Thrall Book Review

Title: Thrall

Author: Steven Shrewsbury

Publisher: Seventh Star Press

Pages: 288

ISBN: 9780983108634

Ever found a book where it seems no matter what happens you just never have enough money, or time to buy or read it? Thrall was one of those books for me. It wasn't until Context 24, a small convention held in Columbus, Ohio each year, that I had the opportunity to grab a copy. Through conversations with the awesome Stephen Zimmer, an author notable for both his epic fantasy series and urban fantasy series both published through Seventh Star Press, I expressed my interest in Thrall, to which he responded by giving me a copy to review. To Stephen I say: thank you good sir!

With Thrall Steven Shrewsbury introduces a new hero; an aging warrior who has lived for centuries battling the monstrosities of legend and lore. Set in an age when the Nephilum walk the earth, demonic forces hunger to be unleashed, and dragons -- both living and dead -- still set claim to the skies. His name is Gorias La Gaul, and he's on a journey to find one of his own blood, a young man who is caught in the embrace of necromancy. And on his journey Gorias' will encounter things both living and dead. Familiar enemies and new foes alike.

For Gorias La Gaul, Deliverance Will Come...

One of the things that I found most fascinating with the yarn that Shrewsbury has managed to weave within the pages of Thrall is the main character: Gorias La Gaul. A man near the end of his extremely long life, he has seen and done things that most have long since filed away in the annals of history. Though he is a legend and a myth on the lips of many, he is nothing more than a man to those that know him. And a flawed man at that.

For the most part I enjoyed the story of Gorias La Gaul, although I found some of the names, places, and creatures to be quiet contrived, as if Shrewsbury ripped a page out of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. However, Shrewsbury does a fine job of executing the story, and making it believable enough to grab the readers attention.

If you're not one for novels with a large cast of characters, then Thrall might not be for you. Throughout the course of the novel the reader is introduced to many characters that share a history with La Gaul. And although Shrewsbury takes the time to fill in the reader as to how the hero of the story knows the individuals, after a while the constant feeding of information becomes tedious and lessens interest. Whether Shrewsbury meant to do this or not -- possibly setting Thrall up to be the conclusion to a longer story arc, (think David Gemmell's Druss the Legend series) -- it just didn't work for me. However, if you're a fan of tome-length tales of sword & sorcery, and are looking for something as deep and rich in world and character, but smaller in length, this might just be the novel for you!

With Thrall, Steven Shrewsbury has found a way to blend sword and sorcery, the occult, incredible monsters, and biblical beings into a tale set in antediluvian times, all the while channeling David Gemmell and Robert E. Howard. Remarkable!That's why I'm giving Thrall 7.0 out of 10 TARDISes. If you like the works of Robert E. Howard, or David Gemmell, and you're looking for a non-stop, action packed novel, then Thrall is the book for you!

~Rodney

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Book Review

Title: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Author: Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9780446563086

Seth Grahame-Smith takes on history and myth in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, an epistolary-style alternate history novel bringing to light what most dismiss as a conspiracy theory. The introduction begins with Smith in disbelief of what has been delivered to him. A strange man has left in Smith’s possession 10 leather-bound books, the secret diaries of Abraham Lincoln. In these, Smith discovers that Lincoln was more than he had shown to the world. A life hidden in secrecy and masked with wars and laws. Smith is asked to write a book about the diaries, and in the process, his life is left in shambles.

Smith takes Lincoln’s timeline and tells us the story we never knew and conspiracy theorists have been telling us since Lincoln’s death. We begin in Abe’s childhood and progress into the hunter lifestyle that we would have never imagined. For example, eleven year old Lincoln is told that vampires are real, and that his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, was murdered by a vampire. The following year, Abe seeks vengeance and kills the vampire, his mother’s murderer, with a wooden stake. This marks the beginning of the Abraham’s secret life as a vampire hunter.

Smith takes us to many locations and battles in Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, meeting new allies such as Edgar Allen Poe, and even more enemies along the way. Smith captures our imagination with Lincoln’s relationships and new found purpose in life.

He also does a wonderful job of taking everything we know about history and Abraham Lincoln and turning it on itself, destroying what we know, or believe, as truth. Every rumor and myth about “Honest Abe” gets twisted to embellish the horror premise. What about Lincoln's beard? Legends say he grew it because Grace Bedell wrote that: “women love whiskers." But in this alternate timeline, the beard was groomed to hide the scar from Lincoln's vampire-fighting life.

Smith also writes that Lincoln’s role in history as an abolitionist takes root in a much different way than we’ve been told. Lincoln and a friend travel to New Orleans to sell goods and happen to witness a slave auction. They then follow the slaves and their owner back to the owner’s plantation. There, Lincoln discovers that the buyer is a vampire, buying the slaves as food as we would buy groceries today.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter has a fair portion of detailed action scenes. I could see the human like forms of vampires in my mind snarling as Lincoln was fighting for his life and for vengeance. Relationships and tensions follow a rollercoaster pattern and at times leave you questioning who to trust and who to kill.

I give Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter 7 out of 10 Mechs and would recommend this to anyone who has yet to read this style or genre of literature. There’s no doubt Smith can tell us a story, even if it’s one we think we know the ending to…

:: Phil::

Podcast #5: Interview #2: Dave Freer/ Save the Dragons

Dave Freer is an about to be Australian author (he's emigrating from South Africa) with a family and menagerie (indistinguishable in many ways) and the normal personal zone of chaos that follows him because it loves him and needs to show it cares. He is the author or co-author (with Mercedes Lackey and Eric Flint) of 10 novels, (with the 11th, DRAGON'S RING, due out in October). He also falls off cliffs (he's a rock climber) and nearly drowns himself (dives for spiny lobster) with monotonous regularity, which proves that really his books are written by his Old English Sheepdog, because no-one who is that repetitively dumb could write or even spell. Mind you, the spelling is suspect... Once upon a time he was an Ichthyologist, and he claims the strain of spelling that right unhinged his mind.

You can find out more about him, his move, his beasts and website and blogs at http://savethedragons.nu/ - his story-tellers bowl website to help raise money to move the menagerie!

Dragon's Ring

Tasmarin is a place of dragons, a plane cut off from all other worlds, where dragons can be dragons and humans can be dinner. It's a place of islands, forests, mountains and wild oceans, filled with magical denizens. Fionn -- the black dragon -- calmly tells anyone who will listen that he's going to destroy the place. Of course he's a joker, a troublemaker and a dragon of no fixed abode. No one ever believes him. He's dead serious. Others strive to refresh the magics that built the place. To do so they need the combined magics of all the intelligent species, to renew the ancient mage, and dragons systematically eliminated those centuries ago. Their augury has revealed that there is one, and they seek her desperately. Unfortunately, she's fallen in with Fionn, who really doesn't want them to succeed. He has his own reasons and dark designs. The part he hadn't worked out is that she will affect his plans too. Chaos, roguery, heroism theft, love, kidnapping, magic and war follow. And more chaos.

And once again, because Baen Publishing is just so damn cool, they're offering the first nine chapters for your reading pleasure, for free. Dragon's Ring

Podcast Interview #2: Dave Freer

And finally, for those of you who choose not to listen to the full interview, here's how The Sci-Fi Guys plan on helping Dave out: For each new member we receive on the site, we'll donate a dollar to Save The Dragons. . Each new member then, is added to a hat. When we get word from Dave that Save The Dragons is going to the printer, we'll draw names of the people who have joined the website, for a free chance to win a signed, personalized copy of the book in hardcover. If we reach 100 new members before the end of September, we'll donate another 25 dollars, and another chance for folks to win another signed copy of the book.

So, please join the site, and send us your names and e-mail adresses and we'll throw your names in the hat! E-mail us at: scifiguysbookreview@gmail.com

Enjoy!

~The Sci-Fi Guys