Shards in Belial

by Scott Appleton

The abbot seeking to protect an orphaned boy, the young woman thrust into the role of High Priestess, and the Swordmaster forced to watch his loved ones die.

When the cockatrice appears, it may doom them all.

Reverend Ashinah promised to take care of the orphaned Xavion, but events are beyond his control. Ooletta never wanted to become High Priestess, but she's stuck with the responsibility at the expense of her own dreams. Only Olympan the Swordmaster has a clear path, but it is a dangerous and bloody quest.

373 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 12, 2022

About the author

Scott Appleton is the author of the novels The Sword of the Dragon series, and The Neverqueen Saga, which are widely read by adults and younger readers.

Besides these, Scott has also published a collection of short speculative fiction (By Sword By Right) which runs the gamut of science-fiction, fantasy, allegory, romance, poetry, and biblical.

Driven by a love of storytelling and an appreciation for the craft, Scott has spoken extensively at events across the United States. His specialization in fiction editing and writing has garnered praise from some prominent writers.

Scott was born in Connecticut and grew up there. He actively pursued astronomy through his teen years, built ships-in-bottles and, throughout his life, read and wrote extensively. Besides his writing he works in sales.

Currently Scott lives in Greenville, South Carolina with his wife, Kelley, and their five children. His activities of choice are reading with his kids, watching fantasy and science-fiction movies, reading, and playing the occasional Star Wars video game. You can find him at AuthorAppleton.com and facebook.com/scottappleton.fans

Reviews

[Linda]

What a great start to this series. It’s filled with great action and a bit of fantasy. A supernatural being was wreaking havoc everywhere he went. There was many battles to try to stop him and a lot carnage in his wake. Will he be stopped or will his killing streak continue? I love the storyline and all the characters ( including the dragons). I highly recommend this book. The author really knows how to keep your attention the whole way through.

[Glenn]

The book, for me, started with action, but also a bit slow and I wasn’t really impressed and didn’t think I would enjoy it… however about 1/3 of the way in, the book picked up and was hard to put down… so well worth a read.

[Myrna Ortega]

intriguing

This book captures so many stories happening at the same time that you want to look to the next chapter to see how the others are doing. Well written and I can’t wait to see what happens when they All come together.

[Virginia Adi]

Not a coherent thread of characters into the next story--felt more like a young man playing a video game.

[Esther Wallace]

Interesting premise.

I wish there was more of the orphaned boy turned cabin-boy. That was the part that I felt truly invested in, but all in all an intriguing beginning.