The Bookwyrm's Review of The Piledriver of Fate by Samuel Gately

Publisher: Cylinder Publishing

Release Date: February 25, 2021

Length: 233 Pages

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Titan Wars, Book 2

Amazon Link

After reading the first book in the series, The Headlock of Destiny, which I thought was one of the most unique takes on fantasy in years, I was hot to get the next book in the series. After finishing it, I can honestly say the wait was worth it. It's an even deeper dive into the world we got a glimpse into in the first book.

PLOT SUMMARY

In the aftermath of the Headlock of Destiny Tournament, battle lines are being drawn. The return of the Titan Wars is inevitable and Van the Beer Man must carry forward alone against his greatest enemy. With the dreaded OverLord drawing ever closer, can Van find safe harbor in this world of violent giants? And will he ever get that cold beer he's been pining for?

MY THOUGHTS

This book does such a good job taking what worked in the first book and expanding it is such interesting ways. The world building is really well executed, expanding from Van's village and Empire City to now include the Nether, the underworld realm of the Overlord. The Nether is such a surreal world, a land of mists and shadows that eats at the soul, making people relive their worst memories. Its also inhabited by the minions of the Overlord, such as goblins, golems, trolls, and those titans that fell in the ring to the might of the Overlord, and are now his undead thralls. Finding out the origin of the Nether, and how it ties into the Titans, is an interesting bit of world building, which you just don't see coming.  We are introduced to another race in the upper world, the Valkyries, winged warrior women who turn out to be not a myth, who have an ancient duty they still uphold to varying degrees. They end up in the mix when the Overlord's minions finally invade the overworld, leading to an even bigger confrontation.

The characters definitely shine again, adding new layers to the existing characters while introducing some fun new characters. We even get a look into the origins of the Overlord, and it turns out he's much more a tragic villain than you would ever expect. Van has such a good growth arc, because while he's no ones idea of a chosen one, he's the only choice they have. Its also fun reading about the titan characters and trying to put a face to their real life inspirations, Wrestlers such as the Undertaker, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Nature Boy Rick Flair, Andre the Giant and The Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal, are just some of the larger than life characters transformed into the Titans in this story. Its a lot of fun guessing who is who, and with the addition of the Valkyries, just adds another layer to the story.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While it is not always easy to avoid a sophomore slump with a second book in a series, Samuel Gately deftly manages to avoid that fate. Adding in the new layers the story and characters really helps engage the reader, and you really find yourself sympathizing with the characters, and being able to see the action in your minds eye. It is at least as good as the first book, and in my opinion, even tops it. I think fans of fantasy and wrestling can easily find something to enjoy in this story, and I highly recommend reading these books.

RATING: 9/10 STARS

The Bookwyrm's Review of The Horror of Supervillainy by C.T. Phipps

Length: 225 Pages

Publisher: Crossroad Press

Release Date: April 1, 2021

Genre: Superhero Prose

Amazon Link

When I first heard The Horror of Supervillainy was in the works, I was super excited to get a review copy. This is one of my favorite series, and one of the reasons I started a review blog in the first place. The continuing adventures of Gary and company are something that I highly anticipate, and imagine I always will.

PLOT SUMMARY

Gary Karkofsky a.k.a Merciless: The Supervillain without MercyTM has decided to give up supervillainy and embrace the path of righteousness. Unfortunately, he's terrible at it and no one wants him to be their superheroic protector. That all changes when a talking raven arrives with the perfect quest to make his mark: rescue the President's daughter from Dracula.

Unfortunately, Gary is being led into a trap. The location of Dracula's castle is in Satan Swamp, which is where Gary suffered one of the few defeats of his life. There's also a camp full of superpowered children, the return of alternate reality allies, a pair of psycho killers in love, and an old enemy returned.

MY THOUGHTS

When you write a series that has dealt with time traveling Nazi's, elder gods, the personification of concepts like Life, Death, Chaos, an evil version of the main character and a giant Luchador villain who once destroyed the universe, you have to imagine its tough to think of something new to top all that. Well, since it's C.T. Phipps, someone steeped in superheroes, horror and pop culture, it'll be super easy, barely an inconvenience. While Gary, Cindy, Mandy and their family return, the new additions are fun too. These include crossovers from other parts of the Phipps extended universe including Jane Doe, Weredeer shaman, Case, cyborg assassin, The Accountant, bonded to the spirit of murder, and Final Girl, the bane of serial killers and monsters. They all fit together so seamlessly into a cohesive unit of snark, pop culture references and attitude, not to mention being just badass all around. 

The villains are some of the most interesting to date, including a certain Count from Transylvania, a magic leaching southern Sherriff somehow working in a southern swamp town in Michigan, and some villains who look suspiciously like some characters who wont be mentioned because trademark lawyers work the interdimensional barriers too easily. They definitely add the sort of insanity and chaos I've come to expect with this series, in the best possible way. 

World building has also been a consistent strength with this series, and Horror is no exception. We get to see a bit more of the wider world Gary lives in, even getting to see the city of Atlas City in Florida, which is not, I repeat, not, that city with a certain Mouse Mascot's theme park, and the trademark lawyers can't prove it is. It's a definite change from Falconcrest City, which always struck me as Gotham City if it went on a 3 day heroin binge with Nikki Sixx, then a three day coke binge with Sam Kinison. It's some of my favorite worldbuilding in fiction today. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I can happily report that this is an excellent entry into a series that I can't see losing steam. It has an author that obviously still enjoys writing it, and keeps coming up with creative ways to add to the story and lore. Having a huge shared multiverse to draw characters and plots from also doesn't hurt. Fans of the series should really enjoy it, as should fans of superhero fiction in general.

The Bookwyrm's Review of Heir To The Sundered Crown by M.S. Olney

Length: 372 Pages/ 9 Hours, 8 Minutes (audio)

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: June 28, 2014/ October 30, 2017

Narrator: Joseph Tweedale

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Amazon Link

As a fan of fantasy, I find it amazing the amount of choices we have when it comes to books to read. There is literally something for every taste. Sometimes, though, I just feel in the mood for a more traditional type of story, with clearly defined heroes and villains, epic quests and a fight to stop the forces of darkness from taking over and destroying the light.

PLOT SUMMARY

A realm torn asunder by civil war will give rise to a hero.

The Kingdom of Delfinnia is in chaos. After Assassins kill the king and his family, the barons now battle one another for the crown. Unknown to them, one heir yet lives.
As the civil war worsens, dark things begin to stir in the vast Eclin mountains. Horrors long thought destroyed have returned and led by an ancient evil begin to march upon the war-torn kingdom.
Meanwhile, in the mage city of Caldaria and as all hope seems lost, a young man named Luxon will discover his powers. The first wizard for a century, he is the man who will one day be known as the Legendary and the hero will give the realm its greatest king.
Sent on a quest to find the hidden heir, Luxon teams up with the legendary monster slayer, Ferran of BlackMoor, the deadly yet beautiful Witch Hunter Sophia Cunning and the noble Knight of Niveren, Kaiden of the Marble shore.
Together they travel the realm battling deadly monsters, assassins, and the most feared enemies of them all, the servants of the dark lord Danon himself, the evil N’Gist cult.
The Heir to the Sundered Crown is a heroic fantasy tale filled with action, battles and magic that will ignite the imagination and set the stage for an epic confrontation between the light and the darkness.

MY THOUGHTS

That's where Heir To The Sundered Crown by M.S. Olney comes in. It has that old school feeling of good versus evil, while adding in a few modern touches of realism. While the world building is strong with this book, its much more character driven, and that starts with Luxon, the main focus of the book. In the kingdom of Delfinnia magic banned in any place but Caldaria, the mage city. Luxon is an oddity, a wizard in a land of mages. He is in touch with his magic instinctively, and doesn't need to use ritual or spells to use his magic, unlike the mages, who require specialized training to access the magic. Luxon's life situation has also had some consequences on his life, as his father was executed by the barons when he swore that when the entire royal family was assassinated that the youngest price escaped. Considering a live heir invalidated the six baron's claims, he was branded a lying traitor and executed to shut him up, disgracing his family in the process.

This is what Luxom has had to live with. It informs his decision making throughout the book as he joins a group of allies in trying to defeat an ancient evil, an evil so bad it still frightens people centuries later. Its fun watching his growth from awkward youth to confident young man with unique power. He is well complimented by a varied cast of supporting characters, including his friend Yeppert, a mage student with surprising strength of character and will, Sophia, a Witch Hunter, Ferran, a Nightblade, those tasked with defeating monsters, and Kaidan, a knight of Nivarin, the order that keeps rogue mages from causing trouble. They all have interesting back stories and get lots of development throughout the story. Definitely not cardboard cutouts.

There are no shades of gray in the villains. Danon is an ancient dark wizard thought dead with the defeat of his dark god, but his return with dragons disproves that. His magic is well beyond what any current mage can do, and there's only one possible check to his power. Cliria is the other villain, a powerful witch, the partner and lover of Danon, and she has spent centuries arranging things to make his return possible. Her reveal is one of the best moments of the book, as things really start to unfold from there. Their motivations aren't justifiable as anything other than a lust for power, and it's kind of a refreshing callback to villains of the past. The characters really add some flavor to the mix.

NARRATION

The narration is handled by Joseph Tweedale. I was unfamiliar with his work before listening to this, but I was impressed with his voice work. He managed to create young sounding voices for the mage students, but also a wide range of adult and older voices for various other characters. He even put an excellent spin on a dragon's voice. He creates unique voices for each character using various tones, accents and cadence changes, all while avoiding dropping into a monotone during the narrative portions. I look forward to listening to more of his work.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I stated, this book has an old school sensibility which I really enjoyed. None of the anti hero or conflicted villains we see in so many books today, just characters that are generally good trying to stop the plans of truly evil villains. Its an engaging story I think any fan of fantasy can find something to love. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 9/10 Stars

The Bookwyrm's Review of Nocturna: Beginning of the End by Heath Stallcup

 

Length: 245 Pages

Publisher: Devil Dog Press

Release Date: October 27, 2020

Genre: Science Fiction, Horror

Amazon Link

I have been a fan of Heath Stallcup's writing ever since I discovered his Monster Squad urban fantasy series back in 2014. That has continued with several subsequent series, in several genres, and continues to this day, now with the Nocturna series. I am always a huge supporter of my fellow veteran's writing efforts, and in this case, that's doubly so, because that military experience bleeds through on every page, bringing a sense of immersion and realism to a story that's already too close to reality in a lot of respects. So now, lets dig in and I'll explain what I mean.

PLOT SUMMARY

The twenty first century brought more plagues to mankind than any other time in history. Some were manufactured by man, others were acts of God. Even Mother Nature herself turned against the infestation known as man.

Nearly thirty percent of the population was killed by new virus strains. Racial tensions flared and evolved into two civil wars. Nations were fragmented with numerous ‘no-go’ combat zones controlled by local warlords, most still active to this day.

At a time when mankind should have been reaching for the future, it devolved into a nearly apocalyptic present, pitting neighbor against neighbor and nation against nation until another twenty percent of the world’s population had been extinguished.

Then came the asteroid Wormwood.

And everything changed.

MY THOUGHTS

The premise of the book, where a world hard hit by multiple pandemics that killed off 30 percent of the world's population, then has multiple civil wars across the world nations, leaving some areas as ruined no-go zones, definitely intrigued me. Into this dystopian setting we add Wormwood, a 150 meter long asteroid that strikes northern Africa, causing massive devastation to the area, as well as emitting a dust plume into the atmosphere. What is released from that asteroid strike is more than just the devastation from the strike, as something begins to occur to some people in the path of the falling dust. People start losing their skin pigment, and become sensitive to sunlight. And that's just the beginning. As violence and chaos start increasing, its up to scientists and soldiers to find out whats happening, and that's where the world building comes into play.

In a balkanized America, the civil wars have resulted in some of the cities being destroyed, and blocked off due to the political decision makers of the time. Since they wanted to rebel, the government cut them off, and refused to pardon them, so a new breed of Warlords have arisen in cities like Atlanta, where the story takes place. The CDC is now a fortress, with the interior of the city controlled by the various warlord's militias. The military has more high tech equipment, but even they won't venture into the war zones unless it's absolutely necessary. Any convoy of supplies for the outlying areas is bound to be raided, and it's truly feudal in these cities. When Wormwood hits, and the changes to people start occurring, its interesting to see how the federal government and the warlords react, which is to say in a very similar manner overall.

The characters are a definite strength. The soldiers are the usual mixture of people from various backgrounds, and their group interplay really comes across realistically. Lots of gallows humor between the various soldiers, who may tease and pick on each other, but they all have each others backs in a crisis. The way the command and soldiers interact is dead on as well, because quite often, what commanders want is not always based on reality, and soldiers are still expected to find a way to complete the mission. All of the tactical aspects of what the soldiers do are highly realistic as well, as I would expect from a writer who is also a military veteran.

The scientists are a mixed group, some from very different backgrounds, but they all play well off of each other. You can tell there are different agendas in the group, as well as differing levels of respect for some members of the team depending on their backgrounds. The pure research scientists don't hold the regular medical doctors or field researchers in particularly high regard, and vice versa. They are, however, willing to do what it takes to stop what could be a threat to humanity itself. Its interesting to see how this will play out within the group.

The secondary characters all play their parts in the story, with a bit of backstory for them leading their actions. The antagonist is not a single person, but more of an environmental threat, as Wormwood's results spread, threatening the human race in general. I'm interested to see if there is a more centralized figure emerging in later books.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I ended up reading this book in one sitting. It had me that hooked. The combination of entirely too prescient dystopia with the more horror story elements really gels, and the realistic military action is also appealing. I would easily rate this up there with the author's Monster Squad series, which is high praise. I can see this book appealing to many kinds of readers, including fans of dystopian sci-fi, horror and low urban fantasy. It is a definite recommended read.

Rating: 9/10 Stars

The Bookwyrm's Review of The Guild Core: Dragon Bourne by TJ Reynolds

Author: TJ Reynolds

Length: 556 Pages/ 16 Hours, 5 Minutes (Audio)

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: September 23, 2020/ October 6, 2020 (Audio)

Narrator: Steve Campbell

Genre: LitRPG/Cultivation

Amazon Link

Continuing my current trend for LitRPG books, it's time to review Dragon Bourne, the first book in the Guild Core series. I got a chance to listen to the audio version, so got the added bonus of Steve Campbell's narration. I'm glad to have added this to the recent collection of LitRPG reads/listens.

PLOT SUMMARY

Wake a Dungeon.
Form a Guild.
Fight to Restore the World.

Kai was the least likely young man to ascend. Raised on his uncle’s potato farm, he began his career as an adventurer with empty pockets and little skill. But a foolish attempt to prove his bravery leads Kai to unlock hidden power within himself and acquire a most unlikely ally.

Rhona is a battle-scarred soldier who’s as likely to toss a quip as she is to throw a punch. After setting aside a promising career in the army to pursue the Path of the Bleeding Tiger, she sets out to stop a war and seek atonement for a bloody past.

When Bancroft the Earth Core awakens, he can’t wait to clean up his dungeon and begin building things anew. A recovered item from his past reminds him that more is at stake, however, putting an end to such pleasantries.

Join The Guild Core, a small band of friends determined to restore the world to an age of dragons, heroes, and honor.

MY THOUGHTS

I found this to be a nice genre mashup, setting the story in a fantasy world but having character powers and abilities grow through the use of of RPG mechanics, in this case having cores that  collect aether, allowing the characters to ascend to higher levels of power. I thought the use of dragons to create sentient cores that form dungeons was also an interesting variant, giving it a game feel while keeping it grounded in the fantasy setting. The excellent world building throws us right into a fully developed world, with tensions between the countries palpable, and with the clash of each culture readily apparent. It feels complex, like real world cultures clashing. It is one of the better bits of world building in the genre.

The characters are just such a treat. Kai, Rhona and Bancroft fit into the story, and eventually into each others lives, so well. Kai is the young, naïve farm boy trope twisted onto its head. The revelations about him as the story progresses are surprising, but his progression from farm boy seeking adventure to competent fighter and potential hope for not only his people, but for the lost dragons and their dungeons as well, is well done. 

Rhona is such an interesting character, moving on from childhood trauma to become a decorated soldier, but deciding the path of the soldier was not for her, and giving up hard earned progression to go on a completely different path. She has such a good arc, and her strength not only of body but of will really draw the reader into her story arc. 

Bancroft, the third part of this trio, is a really fun character, if an unusual one. Unusual in that he's a sentient dungeon core, rescued from being shivered (shattered) by Kai, and he helps mentor Kai, all while working on 'his" own progression. He is just such a good foil to Kai's youthful naivety and Rhona's hard earn cynicism.

As far as antagonists, throughout the book there is more a feeling of antagonism in general to dungeon cores and their extinct dragons. There is not so much a face to it until the last chapter in the book. There are various evil beings in the story, and they're well done, but they aren't the existential threat that an entire country and it's army's antagonism is. I actually liked the way this was done, giving us a bigger world feeling, showing the events in one place have potential to shake the balance of power across the world at large.

NARRATION

The narrative duties are ably handled by Steve Campbell. This is only the second book I've heard him narrate, but I am even more impressed this time than the previous book. He did a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life, especially the three main protagonists. You can tell he really enjoyed bringing these characters to life, and his use of various tones, cadences and accents really differentiated each character. There is never a moment where the listener will be confused about which character is speaking. His narrative pacing is top notch, never straying into a monotone or into long pauses. He has definitely joined the ranks of one of my top 10 narrators.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While this is the first book I've read/listened to by this author, it won't be the last. It has so many good moments throughout the plot, with such good characters and worldbuilding, that I am excited to see where he takes the story. I'll definitely be continuing the series, and will check out his other series as well. This book will appeal to LitRPG fans for sure, but traditional fantasy fans can find a lot to love here too, so I recommend they check it out as well.

Rating: 9/10 Stars