Protect the Innocent. Punish the Guilty.
Seth the Ice Lion, now an Apprentice in the Jalora Legion, reluctantly travels aboard ship with his new battalion. Western Beta’s mission seems a dull assignment. Guarding miles of bogs and old ruins should be a simple task, but Seth soon learns nothing is easy for the Bearer of the Lion Ring. The Jalora is the embodiment of Good and the source of Seth’s power. It commands he search North Marsh for a relic capable of saving his homeland from the ravenous appetite of the Jackal invaders. Surrounded by deadly bogs and savage beasts, he must find the relic before the Lion Spirit inside of him takes control of their shared body.
Invaders from across the sea hold a firm grip on Valdeon, but their thirst for blood remains unsated. They lust for the riches of Andara. Using fear and greed as weapons, the Jackal enlist aid from the continent’s unscrupulous mercenaries to prepare for a larger invasion. They build a stronghold – Stone Fang Fortress - in the Bloodtooth Mountains of the north. It is here they prepare to conquer the free world.
Will Seth find this powerful relic before the Jackal swarm invades Andara? Or will his people be enslaved under the iron fist of the Jackal Lord? Seth’s answers hide in the deadly bogs of North Marsh...
Read more: Creed of the Guardian - C. R. Richards
Guest post: Adding a Pinch of Humor to Your Dark Brew by C.R. Richards
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Guest Post
Risingshadow has the honour of publishing a gues post by C.R. Richards. In this guest post, the author writes about adding appropriate amounts of humor to a dark fantasy novel.
About the author:
C.R. Richards’ literary career began when she interned as a part-time columnist for a small entertainment newspaper. She wore several hats: food critic, entertainment reviewer and cranky editor. A co-author of horror and urban fantasy novels, her first solo fiction project - The Mutant Casebook Series - was published by Whiskey Creek Press in 2013. Phantom Harvest (Book One in the series) is the winner of the 2014 EPIC eBook Awards for Fantasy Fiction. Cynthia is an active member of the Horror Writers Association, EPIC and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. For more information about her books, visit her website: www.crrichards.com
Books and Short Fiction by C.R. Richards: Phantom Harvest (2013), Lost Man's Parish (2014), Pariah (2014), The Lords of Valdeon (2015) and The Obsidian Gates (2017).
Online Presence:
Official Website: http://crrichards.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorcrrichards
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CR_Richards
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6916667.C_R_Richards
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthia-richards-7a270b4/iris
About Creed of the Guardian:
Protect the Innocent. Punish the Guilty.
Seth the Ice Lion, now an Apprentice in the Jalora Legion, reluctantly travels aboard ship with his new battalion. Western Beta’s mission seems a dull assignment. Guarding miles of bogs and old ruins should be a simple task, but Seth soon learns nothing is easy for the Bearer of the Lion Ring. The Jalora is the embodiment of Good and the source of Seth’s power. It commands he search North Marsh for a relic capable of saving his homeland from the ravenous appetite of the Jackal invaders. Surrounded by deadly bogs and savage beasts, he must find the relic before the Lion Spirit inside of him takes control of their shared body.
Invaders from across the sea hold a firm grip on Valdeon, but their thirst for blood remains unsated. They lust for the riches of Andara. Using fear and greed as weapons, the Jackal enlist aid from the continent’s unscrupulous mercenaries to prepare for a larger invasion. They build a stronghold – Stone Fang Fortress - in the Bloodtooth Mountains of the north. It is here they prepare to conquer the free world.
Will Seth find this powerful relic before the Jackal swarm invades Andara? Or will his people be enslaved under the iron fist of the Jackal Lord? Seth’s answers hide in the deadly bogs of North Marsh...
Guest post: Adding a Pinch of Humor to Your Dark Brew by C.R. Richards
Read more: Guest post: Adding a Pinch of Humor to Your Dark Brew by C.R. Richards
Review: Passe-Partout by Stephen M. Sanders
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Reviews
Stephen M. Sanders' Passe-Partout was published in April 2019.
About Stephen M. Sanders:
Stephen M. Sanders was born in the South Plains of Texas where he now lives with his wife and son. He has published several poems, appearing in such publications as the Pacifica Review and di-vêrsé-city, the Austin International Poetry Festival anthology. He was a public school teacher for nineteen years and now teaches at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. Passe-Partout is his first novel.
About Passe-Partout:
Passe-Partout is a story of two lives - two narratives centuries apart, both tasked with unraveling the mystery of a hidden magic known as “Writing” and the corruption its practice brings to all who live. Paul Fischer is driven to decipher the corruption of a strange abandoned address in the heart of a metropolis, and the possible cause of his father’s death. Cyprus, a second man separated by untold generations in the past, arrives at the cabin of his mentor Amos, only to find two graves: that of Amos; and one of an unknown woman. Seeking to understand their fate, Cyprus discovers and uses “Writing” to unlock the door between realities. Taking place in realities not our own, the two men discover the horrors binding their fates together with creatures from a multitude of Hells conjured to silence them.
REVIEW: PASSE-PARTOUT BY STEPHEN M. SANDERS
Read more: Review: Passe-Partout by Stephen M. Sanders
An interview with K. V. Johansen about The Last Road
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Interviews
Risingshadow has had the honour of interviewing K. V. Johansen about her latest novel, The Last Road.
About the author:
K. V. Johansen is the author of the Gods of Caravan Road fantasy series. Born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, she developed her lifelong fascination with fantasy literature after reading The Lord of the Rings at the age of eight.
Her interest in the history and languages of the Middle Ages led her to take a Master’s Degree in Medieval Studies at the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto, and a second M.A. in English Literature at McMaster University, where she wrote her thesis on Layamon’s Brut, an Early Middle English epic poem. While spending most of her time writing, she retains her interest in medieval history and languages and is a member of the Early English Text Society, as well as the SFWA and the Writers’ Union of Canada.
In 2014, she was an instructor at the Science Fiction Foundation’s Masterclass in Literary Criticism held in London. She is also the author of two works on the history of children’s fantasy literature, two short story collections, and a number of books for children and teens. Various of her books have been translated into French, Macedonian, and Danish.
Connect with the author online:
About The Last Road:
"Simply on a higher level to the vast majority of fantasy books." — Tom Lloyd, Author of Stranger of Tempest
When even the gods are dying, the hope of the world may lie in its most feared enemies. A new god proclaimed as the All-Holy has arisen in the west and leads an army eastward, devouring the gods and goddesses of the lands between, forcibly converting their folk and binding their souls to himself. The very fabric of the world appears threatened by forces beyond the understanding of scholars and wizards alike. Even the great city of Marakand, where the roads of east and west converge, seems powerless to resist the All-Holy, though the devils Moth and Yeh-Lin and the assassin Ahjvar, undead consort of the god of distant Nabban, have come to stand with it. That may avail Marakand little, for the shapeshifting Blackdog, once a champion of the gods, follows obediently at the All-Holy's heel and Lakkariss, the sword of the cold hells, is in his master's hand.
Publishing information:
- Publishing date: October 22, 2019
- Publisher: PYR
AN INTERVIEW WITH K. V. JOHANSEN ABOUT THE LAST ROAD
Read more: An interview with K. V. Johansen about The Last Road
An interview with Weiqi Wang
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Interviews
Risingshadow has had an opportunity to interview Weiqi Wang.
About the author:
While people may think 'magic fantasy authors' are the opposite of 'scientists', Weiqi Wang preserves his own opinions. As a D. Phil (Doctor of Philosophy, but it actually means a scientific doctor) on bioengineering graduated from Oxford University, Weiqi loves to be both. After all, philosophy is to explain the world; some choose to use scientific languages, some put it also in fantasy.
His latest novel is Legends of Azure and the Masked Planet.
Click here to visit his official website.
About Legends of Azure and the Masked Planet:
Due to a shocking discovery, Soarame now has to undertake a new dangerous journey with his friends. He must cross the largest, most deadly ocean in the world. Battling more powerful, evil wizards, he was forced to escape underwater, and stay in the bottom of the ocean for weeks. But how could a teenage boy survive underwater, especially that there were lethal creatures down there? And what further perils are waiting for him, if he really survives?
AN INTERVIEW WITH WEIQI WANG
Read more: An interview with Weiqi Wang
Review: Wonderland (edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane)
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Reviews
Wonderland: An Anthology of Works Inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane) was published by Titan Books in September 2019.
About the editors:
Marie O’Regan is a British Fantasy Award-nominated writer and editor of horror and dark fantasy fiction. Her anthologies include Mirror Mere, Hellbound Hearts, The Mammoth Book of Body Horror, Carnivale: Dark Tales From the Fairground and The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women. She is Co-Chair of the UK chapter of the Horror Writers’ Association and lives in Derbyshire, UK.
Click here to visit her official website.
Paul Kane is the award-winning author of over 70 books, including Alone (In the Dark), Touching the Flame, FunnyBones, Signs of Life, The Lazarus Condition, Peripheral Visions, The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy, RED, Of Darkness and Light, The Gemini Factor and the bestselling Arrowhead trilogy of novels (Arrowhead, Broken Arrow and Arrowland). He is a respected anthologist, editing collections such as Beyond Rue Morgue, Hell-Bound Hearts and Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell.
Click here to visit his official website.
About Wonderland:
Join Alice as she is thrown into the whirlwind of Wonderland
Within these pages you’ll find myriad approaches to Alice, from horror to historical, taking us from the nightmarish reaches of the imagination to tales that will shock, surprise and tug on the heart-strings. So, it’s time now to go down the rabbit hole, or through the looking-glass or... But no, wait. By picking up this book and starting to read it you’re already there, can’t you see?
Brand-new works from the best in fantastical fiction
M.R. CAREY
MARK CHADBOURN
GENEVIEVE COGMAN
JONATHAN GREEN
ALISON LITTLEWOOD
JAMES LOVEGROVE
L.L. McKINNEY
GEORGE MANN
JULIET MARILLIER
LAURA MAURO
CAT RAMBO
LILITH SAINTCROW
CAVAN SCOTT
ROBERT SHEARMAN
ANGELA SLATTER
CATRIONA WARD
JANE YOLEN
RIO YOUERS
REVIEW: WONDERLAND: AN ANTHOLOGY OF WORKS INSPIRED BY ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND (EDITED BY MARIE O'REGAN AND PAUL KANE)
Read more: Review: Wonderland (edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane)