A review of Bradley P. Beaulieu's The Straits of Galahesh

Written by Seregil of Rhiminee (Wednesday, 28 November 2012 6:03 pm)

Category: Articles

Bradley P. Beaulieu's The Straits of Galahesh was published by Night Shade Books in April 2012.

Bradley P. Beaulieu is the author of the epic fantasy series The Lays of Anuskaya. The first two books, The Winds of Khalakovo and The Straits of Galahesh were released to critical acclaim. The Flames of Shadam Khoreh will be released April of 2013.

Click here to visit Bradley P. Beaulieu's official website.

Here's a description of The Straits of Galahesh:

West of the Grand Duchy of Anuskaya lies the Empire of Yrstanla, the Motherland. The Empire has lived at peace with Anuskaya for generations, but with political turmoil brewing and the wasting disease still rampant, opportunists from the mainland have begun to set their sights on the Grand Duchy, seeking to expand their empire. Five years have passed since Prince Nikandr, heir to the scepter of Khalakovo, was tasked with finding Nasim, the child prodigy behind a deadly summoning that led to a grand clash between the armies of man and elder elemental spirits.

Today, that boy has grown into a young man driven to understand his past - and the darkness from which Nikandr awakened him. Nikandr's lover, Atiana, has become a Matra, casting her spirit forth to explore, influence, and protect the Grand Duchy. But when the Al-Aqim, long thought lost to the past, return to the islands and threaten to bring about indaraqiram - a change that means certain destruction for both the Landed and the Landless - bitter enemies must become allies and stand against their horrific plans.

From Bradley P. Beaulieu, author of the critically acclaimed debut novel The Winds of Khalakovo, comes Book Two of The Lays of Anuskaya, The Straits of Galahesh.

A REVIEW OF BRADLEY P. BEAULIEU'S THE STRAITS OF GALAHESH

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A review of Jason S. Ridler's Blood & Sawdust

Written by Seregil of Rhiminee (Friday, 23 November 2012 5:39 pm)

Category: Articles

Jason S. Ridler's Blood & Sawdust was published in October 2012.

Jay Ridler is a professional historian and writer. He is the author of the novel Death Match, the first Spar Battersea thriller, Knockouts: Ten Tales of Fantasy and Noir, and has published over fifty stories in such magazines and anthologies as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Brain Harvest, Not One of Us, Chilling Tales, Tesseracts Thirteen, and more. His popular non-fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Dark Scribe, and the Internet Review of Science Fiction. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Mr. Ridler holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada.

Click here to visit the author's official website.

Here's a description of Blood & Sawdust:

Tough and smart at thirteen-years-old, Malcolm knew the illegal fight game like a pro, making bets and staying alive one day at a time. But nothing prepared him for Milkwood: a fat, ugly bastard who could take a beating like a government mule, but never, ever won. So when Malcolm risks his life to discover Milkwood's secret, he convinces the fighter to stop being a punching bag and to go for broke in the local tournament. Only problem? A beautiful woman called Lash who needs Milkwood for her own purposes, and a fouler creature on her heels known only as Dizzy Colt. But for Malcolm and Milkwood? Hell, it’s just another day of Blood and Sawdust.

A REVIEW JASON S. RIDLER'S BLOOD & SAWDUST

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A review of Richard Gavin's At Fear's Altar

Written by Seregil of Rhiminee (Tuesday, 20 November 2012 11:16 pm)

Category: Articles

Richard Gavin's At Fear's Altar was published by Hippocampus Press in October 2012.

Richard Gavin is the author of three previous short story collections, Charnel Wine (2004), Omens (2007), and The Darkly Splendid Realm (2009). He lives in Ontario, Canada, with his beloved wife and their brood.

Click here to visit the author's official website.

Here's a description of At Fear's Altar:

Canadian author Richard Gavin has established himself as a leading contemporary writer of weird fiction. His richly nuanced prose style, his imaginative range, and his shrewdness in the portrayal of character and domestic conflict make his tales far more than mere shudder-coining. In this fourth collection of short stories and novelettes, Gavin again casts a wide imaginative net, from haunted Canadian woodlands to the carnivorous mesas of the American frontier, from Lovecraft's New England to the spirit traditions of Japan. Of the dozen stories included in this book, eight are previously unpublished - a rich new feast of terror for devotees of a writer who works in the tradition of Poe, Machen, Blackwood, and Ligotti.

A REVIEW OF RICHARD GAVIN'S AT FEAR'S ALTAR

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A review of Brendan Connell's Lives of Notorious Cooks

Written by Seregil of Rhiminee (Tuesday, 20 November 2012 2:31 pm)

Category: Articles

Brendan Connell's Lives of Notorious Cooks will be published by Chômu Press in December 2012.

Here's a description of Lives of Notorious Cooks:

When he reached the age of 767, Peng Zu was sought after by the benevolent Emperor Yao, who wished to receive advice on ruling the nation. Peng Zu made a thick soup for the emperor out of pheasant, Job’s tear seeds and plums, well salted. Eating the dish, the emperor felt as if he were sitting on air. He was filled with a deep cosmic joy in which he saw everything clearly.

“You see,” Peng Zu said, “the gravest problems of state can be resolved over a bowl of soup. The people, seeing you live frugally will not resent you. When the ruler is calm, the nation is calm.”

Learn of the outrageous and sometimes dubious lives of Peng Zu and fifty other notorious cooks from the pages of history and legend, in a picaresque dictionary of delicious and playful story-telling.

A REVIEW OF BRENDAN CONNELL'S LIVES OF NOTORIOUS COOKS

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A review of Antony Innis Travers' The Lee Shore

Written by Seregil of Rhiminee (Sunday, 18 November 2012 4:15 pm)

Category: Articles

Antony Innis Travers' The Lee Shore was published by Alfresco Press in June 2012. Alfresco Press is an independent publisher.

Antony Innis Travers is a debut author. His official website can be found here.

Here's a description of The Lee Shore:

The Lee Shore: A Parable of Apocalypse, Carnal Knowledge & Quantum Theory; a Sailing Primer... & a Love Story

It's a common enough occurrence for a sailor to become romantically involved with a responsive vessel - though seldom so intimately. And many a mariner, becalmed, might have dreamt of a lover who could raise the wind - but few find such creatures in the local pub. With both in the same port, however... it's just a matter of time before his sailboat invites his new girlfriend over for tea and a chat regarding polygamous marriage customs.

When charting a coastline that's still a squalling infant is the family business, where you go from here is always the tricky part.

A REVIEW OF ANTONY INNIS TRAVERS' THE LEE SHORE

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