War Hound

by Peter Fugazzotto

A novella of second chances in a war-torn medieval fantasy world.

Old Beloc steals from the dead, looting from fallen soldiers in the aftermath of battles.

When he finds a prized War Hound puppy among the corpses, his dream of returning home with riches reawakens.

But others want to steal the dog from him. Can Beloc figure out how to sell the dog for a handful of silver coins? Or will he change his mind and protect the dog from certain death? Or will he lose everything?

Buy War Hound today and immerse yourself in a story of dreams deferred, betrayal, and hope in dark times.

109 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 24, 2024

About the author

Peter Fugazzotto is a writer of horror, fantasy and science fiction. His short stories have been published in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Grimdark Magazine and Siren's Call. He is an espresso lover and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

More information about Peter and his writing, including free stories, can be found at www.peterfugazzotto.com

Reviews

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is brutal in it's realistic depiction of the battlefield, with all it's gore and cruelty and the stench of death, which still did not deter scavengers like Beloc from stealing from the dead. He had lost all he ever had and loved because of his greed, all he saw was coin now, and his life had become a meaningless day to day survival. Together with the kid he attempted to find his next meal and bed from the war torn lands, until he came upon a pup. This pup was a war hound, runt of a litter whose mother had given birth to on the battlefield, before herself getting killed. The runt had a will to survive and being a war hound fought to do so. But he was still a runt, and Beloc found his reason to live because of him, wanted to save him and in so doing saw a chance in saving himself. He tried to save the kid too, but the kid was too damaged, and knew no life other than that of a scavenger. This story is sad, but is also a story of redemption and second chances if only one took these when given them. The ending is one of hope. My only complaint is that this is just a short story which I wish was longer and more detailed, as I loved it.