Meet Kron Darkbow. He dresses in black, carries a big sword and sometimes a bow. But he’s just as deadly with his fists. And throwing darts and knives and grenados. Yes, grenados. Little clay balls that go boom. Kron has arrived in the city of Bond seeking revenge for the deaths of two loved ones. The man in black quickly finds himself entwined in the workings of an underworld crime boss, Belgad the Liar. During his struggles, Kron crosses paths with a local healer, Randall Tendbones. Which isn’t good news for Randall. Randall has a secret. A big secret. And hanging out with the likes of Kron Darkbow and Belgad the Liar isn’t likely to help him keep that secret in a city of rogues.

Road to Wrath: Book II of the Kobalos Trilogy

Kron’s troubles have only begun. Fleeing the city of Bond, Kron and Randall are heading north and east to the land of Kobalos. Why? So Randall can confront Lord Verkain, king of Kobalos, the man who wants Randall dead, dead, dead. But before the travelers can get to Kobalos they have to pass through East Ursia and the deadly Prisonlands. Peril lies at every step along Kron’s road. Enemies in front of him. Enemies behind him. Only Randall and fencing student Adara Corvus can help Kron on the road to wrath.

Dark King of the North: Book III of the Kobalos Trilogy

Finally arriving in Kobalos, Kron and his traveling companions soon find their situation is far worse than expected. Lord Verkain is preparing his army for war, perhaps the last war. Ever. The mad king has decided he is a figure out of prophecy, a figure of evil who will dominate the world. Could it be true? Only Kron Darkbow stands between Verkain showing the world he has become the Dark King of the North.

How to read these novels online

If you would like to read up to 50 percent of each of these novels for free, or you would like to purchase them, they are available online for reading and/or download from Smashwords at these links:

City of Rogues: Book I of the Kobalos Trilogy

Road to Wrath: Book II of the Kobalos Trilogy

Dark King of the North: Book III of the Kobalos Trilogy

For the Kindle

If you are a fortunate owner of an Amazon Kindle, you can read excerpts and purchase these books at the following links:

City of Rogues: Book I of the Kobalos Trilogy

Road to Wrath: Book II of the Kobalos Trilogy

Dark King of the North: Book III of the Kobalos Trilogy

For more: To learn about author Ty Johnston and to read some of his short fiction, check out his blog, Logical Misanthropy.

If you hadn’t guess by that little intro I put together, or read the first book in the Twilight Saga, the second book in the internationally best-selling series is focused on the strong dislike of werewolves against vampires and vice versa. New Moon sees the charming and endearing Edward Cullen crushing Bella (and our) hearts. In fact, without giving too much away, it’s how the book begins. That’s right, heartache from the get-go.

After a birthday party, for Bella,of course (the vampires don’t age) goes awry (shall we say)Edward and his family decide to up and leave the tiny town of Forks to leave the poor girl in peace. But oh no, this is not what Miss Swan wants, she would rather be surrounded by attractive, pale-skinned vampires all day as her and Edward are in love (spoiler!) And so, what’s a girl to do when her boyfriend abandons her?Well, she seeks comfort in Jacob ,a vampire hating, werewolf’s arms!This is where it really gets interesting.

Stephenie (Meyer, the author) uses the strongly developed character backgrounds to shape and mould exactly how the reader would expect Bella to respond to Edward’s departure. Her captivating use of description in the book enables the reader to have a deep understanding of everything that’s going on at every single moment, never leaving you even a little confused. The whole story right from the start when the Cullen’s first leave, to the middle where Bella & Jacob get closer, to even the very end where things take a drastic turn for the worse, where it could turn into the end of (a love) life as Bella knows it.

Albeit the rather complex and depressing story Meyer still manages to stay right on the ball without ever faltering , sharing the same passion for the story as the very readers at home. And frankly, that’s what makes it such a good book.

Not only is Rage of the Behemoth about big monsters, but it’s also about the terrain and territories these monsters find themselves in. This anthology is broken up into five sections, Depthless Seas, Frozen Wastes, Scalding Sands, Mysterious Jungles and Ageless Mountains. In each section you will find tales of heroes and the beasts they must face.

Of the 21 stories found within Rage of the Behemoth, I had some favorites. Below are three that stood out for me.

Beyond the Reach of his Gods, by Brian Ruckley

This was my favorite of all the stories found here, but that’s not surprising considering Brian Ruckley is also author of “The Godless World” trilogy of epic fantasy novels. This tale was of my liking because it seemed the most like old Sword and Sorcery tales by such writers as Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber and the like. This story is of Rhuan the Exile and his ship’s crew he leads into the depths of a very foreign and deadly jungle. Dangers along the way include dart-tossing and arrow-shooting natives, and also black magic that produces … something big. I won’t give away what the particular behemoth is in this tale, but I will say that poor Rhuan is tested to his limits.

The Rotten Bones Rattle, by C. L. Werner

This story stood out for me because it’s beastie is quite a bit different from that of any other found in this collection and because the protagonist, samurai Shintaro Oba, is much different from any other in this collection. The tale felt as if it could come right out of the legends of ancient Japan, with samurai, ninja, katanas and … another big, nasty monster, perhaps the most frightening one of all to be found in Rage of the Behemoth. If you like fantasy with an Asian theme, this story should be right for you.

Nothing Left of the Man, by Jeff Stewart

This is a tale of Sigurd Grimbrow. Of course there’s a monster to be found here, but eventually this tale is more about the monsters within each of us must face than it is about the monsters without in the rest of the world. Here, Sigurd and his companions come upon a village under attack by a great beast. What else would mighty warriors do but attempt to hunt down the monster? Has a sad, but surprising end to it.

Final Words

One other thing I wanted to mention about this anthology of short stories is that there are six different covers available. You can buy your favorite or you can purchase all six for collecting. Below is the basic cover, one that includes a snapshot from each of the other five covers. Of the other five covers, each one represents one of the five terrains found within the collection, though each book contains all 21 stories regardless of which cover it has.

If you love stories of sword-slinging action with a little magic and big creatures tossed in, this collection will get you cheering.

Other book reviews

The Ruins, by Scott Smith

Battle Royale, by Koushun Takami

Afraid, by Jack Kilborn

The Vampire Academy series is a collection of books written by Richelle Mead for young adults.  The books are based around two main characters, Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir.  Lissa is a Moroi, a breed of vampire that is mortal and is blessed with the ability to use magic.  Rose is a Dhampir, a mixture of a human and a vampire.  Dhampirs are trained to protect the Moroi from Strigoi, soulless vampires that never die and are bent on killing Moroi and turning them into more Strigoi.  Rose will stop at nothing to protect Lissa, though.  She has dedicated her life to be Lissa’s guardian. 

Lissa and Rose are best friends with a special connection- Rose can feel what Lissa is feeling and see what she sees.  Because of this, their bond as friends is even stronger.

The stories are riveting and will keep you on the edge of your seat.  You will be unable to pull yourself away until you are finished.  The books combine action, love, fantasy, and friendship into one amazing story. 

Richelle Mead is an amazing author.  Currently she is working on Spirit Bound, the fifth book in the series set to release May of next year.  She is also doing a book tour in celebration of the release of Blood Promise.  If you would like a list of cities that she will be visiting, please visit www.richellemead.com.  There you will find information on her books, the tour, and also information on Richelle Mead herself. 

The Vampire Academy series is as follows:

1. Vampire Academy

2. Frostbite

3. Shadow Kiss

4. Blood Promise

5. coming soon- Spirit Bound

If you have not read these books, I highly recommend that you check them out.  They are great.

Image via Wikipedia

Will there be another Harry Potter novel? After reading the seventh Harry Potter book many fans were left anxious and wanting more. J.K Rowling then released a new book called the tales of beedle the bard. It had nothing to do with Harry Potter, but it was set in the same magical world. The short book separated in three stories was great for the fans, but it made us want even more. J.K Rowling calls her time with Harry “one of the longest relationships of my adult life,” this shows how much she loved the Harry Potter series, and maybe will want to write more about them. When J.K Rowling was asked how she felt about finishing the seventh novel she said “I don’t think anyone has mourned more than I have. It’s left the most enormous gaping hole in my life.” This should help fans grief, knowing that J.K Rowling is just as sad as them about the end. When asked about the possible eighth Harry Potter book she says “There have been times since finishing, weak moments, when I’ve said, ‘Yeah, all right,’ to the eighth novel.” But she also said “If, and it’s a big if, I ever write an eighth book about the [wizarding ] world, I doubt that Harry would be the central character. I feel like I’ve already told his story. But these are big ifs. Let’s give it 10 years and see how we feel then.” Fans will just have to wait and Hope she writes another Harry Potter book. In the meantime she is working on two books an adult novel and a political fairy tale. Who knows maybe her knew books will be just as good as the Harry Potter books? Maybe even better? This is a big question to which only J.K Rowling can change the answer.

References:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1695388_1695436,00.html

http://www.jkrowling.com/

http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/author/index.htm