by Joe King, Mark Gelineau

 

The prologue to this one has some intense action and is not to be missed, but a time jump to chapter one threw me a little because characters who had just met in the prologue were suddenly old friends.

 

It's a short, well written Fantasy novella of the Sword & Sorcery side of the genre. While I think it could have been fleshed out to a more detailed, full sized book, It was an enjoyable and fast read. Like many books these days, it begins a series but apparently not a sequential one, but rather a series of books set in the same world with some different characters. I expect I'll read at least one more of them.

 

Elinor appears to be the one consistent character in the two books currently available. She's a strong female lead, a warrior with fortitude and stamina. She's just too stubborn to lose and is dedicated to duty. I found her likeable and a character I could respect.

 

The story had a little more depth than most short Fantasy novellas and was a worthwhile read, though I would like to see these authors add more dimension in future novels.

There is a part in the middle that took place in the towers of the keep that I was either on the verge of sleep and didnt take in all the info or it wasnt explained as well as it is should've been. I'm confused about how that scene played out. I could reread it which would be obvious choice as it probably wouldnt take very long but my seriously my mood right now is super lackadaisical, so just gonna go with a middle of the range 3.

It's that time of the month again! Not the one which involves Ibuprofen and men having to go down to the old pub instead, but that time where Cindy and I are teaming up again for a double review!*

What were your thoughts/expectations before reading this book?

Cindy: Hm.. I try not to do a lot of thinking lately (fatherly advice), but the cover seemed awesome and I really liked the blurb. So when Anne gave this book as an option for out buddy read, it was not a difficult choice to make :’) I’ll never get enough from fantasy, NEVER.

Anne: I can't remember ever having read something by a writer duo, so I was quite curious how that would turn out  (EDIT: I read Weis&Hickman *facepalms*). The cover and the blurb made me think this was going to be awesome as well. The girl on the cover kinda looks like Daenerys Targaryen. With a huge sword. *makes heart with fingers*

Who is the main character and what did you think of him/her?

Anne: The main character is Elinor, the King's agent, lieutenant and/or Reaper. The term Reaper made me think of souls and, well, death, but being a Reaper of stone literally means being a reaper of stone. Keeps and castles in this case. Although there's also a slightly more magical meaning to it in this story, but I'll let you find that out for yourselves. So yes, back to Elinor. Wow, she is one bad ass chick! There are different varieties of bad ass chicks, though. You have the ones who are bad ass, but don't feel any empathy or are terribly arrogant. And there are the ones who know how to fight like a true warrior but keep whining about their emotions constantly. Elinor is neither one of these. She has empathy but doesn't whine like a baby. And her fighting skills are excellent, but she never becomes arrogant about it.

TL; DR: Elinor is the perfect bad ass chick! Someone I'd like to be and definitely someone I'd like to read more about.

Cindy: Anne... you’ve said it all... girl... leave something for me okay! But, just to give my opinion, Elinor was really awesome :D

What about the other characters?

Cindy: Yeah what about them? Well, first of all, they were there, and second of all... yeah they were actually there. No, just kidding. Even though this is a short story, there was character development and a great set of minor characters. Each of them had their own personality and even though there wasn’t a lot of time to get to know each other, they were well worked out. They made this short story, along with other aspects, not feel as a short. I loved the mystical kind of old character that was put into this story. Read the book and you’ll know what I’m trying to say.
I also really liked the ‘realistic’ feel, as far as fantasy can be considered realistic of course. The characters really did show how that world was ruled by the aristocracy, in a way they contributed to the world building.

Anne: There were definitely other characters there *nods*. And yes, the mystical character *whooooooos*, I loved that one as well!

What did you think of the plot and the world building?

Anne: As for the plot, I thought it was grand. The prologue started off with a bang and it didn't disappoint afterwards anymore either. The story was fairly original, emotional, violent and just all-around cool.There were some surprises. No OMFG, WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!-ones, yet nevertheless: surprises. I think with the Goodreads blurb and all the other information in this review, it would be a shame to tell you more about the story because it's only a novella and you're supposed to discover it on your own.

What I can say is that the world building was pretty neat. It soon became apparent that the world of Aedaron has magical/mythical elements in it. Like these giant killer worms that live underground and come up and devour you if you make too much noise/movement. Something like this....

...yet with a less rocky scenery. The ones in this book live under fields of grass. The whole system of law and order was also intriguing. But...MEGA GIANT KILLER WORMS!!! 

*quietly passes the mic to Cindy*

Cindy: *silently screams* yeah, so there’s that. And since Anne already told you guys about everything we are allowed to tell you in this review, I’ll just sit and wave.

Anne: Ahaha :') *goes off to a quiet corner and lets Cindy do all the talking (and waving)*

Cindy: No, but really, the plot was great. At first, I expected it to go one way, then something altogether different happened and I was quite amazed. Unlike Anne, I did experience OMFG WTH moments (giant killer worms... come on... who could have thought).

This book is #1 in a series and also #1 in something like a Saga called Echo of The Ascended. All the books/stories take place in the same world. Knowing that, how badly do you want to read all the other parts in the series now?

Cindy: Consider me sold. I’m a sucker for these kinds of things.


Anne: Badly might be a bit of an overstatement, but I've put them all on my TBR-list.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Anne: A big bowl of sauerkraut?
Cindy: My soul, and oatmeal.

If you could be transported into this world, would you like to go there and what kind of role would you play in it?

Anne: I would, but as with any other medieval kind of setting, only if it's a return ticket. I'd be terrified if I was trapped in the past, let alone in a world with huge flesh-eating worms! If I could go there (and back again), however, I would want to be a kick ass fighter like Elinor for sure. I mean, I'd usually go for something like a herbalist/healer but not with this one; slashing up evil worm jaws with my broadsword of justice it is!

Cindy: Yes *nods fervently* Yes I would. I’d probably be terrified, pee my pants (I don’t do dresses really), and try to run away screaming, but I would definitely go there. My role would probably be an engineer of some kind, I love building and destroying stuff.


Anne:  Oh dear, remind me to Cindy-proof my house if you ever come this way...:')

Cindy: You’ll be fine! I only destroy things of people I generally dislike :P So I guess you're safe ^_^ (or are you…)

Anne: *shifty eyes* Let's move on to the final verdict then!



Cindy: 4 stars, I had expected more pages, though, so I was a bit disappointed there. But nevertheless, it was a great short that had everything I’d ever hoped for… IN A SHORT?! I’d never expected to be so happy after reading this.


Anne: I'm totally agreeing with Cindy here (what else's new) and giving it 4 brownies. I wish it had a 100 more pages. I know, I know, it's a freaking novella, but still! And Cindy's right (again) about there being so much detail in here for such a short story!

We'd like to thank the publisher for giving us a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

All four storylines in The Echoes of the Ascended have been introduced and now it is time for the second round of stories, of which Broken Banners is the first. As I overall really liked the first four novellas, I was looking forward to the new batch.

 

Elinor returns and finds a field full of slaughtered soldiers. As she investigates, she finds that maybe she can't trust her own friends...

 

I enjoyed this novella slightly better than the first Reaper of Stone novella. She wasn't my favourite character in the first novellas. It might be that I've gotten better used to Elinor, but perhaps also the fact that there are starting to be more and more links between the stories, which I think will be a lot of fun to follow through the stories. I'm wondering if at some point the stories will merge together (and how that would happen, as the authors state that anyone can just follow the stories they think are interesting, and thus they may not know certain characters).

 

As these are published once a month, I'm already looking forward to the next!

 

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A Reaper of Stone is a special novella. A story which has enough going for it in every area (characters, world building, and story) to make it one of the best short works of fantasy fiction which I have read in a while. Full of colorful drama, thoughtful introspection, and selective action, Mr. Gelineau and Mr. King have crafted a tale which left me wanting more of everything!

The tale begins with a short prologue introducing our main character, Elinor, as seen through the eyes of her friend Conbert. The two meeting one another in the most spectacular of ways.

From here, the story flashes forward several years. Conbert and Elinor now mature individuals cast back together by the “reaping.” This ancient customs sees the King’s Reaper (Elinor) and Royal Engineer (Conbert) on a royal mission to dismantle the ancient, powerful keep of Last Dawn when the royal bloodline comes to an end there. And while these old friends are honorable adherents to their chosen professions, they both feel particularly loath to take down this bastion of law and order in the wilds.

Our protagonists’ angst comes less from any love of Last Dawn and more from their dislike of the soon-to-be lord of this land a fellow by the name of Lord Piersym and his “Razor” Ephed. Both of these individuals represent all that our friends find disgusting and worthy of hate about the kingdom’s arrogant nobility and their “First Blades.”

This hesitance soon grows as Elinor befriends the remaining followers of the deceased Lady of Last Dawn and uncovering a secret which forces her to make a fateful decision!

All in all, A Reaper of Stone was more than I expected. Not only did the authors tell a short, engrossing story, they also endowed it with enough depth and weight of history to turn this land and its people into a living breathing fantasy world. Something which I really wasn’t expecting from such a quick read. The only criticism I can level at it is that the fun was over much too quickly.

I received this novella for free from the authors and Netgalley in return for a honest and unbiased review. The opinion you have read is mine alone and was not influenced by anyone else.