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Swords and Shadows
Zane Halloway must join forces with his worst enemy to prevent a war.
After a run-in with one of the pirate Longstrain's deadly widows, an injured Zane Halloway is enlisted for a special assignment. The nation is on the brink of war, and the king hopes a daring assassination of his enemy's enemy will prevent things from escalating.
To complete the job, Zane and Lily will have to join forces with the King's Shadow, the only man in the kingdom with access to the royal armory of magical devices. His name is Jacob Von Ridden. Long ago, he altered the course of Zane's life, and Zane has been waiting for the chance to kill him ever since.
SWORDS AND SHADOWS continues the story of magic, mystery, and murder begun in THORNS AND TANGLES.
After a run-in with one of the pirate Longstrain's deadly widows, an injured Zane Halloway is enlisted for a special assignment. The nation is on the brink of war, and the king hopes a daring assassination of his enemy's enemy will prevent things from escalating.
To complete the job, Zane and Lily will have to join forces with the King's Shadow, the only man in the kingdom with access to the royal armory of magical devices. His name is Jacob Von Ridden. Long ago, he altered the course of Zane's life, and Zane has been waiting for the chance to kill him ever since.
SWORDS AND SHADOWS continues the story of magic, mystery, and murder begun in THORNS AND TANGLES.
92 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 30, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 4, 2016
The Zane Halloway novellas by P.T. Hylton continues with the second installment, Swords and Shadows. I really liked the first novella, Thorns and Tangles, because it features a likable lead character and an intriguing magic system. Swords and Shadows builds on Thorns and Tangles by adding more political conflicts and Zane gets involved with more powerful individuals.
Zane Halloway is an assassin for a special guild of spy like individuals. His apprentice is the young Lily, a girl that always has Zane’s back, but is in the dark about Halloway’s past. In this novella Zane gets a mysterious job offer from a person of great power. Surprisingly to Zane, the person wanting to hire his “special services” is none other than the King himself.
I really liked this novella. It was written much stronger than Thorns and Tangles in my opinion. One of my criticisms of Thorns and Tangles was that there wasn’t enough description and non-dialogue scenes. Hylton still has a lot of great dialogue but adds a little more description that really showcased Zane and Lily’s abilities. I am looking forward to seeing the progression into the next few novellas too.
The plot of Swords and Shadows really worked for me. I don’t want to give too much away but it is nice to see some political intrigue thrown into this series. Zane is thrown into a situation that is difficult for him to figure out but it is great to see the resolution that he comes up. Lily completely steals the show in this novella though. Her character is coming into her own and I loved every scene with her practicing her craft.
These fantasy novellas are great to read when you are bogged down in something long or heavy. They are a quick read, cheap, and entertaining. This Zane Halloway series reminds me a lot of some novellas or short story fiction that I’ve read from R.A. Salvatore. I think if you enjoy R.A. Salvatore, I think you will like these novellas.
4/5
15/25 Possible Score
Plot – 4(Strong)
Characters – 3(Good)
World Building/Setting – 3(Good)
Writing Style – 3(Good)
Heart & Mind Aspect – 2(O.K)
Zane Halloway is an assassin for a special guild of spy like individuals. His apprentice is the young Lily, a girl that always has Zane’s back, but is in the dark about Halloway’s past. In this novella Zane gets a mysterious job offer from a person of great power. Surprisingly to Zane, the person wanting to hire his “special services” is none other than the King himself.
I really liked this novella. It was written much stronger than Thorns and Tangles in my opinion. One of my criticisms of Thorns and Tangles was that there wasn’t enough description and non-dialogue scenes. Hylton still has a lot of great dialogue but adds a little more description that really showcased Zane and Lily’s abilities. I am looking forward to seeing the progression into the next few novellas too.
The plot of Swords and Shadows really worked for me. I don’t want to give too much away but it is nice to see some political intrigue thrown into this series. Zane is thrown into a situation that is difficult for him to figure out but it is great to see the resolution that he comes up. Lily completely steals the show in this novella though. Her character is coming into her own and I loved every scene with her practicing her craft.
These fantasy novellas are great to read when you are bogged down in something long or heavy. They are a quick read, cheap, and entertaining. This Zane Halloway series reminds me a lot of some novellas or short story fiction that I’ve read from R.A. Salvatore. I think if you enjoy R.A. Salvatore, I think you will like these novellas.
4/5
15/25 Possible Score
Plot – 4(Strong)
Characters – 3(Good)
World Building/Setting – 3(Good)
Writing Style – 3(Good)
Heart & Mind Aspect – 2(O.K)
September 3, 2015
This series of Novellas is a series I've been looking forward to continuing with ever since I read the first one a while back. It's a story which is very much a fun and fast-paced sword and sorcery with a lot of fun elements that the author has invented and added such as the attacking and defensive magic system called Thorns and Tangles. In this novella we get to learn a little bit more about the Sword and Shadow who are the King's secret weapons, one is a highly skilled fighter and the other is the keeper of the most precious Thorns and Tangles so very powerful and clever. We also see a bit more inside the Feroux Society (Assassins!).
The characters within this series consist mainly of Zane Holloway himself, a highly notable Feroux and his apprentice, Lily. They are a dynamic duo with some great spark and friendship despite the fact that in their line of work often the apprentice will kill the Master to take over their clients. This book certainly gave us a little more information about who was who and what they're like, both clever, cunning and sneaky.
On the whole I think if you like a good, quick and really fun fantasy series then this is one that's well worth checking out. I always enjoy following their adventures and seeing what will happen, so I'm sure some of you will too. I also have to say just how interesting the magic system is to me and when we learned a bit more about it all in this novella I really loved that! :) A wonderful 4* read, recommended!
The characters within this series consist mainly of Zane Holloway himself, a highly notable Feroux and his apprentice, Lily. They are a dynamic duo with some great spark and friendship despite the fact that in their line of work often the apprentice will kill the Master to take over their clients. This book certainly gave us a little more information about who was who and what they're like, both clever, cunning and sneaky.
On the whole I think if you like a good, quick and really fun fantasy series then this is one that's well worth checking out. I always enjoy following their adventures and seeing what will happen, so I'm sure some of you will too. I also have to say just how interesting the magic system is to me and when we learned a bit more about it all in this novella I really loved that! :) A wonderful 4* read, recommended!
October 12, 2016
Swords & Shadows is the second book in the Zane Halloway series by P.T. Hylton. Following an attempt on his life by one of the wives of a man Zane killed long ago, Zane and Lily are recruited by the King to kill the head of their own society in order to prevent war with neighboring Tavel. The King sends his Sword and his Shadow, his two most trusted advisors, to assist as they break into the Ferox Great Hall to assassinate the head of the Society.
“The King’s Guard only salute one man. The King’s Sword.”
I really like Hylton’s concept of the King’s Sword and Shadow. The Sword being the King’s champion and representative on the battlefield, and the Shadow his personal abditus. I’m not so sure that being a great fighter and magic user would mean you are smart enough to advise the King on all of the other things that go into running a country, but it’s an awesome idea for a fantasy book.
“He had a rule, a very important rule: Never kill for free.”
I also like that Zane repeatedly reminds Lily to never kill for free; an assassin only kills when he or she is being paid. It’s something she takes to heart and it demonstrates that Zane is a professional and not some thug with a sword. He has his own system of values and is not just a heartless killer. At least, not all the time.
I rate Swords & Shadows four stars. I enjoyed it a little more than Thorns & Tangles. I liked reading about Zane’s past, and Lilly continues to play a prominent role. Both are great characters. These novellas are short fast reads, but Hylton draws you in quickly and keeps you reading long after you should have put the kindle down and gone to sleep.
“The King’s Guard only salute one man. The King’s Sword.”
I really like Hylton’s concept of the King’s Sword and Shadow. The Sword being the King’s champion and representative on the battlefield, and the Shadow his personal abditus. I’m not so sure that being a great fighter and magic user would mean you are smart enough to advise the King on all of the other things that go into running a country, but it’s an awesome idea for a fantasy book.
“He had a rule, a very important rule: Never kill for free.”
I also like that Zane repeatedly reminds Lily to never kill for free; an assassin only kills when he or she is being paid. It’s something she takes to heart and it demonstrates that Zane is a professional and not some thug with a sword. He has his own system of values and is not just a heartless killer. At least, not all the time.
I rate Swords & Shadows four stars. I enjoyed it a little more than Thorns & Tangles. I liked reading about Zane’s past, and Lilly continues to play a prominent role. Both are great characters. These novellas are short fast reads, but Hylton draws you in quickly and keeps you reading long after you should have put the kindle down and gone to sleep.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews