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Blood Of Kings: The Shadow Mage
Heroes will rise, kingdoms will fall. In a world of violence, magic and rivalries, change is sweeping across the lands. To the north the sea raiders of the Pirate Isles are jostling for position in the race to see who will succeed their dying king. The claim of Jarl Crawulf of Wind Isle is to the fore, but there are those who would seek to damage his reputation in a treacherous game of power. While in the Duchies to the south an ambitious duke is intent on increasing his position and wealth by invading the lands of the feared dream-witch, a dangerous and lethal enemy. Caught in the midst of all this turmoil and upheaval is a blacksmith and his wife - a village healer. Arrested for witchcraft and sentenced to burn Aliss is pulled from the flames by her husband. Tomas then seeks the aid of a dark witch to heal her terrible injuries. Fugitives from the law, and cursed by dark magic, their love for each other and loyalties to those who would use them will be tested to the limit.
- GenresFantasy
352 pages, Paperback
Published August 28, 2016
3 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Paul Freeman
49 books55 followersPaul Freeman is from Dublin, Ireland, where he now works, plays and writes. In the past he has lived in Germany and America but is now content to keep his roaming to the worlds he creates and writes about.
Tribesman is his first published novel, an epic fantasy with hints of Celtic myth. He has also published a short story in the steampunk anthology, Strange Tales From the Scriptorium Vaults. Season of the Dead is a novel about the zombie apocalypse, told from four different perspectives by four different authors. Season of the Dead is published by Spore Press
Book 2 in the Tribesman series, Warrior is now available.
Tribesman is his first published novel, an epic fantasy with hints of Celtic myth. He has also published a short story in the steampunk anthology, Strange Tales From the Scriptorium Vaults. Season of the Dead is a novel about the zombie apocalypse, told from four different perspectives by four different authors. Season of the Dead is published by Spore Press
Book 2 in the Tribesman series, Warrior is now available.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 3, 2020
*This is one of the #SPFBO titles in my batch this year*
I knew right from the start of this book that it would be a bit of a slow burn fantasy as it's divided across vast lands and quite a few viewpoints, and it's the sort of book I tend to enjoy. There's blacksmiths with secret pasts and big destiny, mages and dream-witches at war, duchies and pirates fighting for wealth and territories, princesses with hidden magic and new betrothals. Basically, it's got all the elements of a fantasy story and all the trappings to go alongside it. It starts off slowly introducing the characters, but soon grows in scope as you follow the different plots and how they come together, and it's a book I think classic and epic fantasy readers will certainly enjoy.
The main characters included:
Thomas and Aliss - Blacksmith and his wife who's accused of being a witch and attempts are made to burn her alive.
Rosinnio - a princess who's married to the Jarl from the pirate isles, a match not exactly made in heaven, but maybe an important one.
Duke Normand - a man with ambition to seize the land ruled by the dream-witches or priestesses and expand his territory.
Jarl Crawulf - married to Rosinnio and fighting the duchies.
Djangra Roe - mage assistant to Duke Normand and attempting to find out more about the Priestesses' realms and gods.
The pacing of this feels like a steady build up with a slower introduction to ease you into the characters. This is super classic in fantasy and not anything new, but it's a tried and tested technique and it works to gradually draw you in before the later action of the plot.
The magic is typically present but not particularly explained. There is all sorts of magic-use in this, and we see quite a few characters able to manipulate or communicate with magic of some form.
Overall, this is a solid fantasy book and I can't fault it for that, but there's also not really anything I haven't seen before, just remixed here. It's an enjoyable read and leaves promises of more to be explored, and I think if you enjoy fantasy worlds you'll like this, but it's not super unique from other stories. 3.25*s so 6.5/10 for #SPFBO.
I knew right from the start of this book that it would be a bit of a slow burn fantasy as it's divided across vast lands and quite a few viewpoints, and it's the sort of book I tend to enjoy. There's blacksmiths with secret pasts and big destiny, mages and dream-witches at war, duchies and pirates fighting for wealth and territories, princesses with hidden magic and new betrothals. Basically, it's got all the elements of a fantasy story and all the trappings to go alongside it. It starts off slowly introducing the characters, but soon grows in scope as you follow the different plots and how they come together, and it's a book I think classic and epic fantasy readers will certainly enjoy.
The main characters included:
Thomas and Aliss - Blacksmith and his wife who's accused of being a witch and attempts are made to burn her alive.
Rosinnio - a princess who's married to the Jarl from the pirate isles, a match not exactly made in heaven, but maybe an important one.
Duke Normand - a man with ambition to seize the land ruled by the dream-witches or priestesses and expand his territory.
Jarl Crawulf - married to Rosinnio and fighting the duchies.
Djangra Roe - mage assistant to Duke Normand and attempting to find out more about the Priestesses' realms and gods.
The pacing of this feels like a steady build up with a slower introduction to ease you into the characters. This is super classic in fantasy and not anything new, but it's a tried and tested technique and it works to gradually draw you in before the later action of the plot.
The magic is typically present but not particularly explained. There is all sorts of magic-use in this, and we see quite a few characters able to manipulate or communicate with magic of some form.
Overall, this is a solid fantasy book and I can't fault it for that, but there's also not really anything I haven't seen before, just remixed here. It's an enjoyable read and leaves promises of more to be explored, and I think if you enjoy fantasy worlds you'll like this, but it's not super unique from other stories. 3.25*s so 6.5/10 for #SPFBO.
August 31, 2016
I really enjoyed this epic fantasy novel. Totally recommend it to fantasy lovers!
September 14, 2019
Awesome story!
Great characters that you grow to love. Epic battle of good versus evil, but who is good and who is evil? A few twists, and a few characters grow and change. Waiting for a sequel
Great characters that you grow to love. Epic battle of good versus evil, but who is good and who is evil? A few twists, and a few characters grow and change. Waiting for a sequel
November 12, 2019
“We are all after something”
Those are the words of Elandrial the Witch Queen and they sum up the book beautifully. Against a dark, moody and richly developed back drop there is a varied cast of characters who are all seeking something. Tomas seeks only to be with his love Aliss who has been accused of being a witch. Jarl Crawulf who wants to be king and his princess Rosinnio who wants to be more than just a princess. There are many more stories wrapped within these, but I don’t want to ruin if for anyone. I read this book a while ago and had forgotten how good it truly is. Those who love epic fiction will not be disappointed. Are you ready for an adventure?
Those are the words of Elandrial the Witch Queen and they sum up the book beautifully. Against a dark, moody and richly developed back drop there is a varied cast of characters who are all seeking something. Tomas seeks only to be with his love Aliss who has been accused of being a witch. Jarl Crawulf who wants to be king and his princess Rosinnio who wants to be more than just a princess. There are many more stories wrapped within these, but I don’t want to ruin if for anyone. I read this book a while ago and had forgotten how good it truly is. Those who love epic fiction will not be disappointed. Are you ready for an adventure?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews