The Qwillery

The Gods of Men
The Gods of Men 1
Barbara Kloss, May 18, 2018
Kindle eBook and Trade Paperback, 450 pages

Qwill's Thoughts

The Gods of Men by Barbara Kloss is the first novel in the series of the same name. The story focuses primarily on Sable, a healer, who had run away from her home a decade earlier, and Jos, who has his own secrets. I am going to be deliberately vague about characters and events in the novel to avoid spoiling anything.

There is so much to really love about this novel. Both Sable and Jos are well written characters. They are both hiding - from who they really are and from things they have done. Sable rejects her magic because of the death she caused and tries to make amends by being a healer in a town in The Wilds. It's a hard and horrible place and some of the things she does are not good but generally done for altruistic motives. Jos works for his father and brother and has spent a lot of time routing out those with magic (with extreme prejudice). He is dangerous and deadly.

Things are shaky in the Five Provinces because it appears that magic is making a comeback in a violent manner. It's not easy to figure out who is behind this resurgence and I was suitably surprised during the big reveal (which is gory and well done).

The world building is very good. Throughout the novel Kloss weaves in history, myths, magic, religion, and the geopolitical underpinnings of The Wilds and the Five Provinces. I enjoyed this immensely as I got a real sense of place and history. That said I would have liked more explanation of the magic system and more about its roots. Of course, Kloss could be saving some of this for later books in the series. 

What truly makes this novel so good though are the characters. Both Sable and Jos journey through the physical world but are also making an emotional journey. They are not static characters; nor are they entirely likeable. While Sable and Jos are the main characters and their back and forth and nascent romance takes center stage, there are so many others who are interesting. Kloss really excels at writing characters who are not wholly good or evil, though there are plenty of characters whot are indeed awful. In particular Jos' older brother gave me some stomach turning moments.

Kloss handles the attraction between Sable and Jos well. It is really not the centerpiece of the novel, but is simply one facet of the relationship that develops slowly between the two. For me the story would have been ruined had it focused too closely on the romance aspects.

The ending is really well done, refreshingly not what I expected and without a cliffhanger. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

9 out of 10

We Ride the Storm
The Reborn Empire
June 7, 2018
Kindle eBook and Trade Paperback, 444 pages

War built the Kisian Empire and war will tear it down. And as an empire falls, three warriors rise.

Caught in a foreign war, Captain Rah e’Torin and his exiled warriors will have to fight or die. Their honour code is all they have left until orders from within stress them to breaking point, and the very bonds that hold them together will be ripped apart.

Cassandra wants the voice in her head to go away. Willing to do anything for peace, the ageing whore takes an assassination contract that promises answers, only the true price may be everyone and everything she knows.

A prisoner in her own castle, Princess Miko doesn’t dream of freedom but of the power to fight for her empire. As the daughter of a traitor the path to redemption could as easily tear it, and her family, asunder.

As an empire dies they will have to ride the storm or drown in its blood.

Doreen’s Thoughts

Devin Madson’s We Ride the Storm is a complicated novel, with each chapter focusing on one of three major characters. There is Captain Rah e'Torin, a Levanti warrior and captain of the Second Swords of Torin, who have been enslaved by the Chiltaen. Cassandra Marius is a Chiltaen assassin whore who has a separate person in her head. Finally, Princess Miko is the bastard daughter of a traitor but has been accepted as heir to the Kisian Emperor despite her parentage.

For years there has been peace between the Kisian and Chiltaen empires, and Miko has been offered to the Chiltaen duke in marriage to maintain that peace. But Miko’s twin brother Tanaka decides to take over the Kisian Empire and begins conspiring with the Chiltaens to force a war that will help his coup. Cassandra is hired to kill the Duke before he reaches the Kisian capital, but when they are attacked other Chiltaen, she ends up protecting the Duke. In Kisia, Tanaka’s coup fails, the Empress takes over herself, and Miko and the emperor are forced to flee.

The complexities of the plot are what make the novel so interesting. Each empire is very different from the next, with the Levanti being more free and seemingly primitive, while the Kisians reminded me of Japanese culture. The characters are well-rounded, with Cassandra and her “passenger” being the most complex. I found the conflicts to be genuine and was intrigued to see how it all would end.

I give We Ride the Storm a 9 out of 10 rating.

Symphony of the Wind
The Raincatcher's Ballad 1
Steven McKinnon DBA Vividarium Books, June 25, 2018
Kindle eBook and Trade Paperback, 660 pages

Longlisted for the Booknest 2018 Fantasy Awards - Best Self Published Fantasy

Current Finalist in Mark Lawrence's SPFBO 2018

A bounty hunter with a death wish. A girl with fearsome powers. A kingdom on the brink of destruction.
Serena dreams of leaving her unforgiving desert home far behind in her very own airship. But when an assassin's knife meant for Serena kills her friend instead, the rebellious orphan ventures into the corrupt heart of the kingdom to discover who put a price on her head. With each new turn, she edges closer to uncovering the awful truth… And the mystical powers brewing deep within her.

After his fiancée’s death, soldier-turned-bounty hunter Tyson Gallows is eager to sacrifice his life in the line of duty. When a foreign enemy assassinates a high-ranking official, he vows to bring them to justice. On the hunt for a killer, Gallows exposes a sinister plot that proves his fiancée’s death was no accident.

Driven by revenge, Serena and Gallows must join forces to take down the conspiracy before the kingdom falls to ruin.

Symphony of the Wind is the first book in a gritty epic fantasy trilogy. If you like hardened heroes, bloody action, and dark magic and monsters, then you’ll love Steven McKinnon’s visceral adventure.

Buy Symphony of the Wind to climb aboard a brutal, breathtaking thrill ride today!

Melanie's Thoughts

I have read a number of very positive reviews about Symphony of Wind and it has made into the finals of the SPFBO so I was really expecting to like it. Unfortunately, I just couldn't connect with either the characters or the plotline. Part of the book description on the back cover of the novel says this

If you like hardened heroes, steampunk airships, and dark magic and monsters, then you’ll love Steven McKinnon’s visceral adventure.

I like hardened heroes, steampunk airships, dark magic, and monsters so I was sure this would be a good fit for me. I have come to realise that I don't like them all together. I found the steampunk setting mixed with what read like a sword and shield fantasy quite jarring. I think that McKinnon was trying for a very complex epic fantasy but sometimes less rather than more gives you a winner. There were too many elements from other genres all mixed together into one big soup of a story - the steampunk ships, the magic, the wars, the government conspiracy, the prostitute with heart, and on and on.

Had their been fewer characters and perhaps more explanation of the society and culture at the beginning I might have liked the story a bit more. I re-read the first four chapters more than once because I couldn't figure out what was going on. This is never a good sign for me. I need a hook to grab me in, especially when the main character is a young teenager. One of the other books I read for this SPFBO had a teenager for a lead character and I made the decision that there has to be something more adult or 'special' about teenage lead characters for me to enjoy reading youth fiction. In the case of Symphony of Wind Serena was quite immature. In one scene she has just discovered that one of her friends has been murdered - it was supposed to be her that died - and then next minute she is walking down the street with hardly a care in the world. There was a very similar reaction in an earlier scene where members of her Raincatcher crew are killed in a freak accident right in front of her. It was Serena's self involvement and lack of empathy that made her rather unlikeable. While she did mature a bit over the course of the story my interest in her had already waned.

The other main character Tyson Gallows was older but not what I would say much wiser. He was quite two dimensional and spent much of the book reliving memories of the time when his fiancée was still alive. He was cast as a bounty hunter but he came across too soft-hearted for that role and not that heroic. There were a number of other characters that shared the plot with Serena and Gallows. In fact, there were quite a few POVs and you had to really pay attention to who was speaking as the interchange between the characters was quite quick.

This is McKinnon's first novel so hats off to him for being so ambitious as not only is the story complex but it is also very long (a whopping 660 pages). I think the story could have benefited if the plot focused on a few key characters and there was a tiny bit more world building at the start. Without this however, I struggled to finish this tome and due to the complexity supported by weak characters I am going to have to give Symphony of Wind a 5/10.

5 out of 10

The Anointed
Red Proxy 3
Wardwords, November 2017
Kindle eBook and Trade Paperback, 489 pages

He's a jerk.

She knows it.

Can they save the world anyway?

Xinlas’s life goal is modest: he wants to be a living legend, revered in song and story. And he’s off to a good start. He faced death once, and won. His legend grew -- at least in his own mind.

Fame comes calling on Xinlas again, or so he thinks, when he’s flying a dragon one afternoon and stumbles on a hidden village. The village has a resource that no one’s ever seen before, something that can enable invasions of foreign lands. It is a force so powerful that a ruthless king will kill for it.

Along the way, Xinlas meets a mysterious orange-haired girl on a river. Greengrass is like no one he’s ever met. He tries to woo her, and can’t understand why she doesn’t fall for his charms like every other girl.

But Greengrass is not every other girl. She is, in fact, the key to stopping the ruler who would enslave millions and crush the world under his throne.

Xinlas can’t let that happen, but he'll need help. Help from Greengrass. The problem is that she can’t stand him.

Will Xinlas become the hero he believes he can be, or will he break under the weight of his destiny -- and his own arrogance? The fate of civilization rests on his choices.

Trinitytwo's Review

Keith Ward does an excellent job setting the stage for this story - Book 3 of the Red Proxy series. The Anointed is set in Desnu, a world in which each newborn’s span of life is detected by a Span Seer. This Span Seer can also perform a magical ceremony where that lifespan can be transferred to another individual (usually rich or powerful) thus potentially extending their lifespan indefinitely. The downside is the best donors are 99 days old, don’t have a say in the decision, and die upon completion of the transfer.

I had no trouble understanding Desnu’s rules and its magics. I also thought Ward did a great job in his depiction of the very different places and its inhabitants. Peacewood, for instance, is a community shielded by a magical protection. Its people’s relationship with their environment and each other was quite entertaining and well executed. The Fley-Mors dragon ranch was another landscape that was impeccably laid out. The hierarchy of the family, their staff and the dragons themselves lent fluidly to the rising action of the story. The palace, filled with the treachery and malice of a king who schemed and ruled in a ruthless fashion was filled with palpable tension.

Unfortunately, the more I read, the more I struggled. At face value, the characters seem well-developed. I particularly enjoyed the quiet power struggle between maniacal King DuQuall and his dutiful wife, Queen Plyonia. His cruel ambitions pitted against her desperate determination was one of my favorite mini storylines. It’s the protagonist who is most problematic. As the synopsis indicates, Xinlas starts off privileged and egotistical. While eavesdropping on his parents, he learns of a mystery surrounding a seemingly desolate spot. Shirking his responsibilities, he borrows one of the family dragons and accidentally discovers the village of Peacewood. It’s there he meets Greengrass- a brave and adventurous girl who has escaped the confines of her community’s magical protective shield. Eager to discover the mysteries beyond her world, she sets out with Xinlas. Perhaps the inherent goodness and wholesomeness of Greengrass will begin to rub off on Xinlas thus initiating his arc to redemption? Nope. He simply becomes more pompous and self-aggrandizing. His parents, Kertram and Danak are smart, responsible, and loving. Unlike many of this world’s population, they also have a conscience. So how is it that they pretty much just look the other way when it comes to Xinlas’s shenanigans, allowing his reprehensible behavior with few repercussions? His character development goes from bad, to horrible, to despicable. Miraculously, in the final moments he has a change of heart and achieves near enlightenment. This absolutely did not work for me.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some fun bits: I really enjoyed the jail-break, the assassination and the action-packed ending. However, the plot device of the Proxy system made for uncomfortable reading. Surely an entire nation (with the exception of one group of people) can’t believe this system to be good and just? Given the synopsis, I felt that the story itself was too dark and that I was misled. That coupled with poor character development left me with feelings of ambivalence and I rate The Anointed a 5 out of 10.

5 out of 10

Out of Nowhere
Immortal Vagabond Healer 1
Ink and Bourbon Publishing, July 2016
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 294 pages

An urban fantasy, pacy, funny and compelling to the last page…

Healer Sean Danet is immortal—a fact he has cloaked for centuries, behind enemy lines and now a paramedic’s uniform. Having forgotten most of his distant past, he has finally found peace—and love.

But there are some things you cannot escape, however much distance you put behind you.

When Sean heals the wrong man, he uncovers a lethal enemy who holds all the cards. And this time he can’t run. It’s time to stand and fight, for himself, for his friends, for the woman he loves. It’s time, finally, for Sean to face his past—and choose a future.

A story of love, of battle—and of facing your true self when there’s nowhere left to hide.

Deb's Review

Out of Nowhere by Patrick LeClerc lies somewhere in the borderlands of contemporary fantasy and urban fantasy. It may also appeal to those who enjoy military history and medical procedurals. The story is, in almost every sense, a mixed bag.

Sean Danet is an immortal with extraordinary healing powers. Working as a paramedic, he quietly uses his gifts to lessen the severity of his patients’ injuries before they arrive at the hospital. A long life stretches out behind him, but his memories are murky. He doesn’t know his origins, has no family, and lives the life of a common man, populated only by his ambulance crew friends and the “world’s oldest cat.” What Danet does remember about his past is that he’s lived his life as a soldier, under siege, and constantly running from the truth. Knowing that people fear what they can’t understand, he keeps his powers a secret. Everything changes when one patient reacts oddly to Danet’s subtle assistance. After this chance meeting, Danet must figure out who this stranger is, and then decide whether to run again, or stay and fight for the life he’s built.

LeClerc engages the reader with colorful tales of a city riddled with drugs and crime, all told in an authoritative voice. He spares little detail of the physical and emotional suffering surrounding rescue medicine, and the magical elements of the story benefit greatly from LeClerc’s expertise. Danet is believable as a healer.

This is a quick read with characters always in motion. That said, the first half of the book, while filled with interesting vignettes that set the scene and round out our hero, does little to advance the plot. The second half is packed with action and twists, but there are weaknesses in how the main conflict is delivered, and this sometimes slows the story’s pacing. The fight scenes are intricately choreographed and told in rapid-fire fashion to great effect.

While there’s a lot of good in Out of Nowhere, there were problems with the characters that undercut its strengths. While the majority of the dialogue is natural and carries the story, the banter between the paramedic crew members is cringeworthy and feels like it’s straining for laughs. The main characters present as racist, sexist, homophobic, and often disdainful of other first responders and the people they all serve. I’d expect dark and biting humor from people who work in this field, but the casually intolerant language makes it hard to relate to most of the characters.

Additionally, Danet’s repeated objectification of female co-workers makes the rapidly developed love interest feel more like a plot device than a romantic epiphany. I would expect a man who has the capacity to feel love — one who has has lived for centuries bathed in blood and battle — to have developed a more empathetic and mature worldview. With his schoolboy attitudes, anything more substantial than a fling would’ve been more believable as a slow burn.

Out of Nowhere is the first book in LeClerc’s Immortal Vagabond Healer series, which feels like a fresh and exciting concept, but this first installment suffers too much from underdeveloped characters and a reliance on cheap, offensive laughs. LeClerc clearly has the skill, the background, and the imagination to tell compelling stories, so perhaps the characters will evolve across the series in a more positive direction. Sexual situations and graphic depictions of violence make this an adult read.

5 out of 10

Sowing
The Purification Era 1
August 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 387 pages

Top 10 finalist in Mark Lawrence's SPFBO 2018

They can take your house, your daughter, whatever they want.

For Ariliah, life under the militarized Hulcondans is one of order and safety. Despite the soldiers’ ruthless policies, she trusts their judgment. They alone provide protection from the enemies lurking beyond the city wall.

For her older sister, Rabreah, every glance from a Hulcondan is a threat. Though even a whisper against them is treason worthy of death, Rabreah is determined to end their tyranny. Joining an underground resistance is her only hope – until she realizes she doesn’t know the people she’s aligned herself with at all. Unsure who to trust but unable to back out, she must work alongside the attractive yet infuriating rebel leader who reminds her far too much of the soldiers she hates.

But with subversive posters appearing throughout the city and people dying on the blade of an unknown assailant, the sisters’ world begins to crumble.

And as the line between friend and enemy blurs, both girls must face the truth: everything is about to change.

Sowing is a gritty, slow burn spy thriller set in a dystopian world on the brink of war.

Perfect for fans of the characterization and political tension in Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes series, and Pierce Brown’s Red Rising saga.

Qwill's Thoughts

I had a difficult time with Sowing by Angie Grigaliunas and am going to keep this short.

The novel is set entirely in the city of Totta and centers on 2 sisters - Ariliah and Rabreah.  I found the sisters to be rigid opposites of each other regarding how they viewed their small world just to make it clear regarding only 2 of the ways to view the society in which the live. Ariliah thinks everything is good and the Hulcondans are there to provide a safe way of life. She turns a blind eye to anything wrong with her world. Rabreah is the opposite. Everything is wrong and the Hulcondans and their leaders are to blame. The sisters do not develop much over the course of the novel in any meaningful way. This is not just a problem with the sisters. None of the characters are very well-developed.

The sister's mother is vicious both physically and verbally to the younger sister, Ariliah. I never understood why. I found this really disturbing as I'm sure it is supposed to be. I also found it mostly unnecessary. There are additional uncomfortable scenes of abuse with one of them verging into the gratuitous.

It took me a long time to read Sowing and I frankly would not have finished it if it was not a SPFBO Finalist. I was disappointed when I got to the end. Sowing feels like an extended prologue with not a lot happening and not much at all resolved. The world building is lacking and the characters are unappealing.

3.5 out of 10

Aching God
Iconoclasts 1
Trade Paperback, eBook, Audible

“Closer, mortal. You are here, finally, to feed the Aching God…”

The days of adventure are passed for Auric Manteo. Retired to the countryside and isolated with his scars and riches, he no longer delves into forbidden ruins seeking dark wisdom and treasure. But just as old nightmares begin plaguing his sleep, he receives an urgent summons back to that old life.

To save his only daughter, he must return to the place of his greatest trauma: the haunted Barrowlands. Along with a group of inexperienced companions and an old soldier, he must confront the dangers of the ancient and wicked Djao civilization. He has survived fell beasts, insidious traps, and deadly hazards before. But how can he contend with the malice of a bloodthirsty living god?

First volume in the planned epic fantasy trilogy Iconoclasts, Aching God is the debut novel by RPG adventure designer Mike Shel.

Also included is an advanced preview of Iconoclasts - Book II: Sin Eater.

Some additional thoughts

The main character, Auric Mantea, a former agent of the Syraeic League, had retired after a particularly harrowing mission during which his co-agents were horribly killed. This mission haunts him. He is called back to the League to undertake a dangerous mission when a plague hits  Boudun, the Capital of the Kingdom of Hanifax. This mission will bring up everything that was wrong about the mission that made him retire, but is worse in many ways. Auric is emotionally damaged. He doubts his abilities. After all he feels that he failed his prior team. Shel deals with Auric's emotional issues extremely well - how they affect him, his abilities, and interactions with team members, and more.

Shel does not skimp of the characterization of the team that Auric leads. They are each well-developed - each with their own emotional baggage and needed special skills. Together with this new team Auric undertakes the mission into the Barrowlands that everyone is hopeful will end the plague. The journey the team takes to reach their eventual goal is fraught with perils, fascinating encounters, and adventure on sea and on land.

There are plenty of nerve-wracking fights in Aching God. Shel ratchets up the tension more than once. There is blood, gore, magic, and death. The world-building is extremely well done. The politics, religious belief systems, and history that are the underpinnings of the world and story are clear without overwhelming the story.

Aching God is a fabulous novel. It is a deeply immersive, exciting, and a dark delight. We give it a 9.5.


Note: The novel has several maps and 2 Appendices: Appendix A - Cast of Characters and Appendix B - Places, Creatures, Organizations, Gods, Saints, etc.

Matt Larkin

Days of Endless Night
Runeblade Saga 1
Incandescent Phoenix Books, October 2017
Kindle eBook and Trade Paperback,  354 pages

Every runeblade holds a curse ...

Hervor's sword cannot be sheathed without taking a life.

She gladly pays the price to destroy the man who murdered her family.

She has tracked him across the land. She has joined his crew when he sailed to the ends of Midgard. And her chance draws near.

But what if her only chance for survival is in his hands?

On an island where horrors stalk the night, can she trust the murderer?

You’ll love this grim fantasy set in the Ragnarok Era because it retells the dark Norse legend of Tyrfing.

Get it now.

Aidan R. Walsh

The Game Bird
Aidan R. Walsh, April 2018
Kindle eBook and Trade Paperback, 402 pages

"...I loved it - The Game Bird is intricately constructed, intelligently written and just a fabulous page-turner."

An evil is growing. The Realm is under attack. A leviathan has risen from the depths and is destroying the fleets that feed Stormhaven.

Stuck ashore and drowning in debt, Captain James Faulkner resolves to hunt the sea monster and claim the enormous bounty on the beast.

Sophia Blake's life looks effortless. But she carries a secret, an occult curse that is capable of destroying both her and her nation. Sophia knows her time is running out.

The Tallowman is a slowly decaying melding of demon and man. This monstrous assassin is desperate to capture Sophia and will let nothing stand between it and its prey.

Since his wife died, the sober lawyer Uriah Blake has wanted nothing more than to live a quiet life and enjoy what time he has left with his daughter, Sophia. When he learns that the Tallowman is pursuing her, he is forced to cast aside his books and his ink and join a shadowy war against a terrible foe.

As these hunts build to their shattering conclusion, Faulkner, Sophia and Uriah will be thrown together and forced to confront malevolent forces beyond their imagining.

The Game Bird is a swashbuckling black powder fantasy, wrapped around a spine of darkness.

This superb debut will appeal to readers who like the idea of a novel that Georgette Heyer, Scott Lynch, Patrick O'Brian and George R R Martin might have come up with - if they were trapped in an open boat together.

David Oliver

The Great Hearts
David Oliver, May 16, 2017
Kindle eBook and Trade Paperback, 322 pages

Hunter. Killer. Monster. Imperator.

"Grimdark Eragon meets military school bromance," Coffee Archives

"Action scenes so well described you would swear you can feel the swish of the blade, the bite of the edge...up there with Kings of the Wyld and Blackwing," The Book Wyrm Speaks

"I know for sure that Mr. Oliver has a bright future as an author. The story he wrote in The Great Hearts is nothing short of fantastic. The story that he tells however was even more impressive...the narration was spot on. As a narrator I would put him in my top 5 favourites alongside Michael Kramer, Kate Redding, Nick Pohdel and Wil Wheaton." Jetpacksndragons

“An unexpected pleasure to read...an excellent adventure,” Two Bald Mages (Steve)

“What Mr Oliver has done with this story and the characters within is nothing short of wonderful...it puts to shame some big name authors,” Two Bald Mages (Keith)


Imperator. A word synonymous with fear, pain, loathing and, for a chosen few, the sharp end of a blade. The voice of the Emperor, an Imperator is the perfect weapon, skilled in combat, politics and strategy and moulded by years of punishing training. They are the hidden assassins, the enforcers of the Emperor’s will.

They are the hunters of the unknown.

Calidan Darkheart is an Imperator, a self-professed killer and an adept hunter of the creatures that most citizens of the Empire do not realise exist.
Together with his hulking companion Cassius, he hunts the beast that slaughtered their home village.

Pity those who find themselves in their path.

Calidan and Cassius were bright young boys, living peaceful, happy lives in a remote mountain village, until the day everything changed. Once the screams have subsided, and with the horrors they have seen embedded in their minds, they embark on a journey of survival, fraught with danger, strange magic and dark deeds. Unbowing and undaunted they push forward, striving for power, making lifelong friendships along the way, and above all else, discovering the truth behind the magnificent, mythical Great Hearts.

Young Calidan is a boy full of hope and courage, driven by the past but not ruled by it.
Old Calidan is a bitter and twisted killer of monsters and men, his past haunting his dreams.

This is his story.

The first instalment of a new series, David Oliver’s debut novel features morally ambiguous heroes, mythical beasts and strange magic in an unputdownable, grimdark, coming-of-age adventure. Following in the footsteps of authors such as Mark Lawrence, Joe Abercrombie and Brian McClellan, pick up a copy today and be enraptured by The Great Heart's melding of gritty, vivid action with the soft, warm purr of a gigantic panther.

This year is the 3rd year in which The Qwillery is participating as an "agent" in The Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. We have again made some changes to how we will be handling which books get full reviews and how we choose our finalist.

This year I (Qwill) am delighted to announce that we have a guest "agent" - author Paul Lavender (bio below).

The two of us (Qwill and Paul) are reading the beginning of every book assigned to The Qwillery to find books that we want to read fully and review. If you can't interest one of us in the those first few chapters then we will not read the full book. We hope to end up with at least 5 books and up to 7 books that get full reads. Those books will be reviewed and the book we put through to the final round will be chosen from those books.

Once our semi-finalists have been chosen, The Qwillery's reviewers will be on board to put fresh eyes on the novels and write reviews though I am not ruling out a full review by Qwill or Paul.

Good luck to all entrants!

Daniel Adorno	The Blade Heir
Kian N. Ardalan	The Dragon's Heir
C.C Aune	The Ill-Kept Oath
E.D.E Bell	Diamondsong
J.C. Boyd & Joshua Robertson	Blood and Bile
T.J Brown	The Unhappy Medium
Erik Bundy	Magic and Murder Among the Dwarves
Randal Doering	The Necromancer of Peach Valley Orchard
Shakyra Dunn	The Final Lesson
Sandy Frediani	The Binding
David Gowey	Kaschar's Quarter
Donna Maree Hanson	Dragon Wine
S.J Hirons	Scenes from 'The War on Magic'
Sharon Joss	Brothers of the Fang
Rosalyn Kelly	Melokai
Nicholas Kotar	The Song of the Sirin
Matt Larkin	Days of Endless Night
Gareth Lewis	Glyphpunk
Nicole MacDonald	The Arrival
R. Medhurst	Magically Bound
Mike Morris	Nathaniel Rane: He Who Fights
David Oliver	The Great Hearts
Carol A. Park	Banebringer
Benedict Patrick	Those Brave, Foolish Souls from the City of Swords
M.M Perry	Enchanted Legacy
Kevin Potter	Rise of the Overlord
James Pyle	Minding the Heavens
Bryan Schuder	Ain't a Hero
Mike Shel	Aching God
Aidan R. Walsh	The Game Bird

About Paul

Paul Lavender has been lied to all his life. He thought he was born in Gateshead, England when really, he was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This may seem like a small thing (the two places are about 200 yards apart) but it means Paul is a true Geordie. Of course none of this matters as he now lives in Worcester with Sam, his very supportive wife, and Ryan their son.

When he was younger Paul was heavily influenced by the dark arts of comics, RPG’s, fantasy novels, power metal and computer games. It really is amazing that he’s turned out so well adjusted. He is the author of Tales from Ashen Falls, and The Eighth God. Currently he’s working on sequels to both books. You can find more about The Orcslayers at http://pslavender.wixsite.com/the-orcslayers


About Qwill / Sally

I founded The Qwillery, on October 1, 2008 as a place to chat about things in general. By the middle of 2010 I realized what I like to talk about most is books - speculative fiction books! I've been reading genre fiction since my brother hooked me on The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and H.P. Lovecraft when I was a pre-teen. With addition of reviewers, I've become the Editor in Chief of The Qwillery as well as a writer and reviewer.

I live in New England, with my two kids (one of whom is a Whovian), seven geckos, and more (print) books than I actually have room for.

You can find Qwill / Sally on Twitter @QQwill and Facebook at The Qwillery page.  You can also follow The Qwillery announcement list on Twitter: @Qwillery.