Message for the Devil: A King Roger V Adventure by Jason McDonald and Stormy McDonald

King Roger is back and he's up to his armpits in trouble. There's a lot going on in the city of Charleston, South Carolina is in danger. People are dying hideously. Who did it? I didn't know. You still don't. In Message for the Devil by Jason and Stormy McDonald the police think it might be Roger himself. We'd never believe that though would we?

Part of the problem is with Roger. He grew up in a mystical land on the planet Gaia, sister to Earth, where magic is plentiful and customs are closer to Medieval European than they are to modern American. This creates some problems for our hero as he does not always know the right way to handle things. At one point it becomes obvious that he doesn't even know how to count change.  In some cases, I enjoyed that face immensely, because he acts more like a Player Character in a Dungeons & Dragons game than a modern American, but it makes sense in context. 

The story itself is a mystery. Roger has been hired to find a ghost, but it's not just any ghost. Nope. That would be too easy. It has to be the ghost of a convicted murderess who was executed. Rumor has it that she said some nasty things at her own execution...

Yeah, it gets ugly quickly. This may have escaped your notice up to this point, but vengeful spirits tend not to be very nice people. Sometimes they can get downright...

Vengeful

Okay, that was terrible, but you get the point.

Hence the whole "dying hideously" that I mentioned earlier. Of course, it gets worse because Roger isn't exactly the most popular guy with the local police and they don't really understand some of his methods. I mean, do you know what a rust potion is? Do you think the police would? Think about it. I wouldn't and I'm a fantasy fan.

In a lot of ways, Message for the Devil feels like an early Dresden novel. The hero uses magic, even if Roger doesn't have the raw power that Harry does. There's a mystery. There's a supporting cast of characters that includes the police. There's even a human skull, although Roger doesn't name his skull "Bob." I've always had the feeling that Harry Dresden felt a bit out of place and Roger is certainly out of place.  Both heroes have problems with using technology, even if they manifest themselves differently. The McDonalds' world is probably about as well developed as Butcher's was after two or three books as well. (And yes, that means that the McDonalds haven't managed as much worldbuilding in two books as Butcher has managed in eight million. They'll get there. Just 7,999,998 books to go.)

There's a lot of action in Message for the Devil, too. This is not the Hardy Boys by any stretch of the imagination. Roger is a big fan of bladed weapons and the police, of course, have guns. There is plenty of fighting and running and hiding to keep things lively. This is one of those areas where Roger clearly doesn't not understand the customs and laws of the United States and has a chance to get himself into some very real - and very serious - trouble. He somehow manages to get out of it, at least for the most part. Sort of. Read the book.

That's not to say that all there is to Message for the Devil is all action. This isn't a Michael Bay flick and there is no lens flare. 

Huh?

Oh, yeah. Listen, I'm not sure how you would do lens flare in a book either, but I'm fairly certain that Bay would find a way to do it. Just don't pay attention to the fact that it doesn't make sense and you'll get it.

There is some fairly serious research taking place in order to solve the mystery. Speaking as a guy who has spent his time at libraries pouring over microfilm, the research in Message for the Devil makes sense. It reads like it was written by someone who has done some real research, for the simple reason that the characters in the book are smart enough to find the right place to go to and talk to someone who knows the story and where to find the information they need. This isn't a case of some rando jumping on the internet and solving a two hundred year old mystery in five seconds using Google. There's some real work involved here. I like that. The McDonalds some how manage to keep these parts from dragging out too long as well, so props to them.

There's some personal drama here as well. King Roger abandons his chance to return to his kingdom at the end of Thief on King Street. He did so for the love of a woman that he had just met. Yes, that is a cliche but it's used so often because it works. So while all of the insanity is going on, with murders and police problems and hauntings and...

You get the idea.

...Roger has to get to know the woman that he stayed for and figure out how things work with her. And, quite frankly, IF they work with her. It's not that she's disloyal, or that he is, but we've all been there. Making things work with a new person is never easy. He's a good dude and makes his way through it, but it's not as easy as perhaps he'd like it to be. I'm okay with it though. Easy stuff doesn't make a good story. 

Message for the Devil is, as mentioned previously, a sequel. While I certainly do recommend reading the first book, you should be able to enjoy this work either way. There is enough here to move the story along independently and what callbacks there are to the previous story are brief and well enough explained so that you won't feel lost. All in all, this is a story worth reading.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Golden Coins

Message for the Devil: A King Roger V Adventure
Jason McDonald and Stormy McDonald
Parlatheas Press, 2024

Message for the Devil: A King Roger V Adventure is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you. 

Message for the Devil

Thief on King Street: Adventures of Roger V by Alan Isom, Jason McDonald and Melanie McDonald

Listen, I don't ask for much in my entertainment. Just give me an epic story that takes place across two planets, is full of political intrigue, has non-stop action, religious conflict, a crazy amount of tension and a few unbelievably well thought out characters and I'm pretty much okay.  See? Easy peasy! Or not, as the case may be, but that's what the McDonalds and Isom delivered. Seriously, between working sixty hours a week and trying to recover from stomach surgery it took me WAY TOO LONG to read this book but that's my weakness talking and not their stories. Thief on King Street was an experience to treasure.

And great, here come the Fun Police to arrest me for enjoying myself. They've been after me for years. You've got no proof this time! It's an electronic copy! I can delete it while you're pounding up the driveway with the Murderous Miniature Dachsund Marauders! You'll never take me alive, Fun  Police. Who am I kidding? Those guys drink decrappinated coffee. There is NO WAY they'll have the energy to make it up the driveway, even with their hot dogs.

The earlier works of this writing trio have featured the "sister planets" - Gaia, the land of magic where technology is thought of as being weird and Terra - land of technology where magic is rare and feared by most of those who actually believe it exists. Some might be tempted to call this the "Real World" and, for the most part, it is. This set up should seem familiar to readers of the Cayn Trilogy as I'm sure you all are because I reviewed them previously and I know you all read what I tell you to, right?

Or sumfin'...

Thief on King Street is both awesome and kind of strange in how it subverts a trope: This isn't Earthlings venturing in a strange land, it's people from a strange land adventuring on Earth. They've done it well, too. I want to make a comparison to the 1632 Universe, but even that is kind of backwards. I mean, seriously, the reaction of the characters from Gaia to a typically dressed woman in her teens is pretty funny but it also makes an absolute ton of sense if viewed with just a touch of sensitivity to someone from a society which, while it is probably more egalitarian toward women than one would initially assume, is Medieval European in nature. They don't truly grasp modern technology and that makes sense too. I can just imagine trying to dress up a medieval knight to fit in at a hospital. Think about it in context.

The authors also do a good job of including modern magical practices in their work. It seems that there is still SOME magic left in Terra - if one knows where to look for it. That makes sense given the existence of Terrans on Gaia in their earlier, uhh, Later?

I mean, this is a prequel series but that means that the books that are later in the timeline were written first, so they've already happened even though they haven't happened yet. It's a total paradox. HELP! I guess the Fun Police better bring a Time Cop as back-up. 

Seriously though, if Ambrose Battenberg doesn't intrigue you as a character you don't have a pulse. In which case I'm honored, because I've always wanted a member of the undead to read my blog. 

*SIGH*

I'm off topic again.

Listen, Ambrose has a bit of the whiny little girl in her when the story starts. She gets his with a responsibility she never wanted and wasn't prepared for. Inheriting a throne isn't for everyone, especially since she was way down the list and came into her crown by losing several members of her family. Her kingdom is beset by attackers from outside, there are those from within who don't want to see a woman running the country and honestly, she doesn't want to deal with it. The fact that she is the last of her family and there is literally no one else to take over doesn't seem to matter to her.

Honestly, she starts out reminding me a bit of that Bella chick from Twilight (for those that aren't aware, I tried to read the first book after I made a deal with a girl I know: She would read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and I would read Twilight. I give every book a hundred and fifty pages, regardless. I got to one-forty in Twilight, prayed for God to make the next ten pages to go quickly and gave up early. I gave it to my sister and I hear my niece enjoyed it though. I hate Bella.) The thing is that Ambrose has a real character arc where she actually matures and by the end of the story she's exactly the type of woman I would want my daughters to be; Strong, proud, smart, tough, and brave. She turns into the type of leader I would follow anywhere. I love that about her.

There is a lot of a good versus evil in Thief on King Street and I can really appreciate that. Yes, I do believe that both good and evil exist in the real world. I also believe that, to paraphrase someone famous (CS Lewis maybe?) that we need good versus evil in fiction to prepare ourselves mentally to fight the battle in the real world.  The McDonalds and Isom do a good job of that. Their heroes are heroes and the villains are disgustingly villainous. Fantasy is, and always has been, at its best when you have someone to root for and someone to root AGAINST. Call them Sauron. Call them the White Witch. It doesn't matter. Just give me someone I don't want around to boo and I'm good. 

I'm really excited to see where this series goes next. I mean, it's the first in the series and it's not written by George R.R. Martin so we'll see the sequel sometime soon-ish I'm sure. I'll be there when it hits. You should be there, too.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Poisoned Arrows

Thief on King Street
Alan Isom, Jason McDonald and Melanie McDonald
Parlatheas Press, 2022

Thief on King Street is available for purchase at the following link. Please note that if you click my link and purchase literally anything from Amazon I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you. 

Thief on King Street

Mask of the Vampire by Stormy McDonald and Jason McDonald

I don't usually comment on covers because "Don't judge a book by it's cover," but I really like that one.

So here we are once again with Damage, Inc. and their world spanning adventures. It's good to be back. Seriously, Dave, Hummingbird and crew (and I'm happy to see more of Jasper this time) are up to their usual shenanigans and that  makes me happy, because I'm a native Shenaniganian. 

Or sumfin'

Listen, it's not even noon yet.

Hopefully this isn't too much of a spoiler, but in part of the end matter it is revealed that Damage Inc. started off as a gaming group. This makes a lot of sense to me because Mask of the Vampire and the other related novels do kind of remind me of a really good night around a gaming table with my friends throwing dice and arguing. Only the books come with the added bonus of not having to pick popcorn out of your hair afterward. (Don't ask, it's ugly.)

I don't mean to say that you can't enjoy the book if you're not a tabletop role player, because you totally can. I'm just saying that so much of Mask of the Vampire feels so familiar if you have. You'll recognize the tropes if you don't play, but it's so much better when you've lived them. Well, sort of.  I mean, you don't really live the things you roleplay.  Thankfully. I mean, I'm sure my players would be pretty upset at me for that time I almost TPK'ed them. 

*SIGH*

I'm getting off topic.

Listen, just buy the book.

Mask of the Vampire is a story about friends dealing with some rough circumstances in the best manner possible, or at least the best way they can come up with. One plan, in particular, sounded a little janky to me when they hatched it. I'm not going to say what it was, or how it turned out but I wasn't wrong. Still though, that adds to the reality of the work, because people don't always come up with the best plans in situations when they're under pressure. At the end of the day, they did something when they needed to do something.

Yes, life would be simpler if they could just walk to Mordor. No, really. 

I'm fighting off the urge to make a Hardy Boys reference here, but I don't think it's going to work. There are a couple of different mysteries going on to go with the usual chaos and mayhem I expected in a Damage, Inc. novel. I detect a hint of Lord of the Rings here too, but only in a way. Let's just say that having a Mount Doom around might make things a wee bit simpler for our heroes.

I find myself liking our heroes more every time I read another installment in this series and this one is no exception. I find myself more drawn especially to the character of Hummingbird who, because reasons, seems to be easier to understand and relate to this time around. I feel like she's finally found her groove where maybe she hadn't before. There are still some things she needs to do and some obstacles she needs to overcome, but she's working here and she's moving forward. This could just be a personality thing on my part, but she seems to at least be making a better attempt to adapt to the world around her now.

Something I haven't commented on previously is the coolness of seeing characters for our planet in the books. The story takes place on a planet called Gaia (yes, I get the mythological reference) but a couple of the main characters are from the planet Terra (yep, that's us) and it's awesome. Every once in awhile you'll catch a reference back to our world and it's fun. Plus in a weird sort of way, Dave and friends are like the Vulcan/android in a Star Trek series: They exist to point out and analyze the strangeness of the people around them.  

The action sequences in Mask of the Vampire are amazing as always. Whether it's a straight up fight or something even bigger, the McDonald's deliver. I've never seen a character arc come quite so far in one fight as what happens here either, but it makes sense and was necessary. I was really impressed by that one scene and how it turned out. Something things aren't easy to do and never should be, but needs must when the devil drives. 

In short, I'd read it. I mean, I already did though. Let's just say if it's worth my time, I'd say it's worth yours. Like I just did. Or sumfin'

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Hidden Treasures

Mask of the Vampire
Stormy McDonald and Jason McDonald
Parlatheas Press, 2022

Mask of the Vampire is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no extra cost to you.

Mask of the Vampire

Blood of Cayn by Stormy McDonald, Alan Isom and Jason McDonald

(Author's note: I would like to take this time to apologize to Alan Isom and the McDonalds, as well as their publisher. This review was promised on release day. That was about three-ish months ago. Unfortunately, life happened and this got out late. Mea maxima culpa. Hopefully this review was worth waiting for.)

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Life is often good as a book blogger. People send you free books. You get to brag about reading them to a bunch of goofballs who think your opinions are worth reading. (No offense.) You are constantly looking forward to reading the next book and believe me there, there is a next one: You've got a bunch in your inbox. I mean, you are required to spend a certain amount of time in your pajamas with your feet up, reading. Sometimes you may even find it necessary to have a glass of Coca-Cola in hand while doing so. It's a hard life, but it is a labor of love.

The problem with being a book blogger is that you are often sent only the first book of a series and sometimes it can be hard to have time to read the stuff you pay for. There is this constant nagging feeling that you should be reading something that someone gave you because they gave it to you. So often, that one Book One of something that you read that one time is the only book of the series that you end up reading because life.

What I'm trying to say here is that it's pretty awesome to be able to follow a series through to conclusion. You actually get to see the big payoff. You're not stuck stumbling on the edge of an abyss, wondering how, and if, the heroes are going to save the world and make everything right again. And - let's face it- when you love Epic Fantasy those are usually the stakes. And now I'm happy, because I just read Blood of Cayn, the epic conclusion to The Cayn Trilogy, written by Stormy McDonald, Alan Isom and Jason McDonald.

I don't want to give too much away, but this was seriously a good payoff. I mean, we've been through hell with these characters by now, right? They've revealed their true selves. They've won fights. They've lost fights. They've lost friends. As much fun as reading The Cayn Trilogy has been, I find myself relieved that I'm not one of the characters in it. They deal with a lot.

Through it all though, they're not just comrades, they're friends. Some of the risks the main characters take in Blood of Cayn fall under the heading of "inadvisable" to me. They still do it and they do it for each other. If you've got to go war, these are the people you want to do it with. It's always fun to spend time with characters you respect and admire and they live on these pages.

I love the world of The Blood of Cayn. It's a world on the edge and it's about to head over the precipice because of a plague. The entire series is, in essence, about the struggle against that plague and the war that it could cause. It's a worth cause. But it's not just the struggle I'm talking about here. I'm guessing there was some serious map drawing done for this thing. I hope it looks better than my artwork too, but no promises there. Seriously though, the authors of this series have done a great job of laying out their world and making it believable. I almost feel like there could be a geography class taught here, and that kind of created a bit of an (awesome) issue for me.

See, I'm a Dungeon Master. There were many times while reading Blood of Cayn that I felt it necessary to run off and add something to my campaign, since it's a homebrew and I can get away with that. I really enjoyed that aspect of it, but it did lead me to take longer to read the thing than I normally would have. Now, if I were one of the authors of this book, I may make sure never to mention to my players that I inspired the fight that almost led to a Total Party Kill, but whatever. It was fun to read. It was fun to play. And a little extra enjoyment never hurt anybody. Well, except four D+D characters but they don't really exist anyway. And really, the cleric live long enough to save them all, so why are my players whining?

It's weird, because I know Chris Kennedy Publishing does not have an RPG arm, but I'd pay to play in this world. Seriously. I enjoy the way that magic works. I love how well they thought out the world. I usually play a warrior, but for whatever reason, I see myself as more Chert the Cleric and less Grendel the warrior in this RPG. That could be because I have an affinity for dwarves, but I think it's because Chert is my guy. He's always there and he's a fantasy cleric the way they were always meant to be. Of course, we also have Jasper the portly mage to which I'm also partial, especially given the fact that I most likely outweigh him.  And then there's Sacha and Sehraine and Xandor and...

Yeah.

For me, one of the best parts of reading a series has always been welcoming yourmy old friends back into my life for  another go around. It's about finding the same people on the other side and getting another chance to (maybe, hopefully) see them taken down. It's about familiarity and not having to learn the seventy-three thousandth world this year. And yes, my friends, it's about a payoff. It's about seeing the crew finally live up to the potential that I always knew they had. Some things are better than money. A good payoff is one of them. That's what I got here. I got to see my people do their thing and do it well. It was a good time.

Of course, there's the let down, too: The trilogy is over and there is no sequel to look forward to. That's okay though, because I'm confident that these three will find another story to write somehow. I'm looking forward to see what they come up with. Oh, and if anyone sees Chris Kennedy, let him know I've got a Dungeons and Dragons group that would just love a chance to play-test a Cayn Trilogy related RPG. Seriously. Hit me up man.


Life is often good as a book blogger. People send you free books. You get to brag about reading them to a bunch of goofballs who think your opinions are worth reading. (No offense.) You are constantly looking forward to reading the next book and believe me there, there is a next one: You've got a bunch in your inbox. I mean, you are required to spend a certain amount of time in your pajamas with your feet up, reading. Sometimes you may even find it necessary to have a glass of Coca-Cola in hand while doing so. It's a hard life, but it is a labor of love.

The problem with being a book blogger is that you are often sent only the first book of a series and sometimes it can be hard to have time to read the stuff you pay for. There is this constant nagging feeling that you should be reading something that someone gave you because they gave it to you. So often, that one Book One of something that you read that one time is the only book of the series that you end up reading because life.

What I'm trying to say here is that it's pretty awesome to be able to follow a series through to conclusion. You actually get to see the big payoff. You're not stuck stumbling on the edge of an abyss, wondering how, and if, the heroes are going to save the world and make everything right again. And - let's face it- when you love Epic Fantasy those are usually the stakes. And now I'm happy, because I just read Blood of Cayn, the epic conclusion to The Cayn Trilogy, written by Stormy McDonald, Alan Isom and Jason McDonald.

I don't want to give too much away, but this was seriously a good payoff. I mean, we've been through hell with these characters by now, right? They've revealed their true selves. They've won fights. They've lost fights. They've lost friends. As much fun as reading The Cayn Trilogy has been, I find myself relieved that I'm not one of the characters in it. They deal with a lot.

Through it all though, they're not just comrades, they're friends. Some of the risks the main characters take in Blood of Cayn fall under the heading of "inadvisable" to me. They still do it and they do it for each other. If you've got to go war, these are the people you want to do it with. It's always fun to spend time with characters you respect and admire and they live on these pages.

I love the world of The Blood of Cayn. It's a world on the edge and it's about to head over the precipice because of a plague. The entire series is, in essence, about the struggle against that plague and the war that it could cause. It's a worth cause. But it's not just the struggle I'm talking about here. I'm guessing there was some serious map drawing done for this thing. I hope it looks better than my artwork too, but no promises there. Seriously though, the authors of this series have done a great job of laying out their world and making it believable. I almost feel like there could be a geography class taught here, and that kind of created a bit of an (awesome) issue for me.

See, I'm a Dungeon Master. There were many times while reading Blood of Cayn that I felt it necessary to run off and add something to my campaign, since it's a homebrew and I can get away with that. I really enjoyed that aspect of it, but it did lead me to take longer to read the thing than I normally would have. Now, if I were one of the authors of this book, I may make sure never to mention to my players that I inspired the fight that almost led to a Total Party Kill, but whatever. It was fun to read. It was fun to play. And a little extra enjoyment never hurt anybody. Well, except four D+D characters but they don't really exist anyway. And really, the cleric live long enough to save them all, so why are my players whining?

It's weird, because I know Chris Kennedy Publishing does not have an RPG arm, but I'd pay to play in this world. Seriously. I enjoy the way that magic works. I love how well they thought out the world. I usually play a warrior, but for whatever reason, I see myself as more Chert the Cleric and less Grendel the warrior in this RPG. That could be because I have an affinity for dwarves, but I think it's because Chert is my guy. He's always there and he's a fantasy cleric the way they were always meant to be. Of course, we also have Jasper the portly mage to which I'm also partial, especially given the fact that I most likely outweigh him.  And then there's Sacha and Sehraine and Xandor and...

Yeah.

For me, one of the best parts of reading a series has always been welcoming yourmy old friends back into my life for  another go around. It's about finding the same people on the other side and getting another chance to (maybe, hopefully) see them taken down. It's about familiarity and not having to learn the seventy-three thousandth world this year. And yes, my friends, it's about a payoff. It's about seeing the crew finally live up to the potential that I always knew they had. Some things are better than money. A good payoff is one of them. That's what I got here. I got to see my people do their thing and do it well. It was a good time.

Of course, there's the let down, too: The trilogy is over and there is no sequel to look forward to. That's okay though, because I'm confident that these three will find another story to write somehow. I'm looking forward to see what they come up with. Oh, and if anyone sees Chris Kennedy, let him know I've got a Dungeons and Dragons group that would just love a chance to play-test a Cayn Trilogy related RPG. Seriously. Hit me up man.


Life is often good as a book blogger. People send you free books. You get to brag about reading them to a bunch of goofballs who think your opinions are worth reading. (No offense.) You are constantly looking forward to reading the next book and believe me there, there is a next one: You've got a bunch in your inbox. I mean, you are required to spend a certain amount of time in your pajamas with your feet up, reading. Sometimes you may even find it necessary to have a glass of Coca-Cola in hand while doing so. It's a hard life, but it is a labor of love.

The problem with being a book blogger is that you are often sent only the first book of a series and sometimes it can be hard to have time to read the stuff you pay for. There is this constant nagging feeling that you should be reading something that someone gave you because they gave it to you. So often, that one Book One of something that you read that one time is the only book of the series that you end up reading because life.

What I'm trying to say here is that it's pretty awesome to be able to follow a series through to conclusion. You actually get to see the big payoff. You're not stuck stumbling on the edge of an abyss, wondering how, and if, the heroes are going to save the world and make everything right again. And - let's face it- when you love Epic Fantasy those are usually the stakes. And now I'm happy, because I just read Blood of Cayn, the epic conclusion to The Cayn Trilogy, written by Stormy McDonald, Alan Isom and Jason McDonald.

I don't want to give too much away, but this was seriously a good payoff. I mean, we've been through hell with these characters by now, right? They've revealed their true selves. They've won fights. They've lost fights. They've lost friends. As much fun as reading The Cayn Trilogy has been, I find myself relieved that I'm not one of the characters in it. They deal with a lot.

Through it all though, they're not just comrades, they're friends. Some of the risks the main characters take in Blood of Cayn fall under the heading of "inadvisable" to me. They still do it and they do it for each other. If you've got to go war, these are the people you want to do it with. It's always fun to spend time with characters you respect and admire and they live on these pages.

I love the world of The Blood of Cayn. It's a world on the edge and it's about to head over the precipice because of a plague. The entire series is, in essence, about the struggle against that plague and the war that it could cause. It's a worth cause. But it's not just the struggle I'm talking about here. I'm guessing there was some serious map drawing done for this thing. I hope it looks better than my artwork too, but no promises there. Seriously though, the authors of this series have done a great job of laying out their world and making it believable. I almost feel like there could be a geography class taught here, and that kind of created a bit of an (awesome) issue for me.

See, I'm a Dungeon Master. There were many times while reading Blood of Cayn that I felt it necessary to run off and add something to my campaign, since it's a homebrew and I can get away with that. I really enjoyed that aspect of it, but it did lead me to take longer to read the thing than I normally would have. Now, if I were one of the authors of this book, I may make sure never to mention to my players that I inspired the fight that almost led to a Total Party Kill, but whatever. It was fun to read. It was fun to play. And a little extra enjoyment never hurt anybody. Well, except four D+D characters but they don't really exist anyway. And really, the cleric live long enough to save them all, so why are my players whining?

It's weird, because I know Chris Kennedy Publishing does not have an RPG arm, but I'd pay to play in this world. Seriously. I enjoy the way that magic works. I love how well they thought out the world. I usually play a warrior, but for whatever reason, I see myself as more Chert the Cleric and less Grendel the warrior in this RPG. That could be because I have an affinity for dwarves, but I think it's because Chert is my guy. He's always there and he's a fantasy cleric the way they were always meant to be. Of course, we also have Jasper the portly mage to which I'm also partial, especially given the fact that I most likely outweigh him.  And then there's Sacha and Sehraine and Xandor and...

Yeah.

For me, one of the best parts of reading a series has always been welcoming yourmy old friends back into my life for  another go around. It's about finding the same people on the other side and getting another chance to (maybe, hopefully) see them taken down. It's about familiarity and not having to learn the seventy-three thousandth world this year. And yes, my friends, it's about a payoff. It's about seeing the crew finally live up to the potential that I always knew they had. Some things are better than money. A good payoff is one of them. That's what I got here. I got to see my people do their thing and do it well. It was a good time.

Of course, there's the let down, too: The trilogy is over and there is no sequel to look forward to. That's okay though, because I'm confident that these three will find another story to write somehow. I'm looking forward to see what they come up with. Oh, and if anyone sees Chris Kennedy, let him know I've got a Dungeons and Dragons group that would just love a chance to play-test a Cayn Trilogy related RPG. Seriously. Hit me up man.

Blood of Cayn
Stormy McDonald, Alan Isom and Jason McDonald
New Mythology Press, 2019

Blood of Cayn is available for purchase at the following link:(And per Amazon policy, I am hereby informing you that I will get a percentage of any purchase you make after clicking the link.)

Blood of Cayn

City of Cayn by Stormy McDonald, Alan Isom and Jason McDonald

Every so often a sequel comes along that is as good as the original. It's not often, but it does happen. I mean, The Empire Strikes Back  was every bit as good as Star Wars, right? (Hey you, stop smirking. You know I'm right. ESB was the best Star Wars movie.) Now, I will grant you that it doesn't always happen that way. But sometimes, every great once in awhile, a blue moon appears and brings with it a worthy sequel. I don't know if it specifically takes an act of divine intervention, or if it just feels like it does. I mention this for a very specific reason:

Fans of Jimbo's will remember when I reviewed Son of Cayn awhile back and I was ecstatic about it. Well, I'm happy to say that Stormy McDonald, Alan Isom and Jason McDonald have done it again. Their latest is City of Cayn and it's pretty amazeballs. I just finished it on Wednesday and I already can't wait for the next one. Of course, this one just came out today and, by my own personal code of ethics, I'm required to wait at least a week before bugging them. Get ready guys. I'll find a way! Something annoying your way comes. I'm just not sure what it is yet. Before all and sundry I make this vow: I will pester you for the next one. And it's very obviously coming because you set it up beautifully.

The cool part is that the authors are part of the Chris Kennedy Publishing Kindle Unlimited Writing Factory. I'm pretty sure they're writing right now. They need to 

Something we didn't see enough of in the first book was magic, but it abounds this time around. Mages in the City of Cayn universe are apparently pretty badass. At one point a character who shall remain nameless pulls off a massive illusion that had me sitting there in awe. I've seen very few works where a single mage could have pulled something that big off. At another point that same character is called out for not being an archmage. Bro, if this is what a neophyte looks like, I don't wanna have to face the master. That was some straight up ass-kickery. He does other really impressive stuff too, but that was what got me the most.

I have to say, I'd love to see this one turned into a movie too. It would be a special effects extravaganza. I'm thinking of two specific scenes that would light up a screen and make me want to dance. I seriously need to see what a Hollywood pyrotechnics crew could do with some of this. It sounds soooooo impressive. I think it could live up to the way I pictured it.

Oh, and I suppose, since I'm talking about a book, I should mention the plot. I don't do spoilers so I can't say much, but damn. This is epic fantasy the way you're supposed to do epic fantasy. Good guys, bad guys and the whole world (well... maybe) in the balance and only our plucky group of heroes can save the whole world for dying... We hope. They have to figure out how first though and right now, it's not looking too good. We're all sweating and rooting for them. And, at the end of the day, that's what I love about the genre. This isn't a story about variable morals and "everything is gray." This is "someone is trying to kill all of us and we have to stop them."

I can't help sitting back and remembering a scene from The Godfather III though. (Yes, I liked it.) At one point, Michael Corleone (played masterfully by Al Pacino) sits back and says "Our true enemy has not yet revealed himself." There is a mastermind behind what's going on. I know it. I have a feeling I know at least one being that he/she/it is working with. I'm just not sure who they are. I'm sure time, and the next book, will tell but I'm straining to figure this out. If it's the obvious choice it'll be cool. If it's someone new to the stage it'll be cooler. I guess I'll just have to wait to find out which it is.

As mentioned before, City of Cayn is a sequel and I highly recommend reading Son of Cayn first. There is a lot going on in this book and a look back at where it started is necessary to knowing who all of these people are and how they relate to each other. It gets awfully complicated, especially for a cast this small. The relations between the characters, and their complications, are a big part of what makes City of Cayn fun, so you really do need to know your stuff.

Of course, there are new characters added too. The authors decided to spice this one up with some additions that just work. One of my favorite characters in the book was not featured in the first book and she's a total badass. She goes through a lot and I feel bad for her at times, but if she wanted an easy life she shouldn't have been in a novel.

As a matter of fact, that's something that really works in City of Cayn. The benefits of success are sky high. The penalty for failing is unthinkable. The route to victory is not a straight one. It's quite frankly a mess. There is no super-successful, gets it right every time person here. The one person I thought might turn into that guy is worse off than almost anyone else. This is a highly detailed, well planned-out story and the authors have pulled it off wonderfully.

Really my only problem with the book is that the sequel isn't here yet. I'm dying to find out how all of this ends. I want to find out if the bad guy is who I think he is. I want to see if somebody slaps that bitch. (She deserves it.) I want to know if the world gets saved. I want to know... when the next book is coming. But trust me, I won't bother the authors for at least a week.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Bars of Soap

City of Cayn
Stormy McDonald, Alan Isom and Jason McDonald
Chris Kennedy Publishing, 2018

City of Cayn is available for purchase at the following link:

City of Cayn