A House Of Powder And Plot

Levanthria #4.5

by A.P. Beswick

An isolated inventor burdened by loss. Can his newfound invention bring justice or will it plunge the kingdom into chaos?

Morvin Torhold has spent years in solitude, haunted by the death of his wife and son in the Great War. A dwarven inventor, he channels his grief into creating something a unique powder that powers a weapon unlike any ever seen in Levanthria.

Just when Morvin resigns himself to a life of lonely obscurity, a charismatic mage appears with a tempting offer. A path to vengeance against the one person he blames for his family’s death—the king himself. All he needs to do is help the mage and his motley crew of outcasts infiltrate the heavily-guarded royal base deep within Zorubia. The goal? Nothing short of regicide.

As Morvin grapples with the morality of assassinating a ruler, he must also navigate the complexities of working with a group of societal misfits. Will they become Levanthria's most wanted heroes or its most notorious criminals?

"A House Of Powder And Plot" is a fast paced, heist adventure set in the Tales of Levanthria fantasy-retelling series. If you're captivated by morally complex heist stories, jaw-dropping inventions, and underdog tales of vengeance, you won’t be able to put down A.P Beswick's latest narrative.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction

230 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2023

Reviews

[William Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, as it took a great spin on the classic guy Fawkes story. It fits well into the world, and sets up future books well. I found it did start a little slow, so getting through the first third was a bit slow. But overall, I really enjoyed it!

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come

[Gary Knox · Rating 4 out of 5]

dwarven inventor Morvin Torhold, grieving his family's loss, is recruited for a dangerous mission against the king. Armed with a revolutionary explosive powder, he joins a crew of outcasts in a high-stakes plot that could change Levanthria forever. But as the plan unfolds, Morvin must question whether revenge is worth the price.
This one is a dark fantasy retelling of the Guy Fawkes story, and it’s done brilliantly.
The heist setup is tense, Morvin is a great lead, and the moral dilemmas add real depth. What I really enjoyed was the crossover with characters from the main series, which made the world feel even more connected.
On top of that, this directly references an fleshes out an event mention in the main series which I feel is extremely pivotal, so much so I'm not sure why this is classed as a standalone and not part of the main series itself.
Some of the side characters could maybe have been given a little more time and focus, however there is geat pacing throughout which the stakes continually rising
Once more we have a gripping, well-written addition to Levanthria, and if you love dark fantasy and political intrigue, it’s well worth a read.

[Adrian Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

In short, this book felt like someone had taken D&D campaign, and written down the plot.
It was not until I finished the book that I even realized it was the fifth in a sequel of books . This is my fault for not investigating this previously, but at no time during the the reading of this book did I even question it being a sequel. I think this shows a certain level of connection between the other books.
There were also a lot of smaller issues.
Oftentimes senses were written with repeated words at the beginning and end.
Character wise, the MC is likable, but is too perfect of a fit for the mission that he is tasked with. It was a fine read but I felt it was stale and undeveloped.
There are a few instances where a long period of time pass in the book where characters are together and literally no assumed development happens. It even says they didn’t talk at all until the story picked back up.

Maybe the other books in the beginning of the series are more developed. I don’t know. I am not incentivized to read them

[Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely one of the better books of the series. A drastic difference from book 4. This is either, again, written later on and added to the timeline, or at the very least, more thought and care was put into it. The writing itself is a huge step up from book 4. While there are still a good number of typos, they're easily overlooked with the story it told. I loved being able to get a little backstory into the king's death, and how it came to be.

It's definitely one of the more darker books in the series. A lot death. A lot of maiming. Actual war. Some sad moments from those deaths. I was really starting to like two of the characters that died... But those are the stories I love the most. When an author isn't afraid to kill a character and break your heart a little.

[Shaughnessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. I read this a little out of order from how it connects to the rest in the series. I already like the characters of Zerina and Darmour but this gave me additional characters to fall in love with and feel a roller coaster of emotions over. Loved the banter between Morvin and Skyrar and the easy friendship between him and Vorax. A true reminder that friends come in all shapes and sizes and that how long you’ve known someone doesn’t determine the depth of the friendship. This is second book the author has written that’s had moments that made me want to cry.

[Tigereno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! A fascinating story, full of action from the get go. Plot to kill a tyrant of a King, reluctant heroes, sacrifices for the greater good, love & loss, Revenge, this story has it all. I needed to stop reading at a few points due to the emotions that I was feeling (mostly anger as the bad characters were written so well). I will read this again once I get over the twists and the big bang (pun intended) of an ending. Second story I've read from this author and I've already requested the other Levanthria books as presents.

[Aloysius · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartbroken dwarf with a brilliant inventor's mind and revenge in his heart joins a secret group in a scheme to commit regicide and end a war. Beswick gives a intriguing set of characters with their own motivations, a fleshed out world, and a delightfully despicable villain in King Athos, the target and arch-foe of our main protagonist. Quite a few twists and turns await in this short tale, and spoiler alert: not everyone survives to the end of this story.

[Andrew Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always leave these books as a respite between heavy reading. Though this one was filled with some heavy moments of its own, generally they are an easy, fun and interesting read. This one really feels like the story is heading towards its overall conclusion.

This book, and many of the others, feels like a dungeons and dragons campaign, mixed with English folklore and history. What's not to like?

[Josh Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually finished this book just in time for Bonfire Night, making it a perfectly-timed read. Inspired by the real-life Gunpowder Plot that attempted to assassinate James I in 1605, this has been Beswick’s most successful rehash of a piece of UK history to date. The characters feel fully fleshed out and I loved the contribution to the overarching storyline, despite being a side-step novel. Highly recommended for a quick jaunt into Levanthria, listened to on Spotify at 2x speed.

[Megan Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't even realize this was part of a series until I had already listened to a good chunk of it and I thought about giving up because I didn't want to have to read 4 other books to understand what was going on.

Yeah, that wasn't the case at all. Luckily it's a fairly self-contained story (you can tell some of the characters have popped up previously, but you don't need to know how) and it has so much heart to it, you can't help falling in love. Well, I couldn't at least.

[David Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one, and felt more like it was getting back to the peak of Sea of Sorrow and Scorn for me. It was enjoyable to see both new and returning characters and also to discover that this fills in the gap between the previous two books about what happened to the King. It was still not as good as the second book in the series, but a solid read.

[Sean Settle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was hard already knowing the king would die. It felt like he wanted to kill off all the extra characters rather than work them into the main story line. It was still a page turner and I found myself constantly wanting to know the exactly how despite knowing the overall result going into the book.

[Dylan Scarbrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

The side story that I wanted to see after reading the lines “ I killed him myself” was uttered in the last book. The spin off book is a great page turn for those who like a heist like story with a plot of simply murder diving more into a question and plot point that will be sending the main series into its final conclusion.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and the expansion on the main story. Morvin is such an interesting character and it is fun to follow a non-human character in the series. I would have like to known why dwarfs are not around much anymore and why some of the characters are prejudiced against them.

Regardless, the story was good and fast-paced.

[Amber Gabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid book! Really liked this story! I loved that is gave backstory to a previous book in the series and introduced some new characters by co-mingling them with already known characters. A. P. Beswick's writing and storytelling just gets better and better with every book.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how these books get right into the story! Morvin Torhold is such a cool Dwarven. I also enjoy how these books are so easy to binge. I’m looking forward to more books by this author. If you haven’t given these books a try, you should.

[Carmelo Rindone · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale that falls within the world and events of the main series. I loved the tale and story but wished the author used the same first person approach of story telling like the main series. My only complaint and a must read since major characters are involved.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating:
1. A Sea Of Sorrow And Scorn
2. A Forest Of Vanity And Valour
3. A Loch Of Grace And Greed
4. A House Of Powder And Plot
5. A Kingdom Of Courage And Cruelty
6. A Frost Of Fear And Fortitude
7. A Stone Of Destiny And Despair

[Miss M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!!

It had me gripping the seat, very well written, excellent plot and twist. I loved it! Worth reading for sure.

[Carrie Legros · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting better !

With each book, the Levanthria Series gets better and better. New "dark" spins on classic British tales. A.P. Beswick has hit his stride.

[Me · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dammit. I won't say anything more. But...ugh!

:)

[Ana Neagu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action packed novella that ties together a big part of the story in this series. Loved it!

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would you do to get revenge for what was taken from you?
Best read before "A kingdom of Courage and cruelty".

[Ice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun characters

[Nik Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughly enjoyed this book. Genuinely had to pace myself from not reading this in one sitting. Can't wait to see how this incorporates with the series.

[Maangwaaozit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have magical problems? Try magical solutions: gun.

(Also if you don't know what this book is based off of, look up Guy Fawkes Night, arguably the funniest British holiday)

[Nowah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Relatively straightforward story. It has enjoyable characters and an interesting plot. It's just a good classic fantasy story!

[Steve McLeod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read and story, but quite a few noticeable spelling errors.
Time line of reading is off. Should be read before “A Stone of Destiny and Despair”

[Emma Stallwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best short story for the levanthria series, but apt for reading around 5th November. Seemed like a short and quick ending, but I'm sure we shall see the MC again.