Book Haul

God bless the pandemic era of constant sales is all I can say. Keeping me in books and audio books pretty damn well.

E-Books:

Bayr of Saylok, bastard son of a powerful and jealous chieftain, is haunted by the curse once leveled by his dying mother. Bartered, abandoned, and rarely loved, she plagued the land with her words: From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok.

Raised among the Keepers at Temple Hill, Bayr is gifted with inhuman strength. But he’s also blessed with an all-too-human heart that beats with one purpose: to protect Alba, the first girl child born in nearly two decades and the salvation for a country at risk.

Now the fate of Saylok lies with Alba and Bayr, whose bond grows deeper with every whisper of coming chaos. Charged with battling the enemies of their people, both within and without, Bayr is fueled further by the love of a girl who has defied the scourge of Saylok.

What Bayr and Alba don’t know is that they each threaten the king, a greedy man who built his throne on lies, murder, and betrayal. There is only one way to defend their land from the corruption that has overtaken it. By breaking the curse, they could defeat the king…but they could also destroy themselves.

Title: The First Girl Child

Author: Amy Harmon

Publisher: 47North

Genre: Fantasy

BRING ON THE ORCS . . .

Jackal is proud to be a Grey Bastard, member of a sworn brotherhood of half-orcs. Unloved and unwanted in civilized society, the Bastards eke out a hard life in the desolate no-man’s-land called the Lots, protecting frail and noble human civilization from invading bands of vicious full-blooded orcs.

But as Jackal is soon to learn, his pride may be misplaced. Because a dark secret lies at the heart of the Bastards’ existence – one that reveals a horrifying truth behind humanity’s tenuous peace with the orcs, and exposes a grave danger on the horizon.

On the heels of the ultimate betrayal, Jackal must scramble to stop a devastating invasion – even as he wonders where his true loyalties lie.

Title: The Grey Bastards

Series: The Lot Lands #1

Author: Jonathan French

Publisher: Orbit

Genre: Fantasy

A shamed pop star
A devastating fire
Six witnesses
Six stories
Which one is true?

When pop megastar Zach Crystal dies in a fire at his remote mansion, his mysterious demise rips open the bitter divide between those who adored his music and his endless charity work, and those who viewed him as a despicable predator, who manipulated and abused young and vulnerable girls.

Online journalist, Scott King, whose Six Stories podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the accusations of sexual abuse and murder that were levelled at Crystal before he died. But as Scott begins to ask questions and rake over old graves, some startling inconsistencies emerge: Was the fire at Crystal’s remote home really an accident? Are reports of a haunting really true? Why was he never officially charged?

Dark, chillingly topical and deeply thought-provoking, Deity is both an explosive thriller and a startling look at how heroes can fall from grace and why we turn a blind eye to even the most heinous of crimes…

Title: Deity

Series: Six Stories #5

Author: Matt Wesolowski

Publisher: Orenda Books

Genre: Thriller

Audio Books:

An old rival, infighting with fellow Astra Militarum regiments and the small matter of a cult devoted to the Chaos God Slaanesh derail Commissar Cain’s hope for a quiet and uneventful mission.

Ciaphas Cain’s latest mission takes him and his Valhallan regiment to the planet of Adumbria to defend against an approaching Chaos invasion. However, infighting with fellow Imperial Guard regiments from the world of Tallarn, commanded by an old ‘friend’ of Cain’s from the Schola Progenium and the uprising of a sinister cult on the planet puts paid to any hopes of an easy life.

Title: The Traitor’s Hand

Series: Ciaphas Cain #3

Author: Sandy Mitchell

Publisher: The Black Library

Genre: Science Fiction/Warhammer 40K

Once a soldier in an elite legion from the Danube, Aurelius Castus believes his glory days are over, stuck in Britain’s provincial backwater. But history is about to take a hand, and when the king of the Picts, the savage people beyond Hadrian’s Wall, dies in mysterious circumstances, Castus is selected to command the bodyguard of a Roman envoy sent to negotiate with the barbarians. But the diplomatic mission ends in bloody tragedy…

Title: War At The Edge Of The World

Series: Twilight of Empire #1

Author: Ian Ross

Publisher: Lamplight Audio

Genre: Historical Fiction

Does she owe her life to those planning her death?

Csorwe was raised by a death cult steeped in old magic. And on her 14th birthday, she’ll be sacrificed to their god. But as she waits for the end, she’s offered a chance to escape her fate. A sorcerer wants her as his assistant, sword-hand and assassin. As this involves her not dying that day, she accepts.

Csorwe spends years living on a knife-edge, helping her master hunt an artifact which could change many worlds. Then comes the day she’s been dreading. They encounter Csorwe’s old cult – seeking the same artifact – and Csorwe is forced to reckon with her past. She also meets Shuthmili, the war-mage who’ll change her future.

If she’s to survive, Csorwe must dodge her enemies, claim the artifact and stop the death cult once and for all. As she plunges from one danger to the next, the hunt is on….

Title: The Unspoken Name

Series: The Serpent Gates #1

Author: A. K. Larkwood

Publisher: Tor

Genre: Fantasy