Strong Armed

by J.C. Boyd

Balvoc had always earned his bread with blood on his hands. But when he is forced to protect an amoral merchant to keep his wife safe, he must decide whether his wife's life is worth the havoc caused by Sin-sim's greed.

ebook

Published March 8, 2016

About the author

J.C. lives in the Midwest with his wife and two dogs. He recently earned his MA in English Literature and continues to craft his own dark fantasy world. Before he had completed junior high, J.C. had received his first box set of Dungeons & Dragons and devoured the J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He has had a passion for the fantasy genre ever since.

Reviews

[Ariana Fae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong Armed is a short tale about a Svet/centaur named Balvoc trapped in a difficult situation. JC Boyd creates a protagonist who’s inner turmoil, frustration, rage and hopelessness shows clearly in each page. Boyd had me wondering the whole time how Balvoc was going solve his dilemma. As I watched my kindle count down the time I had left reading, I was hoping the author wasn’t going to end it in cliff hanger. He didn’t. The ending wasn’t what I expected and moving. I actually said “Wow” when I finished the reading the last word.

[David Wiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short tale follows a svet (essentially a centaur in the Thrice Nine Worlds) named Balvoc who is serving a man named Sin-Sim. The inner-conflict raging inside Balvoc throughout the entire story is a nice complement to the external battles that he is also forced into fighting as part of his servitude to Sin-Sim. The reader will be swept up in the imaginative world and the inner turmoil raging inside the mind of Balvoc. They will be able to sympathize with his situation and be challenged to ask themselves how they would react in that situation. The closing chapter of the book is especially powerful, providing a fitting and believable conclusion to this excellent tale. This one is well-worth the time invested and serves as a great introduction to Boyd's Thrice Nine Worlds series.

The only aspect that I found difficult to believe was how many wounds Balvoc suffered and was able to still remain upright and fighting or fleeing. It seemed like he was always getting pierced by spears, sliced by swords, and hit by arrows yet it was never enough to knock him out of the battle, much less bring him close to death. But this was a minor issue that did not detract from how enjoyable the story itself was to read.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

J. C. Boyd continued writing and adding to the writings of Joshua Robertson adding to the series about Melkorka an idea which the dragon lance series also followed whereby different authors gave their input and slant to the bigger picture. This is a short story about a Svet and an Anshadar merchant. It is a tale of love and sacrifice, of bullying and torment but most of all of great courage. The reader is seething throughout this story because of the way the majestic Svet is humiliated by the horrible and totally useless Anshadar but can finally applaud the honour of the Svet.

[Rebekah Jonesy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

A great look into another world and other cultures. With a potent lesson from an unlikely source. Sometimes it's better to die whole than to live a half life.