A Vanishing Glow by Alexis Radcliff - Book Review

A Vanishing Glow, by Alexis Radcliff

The Mystech Arcanum #1 Shattered Dreams, and #2 Dark Omens

Published:  September 15, 2015, CreateSpace

Pages: 397 PDF

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Steampunk

Source: Author

When the High Sovereign of the five kingdoms of Ghavarim is murdered by a mysterious assassin, the realm is plunged into chaos. Jason Tern, a noble captain with a tragic past, must battle shadowy assailants and untangle an ever-widening web of lies to discover the true identity of the killer before mounting tensions spark a bloody civil war. Meanwhile, Nilya Valsu, a talented army engineer with a broken heart, finds herself used as an unwitting pawn in a plot that has deadly consequences. Wracked by guilt, her sole chance for redemption lies with a man who would loathe her – but only if he knew her secret.

As the conflict intensifies between the magic-fueled technology of the West and the disaffected rebels of the East, all must fight for what they hold dear. Who will reign victorious and who will lie bloodied on the ground in the light of a vanishing glow?

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Alexis Radcliff’s first novel is a well written, intelligent, and complex foray into a fantasy world focused around the ancient city of Adaron. While her novel really defies genre definition, it has elements of adventure, magic, and tech/steampunk on the background of a ruling noble hierarchy somewhat akin to old European. One thing this book is not however is a romance novel.

We begin with Captain Jason Tern’s return from duty out on the savannah to Adaron to serve with friend, Nole Ryon, the future High Sovereign. Jason is likeable though has clear self-doubts stemming from his past.  At his first social gathering, he and the reader are plunged into Adaron politics, governmental and military, that underscore much of the story.

The author introduces original themes such as the mystech crystal (a blend of magic and machinery), and constructs (humans that have suffered bodily injuries that have been repaired with mechanical prostheses powered by mystech). The idea of East versus West marking increasing industrialization and the attendant problems this brings is also an important theme.

There are two expertly interwoven plotlines of Captain Tern’s investigations of the High Sovereign’s assassination, and that of Nilya, a young tech engineer who wants to improve her life. Her course is a peculiar one, in part influenced by the machinations going on in Adaron. Nilya comes to an emotional, and very interesting end.

Several unexpected and fantastic plot twists really kept me going. I wouldn’t normally read a book like this (political/military/adventure) but found myself enjoying the author’s smooth writing style and unexpected plot twists. Exciting ending as a lead into the next instalment.

A great read for those who enjoy adventure/thriller type novels set in a framework of magic, fantasy, and quasi steampunk.  4.3 stars!

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Books and Manuscripts - Invaluable Auctions

In our digital age, we are less and less in contact with hard copy books and I for one admit to going completely with the flow. No more heavy books to lug around, great!

The downside is that we’re losing the comfort and permanence of our hard copy books to the ephemeral digital. Ryan of Invaluable Auctioneers recently emailed me about their book and print materials auctions and I agreed to write about a few of my picks from their book offerings. Invaluable auctions books and manuscripts on diverse subjects. Feel free to check out the Antique Books and unique manuscripts that Invaluable have on their site.

The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux.

First published in September 1909, the Phantom is now mostly known by the various musical productions that bring this macabre story to life. Here is the original written version. Opera singer, Christine, is kidnapped by the phantom, a strange, deformed man that secretly lives in hiding in the opera house. This cover is from lot 212, being auctioned November 10. There are other copies available on other dates.

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier. This was first published in 1938 and continues to be a favourite with many. I love this strange tale of a young woman who is a companion to busybody Mrs. Van Hopper. While visiting Monte Carlo she meets widower, Max de Winter, owner of the fabulous Manderley. Max surprisingly asks her to marry him and takes her back to his seaside mansion. The novel title is of Max’s first wife who has drowned less than a year before in a storm. So intriguing is that the reader never discovers the name of Max’s new wife throughout the entire book.

The Diary and Letters of Madame D’Arblay
by Francis Burney (later Madame D’Arblay).

Fanny was an English novelist and diarist born in 1776. I don’t have a specific interest in Madame D’Arblay but I think that works like these are excellent studies for historical research into specific time periods. At $50.00 starting bid, it’s pricey research but it would be awesome to consult one of these when checking out social customs or ideology of a time period.

So, worth checking out their website if you love hard copy books, hard to find early editions of popular and various topic books, and unique manuscripts.

On The Evil Scale by Yza-Dora - Book Review

On The Evil Scale, by Yza-Dora

Keeper of La Tecla, Book 2

Published:  Amazon Kindle eBooks, July 4, 2015

Pages: 397 PDF

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Epic, Adventure

Source: Author

A year has passed and the young woman/Keeper, Yzavela, returns from her trip to Ireland with new skills. The tension between the vampires and werewolves at Ravenstone is growing and the situation is becoming more chaotic than she can handle. She must also deal with the horrific creatures known as Boar-wolves that kidnap her best friend’s little sister. After putting together a rescue party and destroying the creatures, unknown to everyone, another threat from the Great City is beginning to spread on a larger scale, causing destruction everywhere.

And now, even the peaceful sanctuary of Ravenstone will be affected. The Keeper gathers a small army of five hundred men, vampires, and werewolves to aid her in the fight against the evil that has materialized from the Great City. After the war ends, with the necromancer's death, and that of his brother and minions, difficult decisions are made to save Yzavela's life. Her vampire husband, Erik, had promised to turn her in the event of a crisis, and he fulfills his promise turning her not only into an average vampire … but his alpha matriarch.

When she returns to Ravenstone, how will they react when they find out that their Keeper has been turned into one of the most dangerous and vicious race of all?

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Yza-Dora’s second book in the Keeper of La Tecla series also comes in at a hefty 397 pages of magic, mayhem, and amazingly earnest goodness.

Yzavela and her mother return from nearly a year in Ireland, learning about the uses of herbs and witch lore, only to find things at Ravenstone in something of an uproar.  Yzavela, as Keeper at Ravenstone, must regain control over the situation in a magical place where several paranormal races exist together in a curious balance partly mediated by the Keeper.

Between the vampire-werewolf issues, boar wolves, and the onslaught of the red death from the Great City, there’s a lot going on here.  I really enjoyed this quite amazing story of Yzavela’s efforts to come into her own as Keeper at Ravenstone. She’s a brave, self-assertive young woman with a strong sense of herself which is expressed very clearly throughout the entire book.

This is a compendium of possibly every paranormal and magical thing all rolled into one with high tech and steam punk bits, set in the tone of high moral ground. So, this is a great role model/example for younger readers and a highly entertaining read, though the ending gets somewhat violent with war, changes in Yzavela, and generally more violent language.

The book has a number of structural irregularities. POV is quite irregular; in one example, Yzavela is talking about the activities of others in another city using “I”, or from her point of view in scenes where she is not present. To me, these should be omniscient. Sentence structure is a little irregular as well as it loosens out to a sort of rambling dialogue in some places. There are some incorrect word forms/homonyms (click/clique, fowl/foul), misplaced commas, and some typos. As well, I think for the age level I understand the book to be, “mommy” sounds too young to me; I’d use “mom”. So, I think the book would benefit quite a lot from some editing.

I think this is a very enthusiastic and talented story teller but she needs to slow down and focus on correct sentence structure, word forms, etc. Possibly the book was written in a bit of a hurry, or just that it’s quite long and a lot to keep control over. However, these structural issues didn’t keep me from enjoying it!

For epic story-telling and sheer positive enthusiasm, I give On The Evil Scale 4 stars. My thanks to the author for a reading copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Available at Amazon | Author Website | Goodreads | Twitter