Review of Black Cross and Q&A With J.P. Ashman

I came to Black Cross via the Fantasy-Faction Facebook page, which appears to be my main source of information about which books to read in the fantasy genre these days. It was recommended by a few folks on there, plus I got speaking to the author (J.P. Ashman) a bit and decided it was worth giving it a whirl. J.P. then very kindly agreed to do a Q&A with me, and after months of life generalyl getting in the way I’ve finally managed to collate all the bits together. So, without further ado, let us begin.

About the Author

A self-confessed “Northern lad through and through”, J.P grew up sharing his parents interest in wildlife, history, fantasy and science fiction. Reading and writing has always been a big part of his life, and he somehow manages to juggle his career in optics and the demands of being a new father with this passion.

Now relocated a bit further south to the picturesque Cotswolds he finds himself inspired daily by the rural life and the views on offer. In his spare time he lives the genre; reading, writing and playing it whenever possible.

His first novel in the Black Powder Series (Black Cross) was self-published and is now available in paperback, hardback and e-book format.

A quick (well, depends on your definition of quick!) Q&A with JP

Ok, here we go. Medieval-based fantasy is currently experiencing something of a golden age at the moment. There are a phenomenal number of titles out at the moment, with some pretty heavyweight authors on the scene. With that in mind, what is it about the Black Powder Wars that is different – the “Unique Selling Point” of the series?

There isn't one. Sorry, couldn't resist.

For me it's always been about the story in my head – I'll likely bang on about that. I love history, especially medieval Europe. The thing with history is you have to get it right, you have to stick to what's known. There's likely lots we don't know, but the historical fiction I read and love by authors such as Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell has to be as close to known fact as possible. Fantasy doesn't. It's a fantasy, after all. And so, I like to create a mixed period setting, despite being heavily medieval based. I like galleons and cannons and such, not the 'takes half a day to load' medieval cannon, but the decks of thundering guns we see in swashbuckling movies.

In Brisance, the humans have skipped a few hundred years development and, thanks to the largely unseen dwarves, are starting to play with the big guns, whilst still dallying in magic. The series is largely based on that, amongst other, more arcane things. Where will this newfound power lead them? How will it affect their relationships with neighbours? Who's attention will it attract?

That's what I hope entices and retains readers. That and the gritty realism, unlikely friendships, betrayals, banterous humour and brutal conflicts throughout.

You often hear authors say “write about what you know” when asked for advice from budding writers. How much of your story was influenced by what you know and have experience with, and how did you then go about filling in the gaps?

I've had my head in fantasy/sci-fi books and historical text books all my life. I've played online and tabletop fantasy and historical games (still do). I've taken part in medieval re-enactment, which I miss. My childhood was spent cracking knuckles with wooden swords and loosing arrows from makeshift bows. From all of that I draw.

The rest? The rest comes from anything and anywhere: the news and current affairs, conversations with friends, walks in the woods; snowboarding and scuba diving, travelling and nights out drinking (a lot when I was younger) and everyday emotions. You feel frustrated sometimes, right? Write it down. When one of your characters feels frustrated, you've already written it, you just didn't know who or what it was for at the time.

The world of Brisance could be described as your typical “western medieval” fantasy world, complete with those species that are often found inhabiting them. How aware are you when you use these species of the need to both stick to expected norms (elves are ethereal and magical, dwarves like mining and treasure) whilst also ensuring there is enough uniqueness within the world to set it apart?

I honestly write them how I best imagine them. I've read, played and watched countless elves, dwarves, gnomes, goblins and the like. Most have their own little, unique, traits. I like to think mine do too, although they're still individuals, we mustn’t forget that. Certain things appeal to me and stick with me, other bits don't. It's a combination of all those things that make up each race, to me.               

I've said it above and I'll say it again, Black Cross and the series as a whole was always about dragging a world I had in my head and whacking it down onto paper and keys. It feels like a pressure builds in my brain: a world and its histories and stories wanting to be told, through me. I just tell is like it is in my head and that includes the races involved. I certainly don't consciously try and alter them to conform or not. Everyone's preferred or hated race is different, you can't please everyone so I write what works for me.

Black Cross has a number of distinct plot threads to it, which intersect and interact at various times throughout the novel. How do you approach this style of writing? Is everybody’s fate already known to you, and it is simply a case of fitting the pieces together? Or do you often find yourself (and your characters) going in directions you didn’t think you were going to as the tale evolves more organically?

Both. Much of it is planned, plotted, mapped and scribbled down onto notepads (invaluable). I follow it at times and deviate at times. Some characters write themselves and surprise me as they make decisions that go against what I'd planned. When this happens I let it. If it's happening it's because it feels right, it feels like it's what that knight or guardsman or mage would do. I've tried guiding things 'back on track' and it feels false, forced.

Saying all that, Black Cross was fairly linear in its progression. I added several threads at a later date, but generally each thread was written start to finish. Black Guild, alas... well, at the moment I have a cluster f*ck of scenes from different threads in no kind of order that's scaring The Three out of me. It'll come together though, because it's all happening, up there in my shit storm of a brain.

One of the things I love about the story is the moral ambiguity and ethical conflict surrounding a number of the characters. Lord Severun starts only with good intentions but ends up nearly destroying everything, Longoss is a ruthless, amoral killer – who suddenly develops a conscious. Even Biviano and Sears, who serve the community as police officers, have certain “darker sides” to them. Was this grey area a conscious effort on your part, and how important is it to have these multi-dimensional and ambiguous characters?

I love that too! I can't say that it was a conscious effort. Longoss for example was in Black Cross briefly, to do a sub-plot building job, but he's one of those organic bastards that won't stick to the script. I wanted him to be a dick, a viscious get (and he is), but he became so real – as good characters should – that he started to feel, started to grow and change and that was that. He's ruthless for reasons only he could know (at this point in the series), although he's hinted at them. The fact that he's changing is down to him and the places he's leading me, not the other way around, as strange as that may sound. Sears and Biviano are the same.

Those three mentioned are three of my favourites, they write themselves, they really do. Fal on the other hand... Hmm... Now Fal was supposed to be my favourite, I'd planned him to be, but 'best laid plans' and all that. I think I planned him so much in my head that he can't surprise me anymore (he's just too nice for that). I like him, but, well, he's just Fal.

I do believe the grey area adds reality. Every walk of life has the good, the bad and the... middle ground, and more of the latter I'd say. If you only have goody goody good guys vs nasty, horrid baddies then, to me, yawn. Fantasy can be fantastical and almost cheesy and I'll still enjoy it to a certain extent, but reading historical fiction (before any 'grimdark') taught me that the biggest twists and turns and scariest moments come from the unknown, from the folk who could go either way, whether they have good reasons to or not. I like to have all of the above, it's as diverse as you can get, which is the realism we seek within the fantasy worlds we love, is it not?

There must be a huge temptation when writing in the fantasy genre to throw a magic system in there which is complex, intricate and, very often, far too confusing for everyone – including the author. Black Cross is a bit more subtle in this respect, in fact magic takes a distinct backseat during the majority of the tale to good old-fashioned swords and, often brutal, fight scenes. How did you decide on the balance through the novel, was there a deliberate plan to keep the magic elements to a minimum to avoid the pitfalls commonly associated with it?

Honestly? I love Gandalf, but he doesn't do a great deal at times where I think he should. Why? He probably has his reasons. I've thought about those reasons and I might be wrong, but this is how I've come to think of magic, taken from many books and shows and games and whatnot.

When I have a lot going on at work I get mentally tired. I get home and crash on the sofa and want to escape. Why? When I physically work hard I don't. When I work hard physically I have more energy in a weird way and I feel relaxed. Mentally: drained. Physically: relaxed. How the hell would you feel if you've been freezing goblins or blinding people... with your mind!? I'm pretty sure you'd be exhausted and want to crash in the local tavern with a horn-pot full of mead.

I felt that was the case with my mages. They can do extraordinary things, but they have limits. If they don't watch it, they'll burn out. On the flip side, I don't want super mages who can blast armies day after day, thus making said armies redundant. If magic was so powerful, why raise an army in the first place? I wanted a limit, I wanted it so it had an element of realism to the mages, as people, and I wanted it so it didn't distract from the other battles going on, both within individuals and between sword wielding knights and axe wielding hobyahs.

Speaking of brutality, there are several scenes in the novel which are, to put it mildly, rather unpleasant. Was the plan always to have these scenes the way they are or was it case of, when you got to write them, they had to be that way in order to have the necessary impact and to drive the storyline where it needed to go?

Again, it just felt real. Unpleasant, but real. Life is a ruddy shit quite often, to most of us at some time or other and to some, well, some get it bad, real bad. When the grim stuff comes about I didn't want to hold back. I didn't want to take away from the horrific nature of the act. To truly feel for a person you have to go through what they went through, be there with them, know what it was that makes them change or do things later on, whether they were the victim or the one committing the horrific act.

I certainly didn't do it for 'shock value', because such scenes stand out to me in books and I didn't want that with mine. I didn't want mindless, graphic violence for no other reason than to cause people sharp intakes of breath and shuddering cringes. I wanted them to know what's going on in Brisance, all of it, good or bad and how brutal life there can be – which is, let's face it, not dissimilar to this life through the ages, sadly.

Going back to the ensemble approach to the story. Which of the characters have provided you with your favourite writing experiences? And is there anyone particular who you have found difficulty with?

I think I mentioned above that Longoss, Sears and Biviano have written themselves. They're fun to write and I think it's the banter, how they make light of the darkest situations. I also mentioned my struggle with Fal. I have no idea why, but I feel a pressure when I write him, a pressure I put on myself. Perhaps it was because he was my first character?

As for Black Guild, which I'm currently writing, new characters have appeared that make me smile. When the book releases, keep an eye out for Admiral Charlzberg and his crew, and hard man Jevratt and his handy lads; I've thoroughly enjoyed creating and telling the story of those colourful new characters.

You will have been asked this question more times than is probably healthy – but I’m going to ask it anyway! Black Cross was self-published, initially on eBook but now in paper and hardback formats too. What advice would you give to aspiring authors and is there anything that you wish you had done differently?

Hire a good editor, one you can work with and who's criticism you can take. Actually, just learn to take criticism, you're going to get it, a lot. Don't think self-publishing is an easy way out, or cheap. Research, take advice and take your time, you don't have a deadline! Black Cross is a big book, which is partly why I decided to self-publish. If you want to submit a manuscript to agents and such, you should probably keep it to around 100k words. Actually, keeping it smaller than I did works for self-publishing too – we pay by the page to print!

Write short stories and enter them in competitions. Write flash fiction, say 500 words and stick to it. Writing such tiny stories teaches you to drop useless words as often as possible. An editor will teach you that all the more. Hire an editor and, did I mention this already? Hire an editor!

What would I have done differently? I would have hired an editor much earlier, that's pretty much it.

So, penultimate question. Somehow, miraculously and overnight, the world has become an ideal place and you can pick exactly what happens to your work over the next 3 to 5 years. Where do you see the ride taking you and what are you hoping to achieve along the way?

Haha... was it magic? If so, I hope Severun didn't have a hand in it. That's tricky. Who knows? The Black Powder Wars is a four to five book series, which is approximate, so I hope I'll still be writing them and loving doing so, as I am now. I also hope they continue to be well received and my status as an author gains trust – that pesky 'self-published' tag does seem to scare some folk off. If I make a little from it to help support my family then that'd be swell. That's it really, unless HBO wants to give me a ring?

Now the final question. How would someone find out more about Falchion, Correia, Severun, Longoss and the others? And when can we hopefully see the next tale of the Black Powder Wars hitting shelves?

Hit me up (I'm down with the kids) on social media. The links to my various pages are at the back of Black Cross or Black Martlet, alternatively here are the links:

www.facebook.com/jpashmanblackpowderseries

@JP_Ashman #BlackCross #BlackMartlet #BlackPowderWars (Also check out #SPFBO)

www.goodreads.com/author/show/12302356.J_P_Ashman (Great place to leave reviews and find new titles to read. You can follow and/or befriend me and other authors there too).

As for Black Guild and a release date... you got me there. The info I give out says end of 2016, which is optimistic at this baby feeding, changing and entertaining time, but I'd say early releases of proofs might happen then. Realistically I'd like to say January 2017. Of course, I might release another short story between now and then, to accompany the already released Black Martlet. If I do (it's been planned), it'll likely be Black Fiddler, so keep your eyes peeled.

And now the review

Well it doesn’t take long for Black Cross to get going at all. We are straight into it with the intriguing Lord Severun, who appears to be conducting some sort of magical experiment. Within a very short space of time it becomes apparent that it has gone horribly wrong, and the world of Brisance will never be the same again. It is a great scene-setter and drags you instantly into the narrative. Already questions are bouncing around in the mind and before you know it you are four or five chapters in and completely engrossed.

A good chunk of that is down to J.P.’s style – which is short chapters and a constant switching between the impressive cast of POV characters that are introduced into the tale. But these aren’t information dumps whose sole purpose is to get all the dramatis personae identified as soon as possible, you get the sense that wherever the author takes you next is where you need to be. Within a few short chapters we have been introduced to the majority of the characters that form the bulk of the story (though not all, there are a few gems who turn up later) and we have already seen a good number of the seemingly disparate threads that we know will be slowly teased together over the rest of the book (and the series for that matter).

There are some “common” fantasy elements contained within Black Cross, which you would expect as the genre does have a few “norms” that should be stuck to.

In this case we have the sprawling “Tolkeinesque” world of Brisance with the main focus of the narrative centered around the sprawling medieval city of Wesson. Brisance has your typical collection of big cities, forests, barren wildernesses and, what I’m going to call, “realms for other species” – because I can’t think of a better phrase right now.

Wesson itself is like most of the cities you encounter in these tales; grandiose palaces and churches sit alongside thoroughly destitute citizens and areas you only go in once. There are multiple different races who are trying to interact and not tear each other apart as well as political power plays involving (amongst others) the magically-inclined Clerics of the Wizards and Sorcery Guild, the religious zealots of the Inquisition and external factions such as the Elves and the (hitherto quiet) Dwarves.

People within these factions tend to behave pretty much as you might expect; the Elves we encounter are intelligent and ethereal, the Inquisition are downright unpleasant and the wizards and sorcerers do what they say on the tin – though J.P. thankfully doesn’t rely on grandiose magical powers to drag the narrative along; if you do magic, it costs you energy and effort in his world. You also have your classic portrayals of reluctant heroes, loveable rogues and ruthless killers.

The real beauties though are those characters that sit slightly outside of any of these pigeon holes such as Longoss, a thoroughly unpleasant gentleman not averse to a bit of assassination nor to frequenting the many drinking dens and brothels of the underbelly. He is thoroughly amoral, absolutely ruthless and brutal when he needs to be (one scene involving a fight with a couple of Black Guild assassins still gives me the shivers now).

I love him. He evolves fantastically through the course of the book and it’ll be really interesting to see where J.P. goes with him.

Same goes for the pair of policeman – Sears and Biviano – who clearly aren’t what they seem at first glance but provide some moments of great humour (often at the blackest of times) whilst making sure you know that they are not people to be trifled with.

I really love J.P.’s characterisations – there is depth and breadth to everyone he introduces and he manages to do enough with each of them to make them stand out from the crowd that a lazier writer might lose them in. There are shades of grey running right through Black Cross, and it feels more real for it.

Plot wise this cracks along at a decent rate, but with a constant sense that there is more going on over and above the individual narratives that are taking place in parallel with each other. Anyone who reads my reviews regularly will know this is one of the things I love about Brandon Sanderson’s work – multiple little threads being held together by larger threads that aren’t always obvious to see. Black Cross is distinctly different in tone to a lot of Sanderson’s work (there are some disturbingly brutal scenes in here for example) but the similarity with this element is obvious from the start.

Black Cross has obviously been a labour of love for J.P. and his determination to get things right and not rush it comes across throughout. His love of medieval recreations and weaponry also adds a level of detail – he knows his stuff and that always makes a big difference, it is a lot easier to make create the illusion of reality if you have a very good basis which to operate. I found it refreshing to read a debut novel (of this scale anyway) and have a strong sense that the author has complete control of where he is going, how long it will take to get there and what he wants to show us along the way.

So overall, you won’t be surprised to know I absolutely loved this. It is well-paced; inhabited by morally ambiguous characters and grey areas; lovingly described and above all, full of action and adventure. No punches are pulled, J.P. knows exactly what story he wants to tell and he has done a wonderful job of telling it. Can’t wait for the next one!

Verdict: 5 stars out of 5

Till next time,

DT

A bit of a Q&A

ERIC ELMOOR AND THE GAUNTLET OF GODRIC

I came across Eric Elmoor somewhat by accident, via the newly established Fantasy-Faction Facebook group in fact. The author, Tommy A. Meyers, is part of the group and (via a roundabout route) I ended up with a free copy of the first installment in exchange for an honest review.

We ended up chatting a bit through social media as I was progressing through the tale and eventually decided on adding a quick Q&A session to the review; hopefully with the aim of spreading Tommy’s vision to a wider audience and also learning a bit about the process involved in getting from idea to end product.

 About the Author

Hailing from the Northeastern Texas town of Tyler, Tommy A. Meyers has somehow managed to fit his love of storytelling in around both his day job as a nurse and the ever-pressing demands of being a husband and father to two young children.

When not taking us through Eric’s adventures in Novogard he can be found enjoying himself both inside (where he is an avid video game enthusiast, bibliophile and movie watcher) and outside, indulging his love of hiking, biking, and hunting.

His first two novels in the Eric Elmoor Saga have been self-published and can be found in both paperback and e-book format.

 A quick Q&A with Tommy

Growing up you’ve stated that you didn’t really read that much. In fact, to quote you directly, “If I read anything without pictures in it, it was probably due to an assignment  I had in class”. So how did you go from a reluctant reader to a prolific storyteller?

I've always wanted to tell stories.  Even since my single digits.  I wrote a few non-sensical short stories for my mom and friends when I was a kid.  As I got older, I was interested in film and had planned on going to film school right after I finished high school.  Alas, life happened and I had a child at a young age.  My dreams had to take a back seat to my responsibilities.  Thus, the only other occupation I could see myself doing in life was something in healthcare.  So I became a nurse.  Once I had a stable, well-paid job, I returned to my dream.  But how to achieve it?  I couldn't afford, nor had the time, to go to film school so I turned to writing.  I wrote several screenplays over a number of years and not one has been put in front of a camera yet.  In writing those screenplays, I realized that only a few people ever got to read my work.  That didn't settle with me very well.  So, after having acquired a love of reading in my early 20's, I started working on a book series which became the Eric Elmoor Saga.

As you say, you started as a screenplay writer but it is your novels that are making the most headway at the moment. Is there anything you wished you had done a bit differently or has it all been a necessary part of the journey that has brought you to this point?

Hindsight, as they say, is always 20/20.  Could there have been things I would have done differently?  Possibly...at least in my late teen frame-of-mind.  Now, as I'm 29, I don't think I would have.  I was a bit of a wild child in my younger years so some of that may have been carried over into my 20's if I hadn't had a wake-up call from life.  It settled me down, taught me to love, and made me disciplined.  Plus my current occupation gives me a great insight into the human condition.  I get to see people at their best, worst, most vulnerable, most spiteful, etc.  It all helped inform the writing.  Perhaps without my time as a nurse, I wouldn't have as much of a grasp on people as I do.

The writing process differs for everyone, but as a full-time worker and parent how do you manage to find, and devote, the time to create a world like Abeodor?

You take any and every opportunity that you can.  Those are few and far between which is why book 1 and 2 were separated by a two year gap.  Book 3 looks to be on the same heading as well.  The parent situation is manageable.  The work situation, not so much.  Healthcare is a very mentally exhausting line of work and the last thing I want to do sometimes when I get home is think.  Thinking is essential to a writer.  That is the biggest hurtle.

The first two stories of the Eric Elmoor saga are, of course, self-published. There are plenty of us out there with a story to tell and we all know that it is a very tough world in which to thrive. Any advice for those out there hoping to follow a similar route? And what benefit(s) has self-publishing brought?

The biggest advantage, to me, is that no one can tell me "no."  I write what I want, how I want and there's no one behind me saying, "You can't put that in your book!"  For all intents and purposes, this is a Young Adult tale, but there are issues in the book that some publishers may have found too "complex" for young adults.  I tend to give people more credit than that.  If there's an issue that I write about that someone really has no experience with or knowledge of, hopefully they will be interested enough to study it.  I'm not necessarily trying to preach my point-of-view on anybody.  I just wanted to tell a compelling story that has more complicated issues beyond the rise of a "dark lord in the north."  I want the "good guys" to have shades of gray to them.  I wanted as much struggle as possible to be thrown at Eric.  As far as advice I have for those going the self-publishing route: Make sure you love your craft enough to keep chugging forward when things don't go your way.  Hopefully you have more time on your hands than I did to market your material.  Make sure you have a good support system around you because you WILL get disparaged at some point and you'll need that support to lift you out of those hard times.

So onto the Eric Elmoor novels themselves. A quick synopsis for those who haven’t been fortunate enough to stumble across these adventures. What are they missing out on?

The Eric Elmoor Saga is a coming-of-age tale set in a fantastical world that is besieged in a conflict between technology and tradition.

Eric himself is a fairly typical protagonist for this type of tale – young, unaware of his importance and generally disaffected with the life he currently leads. But, like all great protagonists, there is great potential (and a little mystery) there. If you were to describe Eric in five words, what would they be?

Loyal. Curious. Adventurous. Humorous. Fallible.

The world of Abeodor has many elements which are familiar to those of us who enjoy the fantasy genre such as magic, non-human races and a fair bit of swords-and-sorcery. But you have added a technological element to the mix which is fairly uncommon. How did this idea come about and how much thought went into the world before you began writing the stories? Did the world drive the story or was it more the other way around?

I wanted a coming-of-age tale to begin with.  I felt like the late teens are the years when you really start to formulate your opinion of the world around you.  It wasn't something I wanted to do to catch any particular marketing trend at the time.  But what kind of world would I set it in?  All the familiar genres crossed my mind and I struggled for a bit to find a (to me) original spot for this story to take place.  Then I asked myself this question: "What if Middle-earth had evolved technologically?  What would that look like?"  That was like opening Pandora's Box.  There's still sword and sorcery, which is a staple of the genre, but I also wanted to explore the relationship with technology the various races would have.  Our world is changing so much and it has various impacts on our culture.  It challenges our beliefs at times, it burdens us, it scares us, and in some ways makes us more isolated from each other.  Technology drives so much of our lives nowadays that it's hard to imagine a world without it.  How would these fantasy races deal with such advancements?  It ends up being the catalyst for the whole story.

There are themes of racism, social dysfunction and excessive government interference running through the stories, not unlike the world we inhabit ourselves. Even within a so-called “fantasy world” how important do you think it is to give readers elements of realism which can provide a link to their own lives and universe?

Art imitates life.  As the comic writer Alan Moore once said, "I use lies to tell the truth."  What I'm providing with these books is some escapism.  I want people to leave this world and go into mine for a little bit and enjoy their time there.  But I also wanted to give them something to chew on and discuss with their friends and family after they're done.  I find all great literature has some element to it that reflects the real world.  You can look at Lord of The Rings as a tale about the thirst for power, how it holds a grip over people, and how it corrupts us.  With my series, it's more about "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."  Hopefully it will get some people talking and looking at the potential consequences of our intended actions before we carry them out.  All stories, I think, should have some element to it that is worthy of discussion after people have consumed it.  Sometimes stories are all the exposure some have to life outside their own experiences.

You’ve said that the world on which this saga is set is much larger and grander than that shown in the books so far. What does the future hold for Eric, and in fact, all of Abeodor? Does it depend on the success of this series or is it a story you intend to tell regardless?

Eric's story will end after book 5.  I will finish it regardless of its success.  His story is only going to get more complicated and tumultuous as time goes by.  But yes, there is a much wider world out there.  I have ideas that extend beyond the five books (and perhaps even beyond that) but it really depends on what people want.  If they don't want any more of Abeodor, that's fine.  I have several tales floating around in my head that run through all different genres.  I want to write them all.

So, penultimate question. Somehow, miraculously and overnight, the world has become an ideal place and you can pick exactly what happens to your work over the next 3 to 5 years. Where do you see the ride taking you and what are you hoping to achieve along the way?

First I'd love to see more people reading and discussing these stories.  I'd like to think I have something interesting to say and I hope others think so too.  Several reviewers have commented that they'd want to see these books made into movies.  I'd love that as well!  If it does happen, I promise I won't let them milk it dry by splitting book 5 into multiple sequels ;-).  Then I would love to just be able to sit down and write the other stories that are crowding my brain.

Now the final question. How would someone find out more about Eric and his adventures? And when can we hopefully see the next tale hitting our shelves?

For all news and information you can check out the Eric Elmoor Facebook page (Facebook.com/EricElmoor) and you can follow me on Twitter @tommythescribe.  (I'd also like to point out that I do free short stories that take place between the books as well.  It's a 'thank you' from me to those who stick with me).  Book 2, ERIC ELMOOR AND THE CHALICE OF CAMERON, is now available on Amazon in both e-book and paperback.  As far as book three is concerned, as of now we're looking at least a year out before release.  If this series by some miracle can manage to go viral and all I have to do is write, perhaps it can be out sooner.

 The book itself

Imagine a world where swords-and-sorcery meets the modern age. A world where you can find Dwarves riding the tram through the city, part-elves living in apartment blocks and gnomes riding into battle aboard floating warships. This is the world of Abeodor, a mix of the fantastical and the technological.

Working from the premise of “What would Middle-Earth be like if it had evolved with technology alongside the supernatural?” Meyers has created something which is familiar yet different. At its heart are all the themes which proliferate through the fantasy genre (swords, magic, exotic races etc..), blended with a more modern twist coming from the high-rise skyscrapers and mass transit systems you’d see in any major city in our world.

The main character Eric is a microcosm of this world in that he is, similarly, both familiar and yet subtly different. I guess “The Gauntlet of Godric” could be described as your typical coming of age story, and Eric as your typical teen protagonist for one of these tales but that would be to do a disservice to Meyers and what he has created here.

It is early days in the saga but you feel that the good guys aren’t necessarily whiter-than-white; they suffer from the same issues and difficulties that we ourselves do. Similarly, the bad guys are far more than just, to quote the author himself, a “dark lord in the north”. There is complexity in the characters here, and a definite sense that there is more than meets the eye to most of the people we have met so far.

Similarly, the continent of Novogard (where the tale is set) is threatened by far more than just rampaging orcs or dark mages. Politics, racism, government intervention and social dysfunction are all themes that run throughout the story, themes that hold significant relevance to our world today. The first chapter, for example, bears many parallels to numerous events that have taken place across the globe in recent years (minus the presence of dark elves of course!)

I had seen a review of this series before I started which likened it to the Harry Potter books and I’d certainly agree that there are similarities with J. K. Rowling’s creation. The depth of the universes created shows that the authors had/have the majority of the key elements mapped out in advance. I feel compelled to pay attention to everything going on as I am convinced it will all have relevance later in the saga. Like Rowling, it has taken Meyers a long-time from concept to end product – and I think the book benefits from that. There is a maturity to the storytelling which can only have come from multiple rewrites and a slower, more organic, process.

Meyers doesn’t rush the story, nor is there an early-game information dump. The world and its inhabitants are brought in as and when they are needed, and given the correct amount of attention at the right time. Certain sections pace quicker than others but the key elements are well done. Eric’s training, the nefarious activities of Cerebus and his cohorts and the brewing carnage that we know is coming are combined nicely so that they meet in a crescendo that feels logical and not forced.

The further installments promise much, sweeping arcs have been set in motion and it feels likes there is plenty more for us to discover along our merry way. Meyers doesn’t seem afraid to get his hands dirty either, this isn’t going to be an easy journey for Eric and he will have his fair share of death and destruction to deal with along the way.

I should make note of the fact that Meyers has self-published these books and I think a pretty good job has been done by those involved. It can’t be an easy task to balance a stressful full-time job and a home life with trying to get a novel published yourself.

Overall verdict

You’ve probably worked out that I really enjoyed this book, and the world Meyers has created. As a stand-alone book it more than holds its own – but the sense of anticipation about the numerous possibilities for the series takes it to a whole new level. The concept is different enough to (hopefully) make it stand out from the packed crowd, but it retains enough of those elements (rich, deep worlds – interesting, somewhat flawed characters – big ideas and imagination) which will bring fantasy fans back time and again.

Score

Well nothing gets 10 out of 10 in my world, a function of always being taught that perfection is impossible and you should forever strive for more. But I’d have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone and everyone, and giving it a very impressive 9 out of 10.

Huge thanks to Tommy for taking part in the Q&A session and for sharing a little of his world with us.

Till next time,

DT