Book Reviews

Judgment of Blood: Book Two of the Gearteeth Trilogy

In 1890, a disease that turned sane men into ravenous werewolves swept through the United States like wildfire. On the brink of humanity’s extinction, Nikola Tesla and a mysterious order of scientists known as the Tellurians revealed a bold plan: the uninfected would abandon the Earth’s surface by rising up in floating salvation cities, iron and steel metropolises that carried tens of thousands of refugees above the savage apocalypse. The remnants of mankind huddled fearfully in the clouds, waiting for the werewolves to devour each other.

Twenty years later, beasts still rule the world below and now only the salvation city of Wardenclyffe remains aloft. But a telluric deadzone has caught Wardenclyffe in its riptide, forcing it toward airspace where its miraculous machinery will no longer function.

Elijah Kelly, an infected Thunder Train crewman exiled to the ground, ranges ahead of his beloved home, determined to keep it safe no matter the cost. Desperate to neutralize the deadzone before the flying city crashes, Eli discovers a brutal truth: humanity still exists on the ground, paying a terrible vampiric price for their survival.

Faced with an impossible choice between sacrificing thousands of innocent lives or betraying the rebels fighting for their freedom against an oppressive regime, Eli is forced to rely on an unlikely ally lurking deep within his own blood, his only hope if he wishes to defy the inevitable.
Twenty years later, only one salvation city remains aloft, while the beasts still rule the world below. Time has taken its toll on the miraculous machinery of the city, and soon the last of the survivors will plummet to their doom. But when Elijah Kelly, a brakeman aboard the largest of the city’s Thunder Trains, is infected by the werewolf virus, he discovers a secret world of lies and horrific experiments that hide the disturbing truth about the Tellurians.
When the beast in his blood surges forth, Elijah must choose between the lives of those he loves, and the city that is humanity’s last hope of survival.

Book Reviews

The Eye of Ksera: Tales from Ondiran, Book One

It’s hard to hide from a sorceress—as Colmar, a reluctant soldier of fortune, discovers after crossing the distinctly dangerous Valdira over a powerful magical artifact, the Eye of Ksera. To add to his troubles, a sinister necromancer, a grasping abbess, and an undead sorceress-queen all have this tantalizing treasure in their sights, as well!
Indeed, the Eye is an ill-fated gem that has cost the lives of many who have sought to possess it over the centuries. Who will survive this briskly paced adventure in a quirky world with two moons and five different systems of magic? Who will emerge from it with the Eye?
And, nearly as important, who will end up with custody of Angvar, the necromancer’s crested green lizard?

Book Reviews

Mother of the Bond: Book III of the Vyshivka Trilogy

“Fear not the beasts in your stories. For anything can be slain with a stout blade… and a stouter heart”
When her sleepy village is RAIDED by the Vulkari, the fearsome warrior-women of the Ancient Wilds, only Zyntael Fairwinter is TAKEN.
Claimed as a daughter by their infamous matriarch, Zyntael is trained to HUNT, to FIGHT, and to KILL.
In the company of their unruly young, she must find SISTERHOOD. In their ancient customs and beliefs, she must find BEAUTY.
And in the violence of their rades, she must even find a path to GLORY.
But it is a glory that must be earned in the BLOOD of those Zyntael once called her own. For the Vulkari are not like other women…
The Vulkari are MONSTERS.

Book Reviews

Sister of the Dead: Book II of the Vyshivka Trilogy

“Fear not the beasts in your stories. For anything can be slain with a stout blade… and a stouter heart”
When her sleepy village is RAIDED by the Vulkari, the fearsome warrior-women of the Ancient Wilds, only Zyntael Fairwinter is TAKEN.
Claimed as a daughter by their infamous matriarch, Zyntael is trained to HUNT, to FIGHT, and to KILL.
In the company of their unruly young, she must find SISTERHOOD. In their ancient customs and beliefs, she must find BEAUTY.
And in the violence of their rades, she must even find a path to GLORY.
But it is a glory that must be earned in the BLOOD of those Zyntael once called her own. For the Vulkari are not like other women…
The Vulkari are MONSTERS.

Book Reviews

Forged in Dragons’ Breath

In a world scarred by the aftermath of the Purging Wars, the struggle for control over the Territories rages on.
Little is known about the enigmatic dragons, once companions to mankind. But within the depths of history lies the key to ultimate power—a lost artifact that can heal the world or corrupt the one who possesses it.
For millennia, the Orb of Power has passed through the hands of countless men, its influence shaping destinies. Legends speak of its mythical companion, the Scepter of Might, whispered to be joined with the Orb only once in the annals of time.

Through the ages, the Scepter has remained hidden, reduced to mere legend… until now.
When Kheldour stumbles upon the elusive Scepter, he unknowingly becomes a target for the last Orbwielder, a man lustful for power and dominance. Arlent seeks to claim the ancient relics for himself and wield them for dominion over all the Territories. Holding something dear to Kheldour, he sends the warrior on a quest for the Scepter as ransom.
Kheldour and his wife Maryna must unite the Orb and Scepter in a desperate race against time, but Maryna holds her own secrets. The first to claim the ancient relics will determine the destiny of both men and dragons.

Will Kheldour and Maryna triumph over the forces that seek to destroy them, or will their quest for redemption be their undoing?

Book Reviews

The Travelling City

After a hundred years of watching humans make bad decisions, anyone would be sick of their job as peacekeeper.
Reihan, a seaver created to deal with humans who lose control over their manifestation abilities, is no exception.

Worse still, virtually all humans in the Travelling City can manifest.
That is, shape reality according to their more or less well-formed and often poorly thought-out designs.
That alone would be enough to keep her busy, but then there are people like Phillippe.
Phillippe, who drenched himself in the city’s collective subconscious to strengthen his inborn powers.
Even though he shouldn’t be, he seems fine, crowned as the new star escort in the Brothel of Transformative Curiosities.
But Reihan has seen this story play out before. And Phillippe is far too charming, far too kind, and far too inconsolable for her to simply look away.