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Booooooks
This post prompted by the comments in my previous post. Here's a group of self-published books I have read and enjoyed in the past year or so. Note that I did not say they were necessarily good: like most things, if there's something my brain can latch onto that allows it to spin off in various directions, then I'll enjoy it.
They'll all be Extruded Fantasy Product unless I say differently.
Dangerous to Know: The Chronicles of Breed Book One by K.T. Davies. I got this book and a prequel story via Instafreebie, and it's one of the very, very few books I've received that way that I read, finished, and bought more of. I loved the snarky voice of the main character--okay, First Person Smartass and Third Person Smartass are POVs I like--and, wow, the series went in directions I in no way expected. Bonus: I signed up for the author's mailing list to get the free stuff, and in the year I've been on it, I've received one email. Yay. (I've unsubscribed from a lot of author newsletters that get sent weekly or more often. I just don't care about an author's daily life or their friends' books.)
Bonus: from that newsletter I learned one important aspect that I'd totally managed to miss in the series, although this is normally something I'm hyper-aware of: rot13 for not-really-spoiler: Qnivrf cbvagrq bhg gung fur arire bapr zragvbarq Oerrq'f traqre va gur obbxf, naq nf V unir n Guvat sbe tvey-qvfthvfrq-nf-obl obbxf gung fcevat gung fhecevfr ba gur ernqre arne be ng gur raq, V hfhnyyl abgvpr gung evtug njnl! Cbvagf sbe gung.
The Blade Within (Raike Book 1) by Jackson Lear. Another Instafreebie that got me to buy the 2nd and 3rd books in the series. Alas, I didn't like how the series ended so I don't recommend book 3, and book 2 was a lot of going around in circles, but book 1 had some interesting ideas in it. The blurb for book 1 on Amazon is fairly generic and could stand to showcase some of the more interesting elements of the character and worldbuilding. In this world, mercenary companies are more like gangs running territories within a city instead of military companies for hire and you just have to deal. Within that set dressing, it's actually a mystery--a kidnapping that the main character is driven to solve because of similarities to a disappearance from his past, and
I'll note that the disappearance of women is what causes the male main character to act. And like I said above, I wouldn't call this a great book, but it kept me reading because of elements that hit me just right.
The Owl and the Dragon (The Bander Adventures Book 1) by Randy Nargi. I've only read the first book in this series and a free story I got via Instafreebie. This is one that I would put smack in the "not a good book, but it kept me reading" category. It's Fantasy Jack Reacher. Seriously. The main character is patterned on elements of Jack Reacher (the book version, not the movie version!), who is a large ex-military man who drifts around doing odd jobs, solving mysteries, and getting into trouble. The fantasy version is aged up to his 60s or so, is still large, and is an ex-Imperial Investigator who's drifting around and getting into trouble. Basic action-mystery stuff.
The reminder of exactly how many pounds he weighs--I mean, Jack Reacher is large! Has anyone mentioned that Jack Reacher is large?--got tedious in book 1, because I kept wondering how, in this medieval-technology world, he weighed himself so accurately, but I've started book 2 and he hasn't mentioned that yet so I have hopes the author realized that was ridiculous.
The Horse Mistress: Book 1 (The Eburosi Chronicles) by R. A. Steffan. I got book 1 via Instafreebie, read it, and purchased a collection of books 1-3 but haven't continued reading the series yet. NC-17 Fantasy poly romance that examines gender assumptions. Carivel was born female, but has been living as a boy in a village, doing a job that the village's culture insists can't be done by women. Disaster strikes the village and Carivel and two others--a warrior and a priestly wolf shifter--have to travel and try to gain the help of a neighboring woman ruler so their village can survive.
I mostly really liked Carivel's competence with horses and horse-training. :)
A Demon in the Desert (Grimluk, Demon Hunter Book 1) by Ashe Armstrong. Weird Wild West with traditional fantasy races--elves, orcs, etc. Another one I got from Instafreebie or a similar service. The MC is a demon-hunting orc, filling the traditonal role of drifter who comes into town and solves the problems of a demon-haunted town. I bought books 2 and 3 (the author is a regular on Reddit, and someone there was running a funding campaign for a health crisis he was having, so I bought the books in lieu of donating), and have read 2 which goes more into a trope I like, which is Big Fierce Character traveling with Wee Character, and gets away from the "solitary drifter" trope.
(and as time goes on, I am writing less and less about each book because I am tired. XD)
Apprentice Quest: Ozel the Wizard by Jim Hodgson. I can't recall how I got book 1; it might have been via Instafreebie--if so, it was probably a sample. It's been a while since I read book 1, so I don't remember much except that the cynical humor in it got me reading. I haven't yet read books 2 and 3.
Rowena's Rescue (Rowena's Rise book 1) by D. D> Webb. Yet another that (a) I don't remember how I originally got it and (b) I haven't read any sequels yet, although in this case it's because the author HASN'T WRITTEN THEM. And it's been most of a year since I read it, so I don't remember much except that Rowena is a princess imprisoned by an Eeeevil Wizard, and as her father has offered her hand in marriage to anyone who can rescue her, she has decided it's imperative she rescue herself so she doesn't have to marry just any old shtoonk who rescues princesses.
There's probably more, but this list will do for now.
They'll all be Extruded Fantasy Product unless I say differently.
Dangerous to Know: The Chronicles of Breed Book One by K.T. Davies. I got this book and a prequel story via Instafreebie, and it's one of the very, very few books I've received that way that I read, finished, and bought more of. I loved the snarky voice of the main character--okay, First Person Smartass and Third Person Smartass are POVs I like--and, wow, the series went in directions I in no way expected. Bonus: I signed up for the author's mailing list to get the free stuff, and in the year I've been on it, I've received one email. Yay. (I've unsubscribed from a lot of author newsletters that get sent weekly or more often. I just don't care about an author's daily life or their friends' books.)
Bonus: from that newsletter I learned one important aspect that I'd totally managed to miss in the series, although this is normally something I'm hyper-aware of: rot13 for not-really-spoiler: Qnivrf cbvagrq bhg gung fur arire bapr zragvbarq Oerrq'f traqre va gur obbxf, naq nf V unir n Guvat sbe tvey-qvfthvfrq-nf-obl obbxf gung fcevat gung fhecevfr ba gur ernqre arne be ng gur raq, V hfhnyyl abgvpr gung evtug njnl! Cbvagf sbe gung.
The Blade Within (Raike Book 1) by Jackson Lear. Another Instafreebie that got me to buy the 2nd and 3rd books in the series. Alas, I didn't like how the series ended so I don't recommend book 3, and book 2 was a lot of going around in circles, but book 1 had some interesting ideas in it. The blurb for book 1 on Amazon is fairly generic and could stand to showcase some of the more interesting elements of the character and worldbuilding. In this world, mercenary companies are more like gangs running territories within a city instead of military companies for hire and you just have to deal. Within that set dressing, it's actually a mystery--a kidnapping that the main character is driven to solve because of similarities to a disappearance from his past, and
I'll note that the disappearance of women is what causes the male main character to act. And like I said above, I wouldn't call this a great book, but it kept me reading because of elements that hit me just right.
The Owl and the Dragon (The Bander Adventures Book 1) by Randy Nargi. I've only read the first book in this series and a free story I got via Instafreebie. This is one that I would put smack in the "not a good book, but it kept me reading" category. It's Fantasy Jack Reacher. Seriously. The main character is patterned on elements of Jack Reacher (the book version, not the movie version!), who is a large ex-military man who drifts around doing odd jobs, solving mysteries, and getting into trouble. The fantasy version is aged up to his 60s or so, is still large, and is an ex-Imperial Investigator who's drifting around and getting into trouble. Basic action-mystery stuff.
The reminder of exactly how many pounds he weighs--I mean, Jack Reacher is large! Has anyone mentioned that Jack Reacher is large?--got tedious in book 1, because I kept wondering how, in this medieval-technology world, he weighed himself so accurately, but I've started book 2 and he hasn't mentioned that yet so I have hopes the author realized that was ridiculous.
The Horse Mistress: Book 1 (The Eburosi Chronicles) by R. A. Steffan. I got book 1 via Instafreebie, read it, and purchased a collection of books 1-3 but haven't continued reading the series yet. NC-17 Fantasy poly romance that examines gender assumptions. Carivel was born female, but has been living as a boy in a village, doing a job that the village's culture insists can't be done by women. Disaster strikes the village and Carivel and two others--a warrior and a priestly wolf shifter--have to travel and try to gain the help of a neighboring woman ruler so their village can survive.
I mostly really liked Carivel's competence with horses and horse-training. :)
A Demon in the Desert (Grimluk, Demon Hunter Book 1) by Ashe Armstrong. Weird Wild West with traditional fantasy races--elves, orcs, etc. Another one I got from Instafreebie or a similar service. The MC is a demon-hunting orc, filling the traditonal role of drifter who comes into town and solves the problems of a demon-haunted town. I bought books 2 and 3 (the author is a regular on Reddit, and someone there was running a funding campaign for a health crisis he was having, so I bought the books in lieu of donating), and have read 2 which goes more into a trope I like, which is Big Fierce Character traveling with Wee Character, and gets away from the "solitary drifter" trope.
(and as time goes on, I am writing less and less about each book because I am tired. XD)
Apprentice Quest: Ozel the Wizard by Jim Hodgson. I can't recall how I got book 1; it might have been via Instafreebie--if so, it was probably a sample. It's been a while since I read book 1, so I don't remember much except that the cynical humor in it got me reading. I haven't yet read books 2 and 3.
Rowena's Rescue (Rowena's Rise book 1) by D. D> Webb. Yet another that (a) I don't remember how I originally got it and (b) I haven't read any sequels yet, although in this case it's because the author HASN'T WRITTEN THEM. And it's been most of a year since I read it, so I don't remember much except that Rowena is a princess imprisoned by an Eeeevil Wizard, and as her father has offered her hand in marriage to anyone who can rescue her, she has decided it's imperative she rescue herself so she doesn't have to marry just any old shtoonk who rescues princesses.
There's probably more, but this list will do for now.
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