Assassin

Ironstone Saga #0.5

by Keith McArdle

Vyder Ironstone is an assassin with a troubled past. At the order of his king, Vyder must undertake his most dangerous mission yet - a mission from which he may never return.

If he is successful, it might just be enough to alleviate war tearing the kingdom apart.

The prospect of failure is not worth considering.

This is a novelette and prequel to the Ironstone Saga.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

27 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 22, 2013

About the author

Keith was born in a hospital, somewhere in Australia, when he was very little. He owns every David Gemmell book ever written (and two versions of some books), including the graphic novels. To maintain some semblance of sanity, Keith likes writing fast-paced stories ranging from Fantasy and sci-fi, to modern military thrillers. He now lives somewhere else in Australia.

Reviews

[Miriam Michalak]

'twas OK, but won't be rushing to see how it continues. I love a good assassin, however this one just did not interest me one bit.

[Hyacinth]

Again, I have enjoyed McArdle's shorts. They are action packed and keeps your head in the action. I will definitely be reading more of his work. I love short, quick reads that don't allow you to get bored. I now have to know what happens to Vyder.

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol)]

*Book source ~ Free on Amazon

Vyder Ironstone is a big highlander, rich and successful at what he does. Did I mention he’s an assassin? Yeah. He’s not someone you want coming after you. When the Prince is abducted and the King hires Vyder to retrieve him he knows this may be the one job that is too much for him. However, he does so love a challenge.

More, more, more. I want more of Vyder Ironstone. I love the world, the writing and most of all, Vyder. He’s fascinating and I am looking forward to continuing with him on his mission. My only complaint is the ending to this short intro. It stopped abruptly, like climbing a hill and finding a 100’ drop as soon as you crest the top. Ending it right before the confrontation or after would have much more acceptable to me, but then abrupt stops are one of my biggest pet peeves. Call me old-fashioned, but every story, no matter how short, should have a beginning, middle and end. Yeah, so not a fan of cliffhangers. Other than that, I loved this tale.

[Swords & Spectres]

This was a really strange one for me to review. I know, the score I gave it was a mere 2 out of 5. You’d expect it to be really bad, right? Well, it isn’t. The writing is good and the ending to the story really does intrigue me as to where it’s going. Enough that, if I didn’t have such a huge reading list that I may well hop on and read the series. Here’s why it only scored a 2:

To me, an assassin should use a multitude of weapons, skills and techniques in order to finish his task in as silent and efficient a way as possible. Vyder, supposedly an assassin, kills his mark in the most un-interesting and un-assassiny way imaginable. I said ‘supposedly an assassin’ and I mean that. The author tells me he is one. But what the author shows the reader is a bar-room brawling drunk with enough money to have a maid looking after his home and nothing more. 

Admittedly, I have said that a good few points of the story are pretty good. But, for me, if I can't enjoy a character than that detracts just as much, if not more, than a bad end or a poor story. Sounds like Vyder is just a mercenary/sell-sword rather than an assassin. 

I didn’t feel intrigued by his character towards the end. I am intrigued to see where the series goes as the author set that up well. I’m just not intrigued by Vyder. At all. This could well just be me expecting more than I got and anyone else who reads this short story may well enjoy it far more than I did. I only wish I liked it more.

[John Davies]

All this really is is the first intro chapter to the book "Fallen Empires", but it's marketed separately. As I got it for free, I don't really care. It shows Vyder is a badass highlander assassin, but that's about it. Considering the main character is almost killed in the first couple of chapters of the "official" first book (not this prequel) (And yes, I've read ahead. I accidently started Fallen Empires before I realised I needed to read this first.)

I'll reserve judgement until I've finished reading the "main" book.

[Christine]

Excellent storytelling and I want more of the same.

I was hooked from the first sentence. I feel I have an emotional connection to the main character wanting more.

[Johnathan Breeland]

Ok

A nice look at Ironstones life getting to know who he is and how he work and lives,I look forward to the next installment

[Simon]

Good introduction to the main character, looking forward to a full novel in the future.