Rise of the King: Companions Codex II (Book)

In a fantasy world that slightly mirrors our own author R.A.Salvatore continues his tale of the dark elf named 'Drizzt Do'Urden', and those who aim to make, or break the world around him. The times, and setting of this follow-up tale continue to be darkly lit, and foreboding leaving the reader anxious to see what each page entails. The pages themselves are filled with the epic battle mongering of orcs, dwarves, and elves who are each engaged in a territorial war akin to J.R.R.Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". Within it's pages kings are betrayed, and killed as the orc's new alliances make way for the promise of a new bloody age for orc-kind. In the not so distant background of the ongoing conflict Drizzt, and his newly found troupe of followers also find themselves drawn into the fray as they look desperately for lost comrades. Their unlikely band of wartime heroes which is comprised of an elf, a halfling, a barbarian, and a dwarf come to know true danger at the hands of their many enemies, and even from Drizzt himself.

Doctor Sleep (BOOK)

If you are into Stephen King books, and movies as I am you'll have no doubt read, or watched his older masterpiece, "The Shining". The Shining, which got it's name from one of the main character's special abilities told a horrific tale of a haunted hotel getaway in which the Torrence family lived out a truly terrifying ordeal. There were plenty of ghastly guests to keep the family of three on their toes, and the fact that Jack Torrence (The Father) was growing madder with each passing day made the otherworldly predicament all the more dire. Aside from Jack Torrence his young son Danny, and his wife Wendy also took on major roles as guests of the haunted hotel. In the end, and through many nerve racking encounters Danny's imaginary friend gave the family enough warning to enable Mrs. Torrence, and her son to make a proper getaway. It is also this imaginary friend known as Tony who allowed them both to witness the more horrific haunts contained within the confines of the massive hotel during their earlier days there. Both Daniel Torrence, and his Mother Wendy Torrence eventually make a narrow escape leaving Jack to be forever lost amongst the ghostly apparitions of the Overlook Hotel. That of course is where "The Shining" ends, and "Doctor Sleep" picks up.

"Birds of Lore" by Ryan Durney (Book, ebook, iOS, Tablet)

Copyright © Ryan Durney 2013

As a fan of mythology, and art I consider myself lucky to have stumbled across a retweet that one of my fellow Twitter followers had passed along. The message was about a book kickstarter that had actually made it through the crowd funding process. Ryan Durney the author of this magnificent tale of mythological birds, and the time traveler who traveled through the past, present, and future to learn all that he could of them created a story that is not unlike an H.G.Wells novella. Both the art included, and the words that followed all held an exquisite tone that was truly rich in nature. Parts of the story definitely reminded me of H.G.Wells' "The Time Machine" while other parts seemed like tales inspired by pages, and inscriptions of ancient world myths. All of it came together quite nicely, and looked impressive enough to warrant the $30 price tag.