Sunday's Featured Book Toth's Priest #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Paranormal #Alternate history #Egypt

Amara faces trouble and she uses a phone number given to her by a friend who has vanished. When she is offered the chance to be sent to an ancient Egypt, she accepts even though she must perform a task and risk losing her life. But here, she faces the same fate. She arrives and there is much she must learn before she can rescue a young man held by the priests of Aken Re.

Namose was taken prisoner by Hebu, beloved of Aken Re, and forced to translate ancient scrolls giving Hebu some of the powers given to the priests of Toth by the Three of the Two Lands, Toth, Bast and Horu. After his rescue, further troubles arise. He and Amara must join their powers to save their land and friends from the evil Hebu.

S.A. Martin

5.0 out of 5 stars "Toth's Priest" tells of Amara's and Namose's adventures and growing love for each other

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2015

Format: Kindle Edition

In her contemporary life, Amaa is an orphan, raised grudgingly by her uncle and threatened with rape by two men. When given a chance by two women skilled in magic to travel back in time to ancient Egypt, she accepts.
Namose wants to become a priest of the god Toth but is captured and forced to follow the dictates of an alien god and to translate scrolls of that god.
"Toth's Priest" tells of Amara's and Namose's adventures and growing love for each other. This book was obviously well-researched and is full of action. For those reasons, I gave it a 5 star rating. However, the sentences didn't show much variation and often read monotonously. I would have liked to see a bit more narrative interspersed with the dialogue.
Neverlheless, this is a great adventure and worthwhile read.

Juliet Waldron

4.0 out of 5 stars End of the Series

Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2015

Format: Kindle Edition

A teen age girl in desperate circumstances flees into an alternate past, hoping to find a better life. Here she steps in another, just as dangerous, world, one of magicians, rival gods and spell-casting. This is the final book in a YA series set in an alternate past—Ancient Egypt. There is plenty of action, brave young characters, twists and turns, all set in well-researched ancient setting. Egypt, all by itself, is sufficiently interesting for many readers, but here the “alternate” adds a bit more spice. The names of real history players and gods are here, slightly changed.

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Saturday's Blurbs feature Book by Herbert Grosshans #MFRWAuthor #Science fiction #Sword and Sorcery

Rhodar, Book One, Clouds over Maridaan by Herbert Grosshans

He’s from the Great Plains beyond the mountains on a quest to find the sorcerer Arguss, the only one who can restore the fading spell on his battle-axe. His name is Rhodar. Some call him an uncivilized barbarian, but he is a man of honor and he does not turn away when a young woman in distress needs to be rescued from the clutches of a family of trolls. He never runs from a fight, but neither does he reject the favors of a beautiful woman who invites him into her bed. Not only is he a ferocious fighter against his enemies, he’s just as fierce and tireless in the arms of a woman.

Rhodar’s intention is to cross Maridaan as quickly as possible. His goal is to board a ship that will take him across the ocean to Agastan, but the gods do not care about the plans and desires of one man. They weave their own designs and they are different from the wishes of mere mortals. Rhodar begins to fear his journey will come to an end in Maridaan.

The people in the Kingdom of Maridaan live in fear of Kastabaan, an evil sorcerer. His minions are terrorizing their country by abducting children and young women that are never seen again. Kastabaan plans to overthrow the King and rule over Maridaan, but the sorcerer has not taken into consideration the raw, untried powers of a young witch, who will stand in his way. His plan to use Rhodar as one of his pawns may be foiled and backfire.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2sBH0PN

Nook Press - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/clouds-over-maridaan-herbert-grosshans/1127948159?ean=2940158959387

Smashwords- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/790732

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/clouds-over-maridaan

LULU – available on Feb. 27  -

http://www.lulu.com/shop/herbert-grosshans/clouds-over-maridaan/paperback/product-23493186.html

Saturday's Blurbs feature Books by Reed Stirling #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Persephone #Crete

1. Blurb for Shades of Persephone

Shades of Persephone is a literary mystery that will entertain those who delight in exotic settings, foreign intrigue, and the unmasking of mysterious characters. Crete in 1980-81, more specifically the old Venetian harbour of Chania, provides the background against which expat Canadian Steven Spire labours in pursuit of David Montgomery, his enigmatic and elusive mentor, who stands accused in absentia of treachery and betrayal. The plot has many seams through which characters slide, another of them being the poet Emma Leigh, widow of Montgomery’s imposing Cold War adversary, Heinrich Trüger. In that the setting is Crete, the source of light is manifold, but significant inspiration for Steven Spire comes from Magalee De Bellefeuille, his vision of Aphrodite and his muse. “Find Persephone,” she directs him, “and you’ll find David Montgomery.”  Her prompts motivate much of the narrative, including that of the Cretan underground during the Nazi occupation, 1941- 45.

            Shades of Persephone presents a story of love and sensuality, deception and war, spiritual quest and creative endeavour. The resolution takes an unanticipated turn but comes as no surprise to the discerning reader. Like Hamlet who must deal with his own character in following the injunctions of his ghostly father, Steven Spire discovers much about the city to which he has returned, but much more about himself and his capacity for love.”

Genres: literary mystery, espionage, romance

2. Blurb for Lighting The Lamp

Lighting The Lamp dramatizes the efforts of Terry Burke, a sympathetic, at times caustic and critical, but ordinary old guy, to come to grips with who he is and what his life has been. His struggle to accept retirement and to interpret the iterations of the voice in his head spreads to concern over the mysterious death of a wanderer. Terry’s obsession to solve the mystery fuses directly with his personal history and leads him in and out of fascinating, half-remembered mythological landscapes.

A restive Terry is enjoined to revisit the haunts of his youth. Family dynamics of the present, mirrored in Irish heritage of the past, come into play as do contrarian opinions encountered among cronies, distant friends, and lost loves. Motivated by his muse to tell all, what he seeks in addition to understanding is truthful voice and the purest possible point of view. Aware that remembrance of things past in not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were, this quixotic Everyman eventually reaches beyond self, beyond mystery, and beyond theodicy to a philosophical embrace of cosmic apotheosis. In Lighting The Lamp, Montreal provides more than a background for potential jihad-sponsored terrorism, or ghosts out of the past, or a romantic trip down memory lane; the many-layered city takes on the function of a defined and demanding character and declares in a voice Terry hears clearly: “Know me and know yourself!”

Genres: fictional memoir, metaphysical odyssey, literary noir, mythological mystery, social satire

3. Blurb for Séjour Saint-Louis

Brendan Young, a Calgary based businessman who travels more than he’d like, admits to having absolutely no patience for the intransigence of his teenage son, Elliot. Ongoing domestic disputes have intensified over the years: antipathy now verges on hostile rejection. Elinore, an equally conflicted wife and mother, is threatening separation, a source of great anxiety for Brendan who turns to alcohol for the understanding that eludes him on the home front. His sojourn in Montreal, a city not unfamiliar to him, leads him incident by surreal incident, towards greater understanding through familiarity with the tragic story of Émile Nelligan, who, as a nineteen year-old, enjoyed a successful entry into the artistic community of Montreal in the last decade of the 19^th century, and then fell victim to madness. Reconnecting with Emery St James Montesquieu, among old antagonists he encounters at a Yamaska College reunion, proves not only enlightening for Young in its mirroring effect — the troubles in his family are reflected dramatically in those of the young afflicted poet — but also redemptive. Elliot, the musician, will have his apotheosis.

 

Genres: literary noir, surreal, historical, social satire