Can a lost hero find redemption?
What
if Death himself wanted to die? Can deliverance be found on a bloody
battlefield? Could the gift of silvering become a prison for those who
possessed it? Will an ancient warrior be forever the caretaker of a
house of mystery?
Delving into the depths of the tortured hero,
twelve authors explore the realms of fantasy in this enthralling and
thought-provoking collection. Featuring the talents of Jen Chandler, L.
Nahay, Renee Cheung, Roland Yeomans, Elizabeth Seckman, Olga Godim,
Yvonne Ventresca, Ellen Jacobson, Sean McLachlan, Erika Beebe, Tyrean
Martinson, and Sarah Foster.
Hand-picked by a panel of agents and
authors, these twelve tales will take you into the heart of heroes who
have fallen from grace. Join the journey and discover a hero's
redemption!
My review:
Can
a lost hero find the way out of the darkness and into the light again?
In this marvelous collection of speculative fiction, we journey through
twelve wonderfully written tales to find out if the tortured hero can be
redeemed.
The title story, "The Mysteries of Death and Life" by
Jen Chandler is a compelling tale of a young homeless writer who meets a
dying Death. It hooked me with the first line and wrenched my heart.
Depression and loneliness, but yet in that, the wonder of life.
"The
Silvering" by Ellen Jacobson has a young man named Caestu who is hiding
a terrible secret. He believes he has violated the principles of the
Others and is being punished, but all is not what it seems to be. I love
seeing how he struggles with what he's always known and the truth come
to the light.
A dragon remembers what brought him to his current
situation in "Memoirs of a Forgotten Knight" by Renee Cheung. I love
that this is a traditional fantasy tale with a curse twined with a twist
in the modern world of tech and magic.
In "Sometimes They Come
Back" by Roland D. Yeomans, there is the Caretaker who has been in an
ancient goddess' house for a very long time he has almost forgotten
himself. So much whimsy and humor mingled with the dark in this tale.
"The
Wheat Witch" by Erika Beebe has Ethan wondering if he should ever go
home, and when he does, he finds something most unexpected. Is what he's
discovered worse than what he's running from? Wonderful imagery and a
sympathy for a man who's lost everything drew me with wide eyes through
this story.
Raynor and his twin sister journey to find their
missing dragon slaying uncle in Sarah Foster's "The Last Dragon." They
discover the truth about why their uncle left, and it's far more
frightening than any dragon. The bond between the twins is strong, and I
loved how it played out through the action. Fantastic tension.
We
have a great fantasy romance in "Mind Body Soul" by Elizabeth Seckman.
But it isn't what the old king thinks it is. I particularly enjoyed the
queen, her wisdom, and her persistence. Love stories are even better
with age.
A magical Finder named Alternay must find a long lost
hero named "Captain Bulat" in Olga Godim's tale. Using an item as her
compass, Alternay is pulled in more than one direction and must uncover
the truth amidst the confusion. The twist was cleverly done and left me
wanting to see more of the fascinating Alternay.
"The Witch
Bottle" by Sean McLachlan brings us a pining husband using his servant
to help bring back his wife. The wife is a witch and one the servant
seems very eager to help the husband catch. Magic battles magic, and I
did so like the wicked ending.
In "The Art of Remaining Bitter"
by Yvonne Ventresca we meet a young girl named Sylvia who is always in
the shadow of her perfect older sister. Sylvia is to undergo a treatment
that will make her free of negative feelings, and this story lays out
her emotional struggle with it all beautifully.
A once great
warrior has become a poet in Tyrean Martinson's "Of Words and Swords."
Yet is Maud as good with poetry as he with fighting? His internal
struggle is enthralling as he goes off to battle a dragon. Great
fantastical fighting action.
The final story is "Breath Between
Seconds" by L. Nahay. It is a slow motion moment in time of a fallen
soldier at the end of a grand battle realizing the truth of the entire
war. Beautifully written with each breath, quite like a poem.
Buy the book here:
The
Backworlds and Foreworlds have banned together with the hope of
defeating a terrifying enemy, the Quassers. Craze gave up his friends
and livelihood to become the envoy for the Backworlds. All he'd rather
be doing is brewing some malt and tending his bar, but there is much
more than his pride at stake here. The alliance is shaky, and Craze
can't afford to let it fall apart. They have one more chance at
survival, and it's all or nothing.
Sixteen-year-old
Mary Monroe is an innocent girl in the years of sex, drugs, and rock
'n' roll. She has new friends in her older brother's girlfriend and her
group. They take Mary out of her reserved shell where she meets a
handsome new student, Michael Covington. He's got bad boy appeal, but
there's something more to him. Mary is assaulted at a wild party, and
Michael rescues her. At least, she's pretty certain he did. Or was he
the one who attacked her? What's even more, the more she gets to know
him, the more she's falling for him.