This is classic Action Fantasy involving a large cross section of people in a society struggling against civic corruption. Set in a world equivalent to our late 19th century, it still echoes problems we have today. Authors take note; this story has used the marvelous technique of having an important backstory which is revealed slowly […]
“The Agreement, Gallows Gold Book 1” by James Scott Thomson
“The Agreement” is an Australian future western in the tradition of Mad Max, but with a more organized post-apocalyptic society. It’s a simple plotline. Archie is a bounty hunter. He takes Fiona on as an apprentice, and they go off having adventures together. The story breaks into three parts. Their first two assignments could almost […]
“The Last Cleric” by Layton Green
I finished my review of the second book in this series with “There has to be a Book Three.” This is it, and I’m a touch disappointed. This book has all the trappings of a “potboiler,” a book in the middle of a series where the author is running on automatic, including all the things […]
“The Eden Chip” by Scott Cramer
This novel starts with an active, tense opening chapter using a literary device I am seeing too often lately but I won’t reveal it and spoil your fun. The action continues throughout the book, with a complicated plot that moves from shifting alliances and complex politics all the way to questioning reality. Cramer has […]
“Assassins Of Riaz” by Michael Drakich
“Assassins” is Action Fantasy with a hefty dose of politics thrown in. It takes place in the independent trading city of Limos, Riaz, ruled by five merchant princes and kept in order by a rather mercenary magical Assassins Guild. To this city come representatives of several nearby kingdoms with the intent of holding a conference […]
“The Spirit Mage,” The Blackwood Saga #2 by Layton Green
The Book 2 story starts exactly where Book 1 ends, always an iffy proposition for the writer, because he then has to explain everything in detail so we can return to the situation in the other book. Which Mr. Green proceeds to do, in far more detail than we have hope of remembering. For example, […]