A brand-new historical fantasy from a legend of the genre. Fans of Bernard Cornwall, Conn Iggulden and Joe Abercrombie will love this.
Reinmar of Bielawa, sometimes known as Reynevan, is a doctor, a magician and, according to some, a charlatan.
Discovered in bed with the wife of a high-born knight, he must flee his normal life. But his journeys will lead him into a part of Europe which will be overtaken by chaos. Religious tension between Hussite and Catholic countries is threatening to turn into war.
Pursued not only by the affronted Stercza brothers, bent on vengeance, but also by the Holy Inquisition, and with strange, mystical forces gathering in the shadows, Reynevan finds himself in the Narrenturm, the Tower of Fools. The Tower is an asylum for the mad, or for those who dare to think differently and challenge the prevailing order. The 'patients' of this institution form a gallery of colourful types including the young Copernicus, proclaiming the truth of his heliocentric solar system.
But can Reynevan escape the Tower, and avoid being drawn in to the conflict around him, without losing his own mind?
The first in an epic new trilogy set during the vibrantly depicted Hussite Wars by Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the bestselling Witcher series that has become an international phenomenon and inspired a bestselling videogame and Netflix show.
Translated by David French, who worked with Sapkowski on six Witcher books.
Read more: The Tower of Fools - Andrzej Sapkowski
Review: Stella by Josh Dygert
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Reviews
Josh Dygert's Stella was published in April 2020.
About Josh Dygert:
Josh Dygert’s short stories have appeared in a number of online magazines and anthologies, including in the #1 Amazon Bestselling Horror Anthology Secret Stairs. He is also the author of a middle-grade fantasy novel called The Story Traveler, which is available from Amazon. He studied English and Theater in college and now teaches middle school English.
Click here to visit his official website.
About Stella:
Stella knew the names of the stars before she knew her alphabet. Although Stella's mother disappeared when she was too small to remember, she grows up happy beneath bright Indiana stars in the small town of Torrance with her father, her dog, and her best friend.
When a meteor lands in her father's cornfields, Stella and her father run after the fallen star. Stella watches as her father touches the star. The moment he does, he disappears in a flash of golden starlight. Stella never sees her father again.
From that moment on, Stella is terrified of the stars she always loved. She leaves Torrance, her dog, and her best friend only to discover that the truth she needs is still in Torrance. As a total eclipse approaches, Stella must find the courage to face her stars.
REVIEW: STELLA BY JOSH DYGERT
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Review: The Lost Son by Aidan Lucid
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Reviews
Aidan Lucid's The Lost Son was published in October 2019.
About Aidan Lucid:
Born in July 1981 with a very rare syndrome known as Moebius Syndrome, Aidan has never let that stop him achieving his goals in life. Mr. Lucid began writing back in 2002 after a religious experience. In 2004 after plucking up the courage to send out his material, he was published seven times that year. Over the next decade, Aidan's works appeared in various local and international anthologies, magazines and e-zines. From March to December 2007, Aidan wrote film reviews for the award winning Irish newspaper, "The Kerryman".
Aidan's YA epic fantasy novel, "The Lost Son", was released in 2019. He hopes to release the sequel in 2020.
To view more about Aidan and his works, go to: http://www.thezargothiansaga.com
About The Lost Son:
A Magic Coin. A Hidden World. An Incredible Adventure!
When Henry Simmons unearths a coin with mysterious powers, it’s clear that his life is soon to change... but not how he expects. After using the charm to woo Tracey Maxwell, Henry finds himself launched to another dimension - a world in which the human race is mercilessly hunted down by creatures called Sadarkians. This hellish realm, Zargothia, could scarcely be less safe.
Transported together, Henry and Tracey meet two mysterious strangers and a garrulous cat. Pressing forward, they learn that they’ve been charged with saving the people of Zargothia, but freeing King Argoth along with his people means facing ruthless overlords and almost certain death.
Vastly outnumbered, can Henry and his fated friends surmount the odds? In such a realm of wicked magic, danger lurks at every turn... and nothing is what it seems.
“Aidan Lucid takes us into this ambitious work by carefully crafting his characters and settings. We soon find ourselves in a world where the product of his wonderful imagination is both believable and thrilling.” - Tommy Frank O’ Connor, bestselling author of, The Poacher’s Apprentice.
Pick up your copy today and join in the exciting first adventure of The Zargothian Saga trilogy
REVIEW: THE LOST SON BY AIDAN LUCID
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An interview with Alison Levy
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Interviews
Risingshadow has had an opportunity to interview Alison Levy about her debut fantasy novel, Gatekeeper. Gatekeeper is the first book in the Daemon Collecting Series.
About the author:
Alison Levy lives in Greensboro, North Carolina with her husband, son, and variety of pets. When she's not writing or doing mom things, she crochets, gardens, walks her collies, and works on home improvement projects.
About Gatekeeper:
Rachel Wilde comes from a dimension that exists adjacent to ours. The people there have structured their society around daemon collecting: they locate, catch, and repair malfunctioning daemons (creatures out of phase with our world that tempt people to do good or evil). Now Rachel has been given two unusual assignments: 1) find a person who has been trying to break down dimensional barriers, and 2) track down a missing line of gatekeepers, human placeholders for a daemon that was too badly damaged to repair. Authorities of Rachel’s world believe the missing gatekeepers are descended from a girl who went missing from West Africa hundreds of years ago, likely sold into slavery. With no leads to go on, Rachel seeks help from Bach, a raving homeless man who happens to be an oracle. Bach does put her in the path of both of her targets - but he also lands her in a life-threatening situation. Somehow, Rachel has to stop the criminal, reunite a gatekeeper with her stolen past, and, above all, survive.
AN INTERVIEW WITH ALISON LEVY
Read more: An interview with Alison Levy
Review: Eden by Tim Lebbon
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Reviews
Tim Lebbon's Eden was published by Titan Books in April/June 2020.
About Tim Lebbon:
Tim Lebbon is the New York Times bestselling author of Coldbrook, The Silence, and the Relics trilogy. He has also written many successful movie novelizations and tie-ins for Alien and Firefly. Tim has won three British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, a Shocker, a Tombstone and been a finalist for the International Horror Guild and World Fantasy Awards. The Silence is now a gripping Netflix movie starring Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka.
Click here to visit his official website.
About Eden:
Earth’s rising oceans contain enormous islands of refuse, the Amazon rainforest is all-but destroyed, and countless species edge towards extinction. Humanity’s last hope to save the planet lies with The Virgin Zones, thirteen vast areas of land off-limits to people and given back to nature.
Dylan leads a clandestine team of adventure racers, including his daughter Jenn, into Eden, the oldest of the Zones. Jenn carries a secret - Kat, Dylan’s wife who abandoned them both years ago, has entered Eden ahead of them. Jenn is determined to find her mother, but neither she nor the rest of their tight-knit team are prepared for what confronts them. Nature has returned to Eden in an elemental, primeval way. And here, nature is no longer humanity’s friend.
REVIEW: EDEN BY TIM LEBBON
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Guest post: The Final Reckoning by Gail Z. Martin
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Guest Post
Risingshadow has an opportunity to feature a guest post by Gail Z. Martin. This guest post is part of the author's Hawthorn Moon blog tour.
In this guest post, the author tells about Reckoning, which is the third book in the Darkhurst fantasy series.
Click here to read an excerpt from Vengeance (the second book in the Darkhurst series).
Guest post: The Final Reckoning by Gail Z. Martin
Read more: Guest post: The Final Reckoning by Gail Z. Martin