Blood and Iron by John Sprunk
I'm reading the ARC for this gem right now that PYR kindly sent to me; like The Dahger and The Coin series by Daniel Abraham its a mix of great elements from disparate fantasy novels making a very interesting whole. The main viewpoint characters tale reminds me in ways of Raymond Fiest's Daughter of the Empire with its fish out of water man in a foreign land alone tale who goes from prisoner to another more gilded kind of captive. In a way wether literal or more psychological all the players in this tale of intrigue, intimidation and violence are captives to their fates. I'm anxious to get to the crux of this story to see where it may be heading, A bit high fantasy a bit Game of Thrones politics and a bit Spartacus The Books of the Black Earth has a lot going for it and will have something for many if not all fantasy fans to sink their teeth into.
Tor.com put up an excerpt here and a bit of synopsis to get you started....
It starts with a shipwreck following a magical storm at sea. Horace, a soldier from the west, had joined the Great Crusade against the heathens of Akeshia after the deaths of his wife and son from plague. When he washes ashore, he finds himself at the mercy of the very people he was sent to kill, who speak a language and have a culture and customs he doesn’t even begin to understand.
Not long after, Horace is pressed into service as a house slave. But this doesn’t last. The Akeshians discover that Horace was a latent sorcerer, and he is catapulted from the chains of a slave to the halls of power in the queen’s court. Together with Jirom, an ex-mercenary and gladiator, and Alyra, a spy in the court, he will seek a path to free himself and the empire’s caste of slaves from a system where every man and woman must pay the price of blood or iron. Before the end, Horace will have paid dearly in both.
The Fell Sword by Miles Cameron
Sequel to The Red Knight Miles continues the grim monster hunting medieval European fantasy tale of the Traitor Son cycle. The first book proved to me that though I love non European fantasies these days there is plenty of life left in the Arthurian western fantasy setting. Miles plays with the ideas of mercenarie companies, hermetic magic and corrupting influences and creatures making something complex and conflicted on multiple levels. Loved reading The Red Knight last year and sad I didn't recall this was coming out till just this week....
Here is a link to Mr Cameron's website for the series and the story synopsis....
Loyalty costs money.
Betrayal, on the other hand, is free.
When the Emperor is taken hostage, the Red Knight and his men find their services in high demand -- and themselves surrounded by enemies. The country is in revolt, the capital city is besieged and any victory will be hard won. But the Red Knight has a plan.
The question is, can he negotiate the political, magical, real and romantic battlefields at the same time -- especially when he intends to be victorious on them all?
Lastly fans of magical fiction should watch Tor.com this Tuesday for a new and free short fiction piece from the amazing Kelly Link....
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