{WARMINSTER 2} VORODIN'S LAIR.

 Having previously enjoyed the first book in the Warminster series, The Last Keeper,  today its my pleasure to be sharing the second book in the series ...

VORODIN'S LAIR by J.V. HILLIARD.

Ominous Omens

Daemus, a low Keeper of the Cathedral of the Watchful Eye, isn’t the only one having visions. His nightmares speak of the ageless sorcerer, Vorodin, who may be able to help. But the answers he seeks may bring him—and the realm—to the brink of war.

Elven princess, Addilyn Elspeth, must discover why she’s receiving visitations from a mysterious creature that shouldn’t exist. She combines forces with Daemus on their harrowing journey to the scholar city of Abacus, where Vorodin’s Lair awaits.

A Plot of Revenge

Their powerful adversary and fallen Keeper, Graytorris the Mad, continues to chase the young Keeper throughout the realm, seeking vengeance against his order while trying to find a cure for his own affliction.

Explore the realm of Warminster, as fantasy and magic mixes with epic adventure and romance. Omens, battles and plot twists await you in the pages of Vorodin’s Lair.

A direct continuation of The Last Keeper {book 1 in the Warminster series} I'd strongly suggest that in order to get the best out of the books you read from the beginning.

Big on characters anyway, its no secret that I particularly enjoy a strong, feisty female protagonist and, wow, journeying with our hero, Daemus, on this, his latest quest, will she or won't she survive the Bone elf's assassination attempts?, in the elven princess Addilyn we have just that. 

Not that Addilyn is the only female character worthy of note, I was delighted that there were so many of them amongst what was an altogether stellar cast.

An epic, sorcery driven tale, wonderful world building, high drama, lots of twists and turns, memorable characters each with their own back story, a romantic sub-plot.

The Faye Tree stood across from the fountain. It was a giant and ancient hollow oak, whose center contained a multi-level building that disappeared into its trunk. It had been much larger in Daemus's dreams, but it was unmistakably the place the half-ghost had led him.

The top of the library held a mechanical clock of sorts that could only have been found in Abacus. Its hands kept the time of day while massive star charts rotated along the outside, pointing to many of the constellations Daemus had learned about at the cathedral.

"This is what I saw in my dreams," Daemus affirmed. "We're supposed to be here." {pgs 249/250}

The mythical nature and strange sounding names of many of the characters that still took me some time to get my head {never mind my tongue around} a small price to pay in what was otherwise an altogether a worthy successor to the previous book; Vorodin's Lair had it all and, with the addition of folklore and myths originating in so many different traditions, more.

Once almost solely the domain of Mr T, J.V.Hilliard's Warminster series have found me enjoying a genre I never expected to have enjoyed quite as much.

Born of steel, fire and black wind, J.V. Hilliard was raised as a highlander in the foothills of a once-great mountain chain on the confluence of the three mighty rivers that forged his realm’s wealth and power for generations.

His father, a peasant twerg, toiled away in industries of honest labor and instilled in him a work ethic that would shape his destiny. His mother, a local healer, cared for his elders and his warrior uncle, who helped to raise him during his formative years. His genius brother, whose wizardly prowess allowed him to master the art of the abacus and his own quill, trained with him for battles on fields of green and sheets of ice.

Hilliard’s earliest education took place in his warrior uncle’s tower, where he learned his first words. His uncle helped him to learn the basics of life—and, most importantly, creative writing.

Hilliard’s training and education readied him to lift a quill that would scribe the tale of the realm of Warminster, filled with brave knights, harrowing adventure and legendary struggles. He lives in the city of silver cups, hypocycloids and golden triangles with his wife, a ranger of the diamond. They built their castle not far into the countryside, guarded by his own two horsehounds, Thor and MacLeod, and resides there to this day*

 ~ Website ~ FaceBook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Amazon ~ GoodReads ~ 

With thanks to J.V. Hilliard for supplying me with a copy of this, the second book in their Warminster series. 

Agree or disagree with me, all opinions are my own. No financial compensation was asked for nor given. Threats of violence towards my favourite teddy bear went unheeded as did promises of chocolate.

* Biography courtesy of the author's website.

{RUNEMARKS 0.6} THE TESTAMENT OF LOKI.

 

THE TESTAMOUNT OF LOKI by JOANNE M HARRIS.

Asgard was the End of Worlds ...

Asgard fell, centuries ago, and the old gods have been defeated. Some are dead, while others have been consigned to eternal torment in the netherworld - among them, the legendary trickster, Loki. A god who betrayed every side and still lost everything, who has lain forgotten as time passed and the world of humans moved on to new beliefs, new idol and new deities ...

But now mankind dreams of the Norse Gods once again, the river Dream is but a stone's throw from their dark prison, and Loki is the first to escape into a new reality.

The first, but not the only one to. Other, darker, things have escaped with him, who seek to destroy everything that he covets. If he is to reclaim what has been lost, Loki will need allies, a plan, and plenty of tricks ... ... Back Cover Blurb

Asgrad was falling. ... First Sentence, Darkness: Chapter 1

Humans are vivid dreamers, of course. Their appetite for stories is vast; and every night they create new dreams; new ephemeral Worlds to explore. Some of these Worlds are tiny, no larger than a soap-bubble. Some are as tall as glaciers; implacable as Destiny. Some last for less than a second or two; others may last up to a minute. Just long enough, in theory, for someone - let's say, a renegade god - to enter the dream and, from there, to follow the silver thread that leads into the dreamer's sleeping mind - ... Memorable Moment, Page 11

0.6 in the author's Runemarks series or, if you prefer, book 2 in the author's Loki series, the Loki series being a spin-off/prequel which ties into the Runemarks series.

Just as they said that kept long enough flared trousers would come back into fashion, so, Loki forgotten, the world has new beliefs, new idols, new deities ... that is until, humankind once again looks to the old Norse gods and, well ...

The first instalment, The Gospel of Loki {see my review here}, is an enjoyable re-imagining/re-writing of Norse mythology, whilst this, the second instalment, is more of what I'd describe as a blend of Norse mythology and urban fantasy {with a slight bias towards the latter}; something that I know didn't sit well with so many lovers of Norse mythology, many of whom found this second instalment too outlandish. For myself however ...

Set in the present day, Loki as self-obsessed, as self-indulgent, as vain as ever, that the author has him share the body of a teenage girl {Jumps} with all kinds of modern day issues is nothing if not a stroke of genius; a stroke of genius that makes the book sooo much fun to read whilst dealing with some pretty sensitive, coming-of-age themes ⚠️including self-harm and eating disorders  which sees Loki trying to help in, well, his own inevitable way.

A story in two parts, the first of which puts Loki and some of the other Asgard Gods sharing bodies; largely those of teenagers {which as you might imagine leads to all kinds of comedy of errors} with the exception of Thor who, well, well, lets just say, in a highly amusing twist, gets to share the body of, ah!, that would be telling {those that simply have to know, see below}, the second, a perilous and epic journey down the River of Dreams to get Mimir's head back from dream that sees Jump come into her own ... to say nothing of Loki of whom we get to see some unexpected character development.

Thanks to Jump, her best friend, Evan, who has a glass eye and {CFS} Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that often leaves him wheelchair bound and Jump's love interest, Meg, a woman of colour {what a wonderfully diverse lot they are}, a little less grown-up a read than its predecessor, its humour if not exactly juvenile, slightly, hmm, slightly less sophisticated. Yes, its a very different read from the first instalment and yet for all of that I enjoyed it every bit as much, thinking Loki an ideal vessel for the author who is well known for her witty dialogue.

Which brings me to the million dollar pound question ... can the Testament Of Loki be read as a standalone novel?

In a nutshell, yes. However I do suggest you read The Gospel Of Loki first ... and not just because its a great read; I truly feel that you'll benefit from reading book one first as it gives a great insight into the author's Gods and the world they inhabited.

For those wishing to know about Thor in his current Aspect, simply scroll over the below text to hi-light it. 

He looked down at the fluffy white dog, which was now cavorting around her ankles, still barking excitedly. Thor at least seemed happy enough in his current Aspect: I imagine he and his canine host had more than a few things in common. An optimistic outlook; excellent teeth; a boundless appetite for snacks - in fact, as far as Thor was concerned, he'd probably found his perfect match. I patted his head. He growled at me and bared his little puppy-teeth. Pg 89

Oh and be sure not to leave any spoilers in the comment box.

THE WEIGHING OF THE HEART.

 A Random Gift Of Kindness from the lovely Lainy over at So many books, so little time whose thoughts on the book can be read here, today its my turn to share my thoughts on ...

THE WEIGHING OF THE HEART by PAUL TUDOR OWEN.

GENRE ... Contmporary Fiction

PUBLISHER ... Obliterati Press

NUMBER OF PAGES ... 254

'Sooner or later, everybody comes to New York ...'

Following a sudden break-up, Englishman in New York Nick Braeburn takes a room with the elderly Peacock sisters in their lavish Upper East Side apartment, and finds himself increasingly drawn to the priceless piece of Egyptian art on their study wall - and to Lydia, the beautiful Portuguese artist who lives across the roof garden.

But as Nick draws Lydia into a crime he hopes will bring them together, they both begin to unravel, and each find that the other is not quite who they seem. {Back Cover Blurb}

Sooner or later, everybody comes to New York, and I was no exception. {First Sentence, Chapter 1}

One morning when I returned to the Peacocks' apartment from Lydia's, I found to my complete bafflement that all the books on the living room shelves had been turned around so that the spines faced the walls and the pages faced the room. I checked the library - the same thing had happened there. With slight trepidation, I opened my bedroom door and looked up at my own shelves - all my books had been turned inward too. {Memorable Moment, Page 150}

MY THOUGHTS ... A story of paranoia and jealousy; that much I did get but on the whole ...

A book I'd file under 'Just didn't get it; was I missing something?' 

What was reality? What was the result of increasing paranoia; of a character spiralling ever deeper into mental illness? I guess that it could be argued that this not knowing was pure genius on the part of the author but for myself ... 

What can I say? Come the ending I still didn't know and, quite frankly, I found myself not really caring.

Maybe if there had been more of the Peacock sisters but, as it was, I found myself totally uninspired by and unable to connect with any of the other characters. 

I had hoped that the Egyptology/Egyptian mythology that ran throughout the story might at least prove a redeeming feature but alas, interesting as the Ba, the scarab and the Devourer might have been, in this scenario ...

Hmm! As I said I just didn't get it. 

ABOUT PAUL TUDOR OWEN ... Paul Tudor Owen's debut novel The Weighing of the Heart won the People's Book Prize for fiction 2020. He was born in Manchester in 1978, and was educated at the University of Sheffield, the University of Pittsburgh, and the London School of Economics. He began his career as a local newspaper reporter in north-west London, and currently works at the Guardian, where he spent three years as deputy head of US news at the paper’s New York office. {From the GoodReads site}

FOLLOW PAUL TUDOR OWEN ... ~Website ~ Twitter ~ 

Q&A With Paul Tudor Owen on Lainy's So many books, so little time.

REPROBATION, CONSUMING FIRE & SOUND TRILOGY.

 A bit of a Book Tour with a difference, today I'm participating in a tour (see below for the whole schedule) organised by Rachel's Random Resources in which each stop on the tour will feature one, two or three books.

Me? I'm delighted to be sharing my thoughts on not just one of the books, not just two of the book but all three of the books.

Are you one of the elect?

Dr. Helen Hope is a lecturer in eschatology – the study of death, judgement, and the destiny of humankind. She is also a Calvinist nun, her life devoted to atoning for a secret crime.

When a body is found crucified on a Liverpool beach, she forms an unlikely alliance with suspect Mikko Kristensen, lead guitarist in death metal band Total Depravity. Together, they go on the trail of a rogue geneticist who they believe holds the key – not just to the murder, but to something much darker.

Also on the trail is cynical Scouse detective Darren Swift. In his first murder case, he must confront his own lack of faith as a series of horrific crimes drag the city of two cathedrals to the gates of hell.

Science meets religious belief in this gripping murder mystery. ... Synopsis

Across grey waters, where the river Mersey meets the Irish Sea, wind turbines puncture the dawn horizon like spinning crucifixes. ... First Sentence, Chapter 1

Outside in the crepuscule, this grey stone house is almost camouflaged against the moorland behind it. In the dawn light, unkindnesses of raven will congregate on its roof and chimney. Their cawing will be drowned out by the roar of traffic, as will the screams from within. Above the front door of this cottage is affixed a small wooden crucifix. ... Memorable Moment, Page 38

​Liverpool is in the grip of an intense heatwave, and strange things are happening.

A woman dies in an apparent case of Spontaneous Human Combustion; a truck explodes on the dock road; the charred corpses of pets litter the city; forest fires ravage the pinewoods…and there are birds everywhere, silent flocks drawing in ominously.

​

Detective Inspector Darren Swift thinks there are connections, and his investigation delves into the worlds of football, nightclubs and organised crime. But is he imagining things?

​

Dr. Helen Hope doesn’t think so. And she believes the key lies in a mysterious seventeenth-century occult book which has gone missing from Liverpool Library.

​

In the blistering sequel to Reprobation, DI Swift is forced to confront some inconvenient ghosts from his past, as a terrifying shadow lies over his city’s future… ... Synopsis

It is with far more trepidation than pride that I present, to whomsoever it may concern, this modern English translation of the Ars Adramelechum. ... First Sentence, Preface to the 1879 translation of the Adramelechum

She scrolled through these legions of chthonic deities, enjoying the elaborate, beautiful, shudderingly horrible drawings. This theriomorphy - the manifestation of gods or spirits as animals - was as old as time itself and as new as the werewolves and vampire bats of modern horror stories. ... Memorable Moment, Page 117

Can you hear it?

A professor of psychoacoustics is found dead in his office. It appears to be a heart attack, until a second acoustician dies a few days later in similar circumstances.

Meanwhile, there’s an outbreak of mysterious illnesses on a council estate, and outbursts of unexplained violence in a city centre nightclub. Not to mention strange noises coming from the tunnels underneath Liverpool. Can it really be a coincidence that death metal band Total Depravity are back in the city, waging their own form of sonic warfare?

​Detective Inspector Darren Swift is convinced there are connections. Still grieving his fiancé’s death and sworn to revenge, he is thrown back into action on the trail of a murderer with a terrifying and undetectable weapon.

​But this case cannot be solved using conventional detective work, and D.I. Swift will need to put the rulebook aside and seek the occult expertise of Dr. Helen Hope and her unlikely sidekick, guitarist Mikko Kristensen. ... Synopsis

Close your eyes, stand still, don't breathe. ... First Sentence, Chapter One

And then the music began, in waves and assaults of blastbeats and droning riffs. Any suggestion of melody that emerged were rapidly taken away. Only the memory of silence gave them any relief. ... Memorable Moment, Page 70

MY THOUGHTS ON THE BOOKS ... Wow! Despite the fact that in my opinion two of the books were stronger, the best trilogy I've read for some time.

Each featuring a different crime, its fair to say each of the three books could be read as a standalone novel (at a push) but, their plots loosely intertwining, you really don't want to miss a moment of the journey these amazing characters find themselves on; books that really should be read from the beginning.

What happens when you take a Calvanist nun who it just so happens also lectures on Eschatology (the study of death and afterlife), the singer from a dead metal band, a newly promoted DI and a crazy geneticist who is obsessed - and I mean obsessed - with issues of pre-destination, original sin, genetics and the afterlife?

What happens is you have Reprobation (one of my favourite books this year). 

Original, clever and decidedly dark; a gruesome police procedural with theological/philosophical overtones, a perfect combination of science and religion ... to say nothing of an interesting homage to the different types of Metal bands out there. 

Sister Helen and Death Metal singer, Mikko, the most unlikely of pairings ever, combine them with newly appointed DI Darren Swift (who, not unlike sister Helen herself, is having something of a conscious of faith) and you have the perfect team.

The second and, in my opinion, the less strong of the three books, Consuming Fire, a story of people trafficking and, how could I forget, human combustion, takes place mere months after the events of the previous novel and my how things have changed.

Still lecturing at the universe, former nun Helen (yes, you read correctly, former nun Helen) is researching demonology which is just as well because, well, you never know when your knowledge of such things might prove useful ... like for instance when, hmm! the next case you find yourself assisting with involves the occult, demons, angels and, oh yes, an ancient book coated in human skin.

That's right, a book coated in human skin written by a Victorian scholar (some of it the translation of a holy book which tells of a fallen angel who becomes a fire demon) of which there are only two known copies ... one of them missing, but of course.

Whilst the investigation that saw Helen and Matt off to a remote Swiss village was fascinating; that the narrative was interspersed with excerpts from this unholy book, hmm, whilst it made for interesting reading and cleverly tied in with the main story, for me personally it proved something of a distraction; that it was written in italics proving something of a headache, literally. And then, of course whilst it was engaging to see the developing relationship between Helen and DI Darren Swift and Darren and his fireman fiancé Matt I admit to missing Mikko and the motley crew of Total Depravity.

Given that the author does characters with a difference so well, I shouldn't really have been surprised that Sound features a professor in psychoacoustics (who it just so happens has synesthesi) who on discovering a new frequency is being transmitted dies a somewhat horrible death. 

Could it be that this in any way connects the unexplained illnesses that are felling the residents of the Napier housing estate, the eerie sounds being heard beneath the tunnels of Liverpool and the masses who, zombie like, feel compelled to head towards the city's nightclubs? And could it be that criminal-turned-businessman-turned-all round good guy, Shawn Forrest, is behind it all?

Like the other books in the series featuring criminality, religion, mythology, psychology and the occult, we see the team; Helen Mikko (yay!) and Matt back together again, only this time Total Depravity aren't the most, hmm, depraved metal band to feature ...

Meet Vox Inferi, a black metal band who, headed by The Messiah, only performs live in locations that are kept secret to all but a few of their fans.

With the reading of every sentence and the turning of every page books I came closer to finishing; its hardly any wonder that  at the same time I wanted to keep reading them I didn't want to read at all.

With thanks to Rachel for organising the tour but most of all with thanks to Catherine Fearnes herself for such great a great trilogy, I only hope that with Sound we never hear of Helen, Mikko and Matt again.

INFORMATION ABOUT REPROBATION ... ~ Genre: Crime thriller ~ Publication Date: 16th October 2018 ~ First book in a trilogy ~ Publisher: Darkstroke ~ Estimated Page Count: 220 ~ Potential Trigger Warning: Strong language, violence and some sexual content ~

INFORMATION ABOUT CONSUMING FIRE ... ~ Genre: Crime thriller ~ Publication Date: 6th February 2019 ~ Second book in a trilogy ~ Publisher: Darkstroke ~ Estimated Page Count: 220 ~ Potential Trigger Warning: Strong language, violence and some sexual content ~

INFORMATION ABOUT SOUND ... ~ Genre: Crime thriller ~ Publication Date: 24th September 2019 ~ 

Third book in a trilogy ~ Publisher: Darkstroke ~

Estimated Page Count: 220 ~ Potential Trigger Warning: Strong language, violence and some sexual content ~

ABOUT CATHERINE FEARNES ... Catherine Fearns is a writer from Liverpool. Her novels Reprobation (2018) and Consuming Fire (2019) are published by Crooked Cat and are both Amazon bestsellers. As a music journalist Catherine has written for Pure Grain Audio, Broken Amp and Noisey. Her short fiction and non-fiction has appeared in Toasted Cheese, Succubus, Here Comes Everyone, Offshoots and Metal Music Studies. She lives in Geneva with her husband and four children, and when she’s not writing or parenting, she plays guitar in a heavy metal band.

FOLLOW CATHERINE FEARNES ... ~ FaceBook ~ Twitter ~

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