10 July 2013

Review: Rys Rising



Happy Wednesday! This is a review post for Rys Rising. The author is offering a prize, too! A $25 gift card to a randomly drawn commenter, so follow the tour here and comment away!

BLURB:

Onja can control what others see.

The day will come when everyone sees things her way.

Enjoy this unique epic of complex heroes and villains that engulfs readers from many angles. Packed with primitive energy, the intertwining stories and rising stakes of this fantasy world will indulge your cravings for intrigue, bravery, desire, and freedom.

EXCERPT

Dacian and Onja talk in prison

“What do you hope to accomplish with your defiance? The tabre will not learn to respect rys if we act below the standards of society,” he said.

His challenging question appeared to sadden her, and she took a moment before answering that she had not really thought about accomplishing anything. She had only wanted the dignity of her freedom.

Dacian contemplated her answer. He had never really considered that the rys were not free. Their second class status had always been such a blaring difficulty that he had not noticed the essential truth of rys life. Keeping to their places also meant that rys were not supposed to go anywhere.

But I was changing that. I was going to go to Kwellstan. Become a part of the hierarchy. Break the trail for others. What have I done? he lamented. After defending Onja how could he possibly be accepted by the Nebakarz?

Onja read his thoughts. He had such lofty goals. Awkwardly she tried to console him. “Maybe this will not be so bad for you.”

He was startled by her comment because he realized that he had left his mind open to her. The intimacy felt strange. It provided an unfamiliar freedom. Dacian did not have to focus on dogma and strive for the correct answers with her.

Dacian moaned. He had not imagined that such a day as this would come. His confinement confused him, but he resolved to be patient and keep his mind away from the door and its sealing spell. Breaking free would only make things worse for him.

To Onja, he admitted, “I don’t know what my life will be like now.”

“Then you have never had so many choices,” she said.

REVIEW

Rys Rising is a fantasy novel about magical beings and sorcerers, with a little human war thrown in.

I enjoyed this book. Honestly, I'm having trouble writing this review because there is so much going on in the story. We follow several different storylines, and it's difficult to summarize one without bringing in the other, and by the time I do that I've told you the story. The story flows, and as we move through, we can see where the tales come together. The author did a good job with this one, and I recommend it.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 
I was born in Michigan in 1972 and grew up in Mount Pleasant. It's called the "Mountain Town" but there is no mountain and it's debatable about whether it's pleasant. They say it's a party town and based on extensive research as a young adult I can concur.

Because I always had the childhood fantasy of running away and joining the circus, I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1995 and lived there until 1997. Those who only stay a week are wimps, but I will say that it's the second year in Vegas that wears you down. Then I realized the pioneers were trying to get to California, and Nevada was not the goal. So I moved to Chico, in Northern California and lived there until 2009. I miss Chico dearly and value greatly the experience of living in that enlightened realm (local government excluded). My wandering has circled back and I'm currently residing in Battle Creek, Michigan. I think I adore the place, but that doesn't make sense. I'm still California dreamin' and fantasize about my return to the Golden State, but for now my existence within the post-apocalyptic Rust Belt is suitably fascinating.

In 2000, I earned a journalism degree from California State University, Chico with the conscious ambition of becoming a fiction writer. With the rapid demise of the newspaper industry and journalism in general, novelist is not such a daft pursuit after all. It's not like I'm actually going to get a job that values my education. Luckily I'm cursed with the impulse to write in a popular yet competitive genre.

Links

Rys Rising: Book I is available worldwide at these retailers:

Brave Luck Books http://www.falbepublishing.com/braveluck/index.html

Amazon Kindle http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FYSSSC

Amazon Paperback http://www.amazon.com/Rys-Rising-Volume-Tracy-Falbe/dp/0976223570/

iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rys-rising-book-i/id458569652?mt=11

Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rys-rising-tracy-falbe/1104808237

Kobo http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Rys-Rising-Book-I/book-Wvq-CXnSbESRpk1lFAy6zQ/page1.html

Sony https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/tracy-falbe/rys-rising/_/R-400000000000000473918

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/79722

Blog - Her Ladyship’s Quest http://www.herladyshipsquest.com

Twitter - https://twitter.com/tracyfalbe

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brave-Luck-Books/41583881478



15 comments:

Goddess Fish Promotions said...

Thank you for hosting

Tracy Falbe said...

Hi Lindsay, Thank you for taking the time to read and review my novel. I sympathize with your difficulty in summarizing this many-layered epic. I have such trouble writing blurbs for the novel and I feel like I'm always leaving out 10 important things. Readers can imagine this fantasy as one with many characters with story lines that will weave together as the series progresses. In form, it's much like books by George R.R. Martin, except it actually tells a story instead of just tossing out more events.

MomJane said...

What a unique sounding story. Loved the excerpt and the review.

Tracy Falbe said...

@MomJane, Thanks for reading the excerpt.

Stormy Vixen said...

Thanks for the great excerpt. I am looking forward to reading this book.

Catherine Lee said...

I'm afraid that with so many different characters and story lines, I'd get lost (or at least feel lost). That seems to happen to me sometimes when I'm reading...LOL.

Tracy Falbe said...

@Catherine, I understand that the large story cast does not suit everyone's taste, but it is a form I've encountered in many popular novels, so I don't think my work is wildly experimental. Also if you think about it many popular TV shows have many characters and story lines to follow, like Mad Men and Sons of Anarchy.

Chelsea B. said...

Sounds like an intriguing story!

justforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

Rita Wray said...

The story sounds very exciting.

Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

bn100 said...

Nice review and excerpt

bn100candg at hotmail dot com

Mary Preston said...

Your review certainly had me intrigued.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Karen H said...

Thanks for the excerpt and review.

kareninnc at gmail dot com

Andra Lyn said...

Hi Again!

So what makes your story unique among all the fantasy books out there??

andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com

Tracy Falbe said...

Hi Andra,
I don't rely on worn out concepts like "there's a prophecy that a king will rise..." or the oldie but a goodie in which some important magical person has been hidden away as a child and only discovers his or her importance to world events when evil people come hunting for him.

I also developed my own magical races (the rys and tabre) instead of just recycling elves in some way. (I love elves by the way, but just wanted to do my own thing.)

My plots are driven by people trying to make it in a world ruled by magical beings who don't necessarily take human needs into account. People are to be used to gain power.

Hopefully I provide a few twists to keep things unpredictable and interesting. I'm driven by the questions: Can a good guy stay good when fighting evil?

Kate said...

Thanks for the post and the giveaway!
hense1kk (at) cmich (dot) edu