What do you think?
Rate this book
Pilgrims with Blades #1
Pressed into Service
-Pressed into Service-
Facing a crisis, and looking for any excuse to strike in force against the orcs occupying the hills to their south, the city-state Kashmer conscripts privateers and adventurers into war. A band of strangers must learn to support and adapt to each other as a daring plan separates them from the main force in hostile territory. Each possess their own mystery, but without cooperation and trust, they will be doomed to failure.
Pressed into Service is the introduction to the bold Pilgrims with Blades series.
-Pilgrims with Blades-
The half-orc savage, who takes pride in a company he no longer serves. The dusk-skinned archer, carrying a bow from her forgotten homeland. The dwarf who studies the past so he can create a future. The knight who pays fealty to no lord. The elf sorceress seeking knowledge, but what specific question is she trying to answer?
They will band together, seeking separate goals. How far will pilgrims travel to discover who they are?
Author Douglas Van Dyke Jr, inspired by the Conan series of adventures by Robert E. Howard, begins an epic tale drawn around five characters. Each has their own concealed mystery they attempt to pursue: life-quests driving them to the ends of the Realm of Dhea Loral. Their individual pilgrimages cause them to band together as they face their failings and fears.
Facing a crisis, and looking for any excuse to strike in force against the orcs occupying the hills to their south, the city-state Kashmer conscripts privateers and adventurers into war. A band of strangers must learn to support and adapt to each other as a daring plan separates them from the main force in hostile territory. Each possess their own mystery, but without cooperation and trust, they will be doomed to failure.
Pressed into Service is the introduction to the bold Pilgrims with Blades series.
-Pilgrims with Blades-
The half-orc savage, who takes pride in a company he no longer serves. The dusk-skinned archer, carrying a bow from her forgotten homeland. The dwarf who studies the past so he can create a future. The knight who pays fealty to no lord. The elf sorceress seeking knowledge, but what specific question is she trying to answer?
They will band together, seeking separate goals. How far will pilgrims travel to discover who they are?
Author Douglas Van Dyke Jr, inspired by the Conan series of adventures by Robert E. Howard, begins an epic tale drawn around five characters. Each has their own concealed mystery they attempt to pursue: life-quests driving them to the ends of the Realm of Dhea Loral. Their individual pilgrimages cause them to band together as they face their failings and fears.
144 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
1 person is currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Van Dyke Jr.
20 books48 followersBorn in 1971, Douglas Van Dyke Jr is an award-winning author that mostly writes fantasy tales in the realm called Dhea Loral. It is a world in which readers are rewarded by characters and events making appearances across different book series. Many of his characters evolved in RPG and MMORPG games, further developing their own personalities.
His epic trilogy intro, "The Earthrin Stones,” sold a surprising amount and received some blushing praise. Both "The Widow Brigade" and "Apprentice Storm Mage" won BRAG honors in 2023.
He’s taught schoolchildren about writing, tours several Midwest conventions during the year, sends out at least one newsletter/month, and works in medical imaging.
Website: DheaLoral.com
His epic trilogy intro, "The Earthrin Stones,” sold a surprising amount and received some blushing praise. Both "The Widow Brigade" and "Apprentice Storm Mage" won BRAG honors in 2023.
He’s taught schoolchildren about writing, tours several Midwest conventions during the year, sends out at least one newsletter/month, and works in medical imaging.
Website: DheaLoral.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 13, 2024
loved it!
A fantastic debut novel that sets the stage for an epic fantasy series. Van Dyke Jr, writing is descriptive and immersive, with a focus on character development and world-building.
The cast of characters is diverse and intriguing, with each one having their own secrets and motivations. The story is full of action, suspense, and emotional depth, making it a compelling read for fans of fantasy and adventure.
Can't wait to see where the series goes from here!
A fantastic debut novel that sets the stage for an epic fantasy series. Van Dyke Jr, writing is descriptive and immersive, with a focus on character development and world-building.
The cast of characters is diverse and intriguing, with each one having their own secrets and motivations. The story is full of action, suspense, and emotional depth, making it a compelling read for fans of fantasy and adventure.
Can't wait to see where the series goes from here!
August 1, 2018
I was given a copy of Pilgrims with Blades by the author, Douglas Van Dyke Jr, at a convention I attended. There are many things to love about this book. The appendices and artwork give great flavor to the world of Dhea Loral, which is a part of the larger world that Van Dyke writes in (with at least one completed trilogy apart from the Pilgrims that I know about.)
I’m familiar somewhat with his writing, and Van Dyke’s writing is tight and action is well paced and thought out. Immediately, I spotted some things that made me grin, like the dwarf who dreamed he was a giant (one of the great, crowd-pleasing ironies viewers pointed out in Avengers: Infinity War was this exact same scene played out by Peter Dinklage. Spoiler alert—Van Dyke’s came out first.) The weight of the dream sequence itself hearkened back to another fantasy series that I absolutely love: The Wheel of Time. While the Dhea Loral series is nowhere near the scope of Robert Jordans’ 11,500 PAGE epic, it’s a great start and I can safely recommend the Dhea Loral series to fans of high fantasy, across the board.
I’m familiar somewhat with his writing, and Van Dyke’s writing is tight and action is well paced and thought out. Immediately, I spotted some things that made me grin, like the dwarf who dreamed he was a giant (one of the great, crowd-pleasing ironies viewers pointed out in Avengers: Infinity War was this exact same scene played out by Peter Dinklage. Spoiler alert—Van Dyke’s came out first.) The weight of the dream sequence itself hearkened back to another fantasy series that I absolutely love: The Wheel of Time. While the Dhea Loral series is nowhere near the scope of Robert Jordans’ 11,500 PAGE epic, it’s a great start and I can safely recommend the Dhea Loral series to fans of high fantasy, across the board.
April 30, 2022
The city-state of Kashmer, in the realm of Dhea Loral, has a problem. One of its nobles has been captured by orcs, and the ransom asked is ludicrous. It’s actually cheaper to mobilize the military; while the army attacks from one side with the elite fighting force of the Regindal family at the fore, every independent “privateer” in the city is drafted into a distraction force to be landed by the navy on the other side of the orc-infested hills. Our protagonists are five of those privateers.
Technically, not all of them are privateers as such. In their haste, the city also drafted any person with unusual talents who just happened to be passing through at the time, on pain of imprisonment. And they will be paid for their efforts, if they survive. Those without previous affiliations are sorted by lot, and then there is a certain amount of trading for balance or acquaintance. The resulting “small-clan” consists of five. Vallese is a dark-skinned archer stolen from her homeland as a child, a place so far that not even trained bards know where it lies. Sir Cruso, a lordless knight looking for a new way to serve. Allisee, an elven sorceress whose arcane ancestry may be a little too close to the surface. Urgosk, the half-orc berserker whose warband are all dead and with no qualms about attacking other orcs. And Mornik, dwarf fire priest looking for an answer to his clan’s problems. Each with secrets, and each on a pilgrimage.
They are now battle companions, and may well end as friends. If they survive!
This is the first in a new series of short novels set in the author’s homebrew fantasy setting of Dhea Loral. This is very much in the tradition of tabletop fantasy roleplaying games, and you can almost see the character sheets. It has largely familiar races and “character classes.”
After the prologue is a dream sequence that gives us some insight into the protagonists’ issues, the first chapter is actually about the Regindal family. This gives us a chance to see how an experienced, well-equipped team that has trained together for years operates, before flashing back a few days to the story proper and our ragtag bunch of misfits.
The next bits are clunky as the newly formed team of adventurers has to introduce themselves to each other and explain their powers and abilities for planning purposes. (While leaving out some details involving their backgrounds. Secrets!) The narrative flow much improves once the team hits the beach and goes into combat ala D-Day.
The game mechanics are thinly veiled, but the “play style” does well to keep the party a balanced team who each have strengths and weaknesses and can cover for each other. It’s a relief from other RPG-based stories where it’s the hero and their support party, or worse the “cheat ability” character and their cheer squad. There’s enough personality to cause a certain amount of intra-party conflict, without the characters letting it get in the way of accomplishing their mission.
There’s a bit of politics in the background, like Kashmer’s dubious draft system and clear favoritism towards nobles, but it’s unclear if that will be coming to the fore in future volumes. Based on the sequel hook, it looks like each subsequent volume will focus on the backstory of one of the protagonists, starting with Allisee.
There are more complete portraits of each of the main characters, an explanation of the calendar, and a list of the main gods of the setting at the end.
Content note: Lots and lots of fantasy violence. It’s kill or be killed. Fantastic racism; most other humanoids don’t like orcs or half-orcs. Vallese’s backstory is hinted at being particularly traumatic and may have involved non-consensual sex.
Overall: An okay fantasy story. Future volumes should be less afflicted with the clunkiness needed to introduce the characters’ gimmicks. Recommended to fans of Dungeons and Dragons and similar games.
Technically, not all of them are privateers as such. In their haste, the city also drafted any person with unusual talents who just happened to be passing through at the time, on pain of imprisonment. And they will be paid for their efforts, if they survive. Those without previous affiliations are sorted by lot, and then there is a certain amount of trading for balance or acquaintance. The resulting “small-clan” consists of five. Vallese is a dark-skinned archer stolen from her homeland as a child, a place so far that not even trained bards know where it lies. Sir Cruso, a lordless knight looking for a new way to serve. Allisee, an elven sorceress whose arcane ancestry may be a little too close to the surface. Urgosk, the half-orc berserker whose warband are all dead and with no qualms about attacking other orcs. And Mornik, dwarf fire priest looking for an answer to his clan’s problems. Each with secrets, and each on a pilgrimage.
They are now battle companions, and may well end as friends. If they survive!
This is the first in a new series of short novels set in the author’s homebrew fantasy setting of Dhea Loral. This is very much in the tradition of tabletop fantasy roleplaying games, and you can almost see the character sheets. It has largely familiar races and “character classes.”
After the prologue is a dream sequence that gives us some insight into the protagonists’ issues, the first chapter is actually about the Regindal family. This gives us a chance to see how an experienced, well-equipped team that has trained together for years operates, before flashing back a few days to the story proper and our ragtag bunch of misfits.
The next bits are clunky as the newly formed team of adventurers has to introduce themselves to each other and explain their powers and abilities for planning purposes. (While leaving out some details involving their backgrounds. Secrets!) The narrative flow much improves once the team hits the beach and goes into combat ala D-Day.
The game mechanics are thinly veiled, but the “play style” does well to keep the party a balanced team who each have strengths and weaknesses and can cover for each other. It’s a relief from other RPG-based stories where it’s the hero and their support party, or worse the “cheat ability” character and their cheer squad. There’s enough personality to cause a certain amount of intra-party conflict, without the characters letting it get in the way of accomplishing their mission.
There’s a bit of politics in the background, like Kashmer’s dubious draft system and clear favoritism towards nobles, but it’s unclear if that will be coming to the fore in future volumes. Based on the sequel hook, it looks like each subsequent volume will focus on the backstory of one of the protagonists, starting with Allisee.
There are more complete portraits of each of the main characters, an explanation of the calendar, and a list of the main gods of the setting at the end.
Content note: Lots and lots of fantasy violence. It’s kill or be killed. Fantastic racism; most other humanoids don’t like orcs or half-orcs. Vallese’s backstory is hinted at being particularly traumatic and may have involved non-consensual sex.
Overall: An okay fantasy story. Future volumes should be less afflicted with the clunkiness needed to introduce the characters’ gimmicks. Recommended to fans of Dungeons and Dragons and similar games.
March 7, 2025
I've played DnD for a few (ok, a lot) of decades now. I've been creative with ways a party gets together. Bring conscripted into a mini war...hadn't thought about that one.
Still
I love local authors. Met him at the Con of the North and I hope he keeps writing. It's an inspiration to my own endeavors.
Reading his next one...but the half orc... I dunno...not as bad as one of those dragon born characters but...
Still
I love local authors. Met him at the Con of the North and I hope he keeps writing. It's an inspiration to my own endeavors.
Reading his next one...but the half orc... I dunno...not as bad as one of those dragon born characters but...
October 5, 2024
I picked up my copy from the author while attending SiouxperCon this year. I found Douglas’s work to be refreshing. His world gives readers everything they could want in a fantasy adventure. I became invested in the characters and I appreciated the humor. As soon as I finished this book I went and grabbed its sequel. Then I ordered three more of his other books. I can’t wait to see how the author will continue to expand his world.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews