Take the Body and Give Me the Rest

Soldiers and Gods #1

by Julius Schenk

Seth stood and watched the nightmare creature as it tore its past master into bloody shreds and tried not to let the gripping fear show on his face. He could feel the man's life force, his memories, his talents and hard won skills filling his own mind and body, turning him into something much more than the lowly soldier he'd been just mere moments before.

Re-edited and Sept 2015

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 2, 2013

About the author

My name is Julius, I'm an indy Fantasy writer, from Australia now living in london or somewhere like Cambodia or Thailand if the visa office is giving me a hard time. My aim as a writer is to create original things. Maybe a new creature or power or look at something like vampires and demons in different ways.

The dream would be in 20 years people i don't know are making movies and writing books about something i originally came up with. Like Bram Stoker for vampires, or Romaro for zombies.

I write grimdark and gritty adventure fantasy. I like a hero with a heart of gold and a blood drenched sword. My favorite authors are Joe Abercrombie, H P Lovecraft and Tanith Lee. I have also clocked around 200 hours on skyrim and like fantasy games, i might write a lit-rpg book one day soon.


My Stuff

www.facebook.com/juliusschenkaus
www.julius-schenk.com
www.twitter.com/xjuliusx_x

Reviews

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a really awful title but the one thing it does have going for it is that it provides a fairly accurate description of the plot!

Betrayal has left young warrior Seth a slave in a city far from his home. Things only get worse for him when his new master summons a demon and asks it to kill him! Lucky for Seth the demon is not such a fan of its master and with Seth's help they break the summoning circle and the demon kills its former master. That would have been pretty cool on its own but as an added bonus the demon passes all the memories and skills of the one it kills onto its new master, Seth! Which is good as the master he just killed was an important man in the Dark Guild and Seth soon finds himself a hunted man.

The story was OK. Seth was just about likeable enough to root for, most of the time. The demons were pretty cool but their world and purpose was not all that well explored. One of the better aspects of the story was Seth's battle not to slip into moral depravity. The demon needed to be feed constantly and each new kill brought Seth more and more power. He had to guard against becoming just the sort of man his old master had been.

The ideas behind the story were good but I'm not quite sure the writing was up to the same standard. It was not bad but I always had that feeling that things were nearly working rather than actually working.

Another annoying flaw was the fact that this book ended on a massive cliffhanger. Sometimes I'm OK with that if it seems a natural finishing point for a story but this felt more like it just stopped mid-stride! I notice there is three books in this series. I'm of the opinion right now that it was probably one large book split into three parts so the author could bleed three "buys" for it! Though I guess it could also be because people are more likely to give a shorter self-published book a chance than they are a large one. I must admit I'd probably not have committed to this had it been 20 hours long rather than 7 hours long in audio.

All in all this was an average dark adventure fantasy. I might buy the next instalment if it gets an audio release or I might not.

Rating: 3 stars.

Audio Note: I was not a big fan of Tom Adams. I did warm to him a bit once the story got going but I'm just never going to be a fan of Scottish accents in my fantasy reads.

[Books With Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was almost ready to give up on free review copies, for most of the ones I listened to have been mediocre at best. The title and premise of this book intrigued me however so I decided to give it another shot. And boy am I glad I did! What a great story this is, I could hardly put it down and finished it in almost 1 day.

This is a strange but gripping mixture of fantasy, vampire story, zombie story and even a bit of Highlander. It also reminded me of LitRPG, not that it's a game, but in the way the story buids up and the MC grows in strength and capabilities.

It is very well written, with well-crafted sentences and grammar, and an interesting plot; it also ends great, with a cliffhanger on the one hand but not a badly done one where the reader is left with the feeling that his book simply cut off mid-story; that is not the case here. All of which make up for the one issue that I have, namely the fact that the - likeable - main character (and all others as well) is rather two-dimensional.

Narration was fun, the narrator tries to give everyone a unique voice. I'm not sure if the very friendly and mild voice for the MC was the best choice; it makes him come off a bit too soft here and there. Also, the narrator has a strong regional accent, which made some of the minor characters very hard to understand.

Anyway, I'm very glad I found this fun book and will definitely keep an I eye out for the sequel, for I have to know what new adventures the MC will be embarking on now, after this climactic ending & cliffhanger...
And I do hope the MC's character, thought processes, background and relationships (and others') will be fleshed out more in the rest of the series.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I was not required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.

[Steeve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping

well written despite the odd typo. the author is obviously a better storyteller than a writer, but I'll take that any day. The story is definitely worth the read for me and hit many of the themes I favor. I prefer loner MCs and this one fit me right to the T, I aleo enjoy some action, and there certainly was a lot here, I likethe MC to be grey and not the boring vanilla good guy template we see in almost every book, and if he has some smarts as well as some brawn that's all good too. Unfortunately the magic system was a bit simplistic, and the power creep factor a bit high. I prefer the training route of slow but steady progree, but still the story remained a draw until the end, which was unfortunately quite abrupt. A clear weakness imho. Nothing prevented a small epilogue that would have brought more of a closure to this first volume, while still keeping all the mystery. I am looking forward to the sequel, which promises to be even more fascinating.

[Stan Slaughter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong character - with a tough problem.

The main character was a strong - no nonsense soldier who had power thrust on to him. Each time power was used it required a death. Even unused a death would be needed every few weeks to placate the demon or he would die.

But - no one said the demon had to be fed good people. Evil ones worked just as well.

I rated this novel a 4 but really wanted to give it a 3 1/2 since it ended in a cliff hanger.

[Helen M. Whitchurch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Original, suspense and action

Ideas 10, grammar and spelling 3. Author doesn't know difference between were (past tense) and we're
(we are contraction). Mistake repeated through book. More mistakes. With editing it would have been a five star book.

[Shanna Tidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing. I really didn’t know what to expect. Very much an original story. Seth is a reluctant hero and evil person all at the same time. He struggles between what he feels and thinks is right and wrong. The story has me very much intrigued and drawn in. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. It is sure to be just as good if not better.
Tom Adams does an excellent job narrating. It’s been a while since I was blown away with a narrator. I hope he does the next book too.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

[Patrick Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glorious story despite editing flaws

I absolutely loved this concept and story. It was a wild ride, and beautiful in its execution. I enjoyed this story so much that I'm giving it five stars despite the fact that it has many glaring editing flaws. It's badass even in spite of this. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[s · Rating 3 out of 5]

the title is worse than the book.

[Hectaizani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the unwieldy and unfortunate (but exceptionally descriptive) title this book has a lot going for it. I listened to the audio version (narrator with a Scottish accent, yum!) so I can't comment on the print version. Some of the other reviewers noted it needed a better editor.

The author is an excellent story teller who grabbed my attention from the beginning. The main character, Seth, finds himself for sale at a slave market. His crime? Being a country bumpkin in the big city. As the book progresses Seth finds himself becoming a "taker" or is it a "gatherer?" Anyway, it's a person who with a little help from a denizen of the dead lands can take the skills and memories of another. Naturally, this ability comes with a price. So it's a bizarre twist on a coming of age story.

I received a free copy of the audio book in the hopes that I'd post a review. Whether or not I get a free copy of the second book (which follows the unwieldy title tradition) Take the Darkness and Give us the Light I've added it to my towering TBR pile.

[Georganne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Power, ambition, and vanity can lead many to the dark side.
This story is of a young man who is thrown into a different kind of world with powerful creatures with a thirst for blood. As Seth travels, he is followed by an unknown force for the magic he possesses. As he learns of his magic and what he is now capable of doing, he is confused. He fights his conscience for right and wrong. His adventures take him to far off travels where he meets many from the Dark Guild. He learns of the Gatherers who seek knowledge above all else. Seth has to decide between evil or good for the benefit of mankind. Can’t wait to read book 2.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually a well written book. There were spelling mistakes, weird sentence structure issues, and flow problems between perspectives of characters, but the overall book was a pleasant read. I pretty much devoured it. I'm actually looking forward to book 2. I hate cliffhangers and this one ended with one. But I was so into the book, this makes it an enjoyable read. This really should be given a 3.5 stars because of the abrupt cliffhanger ending and the various mistakes I mentioned above.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Definitely Different

First up, this is a serial read. It ends with a cliffhanger. So, if you want to continue I sugggest getting alll three. Second, you definitely are going to be interested in Seth's journey. He's engaging and relatable. The other characters, not so much. Third, the writing is such that the characters come off as two-dimensional. At no point do you lose yourself in the story. However, the plot is definitely different. I haven't come across anything quite like it and I`m enjoying the difference.

[Joshua Hair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did what I could to finish this ebook, but there were simply too many errors, both grammatically and syntactically. Aside from that, I felt as though the sex scenes came off more like porno than literary love scenes. However, the overall story was still quite interesting. Unfortunately, I will never know what happens, as the errors deterred me to the point that I had to give up on it.

[David Warren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting idea badly executed

I liked the premise of the book, which could have challenged notions of memory and the meaning of self. Unfortunately, it was drug down by really poor execution, the book read as if it was written in another language and then fed through a translation program into English.

[Cnygaard_japanyahoo.Com]

Formatting

The formatting is absolutely atrocious. It looks like you indented twice for every paragraph. Plus, the introduction of the Mc suggests he would be the type to die before being enslaved in a battle against terrible odds. Doesn’t make sense.

[M.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly basic but decent fantady novel that is missing a little depth.

[Amber Cherne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful read, has some grammatical errors

This was a great story, and would have gotten 5 star rating but for the grammatical errors throughout the book.

[Ryan Wisniewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

i absolutely loved this book, im sad all the things i like to read or watch tend to end abruptly but thats where my imagination comes in. i cant wait to read the second and the third.

[Brandy Knust · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty cool story, but hard to read because of all the mistakes. i would love to edit this book and have it reprinted

[Kevin Megill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn't quite deliver on the promise it had at first.

[Hector · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody words

To all who like sorcery and magic this book has it all action and battles with monster from another realm you wont be disappointed when you read this one get it asap

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable

There were quite a few errors that distracted from the story but it was still an enjoyable read if you can get past them.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woof! Fierce!

Interesting, especially the mc! The plot and twists were good reading. Really enjoyed this story and looking forward to the next one!

[Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Quite a good book, very nice action and interesting characters that will keep your attention to the end. I’m looking forward to the next book

[Máire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very violent

Gratuitous violence. The book was fairly interesting but there was a lot of violence and death, which are not my cup of tea

[Rodger Nelson]

This is one hell of a story with its premise. Had to love the characters. Each one had his good points. Seth though is pretty dark though. But at least he is quite respectful.