Fiction – Baskerville Book Reviews

Review: Serpentus

Dispatched to Stone Hill to oversee the city’s defenses among nebulous rumors of the Shadow Council’s threat, Owen Greenwaters must rely on the city’s guard and its natural defenses to protect the citizens.

But when an army of mythical hooded ones bolstered by a sea serpent and the Soulless arrive in the wake of a terrible storm, he knows there is little he can do beyond hope the walls hold – and pray to the gods he and Stone Hill’s people will survive.

They are outnumbered, outmatched, and without magical support. Owen is the only knight present in the city. They will be overrun.

The Soulless are merciless and rarely take prisoners, but Owen and the survivors of Stone Hill are exceptions…

And some fates are worse than death.

Review: Murtagh

The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society.

Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air—and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems.

In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini’s blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time . . . or to joyfully return.

Review: The Shroud Key

Chase Baker is a true Renaissance Man. He’s also a man who knows how to find trouble. A part-time resident of Florence, Italy, his resume reads like a modern day Da Vinci or Casanova. Writer, private investigator, tour guide, historian, treasure hunter, adventurer, and even archaeological sandhog, Chase is also a prolific lover. Unfortunately for him, his dangerous liaisons all too often make him the target of a jealous husband.

Now, at the direct request of the Florence police, he finds himself on the trail of an archaeologist by the name of Dr. Andre Manion who’s gone missing from his teaching post at the American University. But having worked for the archaeologist several years ago as a sandhog on a secret but failed dig just outside the Great Pyramids in the Giza Plateau, Chase smells a renewed opportunity to uncover what just might be the most prized archaeological treasure in the world: The mortal remains of Jesus. But how will Chase Baker go about solving the mystery of finding both the archaeologist and the Jesus Remains?

With the help of Manion’s beautiful ex-wife, Chase will manage to secure an up-close and personal examination of the Shroud of Turin, not only to view the famous image of the crucified Christ, but to unlock the relic’s greatest secret, which is none other than a map, or a key, detailing the precise location of Jesus’s body.

Review: Chronicles of Maradoum Volume 6

Dwarves and mutants.

Orcs and demonesses.

Tea trolls and tigers.

Bone-bound ghosts and lightning wolves.

Dip your toes into the exotic waters of Maradoum, exploring the realm through 11 stand-alone short stories set in the same world as the Convent Series, beginning with A Dead Wizard’s Dream.

From the brutality of dust-blown Ogbun Nagali and the barbarism of high society in Zamphia to the rotten heart of civilized Justiqua and the treacheries secreted beneath the soothing tropics of Ishambria, this high fantasy anthology is stuffed to the gills with witches and wizards, gods and monsters, tales of love beyond death and familial vengeance, coming of age and reunification, and questing warriors and even noble foes.

Featured in Chronicles of Maradoum, Volume 6:

A Worthy Foe
Dwarves and Mutants
The Floating Village
The Ghost of Clandillion Tower
How to Bribe a Magician
The Guru of Bebuniyaad
Drusilla the Demoness
The Fiddler and the Fossegrim
Tea Troll Madness
The Tigers of Talipalau
Wrath of the Cloud Emperor

Review: The Curse of Cain

The Curse of Cain: When a necromancer is admitted to Vilokan Asylum against her will, and she evokes the ghost of Cain’s murdered brother, Abel, he’ll have to do more than treat the patient… he’ll have to confront the ghosts of his past, literally.

Razing Cain:After agreeing with the new Vampire Council to take on their newest batch of younglings, and help them tame their blood cravings, things quickly get out of hand at Vilokan Asylum. Dr. Cain will need more than a “blood suckers” support group to get a handle on the issue. He’ll require the aid of Baron Samedi… of course, when the Baron is involved, his help almost always comes at a cost.

Cain and Angel: A fallen angel has a change of heart. He just can’t stomach the big guy “downstairs” and his propensity for torture, fire, and all that devilish crap. But he’s burned his bridges with the celestials, too. When he comes to Vilokan Asylum, he hopes Cain’s experience with the guy “upstairs” can help him find his own path on the narrow road between the warring leagues of angels. But when the Archangel Michael is sent to arrest the “unfallen” angel, Cain must approach the Divine for the first time in several millennia to advocate for his patient.
Go up and click ‘Read for Free’ or ‘Buy Now’ to be admitted to the Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged.

The Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged is a paranormal romp, diving into a world of voodoo, werewolves, vampires, and magic. Dr. Cain is a snarky werewolf, an Old Testament character brought to life in a modern day fantasy setting. Readers of Monroe’s Legacy of a Vampire Witch or The Legend of Nyx have met Dr. Cain before. Now, we get a deeper look into the world of magic and mayhem that is the Vilokan Asylum.

Review: Dragon Age: The Calling

After 200 years of exile, King Maric has allowed the legendary Grey Wardens to finally return to Ferelden. When they come, however, they bring dire news: one of their own has escaped into the Deep Roads and aligned himself with their ancient enemy, the monstrous darkspawn.

The Grey Wardens need Maric’s help, and he reluctantly agrees to lead them into the passages he traveled through many years before, chasing after a deadly secret that will threaten to destroy not only the Grey Wardens – but also the kingdom above.

Review: War of the Nameless

The god of death, called the Nameless by some, has been biding his time for millennia. His scheme to break free of his prison is nearing fruition, and with the aid of the Soulless bound to him, he seeks to regain his former power. The world has scorned him and it must face his wrath.

Emra Castledowns has gathered an army to combat the threat the Soulless pose. Beside her are Vardak, a skilled warrior, renowned amongst his people and the protégé of the god of war, and Ravin, the most powerful wielder of magic the world has ever produced. The wizards have allied with her, the Five Kingdoms have lent soldiers and arms, and even the gods—sworn to remain neutral during mortal conflicts—have begun to choose sides.

In spite of her army’s might, the power the Nameless begins to unleash is daunting. The death god is a threat to the existence of every kingdom, every race and nationality—even the Soulless who serve him are not immune to his thirst for revenge.

Review: Children of the Night

“A page-turning read that leaves readers dazed and breathless…a thoroughly engrossing tale marked with intrigue, mystery, magic and murder.” (The Prairies Book Review)

For fans of the most famous gothic monsters comes a fantastical YA retelling.

Venice, 1865: Sixteen-year-old Ayanda Draculesti doesn’t remember her early life – all she knows is that she was found as a small child, wandering the streets of Venice with an intricate medallion and a mangled left arm. But Ayanda is unique – even though she’s alive, she has the powers of a vampire. She has the strength and speed to battle them, and most importantly, the will. She won’t let another child die.

Ayanda isn’t the only young Unnatural in Venice. Ghostly Yurei is in hiding, fleeing the captors determined to turn him into an assassin. Jette Jekyll and Belle Frankenstein are on the run from alchemists who want them dead and dissected. Their paths and Ayanda’s collide when a brutal enemy surfaces that threatens them all: one of the Greater Dead, a vampire that slithers through Venice murdering everyone she encounters.

Ayanda is determined to stop this Dead creature before she kills again. Yurei, Jette, and Belle aren’t. Why should they risk their lives to save people who see them as monsters? All they’ve ever known is hate and fear. They owe the world nothing.

But Ayanda can’t defeat a Dead creature alone.

Review: The Goblin Queen

This queen was never a princess.

Rejected as a child, Rangalan found family, friends and a home with the goblin folk of the mountains. Now hunted by the man who first rejected her, Rangalan’s father, King Longhorn, there’s nothing Rangalan will not do to protect her friends. That all sounds very serious. It’s not. It’s actually all rather silly, utter nonsense if you ask me. Listen to it if you must, but don’t say I did not warn you.

Re-Review: Bolivar’s Sword

Bolivar’s Sword is the fabled weapon of the greatest hero of the Krykker race—and Rabigar needs it.
There’s just one problem. Rabigar has been exiled from his homeland, never to return, on pain of death.

Belwynn has escaped from the clutches of Ishari. But her brother Soren, and her friends, have not been so lucky. Who will help her in a rescue attempt that seems certain to fail?

Meanwhile, the armies of Ishari are on the march, aiming to smash the resistance of the Brasingian Empire. Will the fragile coalition hold? Or will the dark forces that have been unleashed destroy their world? As war comes to Dalriya, the stakes couldn’t get any higher…

Bolivar’s Sword continues the action-packed series, The Weapon Takers Saga. If you like multiple character storylines, set in a rich and detailed world, you’ll find this Epic Fantasy tale hard to put down.