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Harmion:
An ancient world has been devastated by forty years of war. The reign of kings is over; the royal lines betrayed by those who had pledged to protect them.
Far to the south of the blood-lands, a small village clings to some semblance of life. Tritan, an ex-soldier born in the clutches of war, struggles to rebuild his. Bloodshed is all he has ever known.
Tritan is exiled from his village, his son is dying. His own father, the warlord Augustus is missing and so Tritan must confront his past and follow in his father’s footsteps. But will he redeem himself and discover the truth of a mythical cure before it’s too late?
Far to the south of the blood-lands, a small village clings to some semblance of life. Tritan, an ex-soldier born in the clutches of war, struggles to rebuild his. Bloodshed is all he has ever known.
Tritan is exiled from his village, his son is dying. His own father, the warlord Augustus is missing and so Tritan must confront his past and follow in his father’s footsteps. But will he redeem himself and discover the truth of a mythical cure before it’s too late?
- GenresFantasy
326 pages, Hardcover
Published April 8, 2022
128 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Richard A. Swingle
7 books13 followersRichard A. Swingle is a fantasy novelist, author of the Harmion series.
He comes from a background of working in the Film and Television industry and has been actively writing since the age of fourteen when he discovered his passion for storytelling through making short films.
Since then he has developed his storytelling interests as both a musician and novelist and continues to work as a director of photography in the film industry.
He comes from a background of working in the Film and Television industry and has been actively writing since the age of fourteen when he discovered his passion for storytelling through making short films.
Since then he has developed his storytelling interests as both a musician and novelist and continues to work as a director of photography in the film industry.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 29, 2019
Excellent first novel
Well written, carefully plotted and an interesting world. Scope to grow our understanding of that world and the forces within it.
The book moved from the personal to a wider vision in its closing stages and left us with enough unanswered questions to look forward to the next.
Well written, carefully plotted and an interesting world. Scope to grow our understanding of that world and the forces within it.
The book moved from the personal to a wider vision in its closing stages and left us with enough unanswered questions to look forward to the next.
November 15, 2020
Good book, story is good, reads okay. Was hard for me to get into it properly. Written as if it was meant to read as a movie but sometimes it is too elaborate and the comparisons don't make sense. Some loose ends at the end of the story but I suppose that's for the next book.
Was an interesting read but I'll leave the story as is. For me personally, the story has wrapped up enough to end here.
Was an interesting read but I'll leave the story as is. For me personally, the story has wrapped up enough to end here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2019
I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. It has family values, action and quite touching at times. I flew through this quickly as I needed to know what happened next. I will now be waiting patiently for the next installment.
August 16, 2020
The Eyes Of Diablo🐎
ADULT Medieval Type Dystopian🔪💪 Fantasy 🌎World.
This novel, overall, is dark and pretty depressing. The fantasy world Author Swingle📚 immerses us in is dark, and filled with mistrust, violence and strife, as the unlikely hero, Tritan🐺🔪💪, drives himself and his blind horse, Diablo 🐎, relentlessly across the decades looking for a father who left him for dead.
I would say the overall theme of the book seems to be, " if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger💪. "
Nobody seems to have much of anything, but they are quick to fight💪🔪 and kill💀 to keep the little bit they do have.
ARC Provided by Hidden 💎Gems
I also got this ebook with KU.
This is a long, epic novel spanning decades of Tritan's life. True immortality is found in those we leave behind.
ADULT Medieval Type Dystopian🔪💪 Fantasy 🌎World.
This novel, overall, is dark and pretty depressing. The fantasy world Author Swingle📚 immerses us in is dark, and filled with mistrust, violence and strife, as the unlikely hero, Tritan🐺🔪💪, drives himself and his blind horse, Diablo 🐎, relentlessly across the decades looking for a father who left him for dead.
I would say the overall theme of the book seems to be, " if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger💪. "
Nobody seems to have much of anything, but they are quick to fight💪🔪 and kill💀 to keep the little bit they do have.
ARC Provided by Hidden 💎Gems
I also got this ebook with KU.
This is a long, epic novel spanning decades of Tritan's life. True immortality is found in those we leave behind.
July 21, 2019
Loved this book! The characters were my favourite part - I really felt connected to them and their journey from the beginning. It’s also one of those stories where, when you put it down, it’s so vivid that it feels like it’s a movie you’ve been watching, and you want to get straight back to it to see what happens. I can’t wait to read the next book of the series!
July 16, 2019
As someone who isn't a diehard fan of the fantasy genre I was pleasantly surprised by this debut effort. It's often tempting for genre pieces to be overwhelmed by its own mythology and become bogged down. But that isn't the case here. Character is at the heart of this story and the focus remains thus, enabling the reader to become fully immersed in the world through properly developed protagonists. Passive world building through character and back story. Good stuff.
September 1, 2019
Dark, cold, intriguing, beautiful. Looking forward to more from this author
August 28, 2020
Preface: I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review
Actual rating: 2.5 stars
This story is an odd one. For one, it's very bleak, very dark, very trudging. It's almost a chore to get through at times, because there's no light at the end of the tunnel. That's not inherently bad - and can be done very well - but I don't think it was done very effectively here, it just wore me down as a reader and left me not really caring about anyone introduced in the story, because nothing good was ever going to happen to them.
The story also has a very archaic, stilted style that's very purple prose-y at times. It feels very old-fashioned. It's entirely subjective whether that's good or not, but I personally did not enjoy it, as I felt it added to the bogged-down nature of the story.
Subjective stuff aside, there are other things that this novel simply doesn't do well. The plot is meandering and unfocused, as our hero just wanders from one situation to the next. Even when he gets to what feels like the meat of the narrative, where he meets up with his old war comrades, there's no real goal. Eventually his war buds come up with a plan involving crop seeds, but up until that point, it's just a lot of traveling with no end in sight, while our hero just lets himself be dragged along. There's no tension, no rising action, because we don't know where he's going, and he doesn't seem to care.
The magic/fantasy elements at the end of the story come completely out of left field. Everything with the lost tribe is just very confusing and out of place. It's not foreshadowed in any meaningful way, and just overall didn't make a lot of sense to me, especially in how the conflict with his father ends.
Overall, I wasn't particularly impressed by this novel. People who like the dark, archaic style might enjoy this, but be aware that a lot of this story is just wandering around, and the ultimate conclusion isn't particularly meaningful.
Actual rating: 2.5 stars
This story is an odd one. For one, it's very bleak, very dark, very trudging. It's almost a chore to get through at times, because there's no light at the end of the tunnel. That's not inherently bad - and can be done very well - but I don't think it was done very effectively here, it just wore me down as a reader and left me not really caring about anyone introduced in the story, because nothing good was ever going to happen to them.
The story also has a very archaic, stilted style that's very purple prose-y at times. It feels very old-fashioned. It's entirely subjective whether that's good or not, but I personally did not enjoy it, as I felt it added to the bogged-down nature of the story.
Subjective stuff aside, there are other things that this novel simply doesn't do well. The plot is meandering and unfocused, as our hero just wanders from one situation to the next. Even when he gets to what feels like the meat of the narrative, where he meets up with his old war comrades, there's no real goal. Eventually his war buds come up with a plan involving crop seeds, but up until that point, it's just a lot of traveling with no end in sight, while our hero just lets himself be dragged along. There's no tension, no rising action, because we don't know where he's going, and he doesn't seem to care.
The magic/fantasy elements at the end of the story come completely out of left field. Everything with the lost tribe is just very confusing and out of place. It's not foreshadowed in any meaningful way, and just overall didn't make a lot of sense to me, especially in how the conflict with his father ends.
Overall, I wasn't particularly impressed by this novel. People who like the dark, archaic style might enjoy this, but be aware that a lot of this story is just wandering around, and the ultimate conclusion isn't particularly meaningful.
August 13, 2020
"Harmion" is a dark and brooding book. It's well-written for the most part, but needs some polishing to get rid of the typos. There are also some parts that feel over-written and that kind of spoiled it for me. The plot is a very good one and the characters are interesting. I'm curious to see how much the characters are developed in the next book.
My thanks to the author, publisher, and Hidden Gems for a free copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.
My thanks to the author, publisher, and Hidden Gems for a free copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.
October 14, 2019
I truly enjoyed this story. It was written with depth and showed a man dealing with depression. I plan to read the books that will follow and hope it will be soon.
October 30, 2019
Well written gripping story, Action packed, stands out as is different and is Hard to put down. Complements to Author
July 28, 2020
DNF at 9%. I’m assuming this was self-published, since it was clearly in need of both an editor and a copy-editor.
August 24, 2020
It was ok.
I got bogged down in his torment, self loathing and constant bad luck. I feel the ending was a little rushed.
I got bogged down in his torment, self loathing and constant bad luck. I feel the ending was a little rushed.
October 15, 2019
Different
Feel confused couldn't really get into the story. Would have liked the characters to be filled out a bit rather than the thin veneer some of them had. Will I read the follow on doubt it.
Feel confused couldn't really get into the story. Would have liked the characters to be filled out a bit rather than the thin veneer some of them had. Will I read the follow on doubt it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews