Review & GIVEAWAY: The Knight's Secret by Jeffrey Bardwell

Out on March 5 is Jeffrey Bardwell's newest fantasy thriller: The Knight's Secret. First volume in The Mage Conspiracy series. 

We've got a synopsis, a review, and a giveaway. Scroll down for some magic....

Title: The Knight's Secret
Series: The Mage Conspiracy, Book 1
Genre: fantasy
Formats: epub, mobi
Publisher: Twigboat Press
Buy: Amazon, Other places

Synopsis:

Retired hero Sir Corbin rides to the capital of the Iron Empire for one last adventure. But the capital is in an uproar. The emperor has been slain by rogue mages. The new empress is livid. Soon all mages are suspect . . . including Corbin's daughter.

Corbin attempts to find allies among his old regiment. The army has become a slithering nest of vipers as imperial mages and cavalrymen move warily around each other. Both sides snare Corbin in tight coils of suspicion, politics, and lies. He is caught between a tryst with a jilted mage ex-lover and the tight-lipped scheme of an ex-buddy in the cavalry. When the vengeful empress launches a vendetta against all mage kind, Corbin must decide whether to be a father or a hero.

The bickering mages and cavalrymen aren't the only ones hiding something. Sir Corbin is not who he seems. Discover The Knight's Secret, the first fantasy adventure in The Mage Conspiracy series. Join a quest of self discovery, romantic entanglements, and political intrigue where lies cut deeper than any sword.

Review:

You might remember a certain post in which I (Erin) gushed over the steampunk/fantasy novella Rotten Magic, written by Jeffrey Bardwell. Now I'm back to tell you about another book by the same author, which takes place in the same world: The Knight's Secret. And I'm pleased to report that the author is still in full possession of his powers as a storyteller.

While I wasn't quite as over-the-top thrilled with The Knight's Secret as I was with Rotten Magic, I still loved it. The Knight's Secret continues Bardwell's gritty, character-strong fantasy style. It's a page-turner, with a complicated world, very real characters, and another of those cliff-hanger endings this author is so good at. (He knows how to keep us reading, am I right?)

Kelsa, the (more or less) main character of the story, is the granddaughter of legendary military hero Sir Corbin Destrus. She's grown up hearing about his adventures, but there seem to be a couple of things he's never told her.... Meanwhile, the state of the kingdom isn't looking so good. The emperor is dead under mysterious circumstances, and the new empress is ruthless. Anyone who practices magic comes under fire, and civil war looms on the horizon. 

As in Rotten Magic, but maybe even more so in this book, the author does a great job painting the backdrop for us. The world of The Iron Empire is vivid and politically complex: with conspiracies, machinations (just wanted to use that word), and a good deal of witch-hunting. Literally.

The same can be said of that world's characters, who all come off as compelling and natural. Main characters like Kelsa, Corbin, and Maven are well-rounded and complex. I love Kelsa's preference for stripping and walking around naked - but also love that she doesn't do it to attract attention. She just enjoys walking around naked. 

Speaking of, um, getting naked...the portrayal of the two genders is one thing this book does especially well: a main theme seems to be the differences between men and women. Sometimes these differences are divisive; sometimes they're unifying. And without giving anything away, the gender element is wonderfully highlighted in Kelsa herself and her story arc. The author has an equally strong grasp on both his male and female characters.

The character complexity was one of the things I loved most about Rotten Magic, and that element is definitely alive and well in The Knight's Secret. No one is just a token character - and most can't even be squarely cast as either "good guys" or "bad guys." That makes this story all the more satisfying.

Rating:

Giveaway:

WIN A FREE COPY OF THE KNIGHT'S SECRET

Five lucky winners will be selected at random and emailed their prize on March 5, 2018. 

Every entrant will receive a free sample of The Knight's Secret upon entering the contest.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Erin and Anna

Hey there.

Yes, you.

Do you like books?

Do you like... free books?

Did you know you could win a free book by entering our giveaway RIGHT NOW?

I know, right????

And I haven't even told you the best part yet: it's a book about... magic.

OK, it's about some other things too, but magic features heavily.

Magic: that unpredictable, flighty, marvelous... what do you "call" magic? How do you classify it?

In the world of the Iron Empire, it's a crime. Mages - those capable of working magic - are worse than outcasts. They're traitors: their crime punishable by death.

If you missed author Jeffrey Bardwell's guest post from last week, you can scroll down and find it below this one. He addresses this topic from within the world of The Iron Empire, which is also the world in which our giveaway book, The Knight's Secret, takes place. 

In fact, you can just skip me and scroll down to the end of this post, where you'll find a link to the giveaway for The Knight's Secret.

Or you can stick around.

Still here? Thanks, man. (:

Today I'd like to talk about magic - and why we fear it.

Now, at this point you're all, "Magic is the greatest thing ever! Definitely no fear going on here! Hogwarts is my true home, etc. etc. etc."

Yes to all of that (especially the Hogwarts part).

But if you dig a little deeper, I think you'll find that, even if it's just on some subconscious level, you really do fear magic.

I mean, if you straight up met the Wicked Witch of the West right now, would you not be just a little bit scared? A mage, wizard, or witch can do virtually anything to you - and you never know what it's going to be until they do it. Unless you have magic yourself, you're powerless to stop it. Is that not scary?

Societally, this fear manifests in various ways. In the 1600s, there were the Witch Trials. Why would you try, condemn, and hang a bunch of people unless you believed they posed a threat to society?

And isn't banning Harry Potter from your child's reading list an indication that, on some level, you're afraid of magic?

(We're not getting into that now or ever, by the way.)

I think I've made my point. So why do we fear magic? I have a few theories.

Theory One: We fear the unknown.

 

If there's anything that's equally exciting and terrifying: it's the unknown. And what's more unknown than magic? You never know what it will do next. That's exciting, but also horrifying. A witch could turn you into a frog, or she could curse you to prick your finger and die on your sixteenth birthday. Maybe there's something to do with transformation there, too. Because magic often transfigures, turning something into something else. Are we afraid of the next step? (Is this getting too Jungian?)

Theory Two: We fear what we don't understand.

Wait, isn't that the same thing? No, my friend. I'm making a distinction between the two. We fear not knowing what's going to happen next; but maybe even more than that we fear not knowing how it's happening. No one knows how magic works, do they? I mean, maybe there's a few really powerful wizards out there who know what's up (Merlin? IDK), but it seems like most workers of magic don't even really know where their power comes from or why they have it. And for the rest of us - forget it.

Magic operates on a whole different set of rules. It's almost impossible to understand.

Take Elsa. When her magic flares up, everyone freaks out. But the person who's scared to death more than anyone else is Elsa herself. Why? She's got this stunningly powerful force inside her but she can't control it. Segway to Theory Three...

Theory Three: the killer Marianne Williamson quote

"Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us."

Oh Elsa, you're so afraid not because you're weak - but because you're powerful beyond measure. If some people can work magic, does that mean all of us can? That we all have that kind of power inside us?

Does that scare us?

Am I using magic as a metaphor now?

Man, I don't even know. It's like I write these blog posts and by the end of them, I'm not even sure where I've ended up. It sounded cool in my head, though.

"Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine...We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Sounds like magic to me.

So don't fear it, Elsa - embrace it. (I'm talking to all of you like you're Elsa now, in case you haven't noticed.) By working your magic, you free up others to work theirs, liberating them from their fears as they realize magic isn't something to be terrified of - it's something wonderful.

Now enter this giveaway.

WIN A FREE COPY OF THE KNIGHT'S SECRET

Delve into the plight of the mages in The Knight's Secret, the first fantasy adventure in The Mage Conspiracy series. Join a quest of self discovery, romantic entanglements, and political intrigue where lies cut deeper than any sword. Coming March 5.

Enter to win your free copy of The Knight's Secret ebook today: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/JOu9b

Five lucky winners will be selected at random and emailed their prize on March 5, 2018. 

Every entrant will receive a free sample of The Knight's Secret upon entering the contest.



May the odds be ever in your favor.

Erin and Anna

Guest post from author Jeffrey Bardwell + GIVEAWAY

Knights, mages, countrymen - lend me your ears!

(Yes, I will use that line every chance I get.)

In case you need reminding, the giveaway for Jeffrey Bardwell's newest fantasy adventure - The Knight's Secret - is still in full swing. Scroll down to the end of this post to enter.

In the meantime, to get you excited for the book's release on March 5, here's a guest post from Jeffrey Bardwell on "magic and mob mentality."

Enjoy.

MAGIC AND MOB MENTALITY

by Jeffrey Bardwell

Sorcery, wizardry, magic . . . call it what you will, but such powers are rarely subtle in the realm of fiction, unlike the realm of reality where almost everything is hidden and obscured by misdirection. A powerful wizard with bristling beard and tall staff will rain fire from the sky. A street performer in a top hat will conjure flames from his fingertips. 

These are the polar ends from a gradient of effects of course. Nothing prevents a stage act from being bombastic or a wizard’s staff emitting a quiet glow in lieu of crackling flames. The result is the same among the gathered mob: awe and the persistent question, what just happened?

This awe is in part sparked by the unnatural quickness of the street performer’s nimble fingers or the wizard’s vicious attack. Much of the shock during and after magic is from the illusion of speed. People tend to fear what their eyes cannot follow, what their mind cannot perceive. 

One of the most fearsome creatures on the planet, but hardly the most deadly, is the viper. The coiled animal strikes with astonishing ferocity. Blink and you’re dead.

With their capes flaring like the hood of a cobra and poison magic dripping from their fingertips, wizards are the human vipers of their world. Such is the perception. 

But just like you can strike the head off a viper with astonishing ease, magic often has tremendous liabilities and disadvantages that lead to the ‘squishy wizard syndrome.’ A wizard caught unawares or temporarily bereft of magic is like an uncoiled viper: a weak and pitiable being.

To the weak, defenseless mob, ruled by their emotions rather than logic, the perception of danger is more powerful than reality. In the real world, this draws respectful crowds. The illusion of danger is titillating. 

In the realm of fiction, this draws fearful crowds. Let us examine a case study: magic—thunderous flames from the sky magic—is real and disturbingly close to home.

What if you suspected that your neighbor was a mage: a powerful being, a snake hiding in the grass? 

To an individual, this may be cause for reasoned response: empathy or introspection or caution. You question yourself. Surely this friend across the street whom you’ve known for years whose children frolic with your own could not pose any danger? 

But the fear gnaws on your mind. Suppose you tell your other friends. Whispers spread. The mob gathers.

To the mob, the accusation of magic is enough to stir fear. The perception of danger is enough to stir a response, and this is no reasoned response. Reactions are primal and instinctual and vicious. A mass of human snakes whose minds are more venomous than their fangs descend upon the nest of vipers. 

The mage is killed. The mage’s mate and brood are slaughtered, whether they share his powers or not. The mob is in a frenzy. 

The mage’s house is destroyed with torches. The raging flames are no less destructive for all that they do not rain down from the sky.

The mob is safe. It disbands. Only individuals remain to question themselves and kick the debris. 

Were these smoldering ashes really a threat to me and mine? 

Was he even really a mage? 

Did I dare assume otherwise?

Did I just make an entire family . . . disappear? 

What just happened?

WIN A FREE COPY OF THE KNIGHT'S SECRET

Delve into the plight of the mages in The Knight's Secret, the first fantasy adventure in The Mage Conspiracy series. Join a quest of self discovery, romantic entanglements, and political intrigue where lies cut deeper than any sword. Coming March 5.

Enter to win your free copy* of The Knight's Secret ebook today: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/JOu9b

* Five lucky winners will be selected at random and emailed their prize on March 5, 2018. 

Every entrant will receive a free sample of The Knight's Secret upon entering the contest.



May the odds be ever in your favor.
Erin and Anna