The Briar King by Greg Keyes

I find Keyes a bit footloose with the health of his characters.  He builds a relationship with his character, gives them personality, and kills them off.  I appreciate his storytelling skills but I get dismayed when a character I have invested in, is gone.   The story begins with the end of a war and the seeds of the next war are sown.   It then fast forwards to a time when things are going well and the seeds start to bear their deadly fruit.

Treachery seems to be a major theme in this book.   There are a wealth of disagreeable characters who seem to get away with murder.   Keyes has done a terrific job in creating an environment that is fantasy but still believable.  I’m guessing he has had experience with a teenager as Anne is accurately portrayed.

I really enjoyed the book and am already in the next one in the series.

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Vengewar by Kevin J. Anderson

Spine of the Dragon was the first book in this series. This book picks up with increased conflict.  The Sandwreths hate the Frostwreths, the three kings decide to hate each other, the Bravas hate the Isharans, the Hethrren barbarians are unpredictable, it appears that anger management is truly needed.  Prejudice and blind fear fuel anger and hatred.   Treachery is rampant.

It took a while to get back into the characters.  That is the danger in starting a series before it is finished.  Anderson writes a good story.   A criticism that I just leveled against Greg Keyes, I also level here.   Too many characters that I like get killed off.  Obviously, I invest way too much in my reading. 

I enjoyed the sequel.

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Kindle Version of the Hardy Belch Chapter Books #FREE April 20, 2021 at Amazon

Link: The Adventures of Hardy Belch  

Link: Hardy Belch and Tiny Return

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The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

I’m not normally fond of romances and sadly I’m still not.  I think that the Romance Fan is going to love this book.   The Woodsman, a representative of the King, takes a wolf-girl from her pagan village.  The Woodsman is pious and the wolf-girl is beyond irreverent.

They go on a quest as unlikely allies and meet a wealth of the grimmer Grim Brothers type characters.

Shared damage psychics bring them together with expected volatility.

This book is not my genre but it should be a huge hit with Romance fans.

 This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Jimmy The Hand, Legends of the Riftwar Book III by Raymond E. Feist and S.M. Stirling

This is the third book of this series I have read and my favorite.  Jimmy is a thief with series ethical issues.  He isn’t supposed to have any and he does.   Jimmy finds himself banned from his home when he gets involved in an altruistic endeavor.   That ban leads to more adventures fueled by his “non-existent” ethics.

The authors did a nice job in showing the differences between country and city living.  The characters were bright, colorful and the female characters were portrayed as strong.

I enjoyed the book and recommend the series. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

The Blood Knight by Greg Keyes

Keyes seems to delight in killing off characters that I care about.  This book was different, he didn’t kill off as many of them.  The princess is trying to get home, the evil step-uncle is consolidating his power, the supernatural characters are offering conflicting help.  I would not recommend this book as a stand-alone.

After several books you see the characters changing sometimes for the worse.  The character who seems to mature the most is the princess.  Some of the bad guys appear to get worse.  There is not a clear-cut villain, there actually may be conflicting villains. 

I enjoyed the story and recommend it, but in the order they were written.

1. The Briar King (2002)   2. The Charnel Prince (2004

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Kiku's Quest by William G. Bentrim, Kindle version FREE on Amazon on April 7, 2021

I finally finished my novel.  The only good thing I found about the pandemic is I had the time to sit down and type the 90K+ words to finish the book. 

I’ve read Sci-Fi since I could read.  I wrote my first Sci-Fi short story on a tiny portable typewriter I won for selling greeting cards. The thousands of books I have read have primed me to write this one.   It took me ten years of perseverance to get the darn thing done.  I can only hope that Volume II won’t take as long.   With the pace of technology, if I take too long it will be science fact and not fiction. 

Kiku is a recessive gen-engineered warrior living on the tough streets of a fringe planet barely out of restricted status. Unbeknownst to Kiku is the wealth of abilities lying within her, waiting for the right trigger to bring her potential to full bloom. Gen-engineered warriors are long forgotten, banned remnants of a galactic-wide dictatorship long since defunct. Kiku’s quest is hardly noble; her quest is mere survival! Little does she know that her survival imperils the entrenched profiteers raping her planet. Little do the tyrannical profiteers know the tiger their persecution is about to unleash!

A review on Amazon or anywhere would be greatly appreciated.

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

The BlackTongue Thief by Christopher Beuhlman

Kinch is a thief, a member of not so good standing with the Guild.  The Guild acts with the loan shark method.  You pay to learn, your thievery goes to pay your debt which grows faster than your income so you are forever in debt to the Guild.  His debt leads him on a quest to satisfy the Guild and get free.

The plot is intricate with a fair number of characters.   The protagonist isn’t terribly likable and neither or most of the rest of the assembly.   The settings are colorful and the villains are vile.  Dead legs provided an interesting twist.

I enjoyed the book, it is a touch confusing but persevere it is worth it. 

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned