Tybalt Perdition

by John Cordial

The truth isn’t constant and it’s rarely easy, but Caldyr’s good at tracking it down. Always been pretty decent with justice, too, so detective felt like a natural career choice for the young ocean fairy. Finding work has been another matter, but she’s getting by all right.

Until the god of trickery (and love) knocks on her door. Reynardine Slybold, The Dread Fox, is smarmy chaos in a lurid suit and—of course—he’s got a problem, just not the one Caldyr expects. Can the fairy save the Fox? Do villains deserve a chance?

Genres: Fantasy

105 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Hello! I'm John Cordial and I write fiction. I live in Central California and most of my stories are set there. I've been a construction worker, a retail worker, a driver, and a dozen other things, but books are my true passion. Reading normally, but I've always wanted to be an author, so here I am. Authoring things. It's what I do now. I'm also an avid social media user, Twitter is my platform of choice: @john_cordial. I can often be found there, doing writer stuff and talking about stories.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! I picked this up on a whim, at the recommendation of a fellow writer. I love stories about myths and gods, alternate worlds and creatures, and this slim, pacy read grabbed me from the beginning. It starts with a cool origin story and takes off from there. The stakes are high for trickster Reynardine the Fox, a roguish anti-hero who can't help but cause trouble. His enemies are fed up and detective water fairy Caldyr Prayers is drawn into his problems. I think this would have worked just as well as a full length novel and would recommend it to both adults and older teens. The author draws from many different mythologies, and the result is an absolute feast for the imagination.

[Cassondra Windwalker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perversely charming, wickedly entertaining, sharp and brilliant – if it describes the Trickster of any Myths, then it well describes Tybalt Perdition. I found myself driven pell-mell from one scene to the next in a rollicking ride that left me gasping for air and overcome with regret when it finally deposited me, wild-haired and wild-eyed, at the end of the journey. I’m fairly convinced that the author John Cordial is nothing more than glamour for Reynardine himself, given the twists and turns he so effortlessly weaves into his tale. Cordial’s writing is every bit as delicious and intoxicating as it sounds, light on the tongue and heavy on the heart. An absolute win.

[Kathleen Gauton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever story filled with charming characters that is delightful from start to end. John Cordial has a marvelous take on mythology, and if you are a fan of mythology in general you will most certainly enjoy this book.

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is just barely shy of 4 stars for me.

I follow John Cordial on Twitter, and snatched this book up since it was only a dollar and I love fantasy and mysteries. I could tell that Cordial has crafted a really detailed world that he understands very deeply, but I did feel that a lot of the worldbuilding details came at the reader a bit too fast, especially at the beginning. I found it difficult to catch up on all the colloquialisms he threw in and stuff.

I did find the characters really interesting, and the prose was sharp and had just the right amount of pretty description to satisfy me without getting too flowery. I loved all the mythology references, and the ways we were shown how the different gods, goddesses, and magical creatures behaved across centuries and in the modern world.

The book didn't really feel like much of a mystery to me, though, except for right at the end. But even then the big solution to the conflict didn't make sense to me. I could understand what the characters were saying had happened, but I wasn't able to grasp the explanations of /how/ it all unfolded and tied together, which was unfortunate.

(As a side note, there were also some minor punctuation/grammatical errors that disrupted the flow of reading for me a few times.)

Overall I really enjoyed this short, fun fantasy read! It was very cool seeing all the twists on classic tropes and creatures. I'd be happy to read more about this fairy sleuth in the future.

[Queenly Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read snippets between Reynard and Caldyr on Twitter, I knew I was in for witty, sharp dialogue with extra zing. (If you're not following John Cordial on Twitter, you should be!)

What I didn't know was that I was also in for a clever puzzle of a plot with possibly the strongest epilogue I've ever read.

Caldyr is a fairy and a detective in the story, but really the reader has to put her sleuth's hat on here. It's not a typical mystery. Add in a pantheon of gods and goddesses, myths and talking animals, and Cordial has a vibrant, original world that spans both California and a few places of myth and magic.

One god, the trickster Reynardine the Fox, wants to give up his immortality. The catch? His ancient nemesis the Wolf wants him dead. Caldyr is given the impossible task to save someone she dislikes heartily. Cordial teases us with this backstory between these two, only dropping the final shoe in the epilogue. And it got me right in the heart. I think the shoe print is still there.

If as a reader, you enjoy a fast-paced beginning, I urge you to slow down and read through the prologue. It may seem unimportant at first, but Cordial satisfies in the end.

I look forward to the next Caldyr Prayers book!

[Jena Blancard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! I've never read anything like it before. I'm obsessed with myths and the spin he put on his characters was absolutely fantastic.

The first chapter sucks you into a new world during which Caldyr the water fairy is born. From her first word "fuck", you can tell what kind of personality she has.

Caldyr is an amazing sassy blue fairy that becomes a detective of sorts. She has a run in with a sly smooth talking fox named Reynardine. He decides to quit being a God and it all goes downhill for him from there. He needs her help to escape the hunt of the wolf God Isengrim who wants him dead.

There's action, adventure, myths, Gods and Goddesses of all kinds. Plenty of playful banter and just amazing world building skills.

At the end of the book you find out just how sly Reynardine the fox really is. I definitely had to re-read this book and saw how everything clicked into place.

This book is part of a series and I cannot wait to read more! Go buy this book! You won't be disappointed.

[Chasing Dreams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella is everything I love about contemporary fantasy mixed with a good old detective story. The main character is a badass fairy detective; strong and independent and slightly cynical as all good detectives generally are. Offsetting Caldyr is Reynardine the Fox – a smart-talking Myth who became a god, and now wants to be mortal again.

The worlds they move between, from modern-day America, to Lumin and Elledgya, are beautifully woven into the action, which involves a lot of quick-thinking, fast talking and brilliant story-telling.

It's not often I find a fantasy novella that develops its characters as wonderfully as Cordial has in this book. Throw in a mix of different pantheons and mythologies, a love story that spans centuries, and characters who aren’t perfect but are better for it, and the Glass Fate series is one that I will be following for as long as the author keeps writing them.

[DK Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I follow Cordial on Twitter and found his writing there heartfelt and fun, and wanted to read something he wrote longer than 280 characters, so I tried Tybalt Prediction. The story did not disappoint. It was a mixture, of sweet, humor, and slyness.

I'd recommend this story to those that like fantasy fiction (this novella has shape-shifting gods, myths, and fairies) humor, and twists that will leave you guessing until the end.

I look forward to reading more by John Cordial.

[Debby Taylor-Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are very, very few books that I will start again as soon as I've finished. Tybalt Perdition is one of them.

This is a well written story that includes everything anyone could ever want. A sassy blue water fairy, an intelligent, articulate and highly amusing fox, Gods, lots of Gods (all the aforementioned take human form-on occasion) AND a mystery.

I cannot recommend this wonderful book highly enough and wait with eager anticipation for the following books in the series.