Dralin, Kobo and Trindiebooks.com

Trindiebooks.com

Trindiebooks.com is promoting Dralin as the special of the day.  http://trindiebooks.com/dralin/
This is a site I recently discovered that finds and promotes books, including many free books, in the Kobo Bookstore.  Trindiebooks got their name by combining the words traditional + indie = Trindie

You can follow them on facebook and twitter.
Trindiebooks.com Facebook
Trindiebooks.com Twitter

Kobo

Kobo is probably the most exciting ebook company out there.  They are expanding internationally at a phenomenal rate.  I see them gradually taking market share from Amazon over the coming years.

Dralin

The book Trindiebooks is promoting today is Dralin,  Book 1in the Dralin Trilogy and the first book in my Ryallon series.  (The Willden Trilogy was written first, but it occurs in time after the Dralin Trilogy) 

Back in 2001, I began a story in the world of Ryallon that started with a man named Calren.  As he was beginning his adventure, he met a woman named Pelya who had black hair, blue eyes and a sword at her hip.  Pelya was so fascinating to me that I began to explore her story.  Next thing I knew, I was writing a book called "The Liquid Wyvern".

Here's the thing about writing:  It's a lot of hard work and it takes practice to do it well.  After 40,000 words, I realized that I was making countless mistakes and needed to reevaluate.  It was another 8 years before I finally began writing again, but I had lost that original book, so I started with the Willden Trilogy instead.

Then I found the Liquid Wyvern on an old disc.  Having written three books by then, I realized how bad that original writing was.  However, the story of Pelya still fascinated me.  So I took the first chapter and turned it into the Dralin Trilogy . . . that's right.  There was an entire trilogy in that first chapter.  The original chapters 2 and 3 are going to make up the Wyvern Trilogy, which I'm writing now.  What's really bad is I had an outline for 30 chapters, each of which could be a book. *sigh*  The story deviates from them though, so it won't happen.

Anyway, Dralin begins by introducing the city of Dralin, a character in an of itself . . . a very sinister and dangerous character.  It begins with a young runaway woman meeting a handsome and kind Guardsman with a heavy soul.

Description

There are many cities in the world of Ryallon that know the touch of despair and evil, but none like Dralin. Towers of wizards rise high into the air, shrouded in the mists of magical smog. Poor sleep in the alleyways, becoming deformed by pollution. Life is short for many.

Throughout all of it, the cunning and dangerous members of the City Guard do their best to keep evil and crime from destroying the citizens of Dralin. Trained to fight in streets that make no sense, they keep wickedness from taking over completely.

A young woman fleeing her past makes Dralin her destination. A young Guardsman with his own dark history hopes to make a difference in a city that is without hope. Are sorrow and despair their only destiny, or can love redeem them? Two young girls raised in this city learn life's hard lessons early. Will they be defeated by its evil?

Underneath the city lie hidden dangers even more terrible than those that lurk in its dark streets. Ancient ruins of civilizations past still hold onto the memories of how grand they once were, while menacing creatures hope for a tasty meal to venture into their domain.

The Dralin Trilogy is a dark, swords-and-sorcery fantasy series following the lives of a few unusual individuals as they desperately try to survive in the sinister city of Dralin.

Dralin is free in all stores, but I highly recommend Kobo :)


All my best,

John H. Carroll


P.S.  Oh, and that original story about a guy named Calren? . . . He's still there, waiting impatiently for me to get to his story. ;)

Book review: Aielund Saga, books 1 & 2

The Aielund Saga

The Aielund Saga is a series of books written by author and artist Stephen Nowland.  I first learned of him through a computer game called Neverwinter Nights.  It has a toolset that allows us to tell our stories through game modules using their game engine.  The Aielund Saga is a high-rated, award winning series of modules made by Stephen.  He's turned them into books that are even better.

One of my favorite things about these books is that the author paints his covers.  Beautiful artistry. :)

Book 1, Nature Abhors a Vacuum

Description:
For Aiden Wainwright, a short trip to the nearby town of Bracksfordshire was supposed to be an opportunity for continuing his research into the arcane. But unfortunate circumstances see the town gates closed for weeks, and with supplies running low, Aiden finds himself thrust into the role of town saviour. Together with an old friend of dubious character, a drunken ranger on the edge, and a church acolyte out of her depth, he sets out to fill the vacuum of power left by the absent King’s army, and deal with a rapidly escalating situation that threatens the security of the entire land, while uncovering the mysteries behind his own past.           

You can get it at Amazon
Or Smashwords
NWN module

Review

Have you ever read one of those books where you're instantly interested in the main character?  Yeah.  This is it.  It starts with a prologue of an incident in the Aiden Wainwright's youth.  Chapter 1 begins with him as an adult who has been defined by that incident.  The city they're in has been shut down and someone has to get through for supplies.

A number of characters join him along the way.  Each one of these people have their own personality and are given the time to develop to the point where the reader is invested in what happens to each and every one.  My favorite is the cleric, Nellise.  (I have a thing for beautiful clerics, but . . . )  Actually, my biggest complaint about these books is that Nellise's life is going to suck.  I'm certain it will end badly.  *sigh*

The dialogue has humor scattered throughout, the battle scenes are vivid and intense, and the characters make you like or hate them.  For the first time in a long while, I found myself staying up late, not wanting to put the book down.

I truly recommend this to anyone who likes high fantasy.  At over 200,000 words, it's a tale of epic proportions that reads fast.

Book 2, In Defense of the Crown

Description:
From the peril of the high seas to the urban landscape of Fairloch, capital of Aielund, Aiden Wainwright and his companions are charged with protecting the only heir to the throne whilst seeking out the conspirators that plot her capture, and who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Out of his depth in the largest city in the land, Aiden recruits the aid of the few allies he can find and trust; a sailor with a criminal past, an old knight close to retirement, a savage exiled from her home and a druid banished from her lands, her order falling toward darkness.

Combining their forces, they spearhead the investigation to track down the enemies of the crown and the powerful interests that support them, but while investigating the real reason behind the war in the west, Aiden discovers an enemy far more sinister than the petty villains who seek to seize power.               

You can get it at Amazon
or Smashwords
NWN Module

Review

"In Defense of the Crown" is even faster paced than the first novel.  The strengths of these books are the action, the banter in the dialogue, the suspense of the plot and the variety of characters.  Like the first, it's hard to put this book down.

A couple of characters that were in the first book are no longer with the party, but new ones come in to fill the void.  Each character is introduced to the reader and given time to develop.  They have their own distinct personalities that either blend or clash, making the relationships very dynamic.

My favorite character is Nellise . . . at the moment anyway.  Nellise is the type of character that led me to write my own books.  She goes through moral dilemmas.  People are mean to her.  Others try to sway her opinion for their own needs.  Nellise suffers and will continue to do so.  I don't know what's going to happen in the next books, but I know for certain that whatever happens to Nellise is going to piss me off.  The women in my books tend to be anti-Nellises.  By now, she would have killed Pacian.  At the very least, she would have distanced herself from him.  Just sayin'.

I like the princess too, except that she started out as tough, but then became a bit useless.  I'd like her to find some gumption along with keeping her flair.

Speaking of moral dilemmas, the author has great fun with them.  The characters constantly argue about right and wrong, each making good points about their position.  The reader tends to side with certain characters, or at least I did.  Random banter between the characters leads to laugh out loud moments.

Every step of the adventure is perilous and exciting, from on board the ship, through the city and into the castle.  I highly recommend these books and am looking forward to the rest . . . even if I'm going to get pissed off at the fate of Nellise.

About the Author

I am often astonished by the sheer amount of ideas that go through my head. I have tasked myself to grab hold of as many as I can, weave them into stories, shaping them to my will, and like, writing them down, because people can't read thoughts.

I spent over fifteen years dealing with poor health, including chronic fatigue syndrome (a symptom of other stuff, but annoying nonetheless) which gave me ample time for thinking, but slowed me down in the way of actually writing.

My first novel was actually done back in aught three, but I didn't care for that sort of thing at the time, so I scrapped it and started writing a new story for Neverwinter Nights, that RPG video game thing you may or may not have heard of.

The story was so successful (filled with rich, creamy character development) that I lamented that only people playing the game would ever see it. In 2009, with my health improving, I resolved to novelize the stories I'd written, in addition to developing the world in which they exist, for fun and profit.

Thus was my first novel conceived, and lo, it was published online, for the enjoyment of all! The saga will be five books in total, with another 4-5 books after that as a second saga that's in the pipeline.

Oh, I also paint. Expect to see more cover art with each title, probably becoming more technically sophisticated each time.


Disclaimer

I have decided to review books that I enjoy. I am an avid reader of fantasy, so most of them will be in that genre. I'm not taking any requests, just reading what catches my eyes. You'll find that most of these are from Indie Authors. The way I figure it, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony (my favorite authors) already have enough reviews, but Indies could always use a few more.
It is important to note here that while I am a writer, I am doing these reviews as a reader. I also know a number of the authors I will be reviewing. This is not an exchange of reviews, nor have I been solicited by those authors to write the review. At no time will I ever accept any form of payment for a review. When I say that I'm am doing this as a reader, I mean it. I get nothing in exchange.

All my best,

John H. Carroll

Book review: The Book of Deacon Series

 Review of the Book of Deacon Series by Joseph Lallo

This series is available at all online stores, including Smashwords, Amazon, B&N, Kobo and Apple.  I highly recommend it.  There are three books in the series and I've reviewed them each individually.

The Book of Deacon

Description:  The tale of Myranda Celeste, a young woman orphaned by a century long war, and her chance discovery of a fallen soldier's priceless cargo. The find will change her life, sending her on an adventure of soldiers and rebels, wizards and warriors, and beasts both noble and monstrous. Each step will bring her closer to the truth of her potential, of the war, and of the fate of her world.

My Review:

As an avid reader of fantasy, sometimes it's hard to try someone new rather than re-reading books I love, but I'm so glad I opened this book.

It didn't take long to get involved in Myranda's fate. I found myself nerve-wracked by what could happen next and had a hard time putting the book down. The characters Myranda meets are fascinating and easy to like. I feel so bad for Deacon though and hope things work out for him.

My only two criticisms are the lack of chapters, which makes finding my place hard if I swipe up or down on my Kindle instead of sideways, and a few instances of head jumping between characters. These are not enough to truly detract from the story though. :)


The Great Convergence

Description: The second in the Book of Deacon series, The Great Convergence continues the tale of young Myranda Celeste. With fresh knowledge of magic and steadfast resolve to see the end of the war that plagues her land, Myranda sets out to find and unite the five fated heroes, the Chosen. Each new warrior brings her world a step closer to peace, but does she have the strength to survive the trials ahead?

An excellent sequel. Things begin to unfold and the rest of the chosen begin to appear.  The story behind the long war starts to unfold before our eyes. 

Like the first book, the head hopping is a bit disconcerting where the viewpoint switches from one character to the next between paragraphs, but I'm getting used to it. I don't like that the baddies seem invincible and hope that the good guys start to have some successes!


The Battle of Verril

Description: In this, the finale of the Book of Deacon Trilogy, Myranda and the Chosen face their greatest challenges yet. Time is running out, and the Generals are growing desperate. Through victory and defeat, reunion and betrayal, neither the heroes nor their foes will rest until they have seen their task through to the end. The only question is, will it be the end of a war, or the end of times?

The third book is the best and wraps the trilogy up nicely.  Myranda comes into her own and shines.  I like strong heroines.  Myranda holds true to her beliefs throughout all and inspires everyone else.  The build up to the ending is finely crafted.


It does get frustrating when the heroes keep walking into the exact same traps over and over.  I felt like smacking them in the back of the head.  But it's also nice to see villains that are every bit as nasty as they're supposed to be.  By the end, I wanted them all destroyed.


My favorite characters are Ivy, Myn and Deacon.  Lain is a bit too sullen for me and Ether is incredibly foolish for someone who's supposed to have been watching the world since it came into existence.  My absolute favorite is Myranda though.  She's lived a tough life and remains strong and resolute throughout all three stories.  Strong leading women are my favorite. :)


Overall, this is an excellent fantasy series.  The characters and plot are original.  I definitely recommend giving it a read.



About the Author:  Joseph Lallo is a Computer Engineer, as well as editor and chief contributor to Brainlazy.com.

You can find him at Smashwords and Amazon


Disclaimer


I have decided to review books that I enjoy.  I am an avid reader of fantasy, so most of them will be in that genre.  I'm not taking any requests, just reading what catches my eyes.  You'll find that most of these are from Indie Authors.  The way I figure it, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony (my favorite authors) already have enough reviews, but Indies could always use a few more.


It is important to note here that while I am a writer, I am doing these reviews as a reader.  I also know a number of the authors I will be reviewing.  This is not an exchange of reviews, nor have I been solicited by those authors to write the review.  At no time will I ever accept any form of payment for a review.  When I say that I'm am doing this as a reader, I mean it.  I get nothing in exchange.

Anilyia - Book 2 of the Willden Trilogy

Anilyia

In a post a couple of months ago, I talked about my first book, "Rojuun".  Here I'm going to discuss the second book, "Anilyia".

The process

Writing and publishing my first book was thrilling.  At the same time, it gave me something to live up to.  I decided right away that I was going to make it a trilogy.  It just seemed like a good size that I could sell.  I didn't want to write eighty books and still not have a conclusion.  So then I had to figure out what the next couple of books would hold.

The good news was that I had four excellent, well-developed characters.  The group relationship was developed and I could have fun with it.  One of the hardest parts was figuring out how to re-introduce the characters without boring the crap out of the reader.  I did it by narrating the details through the memory of the main character, Tathan.  I did the same for book three.  On my next trilogy, I'm trying new ways that I believe will work better.

Writing the second book was fun because I had learned so much from the first one.  I ran into two big problems.  The first was that I stopped about 60,000 words into it in order to do final edits and publish Rojuun.  Then I had to pick up from where I left off.

The second problem was the middle of the book.  I had them traveling for weeks and I did an information dump in the process.  It was clumsy and my least favorite part of the book.  Before I discourage you from reading any further, I'd like to say that the rest of the story is well worth suffering through that part. ;)  And there is some rather neat stuff in the information dump.


Phongnhakebang Caverns in Vietnam

The story

I picked up a few days after the first book.  The characters are in an inn and they need to report their findings about the race called Rojuun to Mother Tree, who sent them on the quest in the first place.  I introduced some intrigue right away that I intended to follow up on in the third book.

I still hadn't come up with a plot by the third chapter.  I decided to make fun of the "Save the world" theme that most fantasy books tend to have and brought in a character that would be over the top.  For the next few chapters I had numerous opportunities for humor.  It's one of my favorite parts of the book.  The plot developed into saving a princess, which is another cliche.  However, it's not a normal rescue by any stretch of the imagination.
After the characters visited Mother Tree, I sent them back into the caverns of the Rojuun.  Setting up a vast ecosystem underground took quite a bit of imagination and research.  I have no idea if what I wrote is possible, but I do believe it's possible.  Luminescent plants and animals that produce both light and oxygen is a really neat concept.  I can picture the scenes in my mind as though they were part of a movie.

The Rojuun become more developed as a race in this book and also much more mysterious at the same time.  There will be future series in this world where Rojuun will come into play as well.  Many readers will not be sure what to think of them after reading "Anilyia".

I will leave the question of whether the companions save the princess and what happens after the attempt for discovery within the book.  Also, I should warn you that "Anilyia" ends in a cliffhanger that will make getting book 3 "Kethril" irresistible.  Luckily that also is available in all stores.


Jessica Jorgenson, the model for the covers of the Willden Trilogy.  Photograph by Tracy Carroll



Description

Book 2 of the Willden Trilogy begins shortly after the events of book one. Tathan and his companions meet danger with a healthy dose of humor and irreverence during their adventures.

After spending time in the deep caverns fighting the terrible creatures called sstejj, the companions return to Mother Tree deep in the Willden Forest to tell her what they’ve learned. Along the way, Liselle and Vevin meet a magical being who informs them that the world will go poof if they don’t save Princess Anilyia of Mayncal, believed to be held captive by the Rojuun.

The companions start their quest to gather information; only to have their plans interrupted by a mysterious green eyed woman and her pet . . . who, oddly enough, also has green eyes.

Their journey takes them into the depths of the world. They discover the location of the princess, but the odds of rescuing her are beyond difficult and everyone is talking about humpfiggers falling from the sky. Perhaps half a plan would be better than none at all.

Will the companions be able to accomplish the mission? Do they truly understand the Rojuun? Will Vevin finally get to nom one to see if it’s tasty? What in the world will they do with the princess if they do save her?

The Willden Trilogy is an epic fantasy that follows the adventures of Tathan and his companions through the Willden Forest and into the depths of the world. A new race called Rojuun has appeared in the world and is threatening to make humans their servants. It is the companions’ task to learn more and perhaps rescue a princess if they have the time.

This is a full length novel of approximately 103,000 words, or about 400-450 printed pages

The price of Anilyia is $2.99

Smashwords

Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon France

Apple
B&N

Sony

Kobo

Diesel