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Strowlers #1
The Dragon Stone Conspiracy
When the Fäe go to war with a Nazi cult, one woman will protect humanity's future.
As World War II rages, accidental immortal Pepper Elizabeth Jones is on the run from government agents on both sides of the Atlantic. Hidden in neutral Ireland, she is summoned to meet with a mysterious general, The Righ, who tasks her to save magic itself from the Nazis. Now, she must race against the clock to stop an evil ritual and prevent the Nazis from gaining a world-shattering supernatural power.
Pepper Jones and the Dragon's Stone is part of the Strowlers Shared Cinematic Universe, a collaborative global story that anyone can join.
Tell your story. Change the world.
As World War II rages, accidental immortal Pepper Elizabeth Jones is on the run from government agents on both sides of the Atlantic. Hidden in neutral Ireland, she is summoned to meet with a mysterious general, The Righ, who tasks her to save magic itself from the Nazis. Now, she must race against the clock to stop an evil ritual and prevent the Nazis from gaining a world-shattering supernatural power.
Pepper Jones and the Dragon's Stone is part of the Strowlers Shared Cinematic Universe, a collaborative global story that anyone can join.
Tell your story. Change the world.
- GenresFantasy
206 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 23, 2021
6 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Cherry
16 books93 followers Amanda Cherry is a native of Pensacola, FL and an alumnus of UNLV who hasn’t been thoroughly warm since moving to the Seattle area in 2003. Amanda’s first love was performing, and she has had a successful career as a theatre, television, and film actress.
Amanda’s first book was penned in her family’s den and published by her father in time for Christmas in 1985, she was six years old. After the limited success of that first outing, Amanda turned to writing stories for fun. She spent the next twenty-odd years doing just that.
A lifelong nerd, Amanda joined the staff at her favorite Star Wars site, Tosche Station, as a contributing writer in 2016 and discovered that letting other people read what she’d written was actually pretty fun. Thanks to the encouragement of a friend, she was invited to submit to Cobalt City Christmas: Christmas Harder in 2016 while living overseas in Berlin, Germany. When she learned that her story was bought, she cried.
Capitalizing on the success of that publication, Amanda’s pitch for a follow-up novel was accepted. The rest is, as they say, history.
Amanda once again lives in the Seattle area with her husband of ten years and three-and-a-half year-old son. In her free time, she enjoys driving her little blue convertible and officiating flat track roller derby.
Amanda’s first book was penned in her family’s den and published by her father in time for Christmas in 1985, she was six years old. After the limited success of that first outing, Amanda turned to writing stories for fun. She spent the next twenty-odd years doing just that.
A lifelong nerd, Amanda joined the staff at her favorite Star Wars site, Tosche Station, as a contributing writer in 2016 and discovered that letting other people read what she’d written was actually pretty fun. Thanks to the encouragement of a friend, she was invited to submit to Cobalt City Christmas: Christmas Harder in 2016 while living overseas in Berlin, Germany. When she learned that her story was bought, she cried.
Capitalizing on the success of that publication, Amanda’s pitch for a follow-up novel was accepted. The rest is, as they say, history.
Amanda once again lives in the Seattle area with her husband of ten years and three-and-a-half year-old son. In her free time, she enjoys driving her little blue convertible and officiating flat track roller derby.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 5, 2021
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own!
I should start by saying that I don't have any experience with the Strowlers universe outside of this book. I picked this up based purely on my enjoyment of Amanda Cherry's previous book (set in an entirely different shared universe). This is a captivating story, full of developed and intriguing characters and I was enthralled from cover to cover. I did not find myself struggling with the story at all even though I wasn't familiar with the Strowlers universe. This intriguing tale of historical fantasy centering on WWII reads like something between a spy novel and a slice of life urban fantasy tale. It also features cameos by a whole cast of legendary creatures from multiple mythologies and is definitely worth picking up!
I should start by saying that I don't have any experience with the Strowlers universe outside of this book. I picked this up based purely on my enjoyment of Amanda Cherry's previous book (set in an entirely different shared universe). This is a captivating story, full of developed and intriguing characters and I was enthralled from cover to cover. I did not find myself struggling with the story at all even though I wasn't familiar with the Strowlers universe. This intriguing tale of historical fantasy centering on WWII reads like something between a spy novel and a slice of life urban fantasy tale. It also features cameos by a whole cast of legendary creatures from multiple mythologies and is definitely worth picking up!
February 28, 2021
(This review originally appeared at HistoryThatNeverWas.com.)
The Dragon Stone Conspiracy: A Strowlers Novel by Amanda Cherry is a tie-in novel to the Strowlers urban fantasy series from the creators of The Gamers. Set during World War II, this novel features action, adventure, and fighting against Nazis and the Third Reich, coupled with magic, fae, and a mysterious artifact.
Pepper Jones, in possession of a magical artifact, has been forced to flee the United States and hide in Ireland. But even in the idyllic small Irish town where she has come to reside, danger finds her, sending her on a quest to stop the Third Reich from harnessing the power of a mysterious artifact. Along the way, she learns more about her own artifact and the magical world, while evading pursuers and others who think she should be stopped.
Though I’m not familiar with Strowlers beyond the basic concept, this tie-in novel is accessible to fans and non-fans alike. There are terms and concepts from the Strowlers world that a casual reader might not immediately identify, but the story does a wonderful job of incorporating those aspects without making the casual reader feel as though they’re in over their head. The writing is fun and fast-paced, making this a very quick read! The World War II setting is meticulously researched, and the attention to detail will delight fans of history, but it also remains accessible to the non-historian!
The author provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for review consideration.
The Dragon Stone Conspiracy: A Strowlers Novel by Amanda Cherry is a tie-in novel to the Strowlers urban fantasy series from the creators of The Gamers. Set during World War II, this novel features action, adventure, and fighting against Nazis and the Third Reich, coupled with magic, fae, and a mysterious artifact.
Pepper Jones, in possession of a magical artifact, has been forced to flee the United States and hide in Ireland. But even in the idyllic small Irish town where she has come to reside, danger finds her, sending her on a quest to stop the Third Reich from harnessing the power of a mysterious artifact. Along the way, she learns more about her own artifact and the magical world, while evading pursuers and others who think she should be stopped.
Though I’m not familiar with Strowlers beyond the basic concept, this tie-in novel is accessible to fans and non-fans alike. There are terms and concepts from the Strowlers world that a casual reader might not immediately identify, but the story does a wonderful job of incorporating those aspects without making the casual reader feel as though they’re in over their head. The writing is fun and fast-paced, making this a very quick read! The World War II setting is meticulously researched, and the attention to detail will delight fans of history, but it also remains accessible to the non-historian!
The author provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for review consideration.
April 1, 2021
Absorbing Fantasy set within a rich universe.
About 10 pages in, I was already looking to see if there was a “Book 2.” As of now, there isn’t, but I definitely hope that there soon will be more of Pepper Jones and the rest of the Strowlers universe in print.
This story takes you on an absorbing adventure, and features a nostalgic tone and characters and situations that are both simple and complex, in the right ways for some escapist reading. I look forward to Amanda Cherry’s next work, and future content in the Strowlers universe.
About 10 pages in, I was already looking to see if there was a “Book 2.” As of now, there isn’t, but I definitely hope that there soon will be more of Pepper Jones and the rest of the Strowlers universe in print.
This story takes you on an absorbing adventure, and features a nostalgic tone and characters and situations that are both simple and complex, in the right ways for some escapist reading. I look forward to Amanda Cherry’s next work, and future content in the Strowlers universe.
March 26, 2022
An entertaining and engrossing story. When Pepper Jones finds a note in a salmons mouth see has no idea what adventures will follow. Ancient Fae, Nazis, magical powers and an ancient talisman all combine to make a really enjoyable read. The writing is excellent, the characters are well described and real and the story is great. I liked Pepper Jones, courageous but inexperienced, struggling to understand a world previously hidden. Great stuff.. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 31, 2021
Dragon Stone Conspiracy is an engaging and clever read, deftly threading that needle between fantasy, historical fiction, and intrigue. I immensely enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone, as it is a page-turner that will appeal to a broad range of ages and interests. I cannot wait to read the next book written by Amanda Cherry!
April 10, 2021
If you follow my reviews, you probably know that protagonist agency is something I always look for in a book. In this book, I found hardly any.
For at least 80% of it, the main character makes no decisions except to do what people tell her and go where they send her; she usually has only one viable option, like the worst ever railroaded RPG. She faces no opposition, challenge, or test until about 85% of the way in; people keep transporting her places and giving her what she needs. (When she's in Nazi Germany, she asks a question in English in a public setting, and instead of handing her over to the authorities as a spy, someone answers her question and gives her directions.) She's passive, and what's more, the prologue reveals - before we even meet her - that she's a dupe and a pawn.
She does eventually face one challenge, but the gifts she's been showered with make the outcome a foregone conclusion, and there's little tension. She also does something else effective and important to the plot in the same scene, but completely by accident and without ever understanding (and without the author ever making clear, at least to me) why it happened.
This is a problem. Also a problem for me, in the pre-publication version I reviewed from Netgalley, is the fact that the author doesn't have a firm grip on capitalization or hyphenation, has a smaller vocabulary than she thinks she does, and commits several anachronisms (not to mention comma splices, a dangling modifier, and a mid-scene point-of-view switch). The state of the manuscript is such that it will take an excellent copy editor to bring it up to standard.
The setting is an open shared world, based on a rather obscure TV series from a couple of years ago which seems to only have released a few episodes and received little popular or critical acclaim. I haven't seen it, but the main character of this book apparently appears in several episodes of the series; this is by way of a prequel. The setting seems, judging by the book, to be a bland and generic urban fantasy world. There may be more to the character in the show, but the character in the book didn't have a lot of depth or development, mainly because she hardly ever made any decisions or faced any problems.
I have to say, I was expecting a lot more from the promising premise of "young woman fights Nazis with magic". Nothing is done particularly well, and a number of things are done badly, hence two stars.
For at least 80% of it, the main character makes no decisions except to do what people tell her and go where they send her; she usually has only one viable option, like the worst ever railroaded RPG. She faces no opposition, challenge, or test until about 85% of the way in; people keep transporting her places and giving her what she needs. (When she's in Nazi Germany, she asks a question in English in a public setting, and instead of handing her over to the authorities as a spy, someone answers her question and gives her directions.) She's passive, and what's more, the prologue reveals - before we even meet her - that she's a dupe and a pawn.
She does eventually face one challenge, but the gifts she's been showered with make the outcome a foregone conclusion, and there's little tension. She also does something else effective and important to the plot in the same scene, but completely by accident and without ever understanding (and without the author ever making clear, at least to me) why it happened.
This is a problem. Also a problem for me, in the pre-publication version I reviewed from Netgalley, is the fact that the author doesn't have a firm grip on capitalization or hyphenation, has a smaller vocabulary than she thinks she does, and commits several anachronisms (not to mention comma splices, a dangling modifier, and a mid-scene point-of-view switch). The state of the manuscript is such that it will take an excellent copy editor to bring it up to standard.
The setting is an open shared world, based on a rather obscure TV series from a couple of years ago which seems to only have released a few episodes and received little popular or critical acclaim. I haven't seen it, but the main character of this book apparently appears in several episodes of the series; this is by way of a prequel. The setting seems, judging by the book, to be a bland and generic urban fantasy world. There may be more to the character in the show, but the character in the book didn't have a lot of depth or development, mainly because she hardly ever made any decisions or faced any problems.
I have to say, I was expecting a lot more from the promising premise of "young woman fights Nazis with magic". Nothing is done particularly well, and a number of things are done badly, hence two stars.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews