Page of Swords (The Demon's Apprentice Book 2) (35 page)

Dear Readers,

Thanks for picking up Page of Swords. I hope you enjoyed walking around in Chance’s world again. I know I certainly liked coming back to see some familiar faces and meeting some new folks as well. When I re-released The Demon’s Apprentice, the response was amazing and far better than I had ever imagined. I love seeing your reviews, as well as hearing from you through my
website
and
author page
on Facebook and through
Twitter
.

Page of Swords was a very involved book for me, since it starts to address some of the issues Chance is dealing with from his past, and his relationships with his friends and family. As well, we start to see the larger world behind the Veil, and learn that it isn’t all that squeaky clean. I especially enjoyed writing Chance and Shade’s complicated relationship and I’m looking forward to seeing that continue to grow.

As always, I love to know what YOU think. In fact, as a writer, I need to know what my readers think, and what you want to see next. Leave a review, drop me a line or leave a comment on my web page.

Finally, if you love high fantasy, steampunk or want some more urban fantasy, drop by
Irrational Worlds
.
Turn the page to check out some of my fellow authors’ work.

Best regards,

Ben Reeder

From Irrational Worlds:

The Herald of Autumn

There are things unseen in the world of men, strange things that live in the secret cracks between places. Hungry monstrosities that the sons of man cannot fathom. It is The Herald's place to hunt them, protecting us from the darkness that we cannot see.

Every year, with the death of summer, Tommy Maple, the Herald of Autumn, awakens to again wander the land. Wherever he goes, red and golden leaves follow him, and he hunts the twisted creatures in the darkness.

This Autumn, however, is different from those in the past.

Tommy awakens to the taunting of a depraved enemy, a mysterious and elusive shaman. Tommy is powerless before his strange, bent magics, and knows that the old man has slaughtered his kind in the past. He is the last person the Herald should trust.

And yet, Tommy is forced to listen.

Soon, a sinister tale unfolds- a story that spans centuries and the entire continent. A story made from the whispering of forgotten legends that ends with a dark revelation. A story that Tommy has always been part of, even though he didn't know it.

Now the Herald faces an ancient abomination, unlike anything he has ever known before. For once, the hunter is the one that is hunted, chased through a misbegotten wood by a creature who seems to be little more than darkness and feckless hunger.

The behemoth is pure horror, and can unmake everything Tommy is.

As the Herald faces a foe unlike any other, will he fall to the darkness that haunts our world? Will the shadows of a lost age devour him, causing him to be reborn as one of the world's terrors? Or can he trust the shaman, a creature spun from little more than trickery, malevolence and deceit?
 

What are people saying about

“The Herald of Autumn?”

“
Beautiful. It whisks you along with all the grace and power of an autumn wind, biting at times with its chill and whispering always at more to come. The blend of myth and modern, action and love, was superbly done. Definitely want to read more
.”

 
“The story is compelling. It is brisk. It hints at other and deeper stories. It is, in all the senses of the word, captivating. If you don't think you like myth, legend and stories, this one - with ancient roots but a modern touch in the telling - might be a nice place to start.
”

“
I can honestly say this is one of my favorite books that I have read this year - and it's November so I've read a good many books. The Herald of Autumn earns a place on a very exclusive bookshelf - the one with books I will read over and over. I suspect each time I read it, I will find more I did not perceive before. There is no doubt that I will be buying more books by this author
.”

On The Matter of the Red Hand

All Thom wants is to drink a few rounds with his friend and play some bar games, or maybe make friends with that new serving girl- but that's not in the cards. No, Thom has a problem- a problem that may get him killed. 
 

Or worse. 
 

Tonight, it is raining. Thom stands in the shadows as strange visions run through his head like molten silver- visions that show dark injustices, hidden behind strange inexplicable symbols. 
 

It's enough to make a man want a drink. 
 

Thom is on duty, however. These visions have brought him to the door of a madman- Santiago Il Ladren. Santiago is a monster, rumored to have his enemies tortured to death- that is, the ones that don't simply vanish. 
 

It is possible that Santiago will have Thom killed, just for asking the wrong questions. 
 

Soon, the mystery takes a sharp turn. There is a missing girl- and it happens that Santiago is her brother. Each is another step down a twisted road that leads to forbidden alchemies and experiments in horror, hidden in plain sight. Every move Thom takes leads him further into strange shadows, until finally he is confronted with truths that he never wanted to face. 
 

Some nights, it's just not worth the trouble it takes to stay out of the taverns.

Rationality Zero

The world is not what it seems.

Michael Bishop is an Asset of the Facility- a job that comes with many strange perks. He is a man who never gets ill, who never pays taxes. He is effortlessly fit, and has a different woman every night of the week. 
 

That is, when he is not on assignment. 
 

When activated, Michael becomes Asset 108, an enhanced human who stands against the strange darkness that lurks at the edge of our world. Armed with equipment that most would find impossible to comprehend, he is sent on missions both strange and deadly. Each dossier pits him against irrational creatures and beings- most with the power to unravel his sanity, or reality itself. It's never a simple job. 
 

This job, however, is more complex than most. Mysterious unknown targets are fracturing reality, somewhere in the middle of the Mojave desert. 
 

The Facility has no other Assets in the area, and their telemetry is spotty at best. Without knowing what to expect, Bishop is activated, assigned to a cadre, and sent to the middle of nowhere. 
 

What he finds there is both the beginning and the end. 

This is a stanza from THE PAEAN OF SUNDERED DREAMS.