes stay a light grey throughout, even when they find themselves at odds with each other.

If you are looking for a fantasy trilogy that’s going to kick you in your teeth, then yeah, this is what you’re looking for.

[Heena Rathore Pardeshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Blazing Chief by Matt Spencer is the third and the last instalment in the Deschembine trilogy. The first book is The Night And The Land and the second one is The Trail Of The Beast.

This book brings this amazing apocalyptic trilogy to an end and what an end it is! I love how the author treated all the characters with an equal amount of respect giving them all (even the ones I did not expect) a well-rounded ending. I was so glad that the book lived up to all the anticipation that was built-up in the first two books and that it ended on a higher note than either fo the first two books!

I loved the ending because it wasn't exactly how I had predicted it to be. So it did surprise me though not entirely, but that's understandable because I was able to see the character arcs (which were very nicely done) in the first two books being a writer myself. The thing I loved best about this book (and event he earlier books) is that the author delivered on each and every promise that he had made at the start of the series and that makes it a very well-rounded story on the whole.

I loved the action-packed climax and the tension that was present throughout the book leading to a wonderful climax. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this wonderful trilogy to all dystopian and apocalyptic (and post-apocalyptic fiction. I am sure you all will love this book!

You can read this review on www.thereadingbud.com

[Suzan Amin Khoja · Rating 4 out of 5]

💙4.7/5 Stars💙.

This book blew me off. It was like a grand ending to a beautiful and stormy book. The book was divided into two parts, in the first half, the story was let loose. I mean it was a literal rampage because it was mostly the build-up of the climax and the setting of the final battle. I felt at times throughout the first half that the author had a lot to write and a few pages to pen down. The first half also had the information on the Crimbone and Spirelight that still got me a little confused at times in the book, I don't know if it was of my lack of proper attention or what but I sometimes confused the two. The first half also provided us with more character development. I loved the fact that even the small characters that we could find unimportant were also developed and it made me fall in love with the writing. The description was clean and neat with perfect grammar and easy English. If you haven't read the first and second book of the series the third might be hard to understand that's for sure.

Now let's move to the second part (it is my favorite in all the series): the author not only tied up the loose ends but also gives such a great climax that I was begging for more by the end of it. I was screaming WHY A TRILOGY!!!!!!! It should be a series and I think he should write more books in this trilogy. (Please do so, I beg you🙏🏻). The book had a fantabulous ending where all the gore and the battle that I was missing like crazy was shown. The scenes felt like real life. I could imagine the battleground and I was jumping up and down by the time it was over. I couldn't stop reading the second half and continued till 5 am. The author killed it with his on-the-point fight scenes and gore that was mesmerizing and beautifully presented in front of the readers.

Overall this book took my heart and soul away making me feel like I should read more fantasy and especially try out his other books. His writing style has me a fan and would love to have an autograph of this author. It's a perfect read for all Gore Fantasy fans. It's a dark book but not super dark, it's like when it's night but the sky has a crescent moon. I would suggest this trilogy as a must-try because it ends on such a high note and there is much better and improved writing in each book.

[Enakshi J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

My love for closures and cliffhangers became even more after reading the third and final instalment of the Deschembine trilogy. Unlike the first two books in this series, this book has a lot more action and hardly any moments of love or warmth. Terror lurks in the darkness, for every character tries really hard to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. In the new world that is run by stranger-forces, all that one can hope for is surprise or shock, for every inch of the land has now become an unchartered territory.

Read the complete review here: https://aliveshadow.com/category-book...

[Raven Nest · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've posted my review of The Blazing Chief on my blog (link here)

I will be really glad if you check it out

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.