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Unofficial Legends of The Secret World #1
To Sir, with Love: An Unofficial Legend of The Secret World
When the world ends, the fog rolls into Solomon Island and the dead start to rise. Innsmouth Academy senior Blodwedd Mallory fights to save her school from the destruction. But can she uncover secrets of the Academy’s dark history in time to stop Mal'un the Accursed from destroying the headmaster and preventing her graduation and initiation as a Templar?
It’s Samhaintide, and things are tough right now at Innsmouth Academy. The aftermath of the mysterious fog has left most of the faculty dead and the students running around the Academy grounds as zombies. Only a few remain safely behind the protective wards of the Academy’s Administration Office.
Wedd and her best friend Gypcie spend their time scavenging the campus for supplies and charging the anima wards that keep the marauding zombies out of Innsmouth Academy and the mighty magical tomes of the Academy’s library in. They have mastered the art of doing that while dodging an unruly herd of dangerous familiars, cut loose from the control of the now-dead students who made them. However, one wrong step or misfired spell could mean disaster.
To make matters worse, an old skeleton in the headmaster’s closet reveals itself, and a powerful demon wants vengeance for the unpaid blood debt. When Mal’un the Accursed trespasses the failing Academy wards to collect on the debt, it’s only a matter of time until blood is spilled. With the support of Gypcie and the other Academy survivors, Wedd must figure out how to exorcize the infernal wraith without sacrificing the headmaster’s life.
Not only must she vanquish the wraith, but Wedd still needs to prove her blood magic skills and get her math homework done so she can graduate and join the Templars in London in the spring. That may be one more task than she can manage. So far, the prognosis isn’t looking good.
Dark days aren’t coming for Wedd and the Innsmouth Academy…they’re already here.
It’s Samhaintide, and things are tough right now at Innsmouth Academy. The aftermath of the mysterious fog has left most of the faculty dead and the students running around the Academy grounds as zombies. Only a few remain safely behind the protective wards of the Academy’s Administration Office.
Wedd and her best friend Gypcie spend their time scavenging the campus for supplies and charging the anima wards that keep the marauding zombies out of Innsmouth Academy and the mighty magical tomes of the Academy’s library in. They have mastered the art of doing that while dodging an unruly herd of dangerous familiars, cut loose from the control of the now-dead students who made them. However, one wrong step or misfired spell could mean disaster.
To make matters worse, an old skeleton in the headmaster’s closet reveals itself, and a powerful demon wants vengeance for the unpaid blood debt. When Mal’un the Accursed trespasses the failing Academy wards to collect on the debt, it’s only a matter of time until blood is spilled. With the support of Gypcie and the other Academy survivors, Wedd must figure out how to exorcize the infernal wraith without sacrificing the headmaster’s life.
Not only must she vanquish the wraith, but Wedd still needs to prove her blood magic skills and get her math homework done so she can graduate and join the Templars in London in the spring. That may be one more task than she can manage. So far, the prognosis isn’t looking good.
Dark days aren’t coming for Wedd and the Innsmouth Academy…they’re already here.
155 pages, Paperback
Published October 14, 2018
25 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Blodwedd Mallory
8 books19 followersBlodwedd Mallory is the Secret World alter ego of Amber McKee, a Utah-based writer, editor, and Jill-of-all-trades.
Over the course of her career, she's been a newspaper reporter, movie reviewer, bartender, tarot reader, magazine editor, advocacy trainer, instructional designer, service delivery manager, and more. Now, she realizes what she probably should have been all along was a video game developer. She assuages that pain by creating paranormal fantasy fiction books based on her in-game experiences of an urban fantasy/horror video game. Go figure.
She lives with her hubby and two rescue pups in a formerly haunted house.
Over the course of her career, she's been a newspaper reporter, movie reviewer, bartender, tarot reader, magazine editor, advocacy trainer, instructional designer, service delivery manager, and more. Now, she realizes what she probably should have been all along was a video game developer. She assuages that pain by creating paranormal fantasy fiction books based on her in-game experiences of an urban fantasy/horror video game. Go figure.
She lives with her hubby and two rescue pups in a formerly haunted house.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 22, 2018
For true die-hard fans of the MMORPG game called "The Secret World" (also called "Secret World Legends")
Upfront I have to admit I'm not a video game player - I do not know much about the game. It's my understanding however that this is the first book of fiction that the game's developers (Funcom) have allowed to be published that revolves around "The Secret World". That alone tells us the game's developers obviously thought it fitted in very well with respect to their game.
With that in mind, the story itself involves horror (i.e., zombies, demons, etc.), folklore, magic, some fantasy, and lots of heroics by a pair of students of a local (Magic) academy. The book reminds me a bit of the writings of Stephen King and that other well known horror fiction writer, H.P. Lovecraft.
Blodwedd Mallory (both the book's author as well as the main character in the book) obviously is the hero, along with her friend and fellow Academy classmate, Gypcie. Blodwedd, the author, has an amazing style of writing. Her prose just oozes out, similar to listening to someone from the Southern states, with honey in their voice. Blodwedd, the protagonist (and hero), is also amazing in that she is both level headed and humorous during their quest to save the school.
The book is a mastery of suspenseful horror, inducing this reader to continue reading the bool until all hours of the night.
If you are a fan of the game, or just a fan of stories where horror and magic are combined, I think you might enjoy this book as much as I did.
I'm not only looking forward to more writings from Blodwedd, but this book has now gotten me interested enough to actually start playing "The Secret World".
Upfront I have to admit I'm not a video game player - I do not know much about the game. It's my understanding however that this is the first book of fiction that the game's developers (Funcom) have allowed to be published that revolves around "The Secret World". That alone tells us the game's developers obviously thought it fitted in very well with respect to their game.
With that in mind, the story itself involves horror (i.e., zombies, demons, etc.), folklore, magic, some fantasy, and lots of heroics by a pair of students of a local (Magic) academy. The book reminds me a bit of the writings of Stephen King and that other well known horror fiction writer, H.P. Lovecraft.
Blodwedd Mallory (both the book's author as well as the main character in the book) obviously is the hero, along with her friend and fellow Academy classmate, Gypcie. Blodwedd, the author, has an amazing style of writing. Her prose just oozes out, similar to listening to someone from the Southern states, with honey in their voice. Blodwedd, the protagonist (and hero), is also amazing in that she is both level headed and humorous during their quest to save the school.
The book is a mastery of suspenseful horror, inducing this reader to continue reading the bool until all hours of the night.
If you are a fan of the game, or just a fan of stories where horror and magic are combined, I think you might enjoy this book as much as I did.
I'm not only looking forward to more writings from Blodwedd, but this book has now gotten me interested enough to actually start playing "The Secret World".
May 28, 2019
This novel is a lot of fun. It’s an urban fantasy setting told from the perspective of a young woman who was about to graduate from her magical high school when the apocalypse happened. That makes it sound like the secret of magic is now out in the world, but frankly, I’m not certain that’s the case. There is a lot of talk of secret societies such as the Templars and the Illuminati and I doubt that they would need to be secret if everyone knew about the supernatural.
That confusion aside, this is a fast-moving book about a young woman and her best friend who have to stop a wraith from killing the headmaster of their school. Complicating that significant problem are several hundred familiars that have been raised from their graves in the basement by the onset of the apocalypse and want nothing more than to kill everyone remaining in the school. It’s a tough situation for two teenagers to be in and Mallory handles it with a lot of skill.
As the efforts to stop the wraith become increasingly sophisticated, we learn a lot about how magic works in this world. I found the chaos-aspected magic the most interesting, especially the ability to step out of time and look at different outcomes that can flow from the caster’s magic—none of which seem to work out exactly as hoped.
I enjoyed this book enough that halfway through I bought the sequel novel, London Underground. In the afterward at the end of the book, I learned the story was based on a game system. That makes sense after the fact, but the book stood on its own and you don’t have to know anything about the game to enjoy it.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
That confusion aside, this is a fast-moving book about a young woman and her best friend who have to stop a wraith from killing the headmaster of their school. Complicating that significant problem are several hundred familiars that have been raised from their graves in the basement by the onset of the apocalypse and want nothing more than to kill everyone remaining in the school. It’s a tough situation for two teenagers to be in and Mallory handles it with a lot of skill.
As the efforts to stop the wraith become increasingly sophisticated, we learn a lot about how magic works in this world. I found the chaos-aspected magic the most interesting, especially the ability to step out of time and look at different outcomes that can flow from the caster’s magic—none of which seem to work out exactly as hoped.
I enjoyed this book enough that halfway through I bought the sequel novel, London Underground. In the afterward at the end of the book, I learned the story was based on a game system. That makes sense after the fact, but the book stood on its own and you don’t have to know anything about the game to enjoy it.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
October 22, 2018
As a fan of urban fantasy/paranormal novels, I don't typically read cross-over game novelizations. However, I’m also an active player of immersive on-line games like Secret World Legends so I decided to give "To Sir, with Love" a try. I’m very glad that I did. The author has taken the in-game world mission "To Sir, with Love," and added depth and breadth to it with the result being an exciting and engaging story that will appeal to fans of both the game and of paranormal fantasy alike.
Mallory has created a rich and spooky tale of horror set in the fictional Innsmouth Academy. Besieged by wraiths, zombies and animated familiars, Wedd and Gypcie fight to save their headmaster and their school. The characters are multidimensional, and the magical battles are exhilarating. The story is fast paced and satisfying - funny at times, sad at others, and downright bone chilling in spots. A great read for Halloween! I highly recommend it!
Mallory has created a rich and spooky tale of horror set in the fictional Innsmouth Academy. Besieged by wraiths, zombies and animated familiars, Wedd and Gypcie fight to save their headmaster and their school. The characters are multidimensional, and the magical battles are exhilarating. The story is fast paced and satisfying - funny at times, sad at others, and downright bone chilling in spots. A great read for Halloween! I highly recommend it!
October 18, 2018
As a game-based novel from a player's perspective, it is absolutely wonderful that Blodwedd has decided to share with us her experiences of The Secret World. Not only is she a talented writer, but also she has an in-depth understanding of the rich game lore and mechanics, which she has effectively woven into the story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her struggles to complete her magical education at Innsmouth Academy despite the unexpected apocalypse. (Does anyone ever expect it?) Nevertheless, Blodwedd and her friend, Gypcie, heroically defend and save the school from rogue familiars left behind by students long-gone, as well as a vengeful wraith sent from Hell to settle a blood debt with the school's headmaster. While the challenges they face often induce feelings of horror and suspense, the interspersed moments of humor provide a brief reprieve from the action and an endearing insight into their personalities. As a long-time player of both The Secret World and Secret World Legends, I took great pleasure in seeing the lore and characters from the games come to life on the pages. But Blodwedd has also done a great job in revealing the story in a way that both non-players of the games and non-gamers alike can appreciate and enjoy. "To Sir With Love" is just the first in a series of Unofficial Legends of The Secret World. So I eagerly anticipate reading the other stories to come.
November 20, 2018
I really enjoyed To Sir, With Love. It was fun to read the perspective of a character playing through a game quest. I especially liked the portrayal of chaos magic a lot, reading the descriptions of the more powerful abilities was fun. I found it took me a little bit to get into the writing, as characters were first developing, but part-way into the book I realized the writing was flowing enough that I was fully engaged with the story and characters. Wedd is a fun character, and I hope there's another novel, I'd like to see her develop more. This was a great, fun, read, especially if you're a fan of The Secret World game universe. Pick it up.
March 30, 2019
It's a good quick read, you can finish it only in a couple days if you really get into it. I sometimes couldn't tell between the zombies and familiars. But I'm sure that's just me because I've only played so little of the game. The author did a great job of explaining the fights and the monsters. The first fight with the wraith was pretty crazy, the author did great with that part. Overall I did like reading it.
January 6, 2020
I really liked this book. Its a little hard to get through at the beginning there's so much detail, and with my brain it was a little hard to keep things straight at first. But then it gets so good and there's so much action happening you can't put it down. This book sets up a good foundation for the other books in the series.
One note, if you've not played the game it was a little hard to know exactly about the spells. Just because I haven't cast them myself. But all in all a great read. And looking forward to reading the rest!
One note, if you've not played the game it was a little hard to know exactly about the spells. Just because I haven't cast them myself. But all in all a great read. And looking forward to reading the rest!
October 29, 2020
To Sir, with Love will keep you turning pages until the wee hours of the morning. Even if you haven't read the prologue, after this book you'll be hooked on the series. It's a great introduction to Wedd (although I really recommend reading the prologue). With enough chilling monsters to go around, this is the perfect spooky read.
October 21, 2018
What would you do if you were one of the few survivors of a cataclysm? If you were suddenly gifted with exotic powers that you had no real training in? Blodwedd Mallory, a student at the occult school Innsmouth Academy finds out when she finds herself fighting her former dead classmates, a herd of out-of-control science projects, and a vengeful wraith.
Based on the cult hit game Secret World Legends, this book brings you into the world of the game, to see the richness of the world through the eyes of the character. Loved this story, and looking forward to more from this author.
Based on the cult hit game Secret World Legends, this book brings you into the world of the game, to see the richness of the world through the eyes of the character. Loved this story, and looking forward to more from this author.
January 21, 2020
If you love to play Secret World Legends, this book’s for you. It’s fast and full of action. To Sir, With Love follows Blodwedd Mallory (who goes by Wedd) and her best friend Gypcie as they’re assigned the task of getting rid of a wraith from hell that finally has a chance to collect a blood debt from the headmaster at the girls’ school of magic, Innsmouth Academy. With the school weakened because of a zombie attack, the wraith is an extra complication the five remaining survivors at the school don’t need. Getting past rogue familiars and hungry zombies, Wedd and Gypcie find clues to destroying the wraith who can hide in and travel through mirrors. Even though they get to rest behind the supernatural wards that are keeping the survivors safe, Wedd and her friend have to deal with the wraith quickly and decisively, meaning they can’t give up. Their continued assaults on the wraith make them learn what it means to have swallowed one of Gaia’s bees, and readers will enjoy the detailed descriptions of the magic used by Wedd and Gypcie as they fight the wraith and other supernatural horrors like the zombies and the familiars that are no longer under human control.
June 19, 2019
The story was well written but I found it difficult to get through. I am uncertain as to why this occurred as it is the type of book that I usually enjoy. I can’t place my finger on anything specific as to why I found it so stodgy. Anyway it wasn’t my favourite story but it could definitely be someone else’s.
February 3, 2019
I loved this book. The writer captures relevant and more than timely characteristics in these young women’s friendship, I hunger for more of, courage, love and badassery! Bravo, Blodwedd! Gimme more!
November 2, 2018
Great read, now need to play the game.
I am a huge fan of anything Fantasy and Horror but the small references throughout the book, I felt like a proud nerd catching them all.
I am a picky reader, if my attention isn't grabbed in the first few chapters, I move onto another book. This had me in the first chapter. I lost sleep this week because I wanted more.
Loved the odd humor of the characters and just every day feelings that most books do provide but to feel what the character feels, not easy and I am impressed - happy, sad, excited, scared.
I am very much so excited for more books to come from Mallory.
I am a huge fan of anything Fantasy and Horror but the small references throughout the book, I felt like a proud nerd catching them all.
I am a picky reader, if my attention isn't grabbed in the first few chapters, I move onto another book. This had me in the first chapter. I lost sleep this week because I wanted more.
Loved the odd humor of the characters and just every day feelings that most books do provide but to feel what the character feels, not easy and I am impressed - happy, sad, excited, scared.
I am very much so excited for more books to come from Mallory.
November 1, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have played the game on which it is based, and it was fun to see the story through another character's eyes. I don't think one would have to have played this game to engage with this story. The protagonist is a young girl, preparing to venture out into a world where monsters are real, and the world is run by secret cabals that all have their own agendas. The lead character, Wedd, has her own agenda as well, and at the moment, it is surviving run ins with zombies and familiars and high school graduation. Great book. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews