Bringer of the Scourge

by M. Daniel McDowell

To save them all, the princess must first rescue herself.

Vierrelyne du Talorr, the last living daughter of the tyrant king, waits locked in a tower cell for the prophesied apocalypse only she can prevent. An army of three brittle allegiances, united under a rival prince, aims for the throne and lays siege to the castle in search of the princess and the fabled weaponry of the empire.

With the aid of her mentor in music and swords, and a desperate cultist sent to find her before the mercenaries do, Vierrelyne steals that formidable ancient weapon from her family crypt: a holy suit of armor and a diadem infused with the soul of a demon prince—the Bringer of the Scourge. With it, Vierrelyne discovers an unstoppable power, but the demon within is corrosive, hungry, and dangerously persuasive.

Vierrelyne is haunted by what it means to tame this power bequeathed to her, and by what means she might conquer it. When that rival prince finds her, it will take all the strength she can muster, for if the prophecy she dreads is true, the very weapons she wields might destroy everything—and everyone—she holds dear.

Genres: Fantasy

290 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2023

About the author

Merritt Daniel McDowell, writing as M., is an ink-stained wretch from the Rust Belt living on the East Coast of the United States, who has never gotten comfortable living so close to shore, for beyond those coastal waters, there indeed be dragons.

Merritt can reliably be found in pursuit of caffeination at nearly all times of day, up to and including roughly thirty minutes before it is time for bed.

Reviews

[Liis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of SPFBO10

I have to admit, I quite enjoy the ‘as prophesized’ trope. Someone says prophecy and I immediately feel a sense of dread. “God damn it, why me?!”… “I am in this predicament because of a prophecy whispered by wizards and mad men! Pick someone else!”… Prophecy is an immediate trap for the characters and it sets the stone for the story, stat.

Now, Bringer of the Scourge, I mean… Can you get any more ‘impending doom’ than this title? Exactly! And straight off the bat with this story (it’s brilliant, we don’t waste time) we’re in the pits of a kingdom falling, we have a one-eyed wizard who can travel through the veil and see more than regular folk with two eyes, and we have a villain. And, make no mistake, the princess in this story is no doe-eyed weakling. This princess, Vi, she’s going to grasp her opportunity!

It’s a pretty cool story. It reads quick, and it definitely took me for an adventure. What I most enjoyed about this book? The prose. Loved the prose. It’s just a touch above the simple with a few words thrown in that made me use the dictionary, but hey ho, new words to me are like money found on the ground – something to celebrate! Yes, the prose is going to be something that will divide the camp, but.. well, when isn’t it? And, at the start of the story, there was some repetition to the chain of events as it was told through different POVs, so that could also throw some readers, but personally, it didn’t feel like something that took away from the reading enjoyment. Not this time.

As far as dark fantasy goes? I am pleased I got to read this. It deserves the acknowledgement. And hello, this cover so totally rocks my boat for some weird reason! All in all, nice job, McDowell!

[Tar Atore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review edit: now that I've finished reading the book, I had a lot more to say! You can check out my full book review on SFF Insiders.

Otherwise: my original rating stands! The prose is absolutely beautiful and continues on for the entire book with McDowell never dropping the ball on their writing style and descriptions.

All of the characters are so real and there are tiny bits thrown in here and there that make it easy to understand their wants and desires. One of my favourite things originally and which remained so was that all of the characters have their main wants, but there are also side ones that give them an extra dimension. It is very common for stories with royalty as the main character to have the supporting characters be just that - support the royal. Here, we have that support and love, but we also get the wistfulness of old memories and better times and other options, and then some epic growth within these characters!

The story starts with an action scene that only grows more and more, keeping you flipping the pages and wanting to know what happens next. Among all the action, we had calm moments that allowed us to better understand the characters, but also some ripples in that calm that turn into tidal waves later on. The connections I wanted to see were made and the characters I wanted to focus on got their spotlight.

Bringer of the Scourge by M. Daniel McDowell is for fans of old-school fantasy like the Black Company novels and characters like Grey Mouser, but still want something that plays with those common narratives and twists things around for you. McDowell does an absolutely amazing job at pulling you into this epic world of magic, demons, armours, and war princesses, while giving you the feeling of flipping through the pages of a well-worn Dungeon Master's guide.

Thank you for writing such an awesome book and I look forward to other stories in this universe!!

[Ladz · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've recently finished Delicious in Dungeon on Netflix like I have, this is a great dark fantasy to read next.

It is a feast of adventure fantasy tropes, complete with starting with a princess in a tower, a kingdom on the verge of ruin because of both a prophecy and fantasy politics incompetence, a wizard with a fucked up eye, bouncing from tavern to tavern in search of sanctuary, and danger bling. The queer main characters are older, and I really like the characterizations McDowell puts to page. Vi and Mehren are on different paths going towards the same destination. She's possessed by a demon king in armor, and he's trying his hardest to prove himself as a wizard while also staving the world off from absolute terror and ruin.

The magical and political strife are very clear in this one as well, with encroaching armies and disagreeing dignitaries. The main characters are queer, and I enjoy how clear the stakes are and the steady pacing of a story makes this for an exciting read. Plus, if you're the kind who enjoys fantasy with lush food descriptions, this also has those treats sprinkled throughout.

[Jennifer (bunnyreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for SPFBO. My review only. More about the contest and links at the bottom.


Bringer of the Scourge starts with a bang. It’s a quick drop-in-style with Vierrelyn locked up like she is Rapunzel, needing to escape quickly as the city is burning down around her with the fire fast approaching her tower.

Bringer of the Scourge promises an exciting time with that beginning, and there are definitely moments that leave you breathless but I think the intro of our three pov’s as they worked towards their eventual meeting points, ended up dampening that initial momentum just a tad.

The repetition within the scenes, as each pov somewhat but not entirely overlaps, is just enough to make the beginning sequence have this leap-frog feel as we speed up to escape- slow down to meet character, and so on. Making the whole sequence feel longer than it actually was.


The entire story kind of followed that leap frog pattern of the beginning: exciting and rushed- jumping ahead to the next thing or event with out too much build-up to get you there, then slow and thoughtful to give us some time with the characters.

It made it difficult to follow and/or to gauge time spent in places or between events. So, like Mehren and Vi’s attraction felt from one page to the next though in reality, quite a lot of time had passed. That jumpy feeling was my only real hold-up throughout the story.

As we settle in, Bringer of the Scourge grows into this interesting and unique feeling world that as its secrets are revealed our understanding of the events open up as well.

There are some pretty cool moments and some fun fights along the way that I thought were great- my favourite cool moment being when Vi tries to save everyone calling her armour to herself- very visual and I loved that! And I also really liked the final battle.

The cast:

Vierrelyne (Vi)- because of a prophecy, her father-the King kept her locked away for the last 15 years.

Mehren- is cursed to see the scourgelands which overlaps his vision of the world. He’s
obviously been though some heavy stuff judging by his scars- something we learn about as the story unfolds

Kharise- born under a dark star and fated to wander. She was hired to caretake and train Vi in weaponry among other things.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters the most and seeing the little bits we learn fall into place as we discover more about them and their world.

The characters all kinds of damaged, and lonely, and each have their own unique story and pasts that were interesting with lots of growth along the way. (I especially liked finding about how Mehren’s curse came about. I love a mystery so that kept me intrigued.)

I also empathized with them and their struggles. Their feelings were easy to relate to; even being things that we’d (hopefully) never experience in life ourselves. I appreciate characters that make your heart hurt for them.


6.5 or 4 stars (6.5-8/10)


Learn more about the contest here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/... 


Phase one is here
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...

[S.F. Henne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic story with heart.

McDowell created a unique and intrigue dark world full of demons, prophecy and the cruel twist of fate. Vierrelyne's life had been bound by this prophecy, held captive by her father in the hopes of staving off the dark prophecy that hails the end of days. But when the surrounding rulers turn of her cruel father, the king of Talorr, Vi finds her chance to escape with her only ally and her mother's armor and diadem infused with a demon prince. With everything against them, the small group must strike out to thwart the ancient prophecy and change their own fate.

Our three main characters, Vi, Kharise, and Mehren, are all interesting and driven by they own wants and needs, each tying to escape their dark past and heartache. Vi, the young naive princess, isolated and lonely must grow up fast if she wishes to change her stars. Kharise, Vi's mentor and only friend, must help to guide the princess in this dark world where demon's now roam. And Mehren, the scarred boy who who can see through the veils between the worlds, must make his own choices. Bound the ancient wizard who saved his life, he only wants to gain his freedom but the two women make him doubt his choices.

I powered through this book, the world building is wonderful. In such a short amount of time, McDowell creates a captivating world with a rich history that springs to life. Unlike other epic fantasies, it never bogs you down with too much detail which made it super easy to read, while having its own distinct and unique feel. The characters were all diverse with their own motivations so I never got confused with who was who. I never expected the twist at the end and I loved it all the more for that. The foreshadowing was brilliant and somehow she wrapped the whole story up without leaving any loose threads.

I highly recommend giving this dark fantasy a read.

[CD Houck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright I got into this book expecting a political female heroine story - yeah it has that and more. It has a super powerfully determined female lead who knows what she wants and will d*med well get it. That word pretty much was the repeat in my mind while reading - I am not creative like McDowell by the way. Their prose was not repetitive at all. Every word and sentence builds the world and the character. The minor details they paid attention to, such as Vi not being used to walking for long hours, was incredible. McDowell did not do cheesy cliffhangers, but the way they wrote had you turning the next page because of the determination of all 3 main leads, the conflicts that grew between them, and the tension of just the overall setting kept going until it hits a fantastic satisfying ending. This is a deeper read than some other stories but it definitely pays off because you need every sentence to know what is going to happen next and what could be foreshadowed.

[Mettesknit · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf 41%

The writing was choppy, and the world-building off.

[Armanis Ar-Feinial]

very fast paced.

[C.A. Holton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic tale of love, war, and revenge.

I love the world M. has created in this book. It’s full of magic and mystery and lore, so much so that it feels like M. spent years crafting it. The fact that this book was created in a mere 3 months just proves what an amazing writer M. is!

[Bill Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bringer of the Scourge is one of those princess in a tower stories where said princess is actually a badass and is hellbent on getting some revenge. Throw in a demon bonded within a diadem, a scarred wizard with a glass eye who can see multiple realms, a middle-aged mentor who raises an army of mercs, & a misunderstood prophecy and you get all the fixin’s that cook this fast paced fantasy tale.

The cast of this story is relatively small, which is good because this book is barely more than 250 pages. And although there are three separate POVs, each get their growth arc. Vierrelyne is the princess in the tower. For fifteen years her overbearing (let’s face it, dickish douche canoe who we never see on page thankfully because he needs a punch to the coin purse) father kept Vi locked up because of a prophecy. And while Vi can be taken as naive due to said captivity, she really isn’t because her mentor, Kharise, trained her in a vast array of skills, especially swordcraft. Vi is incredibly nuanced for such a caged character and I found her arc extremely satisfying, specifically when it came to the diadem and the demon prince within (see below). And I really got a good chuckle during Vi’s first foray into battle because she does win but she constantly upgrades her weapon after defeating some peeps, I don’t know why, but that made me laugh.

Mehren is a scarred (both physically & emotionally) wizard who was sent to help Vierrelyne achieve her status in the prophecy. Part of what made Mehren my favorite character is that he’s very fallible but loyal to a fault, and then because of his past, he’s cursed to see the various demons and creatures in the many different realms while awake. I found this idea very interesting and enjoyable. And the way Vi and Mehren came to rely on each other was endearing and relatable as both needed each other’s support. Mehren coming into his own by the end of the story was magnificent. I also really liked how Mehren’s magic worked with the chalk magic because he was afraid of his own blood after his harrowing past experiences, that really solidified a good character for me.

Kharise was also great as she’s the weary older been-there-seen-that type we all love. But she ended up having an arc that we typically don’t see for those character types. Very good stuff.

Now, this is a prophecy-based story, essentially someone (Vi presumably by everyone and her father (ugh)) will be the Bringer of the Scourge, aka opening the gateway for the Scourgelands to the world, letting demons through. I liked that McDowell skewed this prophecy trope by the end after spending most of the story harping on it. The way this was handled gave me such satisfaction as a reader. And the demons were also quite fun, especially the demon prince housed within the diadem (Vi’s mother’s no less). There was your standard demon trying to seduce the user with power and Vi fell for it (a fantastic scene btw with a past lover!) but the way in which it was resolved I found perfect. There is more than enough lore that we barely scratched the surface of and I’m glad it wasn’t too much. The Scourgelands (the demon realm) has a lot to offer and based on the ending, I feel we will get a lot more of it!

The backdrop of this plot was good but wasn’t the focus, and I do think that was the smart choice. Yeah we have your raising an army montage. We have your baddie doing bad things with the Scourgelands. We have your post demon possession comedown. And we have your revenge-driven climax. All those aspects were enjoyable, don’t get me wrong, but that was never the focus, and I liked that. The focus is the characters and their growth, Vi and Mehren at the forefront. Very smart choice to take this story.

The prose is really strong and the pace is fast, almost too fast at times (think the raising an army montage, it happens really fast and sort of easy but not a big deal like I said above). Because this story is very introspective, there were times that backstory took precedence over present day, especially in the opening scenes of Vi in the tower, but it was never a turn off. I quite enjoyed the introspection and inner workings of Vi but Mehren’s were my favorite by far. He just has a lot of depth and the way McDowell wrote his character was excellent, I just wanted to know more because I truly felt his pain by the prose.

Can we also give some mad love to this cover??? It’s just stunning! By far one of my favorite covers in the SPFBOX competition.

If you are looking for a quick read with some great characters, some heartbreak and hope along the way, then pick up Bringer of the Scourge. It’s ending has me eagerly awaiting book two!