Read FBC’s Review of "The Spirit Thief"
Read FBC’s Review of "The Spirit Rebellion"
Read FBC Interview with Rachel Aaron
Nowadays with some of my favorite series either finishing or having a break in the publication schedule, its always great to hear news about prequel and sequel novellas planned by the authors to help stem the reader anticipation until the next book/s. So first up is the wonderfully talented Rachel Aaron who’s got a new spiffy look to her website and is all set to release the omnibus edition of the first three Eli Monpress books. And to commemorate the occasion she revealed that she has a written a special short story/novella called “Spirit’s Oath” which focuses upon Miranda and how she met a special ghosthound. The blurb to this awesome piece is as follow:
"Four years before the events of The Spirit Thief, Miranda Lyonette was a young apprentice Spiritualist on the cusp of a promising career. But on the eve of her return from bonding a wind spirit, a night that should have been a celebration, she finds instead that her father has come to take her home. Now, Miranda must choose between her duty to her family and her future at the Spirit Court. But while she's trying to make her parents see reason and avoid an arranged marriage to a man she can't stand, she stumbles across the one one spirit who needs her more than any other, a caged ghosthound who doesn't want her help. To save him, Miranda will have to earn the dog's trust, but what she gets in return is a friendship deeper than anything she expected."
The novella will be released exclusively via the Orbit Short Fiction site on February 15th. The fourth book is all set to be released in June and with the final book coming out in November, this novella will be a great way to get caught up with one of the pivotal series characters. Also for those readers who will have to wait for nearly 2 years to get their hands on The Spirit War, Rachel has put up a chunky three chapter excerpt on her site to give the fans a whisk of the troubles coming ahead. So this year looks all set to be a great year for Rachel Aaron fans and I can’t wait to read how it all ends for our beloved unrepentant thief.
Read FBC’s Review of “Spider’s Bite”
Read FBC’s Review of “Web of Lies”
Read Dual FBC Review of "Venom" & "Tangled Threads"
Read FBC’s Interview with Jennifer Estep
Now to talk about the second series that I am a fan of, the series is the Elemental Assassin one by Jennifer Estep. Jennifer has woven a nice action packed, revenge saga which has seen the release of five books which complete the first arc of the series. I’ve yet to finish and review the fifth book Spider’s Revenge however Bastard who has read and reviewed it, praised it with the following words: “While not a perfect novel, it does serve it's purpose and it gave me the satisfaction read I was looking for. Violent and gritty at times, as expected from a revenge tale, it's also a book about making peace with one's self, acceptance, and sacrifice.”
Sounds like a welcome series arc climax if you ask me, which brings us to this bit of excitement as revealed by the author on her blog. The author has also signed by the publisher for more books in the Elemental Assassin world and so before the sixth book By a Thread is released, there will be a novella released on January 31 to set up events for the seventh book. This novella is titled “Thread of Death” and is set around the climax of Spider’s Revenge. This novella features viewpoints from Gin and two other villainous characters and now onto the blurb with a word of caution as it has spoilers for the fifth book:
“Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, might have finally triumphed over her nemesis, but that doesn’t mean that it’s smooth sailing. Gin goes to a certain funeral to say her goodbyes and runs into some of Ashland’s most notorious underworld power players, including Jonah McAllister and Phillip Kincaid. McAllister wants her dead, and Kincaid has his own murky motives when it comes to the Spider, and Gin once again finds herself fighting for her life. Only this time, she might wind up in the cemetery right next to the person for whom the funeral is being held!”
I trust Jennifer Estep to make this novella particularly exciting and also develop a lead in to the future books. Thus I’m very much looking forward to reading both Spider’s Revenge and Thread of Death to see what Gin and the other beloved characters have been up to.