Book Review - Blood of Heirs (Coraidic Sagas #1) by Alicia Wanstall-Burke

A review of

Blood of Heirs

By

Alicia Wanstall-Burke

This book was a finalist in SPFBO—which means it must be pretty awesome, right? It has been highly acclaimed by literally everyone, I’ve had my eye on it a while since I met Alicia at the books launch in Bristol, and perhaps more importantly, to me at least, the author is my new editor (and she is working hard to polish up A Ritual of Flesh for me too.) So, I thought it was high time I gave it a read, especially as I discovered it featured cool undead creatures, and if your reading this you probably know well that I love (and write) cool undead monsters—I couldn’t resist.

Blood of Heirs is the debut novel from Australian author Alicia Wanstall-Burke and is the first novel in her Coraidic Sagas series. It tells the story of two young characters in opposite ends of the world. The first POV character, Lidan, is the daughter of a chief. She lives in a village called Hummel in the South Lands, which can best be described as almost an Australian outback type setting. The people of the southlands are still using stone weapons and tools, and metal is a rarity. This was whole setting is quite cool, the author hails from Australia and has adeptly used the inspiration of her homeland to weave a fresh, and unique fantasy setting which I had not come across before. Lidan wrestles with the desire to train and ride alongside her people or to follow the wishes of her mother to rise as the heir of her clan. Lidan’s story is a powerful one, full of emotion and peril.

The second POV character is Ranoth, the son of the duke who rules the northern realm of Orthia. We are introduced to his story as he finds himself on the losing side of a battle after begging his father for his first command. He loses vital ground and returns in disgrace only to witnesses his army quickly overrun by the enemy. During his flight from the battle to return to the capital and raise the alarm, he has a dark and troubling encounter which unlocks something terrifying within him and leaves him haunted by the ghost of a young woman. Events transpire to find him running from not just everything he knew while he struggles for survival, but also a terrible hidden power and the ghosts of the past.

Now, earlier I mentioned cool undead creatures, and I wasn’t disappointed—there are in fact cool undead monsters—Awesome!!! I can’t reveal too much but they are super cool and grisly and terrifying and Wanstall-Burke has used them very effectively in both story arcs. The tension the create is palpable and I look forward to reading more in the sequel as I’m sure they will be an important feature in the series. Wanstall-Burke’s writing is superb, the book is fast paced with not a dull moment. It has left me intrigued and wanting more so I will be reading the sequel Legacy of Ghosts as soon as possible. I would very much recommend any fan of fantasy check this out.

Thanks for reading

Lee

Book Review - Too Cold to Bleed (Red Season #2) by D.M. Murray

This review should be free of major spoilers but as it is the review of a sequel it will contain some very minor spoilers akin to the blurb on the back of each book - but nothing major - Enjoy!

A review of

Too Cold to Bleed

By

D.M. Murray

Too Cold to Bleed is the second novel in the Red Season series by D.M. Murray and I dove straight into this sequel after finishing the first book, Red Season Rising. The author told me he thought the writing in this book was better than the first, and I have to agree with him (not that the first was bad, the writing was fantastic, but this is even better). The prose is indeed more fluid and striking, and there is some beautifully written passages in this one.

Anyway, we pick up the story where it left off and re-join Kalfinar as he and his cousin Broden mount a daring expedition to rescue Evelyne from the clutches of King Grunnxe of Solansia. After the epic battles and sieges of the first book Grunnxe strangely retreats, but why? Well he has Evelyne, and with her he has Dajda, he has everything he needs now to bring about the dominion of his master, Balzath. They must save her to stop the usurper god Balzath from taking dominion and beginning a reign of blood and terror over the entire world.

Kalfinar and Broden lead a small team of rangers to the far north to reclaim Evelyne from Hagra Iolach, the icy home of the Ravenmayne, where Grunnxe is hastily travelling to imprison her. Their mission is fraught with danger as they traverse freezing seas and uncharted territory belonging to the indigenous Maracost, a people of similar heritage to the Ravenmayne.

We also see things from the enemy camp as we get chapters from Evelyne in her captivity as she is forced to dine with the mad king while plotting any possible escape.

In the south trouble stirs between the Free Provinces and the realm of Cannan, after the events of book one tensions are frayed and forces are at work to turn the two realms against eachother. The capital of Carte, still in disarray and weakened by Grunnxe, is facing the prospect of yet another siege. It is left to Thaskil and Subath (who is amazing and hilarious) to lead the forlorn and probably hopeless defence against an army of much greater numbers.

We are also introduced to another set of characters, this time in a remote part of Solansia. We meet Ruah, a crippled peasant girl living on the frontier who’s home and everyone she knows destroyed by the retreating Solansian army, everyone except one, a boy who often antagonised her, Halpern. Together they set off in the wake of the army to exact revenge and try to rescue their surviving fellow villagers. Along the way they meet the mysterious Culver, who joins and aids them in their struggle and they are also joined by an abandoned dog—who becomes quite a loveable character. Together they make their own perilous journey, also to Hagra Iolach and hope to find their vengeance on those that took everything from them.

This is a fantastic sequel, every storyline is packed with cool and interesting events and characters. The new settings are suitably fierce and well portrayed. The north is a cold terrible place and you really feel the chill bite of every gust through Murray’s prose. There are battles and fight scenes aplenty in this book also, the siege of Carte is hopelessly epic, and Subath has become one of my favourite characters – he’s just a crazy, hard bastard who gives no fucks, and he’s ace. The jeopardy and peril is quite gripping throughout, it really keeps the pages turning. D.M. Murray has done a stunning job and I look forward to reading more from him in the future. Check these books out!

Thanks for reading

Lee

Book Review - Red Season Rising (Red Season #1) by D.M. Murray

A review of

Red Season Rising

By

D.M. Murray

I read the debut novel and first in book in the Red Season series by D.M. Murray. It proved a gritty and exciting read. Opening with a mysterious coordinated assassination in a frozen outpost in the mountains, it’s pretty much action from the beginning. We follow the exploits of Kalfinar, a soldier of the Free Provinces who is haunted by his past, and his cousin Broden as they seek to discover the origins of the strange grey skinned assassins with burning eyes. We are sucked into the intrigue and military action of the Red Season series, as the King Grunnxe of Solansia, a man thought to have died on the end of Kalfinar’s sword and the enemy of the Free Provinces is perhaps not quite as dead as once thought. The ensuing war is not simply between nations but between the very gods themselves as they vie for power through the manipulation of their chosen peoples.

There is a very religious overtone in these books, as the Free Provinces worship their god Dajda, Kalfinar and Broden’s old mentor and scholar Olmat directs them to others in the service of Dadja and the ‘church’ (for lack of a better word), which takes on quite a Christian vibe. The other god and its servants take on the demonic evil blood thirsty types as good and evil do battle. I enjoyed the character of Evelyne and her ‘holy quest’ that takes Kalfinar and Broden to far flung places in their search as they are pursued by demonic forces.

The strongest theme I noticed was the military theme, we follow the exploits of military officers and the fight scenes and battle sequences are very well done. The writing was great, in the opening chapters you almost felt the cold as they make their journey through the snow, the descriptions are vivid and the world is well rendered. The plot is fast paced and we get enough point of view characters and enough plot threads to keep us engaged throughout.

I particularly liked the whole living dead plot line, the monsters themselves were well done and the premise was well executed. It made for quite an unexpected and exciting additional foe. The battle scenes were particularly well done; we have a pair of brutal sieges both quite different and pivotal to the plot.

He has managed to cram a lot of themes, ideas and plot threads into the book and done an excellent job of pulling it off; at no point does it feel too crowded. I really enjoyed this opening novel to D.M. Murray’s Red Season series, Red Season Rising is definitely worth a read, especially if you are a fan of military fantasy. It’s not simply just a military fantasy book though it’s so much more and has a little bit of everything to cater to most fantasy reader’s tastes making it perhaps epic military fantasy? I don’t like to pigeon-hole things, so I will say instead It’s simply just a great read which I recommend you check out.

Thanks for reading,

Lee C. Conley