![\"download](\"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/files\/2014\/03\/download-3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBlood and Iron<\/a><\/em>
\nThe Book of the Black Earth<\/em>
\nPart One<\/strong><\/h1>\nby Jon Sprunk
\nCover by Jason Chan<\/strong><\/p>\nPromo Copy:<\/strong><\/p>\nThis action-heavy EPIC FANTASY SERIES OPENER is like a sword-and-sorcerySpartacus<\/i>\u00a0set in a richly-imagined world.<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"download](\"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/files\/2014\/03\/download-4.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Barrow<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/h1>\nby Mark Smylie
\nCover by Gene Mollica<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0Promo copy:<\/strong><\/p>\nAction, horror, politics, and sensuality combine in this DEBUT EPIC FANTASY novel for fans of George R. R. Martin and Michael J. Sullivan, set in the world of the Eisner Award-nominated Artesia comic books.<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
To find the Sword, unearth the Barrow.\u00a0To unearth the Barrow, follow the Map.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
When a small crew of scoundrels, would-be heroes, deviants, and ruffians discover a map that they believe will lead them to a fabled sword buried in the barrow of a long-dead wizard, they think they’ve struck it rich. But their hopes are dashed when the map turns out to be cursed and then is destroyed in a magical ritual. The loss of the map leaves them dreaming of what might have been, until they rediscover the map in a most unusual and unexpected place.<\/p>\n
Stjepan Black-Heart, suspected murderer and renegade royal cartographer; Erim, a young woman masquerading as a man; Gilgwyr, brothel owner extraordinaire; Leigh, an exiled magus under an ignominious cloud; Godewyn Red-Hand, mercenary and troublemaker; Arduin Orwain, scion of a noble family brought low by scandal; and Arduin’s sister Annwyn, the beautiful cause of that scandal: together they form a cross section of the Middle Kingdoms of the Known World, united by accident and dark design, on a quest that will either get them all in the history books…or get them all killed.<\/p>\n
![\"download](\"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/files\/2014\/03\/download-5.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Leopard<\/em><\/a>
\nMarakand<\/em>
\nVolume One<\/strong><\/h1>\nby K. V. Johansen<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0Promo copy:<\/strong><\/p>\nAhjvar, the assassin known as the Leopard, wants only to die, to end the curse that binds him to a life of horror. Although he has no reason to trust the goddess Catairanach or her messenger Deyandara, fugitive heir to a murdered tribal queen, desperation leads him to accept her bargain: if he kills the mad prophet known as the Voice of Marakand, Catairanach will free him of his curse. Accompanying him on his mission is the one person he has let close to him in a lifetime of death, a runaway slave named Ghu. Ahj knows Ghu is far from the half-wit others think him, but in Marakand, the great city where the caravan roads of east and west meet, both will need to face the deepest secrets of their souls, if either is to survive the undying enemies who hunt them and find a way through the darkness that damns the Leopard.<\/p>\n
To Marakand, too, come a Northron wanderer and her demon\u00a0verrbjarn\u00a0<\/i>lover, carrying the obsidian sword Lakkariss, a weapon forged by the Old Great Gods to bring their justice to the seven devils who escaped the cold hells so long before.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let\u2019s take\u00a0a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived at the Geek Compound. Blood and Iron The Book of the Black Earth Part One by Jon Sprunk Cover by Jason Chan Promo Copy: This action-heavy EPIC FANTASY SERIES OPENER is like … Continue reading
\nCover by Jason Chan<\/strong><\/p>\n
Promo Copy:<\/strong><\/p>\n This action-heavy EPIC FANTASY SERIES OPENER is like a sword-and-sorcerySpartacus<\/i>\u00a0set in a richly-imagined world.<\/b> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n by Mark Smylie \u00a0Promo copy:<\/strong><\/p>\n Action, horror, politics, and sensuality combine in this DEBUT EPIC FANTASY novel for fans of George R. R. Martin and Michael J. Sullivan, set in the world of the Eisner Award-nominated Artesia comic books.<\/b> To find the Sword, unearth the Barrow.\u00a0To unearth the Barrow, follow the Map.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n When a small crew of scoundrels, would-be heroes, deviants, and ruffians discover a map that they believe will lead them to a fabled sword buried in the barrow of a long-dead wizard, they think they’ve struck it rich. But their hopes are dashed when the map turns out to be cursed and then is destroyed in a magical ritual. The loss of the map leaves them dreaming of what might have been, until they rediscover the map in a most unusual and unexpected place.<\/p>\n Stjepan Black-Heart, suspected murderer and renegade royal cartographer; Erim, a young woman masquerading as a man; Gilgwyr, brothel owner extraordinaire; Leigh, an exiled magus under an ignominious cloud; Godewyn Red-Hand, mercenary and troublemaker; Arduin Orwain, scion of a noble family brought low by scandal; and Arduin’s sister Annwyn, the beautiful cause of that scandal: together they form a cross section of the Middle Kingdoms of the Known World, united by accident and dark design, on a quest that will either get them all in the history books…or get them all killed.<\/p>\n by K. V. Johansen<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0Promo copy:<\/strong><\/p>\n Ahjvar, the assassin known as the Leopard, wants only to die, to end the curse that binds him to a life of horror. Although he has no reason to trust the goddess Catairanach or her messenger Deyandara, fugitive heir to a murdered tribal queen, desperation leads him to accept her bargain: if he kills the mad prophet known as the Voice of Marakand, Catairanach will free him of his curse. Accompanying him on his mission is the one person he has let close to him in a lifetime of death, a runaway slave named Ghu. Ahj knows Ghu is far from the half-wit others think him, but in Marakand, the great city where the caravan roads of east and west meet, both will need to face the deepest secrets of their souls, if either is to survive the undying enemies who hunt them and find a way through the darkness that damns the Leopard.<\/p>\n To Marakand, too, come a Northron wanderer and her demon\u00a0verrbjarn\u00a0<\/i>lover, carrying the obsidian sword Lakkariss, a weapon forged by the Old Great Gods to bring their justice to the seven devils who escaped the cold hells so long before.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s take\u00a0a quick look to see what\u2019s arrived at the Geek Compound. Blood and Iron The Book of the Black Earth Part One by Jon Sprunk Cover by Jason Chan Promo Copy: This action-heavy EPIC FANTASY SERIES OPENER is like … Continue reading
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nThe Barrow<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/h1>\n
\nCover by Gene Mollica<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nThe Leopard<\/em><\/a>
\nMarakand<\/em>
\nVolume One<\/strong><\/h1>\n