Book Buyer’s Guide
As you’ve probably noticed, I list my books at the bottom of every page, and you might wonder what this page is for. It’s for giving you, my possible future reader, a buyer’s guide to my books. Here you will find a more in-depth description of my books than their standard book descriptions, which include genre, subgenre, suggested reading ages, and tone, amongst other things. While, ideally, I communicate all these things with my covers and book descriptions, we’ve all read books where our expectations for the book didn’t match what was in it. This buyer’s guide is my attempt to ensure that doesn’t happen when you read one of my books, and it will be helpful when I have published more books in different genres.
For those of you thinking, “Why would I trust a buyer’s guide from you, when it’s your books you’re discussing?” That’s a fair point, and while I do have a bias, my bias is towards getting my books into the hands of people who will enjoy them. As an author, I don’t want a million people to buy my book and not enjoy it. What I want is for people to read my book and enjoy it. What I’m trying to do here is to help you determine if a book is for you. Now, let’s get started.
The Terror and The Sword is my first book and is the first in the Hueik Trilogy. The genre is fantasy, set in a world similar to ours, and has a general medieval feel. The tone is dark and gritty, which reflects Bowv’s, the main character’s, outlook on life, but isn’t overbearing because other characters routinely push back on Bowv’s worldview.
As the title implies, there is a magical sword, and there are numerous sword fights in the book. Though the conflict is not all sword fights. Throughout the book, Bowv argues with those around them, defending his worldview and beliefs while justifying his past crimes. These tense debates between Bowv and other characters happen in the background of a war that Bowv has agreed to help a king fight.
But the war is part of a larger problem: vampires. Millennia after vampires were supposed to be killed off, they are now showing up in droves. Bowv, who wields Hueik, the sword of the gods and the only weapon that makes killing a vampire easier, finds himself at the center of it. But Hueik, being a divine weapon, doesn’t fit into Bowv’s beliefs. Throughout the book, religious beliefs fuel tension and conflict between characters.
And a quick note about vampires: they’re similar to the vampires of legends in our world, but are different. The most significant difference is probably that the vampires in this book can go out in sunlight. With that in mind, this book might not be for you if you prefer traditional vampires. But if you don’t mind your vampires being similar but slightly different, you might enjoy it.
So, this book might be for you if you like darker fantasy set in a world like ours with physical and verbal conflict, tension between characters, the medieval period, and vampires. I’ve had people who don’t read fantasy tell me that they still enjoyed the book, even though they don’t typically read the genre. If you want to read something different, this might be for you.
