The Crystal of Mynos by Rebecca Goings

“The dragon Mynos is on his way to join his mate, Malnan, for the birth of their offspring when he's suddenly hit with a magical shockwave so strong, it leaves no room for doubt what it means. His Crystal has been stolen.

Racing back to Castle Templestone, Mynos rallies every dragon to find it, knowing time is of the essence. Not only is the life of King Timothy in the balance, but whoever wields the Crystal can become a formidable foe. They soon find the talisman, but what they find is more than they bargained for.”Book Description

The Crystal of Mynos is published by Samhain Publishing and once again I have not read any of their other titles. The cost of the ebook from amazon was only £0.72. This is a short story, which was one of the reason that I bought it for my Kindle, because I was looking for a quick read. Rebecca Goings is an author who I have never read before, but I know that she has already published a number of other titles. This short story is a prequel to The Legends of Mynos, a novel that she has already published. Unfortunately it was a wrong choice as a first read from this author.

The story deals with a dragon called Mynos and has an epic scale which sadly didn’t work within a short story format. Epic events do not lend themselves to the short story mode very easily. From the start this story felt too confined, rushing past events and characters without giving you the opportunity to delve into them in any depth. The author did manage to portray a world where grand events are taking place but this only made the swift pace of the story very unfulfilling. A number of the pivotal points within the narrative that are of great importance to the characters and the world they inhabit just seemed to pass by without giving them their deserved explanation. I understand that the author was trying to convey a series of events leading up to The Legends of Mynos, but I think too much was squeezed into too few pages. That was disappointing, but I did get the feeling that the author’s style and vision would lend itself well to the epic novel. 

If Rebecca Goings was ever to rewrite this story as a full sized novel I would have no hesitation in re-reading it. I was intrigued by her main characters and her world, maybe even enough to give her a second chance by reading The Legends of Mynos. Her writing style is descriptive and enjoyable to read and she does manage to paint vividly with few words, but she is let down by cramming too much into a short story. The book is not bad enough to turn me off Rebecca Goings as an author, but as my school reports said far too often “could do better”

2 STAR RATED

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

“A man with no eyes. No eyes at all. Two tunnels in his head . . .
It’s not easy being a witch, and it’s certainly not all whizzing about on broomsticks, but Tiffany Aching – teen witch – is doing her best. Until something evil wakes up, something that stirs up all the old stories about nasty old witches, so that just wearing a pointy hat suddenly seems a very bad idea. Worse still, this evil ghost from the past is hunting down one witch in particular. He’s hunting for Tiffany. And he’s found her . . .
A fabulous Discworld title filled with witches and magic and told in the inimitable Terry Pratchett style, I Shall Wear Midnight is the fourth Discworld title to feature Tiffany and her tiny, fightin’, boozin’ pictsie friends, the Nac Mac Feegle (aka The Wee Free Men).” Book Description

For those of you who have not discovered the worlds of Terry Pratchett then “Where on earth have you been”. Those already familiar with his work will not need me to tell them just how good this book is. It would seem that this author can do no wrong. So everyone one who already reads Pratchett “What are you doing reading this, get back to his books”.

I discovered the Discworld novels over ten years ago when I picked up Witches Abroad from a bargain bin of books at my local shop. I then spent the next three days laughing until I cried. He was and still is the funniest author I have ever read. At the same time he can make you cry and break your heart. Although the Discworld is peopled by men, dwarves, witches, werewolves and every other imaginable being his stories always seem to have a message about this world. He broaches some very difficult subjects with a creative flair that has you thinking before you know that you are thinking. Anyway, back to this book review.

I Shall Wear Midnight continues the story of Tiffany, a young witch who has to take on ever more responsibilities that even older more experienced witches have troubles with. This instalment sees our young heroine maturing and finally enters the adult phase of her life. Just as things are calming down after her last adventure she finds herself being hunted by something from long in the past. An ancient evil that threatens to turn the whole world against her. With the help of her little blue friends the Nac Mac Feegles she must defeat this new enemy who threatened all witches.

As always Pratchetts style and pacing is second to none. The Tiffany Aching books are aimed at the younger reader but do not let this fool you, as every Pratchett fan will tell you, Discworld novels of all types will grab hold of anyone wise enough to open their pages. Reading this book will rob you of hours of your life although it is one of his shorter books. Once you start reading you will quickly wonder where the hours went. For anyone who has not read the other Tiffany series (The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith) I urge you to do so before reading this one. Although a standalone book the others in the series will give you a depth of understanding that would otherwise be lacking. Saying that it does stand up on its own.

I whole heartily recommend this book for all age groups. As diehard Pratchett fans the world over know “the world is divided in two, those who have read Pratchett and those who will have it forced upon them by the Nac Mac Feegles”. The book is available at any good bookstore and as usual on Amazon.

At the moment Terry Pratchett is battling Alzheimer’s and I for one wish him all the best in that struggle. Good luck Terry, the thoughts and best wishes of thousands are with you.

5 STAR RATED

www.terrypratchettbooks.com

www.amazon.co.uk/Shall-Wear-Midnight

Shadow Fox by Ashley Barnard

"Jared Bruin doesn't know who he is. He remembers nothing of his early childhood before the age of seven when he was abandoned in a park in St. Louis, left in an unfamiliar world that terrified him. He knows only that he is driven to learn everything he can about swordplay and sixteenth-century combat.

Almost twenty years later, as he is battling a heroin addiction, suicidal tendencies and a violent affliction he doesn't understand, he is hired to teach swordplay to an enigmatic woman with secrets of her own, who somehow provides a link to his past.

Then a missing journal arrives that provides many answers to Jared's past, and in it another world is revealed, one of a Goddess, prophecies, elves, a devastating love triangle, and a war in desperate need of a hero."

Excerpt from book cover

This is the first book that I bought when I received my new Amazon Kindle and it would seem that hit gold on my first strike. Shadow Fox is a Paranormal Romance/Fantasy novel along the lines of Kelly Armstrong, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Kim Harrison. I can not express enough how much I really enjoyed this book. The story gripped me from the first page and putting it down at three in the morning was a real struggle. It is rare that a book holds my attention so well. I found myself totally in love with the characters and caring what would happen to them. Jared the main hero of this story often seems like his own greatest enemy but you can't help yourself feeling deeply for him. A deeply troubled and damaged individual with a drug addiction he is an unlikely leading character in a story so deeply steeped in romance, but this is much of his charm. The tale delves into the feeling most of us have had at one time or another, that no matter how bad our life is or how mundane, that some how we are different from everyone else, we are special and one day we will find out how.


Ashley Barnard has done a fantastic job in detailing her new world and her writing style is excellent. For a first novel it is a masterpiece and I believe that Ashley will become a name that is mentioned in the same breath as many of the greats in the Paranormal Romance genre. This is a first book in a trilogy and if the next two novels are halfway as decent as this one then this series will become a classic in its own time.


The book is published by Champagne Books which is a publishing house that I have not come across before. On the strength of this book I will be checking out other titles and authors in their range and of course I will share my findings here.


At the moment Shadow Fox is only available in the UK as an ebook but with luck we will see it on the shelves of our book stores soon. I urge you to give this book a go and if you like it then make some noise, either here or places like Amazon. Ashley is a new author that I think deserves our support so if you want to support a budding new writer then take a break from the familiar names and hunt out Shadow Fox.

5 STAR RATED









http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shadow-Fox/

http://www.ashleyjbarnard.com/

http://www.champagnebooks.com