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Serpent King: Shadow and Light
Cosmic colonialism, extremist planetary nationalism, and alien genocide make up the Dracos Constellation, where the Reptilians rule without mercy. Enter Serpent King, a dark occult science-fantasy novel following the origins of Zian Ur, the last of the Nagans and a cosmic conquistador with a unique destiny.
307 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2017
2 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Brian Barr
146 books60 followersMy name is Brian Barr. I am a published fiction author. Along with novels and short stories, I've also written comic books, including the Empress series with Chuck Amadori. I am NOT the author of God's Plan for Us, written by some other Brian Barr.
My debut novel is Carolina Daemonic, Book I: Confederate Shadows. My second novel is Psychological Revenge: The First Super Inc. Novel, and I have a short story collection called Daemensions. All books are out now on Amazon, for Kindle and Print.
Carolina Daemonic is a dystopian alternative timeline urban fantasy-horror with LGBT, steampunk, and occult elements.
Psychological Revenge is a fun, campy superhero novel with zany villains and lots of action.
Check out my short stories, some of which are in anthologies, a few reprinted on Kindle for .99 cents.
Thank you for visiting my page.
www.brianbarrbooks.com
My debut novel is Carolina Daemonic, Book I: Confederate Shadows. My second novel is Psychological Revenge: The First Super Inc. Novel, and I have a short story collection called Daemensions. All books are out now on Amazon, for Kindle and Print.
Carolina Daemonic is a dystopian alternative timeline urban fantasy-horror with LGBT, steampunk, and occult elements.
Psychological Revenge is a fun, campy superhero novel with zany villains and lots of action.
Check out my short stories, some of which are in anthologies, a few reprinted on Kindle for .99 cents.
Thank you for visiting my page.
www.brianbarrbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 16, 2018
This is a great action-packed space opera taking place over two overlapping generations of a world conquering alien family, the Ur. A family shrouded in power, magic, and secrets, which eventually leads to the downfall of their civilization. The struggle presented within these pages is the classic conflict of the old versus the new- or perhaps the old once again becoming new and striking down the existing order. In this case the Naga society is under an insidious and hidden attack by a horde of demons, lurking just outside the bounds of physical reality.
The society is a caste system mixed with a meritocracy with the Emperor and his family on top, the Supreme class just below, the Elites, and then the plebs below. The interesting part is that the meritocracy is based not only on an individual's achievement, but on that person having a competent heir to future serve the society. Thus one could struggle a lifetime, only to lose everything if they produce a loser child. This is a fascinating concept and one that could be explored if the author wishes to add on to this universe in the future.
The society is a caste system mixed with a meritocracy with the Emperor and his family on top, the Supreme class just below, the Elites, and then the plebs below. The interesting part is that the meritocracy is based not only on an individual's achievement, but on that person having a competent heir to future serve the society. Thus one could struggle a lifetime, only to lose everything if they produce a loser child. This is a fascinating concept and one that could be explored if the author wishes to add on to this universe in the future.
January 12, 2019
Brian Barr has written a lot. A hell of a lot.
He probably gets close to "running out" of ideas, which is to say, he's written down just about every alley his imagination takes him.
This was his "sword and planet" or "planetary romance" novel. It's the sort of thing you might've seen published in the 1960s--if any publisher then would've taken a story centered on a race of snake-people.
Fortunately, the indie publishing movement has swept the gatekeepers out of the way and writers can publish whatever works they wish. Unfortunately, copy editing is one of those things that often is left behind.
So while Brian's--I don't know if I can call it "coming of age" or "family saga," because the space opera tropes get sidelined as the story proceeds--story proceeds, alternating points of view between a oft-absent father in the military and his unusual son, the dissonance of unfamiliarity terms (a glossary is provided) is compounded by little errors in spelling, grammar, and word choice. Again, you take the good with the bad.
The "story" part of it is revealed as the son learns it in what almost seems like a "rebirth" novel "the kids" are so fond of these days. The structure isn't really evident at first, seeming to be a "this happened, then this happened" sort of narrative, but we learn with the son about the complexities and the dark side of the Naga, the snake-people of the book.
This isn't one of Brian's works of weird fiction--those are freaking *weird*--but it's the sort of sword-and-planet one of the weird fiction crafters of the 1930s might have produced. (Don't get caught up on the "Thirties? But you said Sixties!" Just download the sample and read.)
He probably gets close to "running out" of ideas, which is to say, he's written down just about every alley his imagination takes him.
This was his "sword and planet" or "planetary romance" novel. It's the sort of thing you might've seen published in the 1960s--if any publisher then would've taken a story centered on a race of snake-people.
Fortunately, the indie publishing movement has swept the gatekeepers out of the way and writers can publish whatever works they wish. Unfortunately, copy editing is one of those things that often is left behind.
So while Brian's--I don't know if I can call it "coming of age" or "family saga," because the space opera tropes get sidelined as the story proceeds--story proceeds, alternating points of view between a oft-absent father in the military and his unusual son, the dissonance of unfamiliarity terms (a glossary is provided) is compounded by little errors in spelling, grammar, and word choice. Again, you take the good with the bad.
The "story" part of it is revealed as the son learns it in what almost seems like a "rebirth" novel "the kids" are so fond of these days. The structure isn't really evident at first, seeming to be a "this happened, then this happened" sort of narrative, but we learn with the son about the complexities and the dark side of the Naga, the snake-people of the book.
This isn't one of Brian's works of weird fiction--those are freaking *weird*--but it's the sort of sword-and-planet one of the weird fiction crafters of the 1930s might have produced. (Don't get caught up on the "Thirties? But you said Sixties!" Just download the sample and read.)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews