Month: November 2018

For the first time in my life (and hopefully, for the last), I committed the first cardinal sin of epic fantasy reading – reading the books out of proper order. I sincerely apologize to the talented and imaginative author, Satis, for doing so.

Why did I do such a horrid thing?

Well, after I volunteered to participate in his Book 3 (Ancients & Death) Launch Party, Satis graciously sent me a copy of all three books to read and review. I have no viable excuse that explains why I believed Exile to be the first in the series. BUT I did, and off I went to immerse myself into a very well-written and entertaining story.

By far, Exile is the best fantasy novel I have read in several years. Here is what I said on Goodreads:

The Redemption of Erâth: Exile by Satis weaves an intriguing tale of survival and friendship as it follows the death-defying perseverance of Brandyé and his quest for life’s true purpose in a surreal world threatened by impending Darkness.

The true measure of a well-written epic fantasy requires marked character development, clever use of setting, a coherent plot, proper pacing, and interesting but not overbearing detail. In Exile, Satis scores high in each of these categories.

Suffering unrelenting remorse for the death of his best friend’s sister, Brandyé is exiled to wander in a bleak world bereft of sunlight and hope. His struggle merely to survive becomes a quest for purpose and redemption. Buffeted by fate and pursued by fiends bent on his destruction, he finds friendship in places where civility and humanity have long been abandoned to the darkness, and stumbles across amazing civilizations locked in the timeless battle between good and evil.

If you’re looking for an up-lifting read, a tale of perseverance and undaunted friendship, set in an imaginative world of intriguing characters, you need look no further than the story of Brandyé and Erâth.

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DO NOT compound my error – (1) Consolation, (2) Exile, (3) Ancients & Death are the proper order. Pick up Redemption of Erâth and treat yourself to a good story, well told.

The first draft of Book 3 of The Last Elf Series, The Gathering Fails, continues to grow.

As some of you realize, the first 2 books came in under 90k words in 52 chapters. (BTW, exact word count and total # of chapters must always be divisible by 13).

After outlining Book 3, I surrendered to the fact that Chork and friends were pushing for more. So, I set my sights on a final length of ~100k words in 65 chapters.

Alas, I failed. This morning’s first-draft projection is clocking in at just over 121k words in 78 chapters.

But, it’s not my fault!

New characters abound, and they clamor for attention. At every turn, Emperor Rhince’s minions wreak havoc on the realms of Brehm, and they demand history record their accomplishments.

Maybe as usual, the second draft will remove at least 10% of the word count. However, elves, dwarves, mages, and sorcerers can be very adamant about their page counts. (Not to mention, that sandwich maker and those two assassins who will chirp like baby birds at feeding time).

What’s an author to do but give in and lay that heavy manuscript on his editor’s doorstep. (I see a craft-beer sodden meeting in my near future).

Of course, the plan still calls for the release of The Gathering Fails in early 2019.

But tell me, what’s your definition of early?