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
Audio story review: Dreamcoat by Matthew G. Rees
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Reviews
Matthew G. Rees' Dreamcoat was published as an audio story at YouTube in May 2020.
About the audio version of Dreamcoat:
Simon Howells reads 'Dreamcoat', a short story by Matthew G. Rees, author of 'Keyhole', 'The Word' and 'The Tip'.
This story concerns traveller lore, friendship and loss.
Simon Howells is a Welsh actor with interests in fiction and script writing.
Click here to listen to the story.
About Matthew G. Rees:
Matthew G. Rees is a critically acclaimed British fiction writer and playwright in the fields of folk horror, fantasy, the supernatural and dark humour.
Click here to visit his official website.
Review: Dreamcoat by Matthew G. Rees
Read more: Audio story review: Dreamcoat by Matthew G. Rees
Review: Animals of the Exodus by Alexander Zelenyj
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Reviews
Alexander Zelenyj's Animals of the Exodus was published by Eibonvale Press in August 2019.
About Alexander Zelenyj:
Alexander Zelenyj is the author of the books Blacker Against the Deep Dark, Songs for the Lost, Experiments At 3 Billion A.M., and Black Sunshine. He lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada with his wife and their menagerie of animals.
Click here to visit his official website.
About Animals of the Exodus:
- This was the secret Paradise hidden amid the world’s great weights.
- A door was opening.
- “Karen: I will see you again.”
- Together, they would reach a new place.
A 70-page festival for the world-broken. Because there are paths.
Dark and surreal, these four interlinked stories examine the places of refuge sought out by damaged individuals.
Contents:
- Taking Karen Away
- Celeste Had to Go Away
- Some Saw the Fire Exodus
- The Mayflies Want to Fly
REVIEW: ANIMALS OF THE EXODUS BY ALEXANDER ZELENYJ
Read more: Review: Animals of the Exodus by Alexander Zelenyj
Guest post: You May Change the World by Matthew Kressel
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Guest Post
Risingshadow has an opportunity to feature a guest post by Matthew Kressel, who is one of the contributors to the Psi-Wars: Classified Cases of Psychic Phenomena anthology.
About Matthew Kressel:
Matthew Kressel is a three-time Nebula Award finalist, a World Fantasy Award finalist, and a Eugie Award Finalist. He has written dozens of short stories, a few novels, and is the co-host of the Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series in Manhattan. He is also the creator of the Moksha submissions system.
About Psi-Wars: Classified Cases of Psychic Phenomena:
WELCOME TO THE ULTIMATE MINDMELD
From Atlantis to the Third Reich and beyond, these thirteen original tales of cerebral science fiction and horror explore the evils that abound when humanity wields extraordinary minds as weapons, whether to wage war or prevent it. Steeped in psychic savagery, telekinetic combat, and extrasensory espionage, PSI-WARS imagines corrupt governments and daring operatives, gods and soldiers and hackers and spies. The authors don't flinch when they peer around the darkest, most violent corners of the human psyche. Will you?
Guest post: “You May Change the World” by Matthew Kressel
Read more: Guest post: You May Change the World by Matthew Kressel
Review: The Lighthouse by Jeremy Schliewe
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Reviews
Jeremy Schliewe's The Lighthouse was published by Eibonvale Press in October 2019.
About Jeremy Schliewe:
Jeremy Schliewe was born in Michigan and now lives in Tucson, Arizona. His short fiction has appeared in Supernatural Tales. His psychedelic pop band Harsh Mistress has two albums available from Burger Records. He produces music for film and video under the name Eidolon.
About The Lighthouse:
The lighthouse stands on the edge of Lake Michigan, sentry against the Great Lakes gales. Intertwined inextricably with personal mythology, it casts a mysterious spell over one young man, prompting his older brother to travel across the country to intervene and embark on an investigation of the past and present, of the divergent paths their lives have taken – and of the mysteries of the Lighthouse itself. This is a story in which the melancholy quiet of small-town America is tinged with the faintest touches of understated mystery.
REVIEW: THE LIGHTHOUSE BY JEREMY SCHLIEWE
Read more: Review: The Lighthouse by Jeremy Schliewe
Winter is Coming by Mark Howard Jones at Horla
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Others
You can read a new story (Winter is Coming) by Mark Howard Jones at Horla, which is called The Home of Intelligent Horror:
http://www.horla.org/winter-is-coming-by-mark-howard-jones/
About Mark Howard Jones:
Mark Howard Jones is the editor of the Lovecraftian anthologies Cthulhu Cymraeg: Lovecraftian Tales from Wales and Cthulhu Cymraeg 2. His latest short story collection is Flowers of War.
A short review about Winter is Coming:
Mark Howard Jones' Winter is Coming is a slice of excellence for readers who love literary horror fiction and weird fiction. It's an atmospheric, beautifully written and unsettling tale of a woman who, after wrecking the car she was driving, finds herself being watched by someone.
There's something creepy about this story that reminds me of classic horror and weird fiction tales. The gradually unfolding story is steeped in unsettling strangeness that culminates into a satisfyingly eerie and terrifying ending.
I was impressed by how fluently the author writes about the woman and her life, because he tells of what kind of a relationship she had with her father and what happens to her after the accident. I also liked the author's way of creating a sense of something not being quite right, because he did it in an excellent way.
If you love literary horror fiction or weird fiction, you should read this story, because it deserves to be read. I highly recommend it to readers who love atmospheric and unsettling tales.