Prolusio: Three Stories of Fates Fire Shifters & Dragons

Fate Fire Shifter Dragon: World on Fire Series One #0.5

by Kris Austen Radcliffe

Three prelude short stories set in the Fate ~ Fire ~ Shifter ~ Dragon universe, Prolusio sets the stage for Games of Fate and Rysa and Ladon’s fight against a burning world.

Pop Rocks, a Texas tale of Billy Bare attempts his rock star comeback. Fire, though, has other ideas.

Welcome to the Dells, a Wisconsin tale of mercurial deceit and bad Shifters fight and do what they do best—piss off Ladon.

Cinder to Dust, the prologue to Games of Rysa’s mother, Mira, battles the one truth she cannot No one is as bound by fate as the Fates themselves.

Genres: Shapeshifters, Paranormal

55 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2013

Reviews

[Jonel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What cute little stories. Each was short and to the point, at the same time they were all complete in what they were. They portrayed a clear message for the reader, setting up for future development. They were also very well written. The descriptions were put together in such a way as to instantly give the reader a visual of the scene taking place.

This was a very nice introduction to the characters. You get to know all about them: who they are, what they do, how they react to things. You also get a look at the different races that you’ll encounter in the series proper. It’s quite a captivating, albeit quick, read.

Please note that I received this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Kimberly Kinrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these short stories with their twists and darkness. A nice prelude to the authors novel, Games of Fate.

As always, this author weaves beautifully written prose and compelling images and plots into exceptional stories that will keep you turning the pages.

These shorts contain dark and sometimes violent content, but not gratuitous in nature, in my opinion. The violence serves the story and is done with a mastery of language that makes even the dark parts beautiful.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Thoughts - 3 out of 5 unicorns - I liked it!!
Okay I went out and bought the first 3 ebooks in this series because I need to review the newest one coming out September for ARC. I didn’t think it was fair to review book 2 when I haven’t read this series yet, and I have wanted to read them so it was a great time to buy them.

Okay so I don’t know my Latin and wanted to know what prolusio meant, so I looked it up. This would totally floor my students….actually working to better understand something….the horror of it all. Okay so I don’t have a dictionary, so in my Google search I did type :) and found it means preliminary exercise or prelude. Well that makes sense since this is supposed to be a prequel for the series.

Okay the cover is very intriguing. The buttons or medallion looking circles make me think that they may represent the 4 elements of the series name (just a guess on my part though). I like the dragon on the cover too.

Okay even though it is a prequel, I think I might have made a judgment call error. I’m thinking I should have read book 1 first, and then read this. The stories are very short & quick read, but I felt like I was getting snap shots of some place but had no idea where I was is that makes sense. Don’t get me wrong, they are good stories I might have liked them more if I had read book 1 first, so I may come back and add comments about this after I have read book 1.

This is my first time reading Kris’ work and her descriptions are awesome so you can really see everything that going on. I just felt like I was getting glimpses into something that may be awesome, but had no clue on how everything in this world she was creating works.

There are previews to all the other books in the series after the very short stories which may confuse people who are unaware.

I recommend this to anyone who has already read book 1 and liked it.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was offered the opportunity to read and review this book by the author. Am I ever glad I accepted! I honestly loved these short stories. My only issue with this book is this: I want to read MORE! That being said, I have to rate this five stars. There really wasn't anything that detracted from the authors story in this book. It was worth the short read.

The first story was about a fallen pop star reaching for the stars again. Until he crosses path with disaster. It kept me on my toes throughout the story, and left me wanting more. I really wish that Radcliffe will continue where she left off with this one, it was exactly the type of supernatural story that I love reading.

The second story was possibly a little too short. I didn't quite understand what was going on until the very end, and even then I was left scratching my head a little bit.

The third story, was awesome! I loved it, the descriptions made it as if I were standing huddled in the corner watching the whole thing take place. I was slightly grossed out with the whole blob in the cup thing, but I got over it. I'm excited that Radcliffe has chosen to continue the third story in another book, which by the way, I will be reading and reviewing as well.

All in all, it was a great short read. I would recommend this to anyone interested in supernatural reads. Or if anyone is looking to just sit for an hour and read a few short stories, this is a book to pick up for sure!

Thank-you Radcliffe for the opportunity to read and review your work. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these stories. Pop Rocks was the fascinating back story for Billy, one of the Burners in Games of Fate: A New Adult Urban Fantasy with Strong Romantic Elements. I learned about who he was before he became a Burner, and how he became a Burner. Welcome to the Dells was about Ladon's actions leading up to his meeting Rysa for the first time. And in Cinder to Dust we saw Rysa's activation from Myra's perspective.

I liked that the stories gave some back story to Games of Fate. I hadn't even realized I was curious about these story points until I read these stories. It was great to learn a bit more about the characters and I enjoyed getting to see who they were "before," while I got the "where are they now" perspective in Games of Fate. :)

**This book was gifted to me in exchange for a review.

[Eric Townsend · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found someone mentioning this short story collection on twitter and thought it looked like it could be pretty interesting, I mean who doesn’t love dragons? Unfortunately I can’t say that I enjoyed any of them. All three short stories felt disjointed and they lacked any cohesiveness or any direction. Worse still I couldn’t see a purpose in any of them, there was no “moral of the story” moment in any and maybe they would make more sense if I read full length novels, or even novellas of these stories afterward, but in and of themselves I don’t get them at all. Oh well, even stories of dragons aren’t impervious to some…flops.

Rating: 1/5

[Jacqueline Driggers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I am reading the series, and noticed that this was 0 in the series, so I wanted to start with it. I already had 1 and 2. So glad I did. The 3 short stories in this book lays the groundwork for book 1 and enhances your reading of book 1 so much because you are already familiar with some of the characters and their background. I highly recommend this book and this series. Kris Austen Radcliffe is an excellent writer and this is a very good book that is part of a captivating series.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was offered the opportunity to read and review this book by paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock for an honest review. Although i liked these short stories. My only issue with this book is this: I wanted to read MORE! That being said, It was worth the short read, the world the author describes in these stories is intriguing and that was the problem, they all ended too soon. Ladon and the dragons sounds very interesting, and I am going to check out the book which is given as a teaser at the end of this book.

I give this book 4 fangs.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked Games of Fate. Prolusio are three short stories from the Games of Fate universe. Billy is a rock star. He becomes a Burner. Ladon is in a store to buy coffee and duct tape when he encounters Shifters. Mira spits into Rysa's orange juice. “No one is as bound by fate as the Fates themselves.” Very short vignettes. Really well written and enjoyable. I love this world created by Kris Austen Radcliffe. I can't wait to read more.

[Marichus Real · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three short stories about Burners, Shifters and Fates. Each story tells us what they are and what they do. All of them are the creatures that, along with Dracos who has a human part Ladon and a beast part, the dragon himself, form part of this series. The stories are a very clear introduction to the series. The only negative thing for me is the violence, especially when talking about Burners.

[Kate Carridean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very quick read. This sets up the different races and gives you a glimpse of what to expect in Games of Fate. Very helpful indeed.

[Kate Carridean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked from page 1.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is a great book to read