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Koholt Chronicles #1
The Beast in the Rocks
When a mining expedition goes missing, the washed-up mercenary Koholt is tasked to find it. But in the depths of the caves, darkness shrouds the distance between man and beast....
The 11 000 word novella THE BEAST IN THE ROCKS is the first book of the Koholt Chronicles, which tell the tale of how the battered mercenary Koholt's discoveries in the mines of Tvinde town puts him on a collision course with the power politics of the world of All – and with his own past.
The 11 000 word novella THE BEAST IN THE ROCKS is the first book of the Koholt Chronicles, which tell the tale of how the battered mercenary Koholt's discoveries in the mines of Tvinde town puts him on a collision course with the power politics of the world of All – and with his own past.
- GenresFantasy
37 pages, ebook
First published July 2, 2015
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Jon Erebus
4 books3 followersJon Erebus is the author of Tales from the World of All, a new cycle of dark fantasy stories set in a mysterious realm where magic resides in language itself.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 11, 2022
An unusual and dangerous beast stalks the darkness in this sword and sorcery tale.
A well written and edited long short story or short novella. Even in this limited length the author is able to develop characters to the point that the reader cares about them. The story ends with the opening for a sequel. What is the mystery of the beast and why is it important to an empire?
A well written and edited long short story or short novella. Even in this limited length the author is able to develop characters to the point that the reader cares about them. The story ends with the opening for a sequel. What is the mystery of the beast and why is it important to an empire?
November 10, 2015
I'm giving 3.5 on this short story.
A famous mercenary named Koholt is wasting away his days as a guard at some mines when he's summoned by the Duke to check out missing mining party that has disappeared.
The first several paragraphs took some getting used to. The sentences were a bit long and seemed off-putting. After that initial hump, I moved forward with ease. I'm not sure if that means I got used to Jon Erebus' style or the writing changed. (Note: It appears I became used to the style as I see the longer sentences at the end of the book.)
Once the story gets under way with Koholt and a small group searching for the missing party I became very engaged. Koholt is a good grimdark type of character who is capable, but also stand-offish and prone to getting high daily. The resolution and set up for a continuation of the story was quite good.
I'll check out at least the next short story.
A famous mercenary named Koholt is wasting away his days as a guard at some mines when he's summoned by the Duke to check out missing mining party that has disappeared.
The first several paragraphs took some getting used to. The sentences were a bit long and seemed off-putting. After that initial hump, I moved forward with ease. I'm not sure if that means I got used to Jon Erebus' style or the writing changed. (Note: It appears I became used to the style as I see the longer sentences at the end of the book.)
Once the story gets under way with Koholt and a small group searching for the missing party I became very engaged. Koholt is a good grimdark type of character who is capable, but also stand-offish and prone to getting high daily. The resolution and set up for a continuation of the story was quite good.
I'll check out at least the next short story.
April 19, 2019
Koholt is an aging mercenary of legendary reputation who has retired to a small mining town where he trains guards and accompanies miners into the depths to protect them from beasts that live in the darkness. It’s a fairly easy job until a group of miners penetrates to a new subterranean level and disappears. The local ruler, High Duke Nessa, wants Koholt to determine what happened to them. High politics are at stake as the Duke maneuvers to keep his duchy free of the neighboring empire and he isn’t prepared to take “no” for an answer.
The trip into the mine is extremely well done with Erebus handling the darkness and isolation very credibly. The fate of the missing miners leads to some tense action—both physical and psychological—and sets the stage for the next story in this series.
Koholt makes an interesting protagonist. He’s a drug addict and strikes me as suffering from depression as well. Yet he’s also an amazingly pragmatic man who is able to accept the challenges life throws at him. He’s also smart enough to realize he doesn’t want to be in the middle of the political problem the High Duke has sucked him into.
One of the biggest advantage that this story has is that it is short. You can read it in one sitting and go right on to the next one—which is what I plan to do.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
The trip into the mine is extremely well done with Erebus handling the darkness and isolation very credibly. The fate of the missing miners leads to some tense action—both physical and psychological—and sets the stage for the next story in this series.
Koholt makes an interesting protagonist. He’s a drug addict and strikes me as suffering from depression as well. Yet he’s also an amazingly pragmatic man who is able to accept the challenges life throws at him. He’s also smart enough to realize he doesn’t want to be in the middle of the political problem the High Duke has sucked him into.
One of the biggest advantage that this story has is that it is short. You can read it in one sitting and go right on to the next one—which is what I plan to do.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
May 21, 2017
Got this fantasy novella by the courtesy of the writer. The first of it `s kind got from an english writer on Goodreads. Yey for me!
I for one hadn`t any problems with the sentences or the writing, in generally, only that the story, along the way, doesn`t have any big surprises. The title kind of reveals all that we have here.
Still it`s a good way to introduce us in this new universe, even if, there are only glimpses of the stuff that it contains.
The space is too small to be impress by any of the characters, but overall, it looks like there could be hidden potential in some of them.
It`s true that there is nothing unseen in this story, so surprising that you`ll want more, but the novella it`s enjoyable enough, not to be feeling sorry for your small amount of time needed for reading it.
Three stars for my part.
I for one hadn`t any problems with the sentences or the writing, in generally, only that the story, along the way, doesn`t have any big surprises. The title kind of reveals all that we have here.
Still it`s a good way to introduce us in this new universe, even if, there are only glimpses of the stuff that it contains.
The space is too small to be impress by any of the characters, but overall, it looks like there could be hidden potential in some of them.
It`s true that there is nothing unseen in this story, so surprising that you`ll want more, but the novella it`s enjoyable enough, not to be feeling sorry for your small amount of time needed for reading it.
Three stars for my part.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews