The vast majority of Fantasy-Faction readers will know of Gail Z Martin. I first came across her The Chronicles of The Necromancer series back in 2008/2009 and was quickly gripped by the epic story she wove together. Since then, Gail has only improved as an author, the quality of her writing now ranking amongst the best in SFF; not only that though, over the years she has really broadened her writing by exploring genres outside of Epic Fantasy such as Urban and Steampunk. It means that now, when you pick up a book by Gail Z. Martin, you never really know what’s in store for you as a reader and I really do appreciate that.
All that said, sometimes it’s nice to go back to what got you started and to take fans back there with you. So, it was pretty cool when her publishers, Rebellion, got in touch to say that Gail is on the verge of releasing a short story collection that will take us back to the world of The Summoner, The Shadowed Path. Here’s the blurb:
These are the untold tales of Jonmarc Vahanian, hero of Gail Z. Martin’s best-selling Chronicles of the Necromancer series.
Jonmarc Vahanian was just a blacksmith’s son in a small fishing village before raiders killed his family. Wounded and left for dead in the attack, Jonmarc tries to rebuild his life. But when a dangerous bargain with a shadowy stranger goes wrong, Jonmarc finds himself on the run, with nothing ahead but vengeance, and nothing behind him but blood.
Soldier. Fight slave. Smuggler. Warrior. Brigand lord. If you’ve met Jonmarc Vahanian in the Chronicles of the Necromancer and Fallen Kings Cycle books, you don’t really know him until you walk in his footsteps. This is the first segment of his journey.
This book will serve as the first new addition to the Chronicles of the Necromancer series in four years. Within you will find the first 10 Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures plus an exclusive 11th story that has never been published online or in eBook format before. Here’s the cover:
Pretty awesome, isn’t it? I really enjoyed the covers on Gail’s Summoner series, actually I think I committed the sin of picking them up because I liked those covers so much (and they reminded me of Brent Weeks’s / other authors I enjoyed). This one kind of hints towards them, whilst being a bit more modern. What I mean by that is whereas back in 2008-2012 we were seeing a lot of white backgrounds or characters detached from the more abstract/scenic backgrounds behind them, we now see ‘photo’ like covers quite often (see Robin Hobb’s latest cover re-releases, for example). Also: two swords are better than one, right?
Whilst we’re talking about Gail Z. Martin, readers will also be interested to hear that the sequel to her incredibly popular Urban Fantasy novel, Deadly Curiosities is due very, very soon too. Here’s the back cover wordage to give you some context:
Someone very powerful is trying to destroy Sorren and everyone he cares about. That puts Cassidy, Teag and Trifles and Folly in the cross-hairs, against an unknown enemy with strong magic and significant resources. Sorren has spent centuries shutting down the plans of powerful immortals, dark warlocks and supernatural creatures, and now he’s got to figure out which of those many enemies is out to get him before they pick off his friends one by one and come after him to finish an immortal vendetta.
We’ve not got our hands on it yet, so we can’t confirm it’s as awesome as we’re expecting, but here’s some words from Solaris’s Jon Oliver about the book: “Gail’s urban fantasy series ticks all the boxes while bringing something new to the genre. Trifles and Folly is one of those stores you could happily spend an afternoon browsing in, and Sorren, Cassidy and the members of their team have to be amongst the most kick-ass monster fighting posses in genre for quite some time. Vendetta is a delight and will thrill fans of this fresh new series.”
And you want the cover for that too? Sure, check it out:
The Shadowed Path will be with us in June 2016 and Vendetta January 2016, so you’ve got plenty of time to check out the Chronicles of the Necromancer or Deadly Curiosities if you’ve not already!
Geoff Matthews
Julia Kitvaria Sarene