Les Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris's criminal underground in the wake of the French Revolution.
In the violent urban jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, the French Revolution has failed and the city is divided between merciless royalty and nine underworld criminal guilds, known as the Court of Miracles.
Eponine (Nina) Thénardier is a talented cat burglar and member of the Thieves Guild. Nina's life is midnight robberies, avoiding her father's fists, and watching over her naïve adopted sister, Cosette (Ettie).
When Ettie attracts the eye of the Tiger – the ruthless lord of the Guild of Flesh – Nina is caught in a desperate race to keep the younger girl safe. Her vow takes her from the city's dark underbelly to the glittering court of Louis XVII.
And it also forces Nina to make a terrible choice – protect Ettie and set off a brutal war between the guilds, or forever lose her sister to the Tiger.
Read more: The Court of Miracles - Kester Grant
Review: The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Reviews
Tyler Hayes' The Imaginary Corpse was published by Angry Robot Books in September 2019.
Information about Tyler Hayes:
Tyler Hayes is a science fiction and fantasy writer from Northern California. He writes stories he hopes will show people that not only are we not alone in this terrifying world, but we might just make things better. His fiction has appeared online and in print in anthologies from Alliteration Ink, Graveside Tales, and Aetherwatch. The Imaginary Corpse is Tyler's debut novel.
Information about The Imaginary Corpse:
A dinosaur detective in the land of unwanted ideas battles trauma, anxiety, and the first serial killer of imaginary friends.
Most ideas fade away when we’re done with them. Some we love enough to become Real. But what about the ones we love, and walk away from?
Tippy the triceratops was once a little girl’s imaginary friend, a dinosaur detective who could help her make sense of the world. But when her father died, Tippy fell into the Stillreal, the underbelly of the Imagination, where discarded ideas go when they’re too Real to disappear. Now, he passes time doing detective work for other unwanted ideas - until Tippy runs into the Man in the Coat, a nightmare monster who can do the impossible: kill an idea permanently. Now Tippy must overcome his own trauma and solve the case, before there’s nothing left but imaginary corpses.
REVIEW: THE IMAGINARY CORPSE BY TYLER HAYER
Read more: Review: The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes
Guest post: Honorable Assassins by Gail Z. Martin
- Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
- Category: Guest Post
Risingshadow has the honour of featuring a guest post by Gail Z. Martin.
This guest post is part of the author's Days of the Dead tour.
About the Author:
Gail Z. Martin writes urban fantasy, epic fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Urban fantasy series include Deadly Curiosities and the Night Vigil (Sons of Darkness). Epic fantasy series include Darkhurst, the Chronicles Of The Necromancer, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, and the Assassins of Landria. Newest titles include Inheritance, Vengeance, Convicts and Exiles, and Assassin’s Honor. Together with co-author Larry N. Martin, new books include Spells Salt and Steel: Season One, Night Moves (Spells Salt and Steel #5), Wasteland Marshals and Cauldron: A Joe Mack Shadow Council Archives Adventure. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance. Books include Witchbane, Badlands and Treasure Trail series.
Find her at www.GailZMartin.com, on Twitter @GailZMartin, on www.Facebook.com/WinterKingdoms, at www.DisquietingVisions.com blog, on www.Pinterest.com/Gzmartin and on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/GailZMartin. She is also the organizer of the #HoldOnToTheLight campaign www.HoldOnToTheLight.com.
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Guest post: Honorable Assassins by Gail Z. Martin
Read more: Guest post: Honorable Assassins by Gail Z. Martin
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