This is the blog of Samie Sands, author of Lockdown. There will be many great books and projects reviewed here. For more, check out thelockdown.co.uk.

Wednesday 18 June 2014

Children of Lubrochius

Cover_ChildrenLubrochius
BLURB:
The vampire, Lucian val Drasmyr, has been defeated, but not destroyed: Now he serves another evil: Korina Bolaris, a young and gifted sorceress bent on subverting the power structure of Drisdak. Only Coragan of Esperia can hope to stop them. But is even he prepared to face the dark cult who claims her as their own: the Children of Lubrochius?
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Excerpt:
“We have gone a bit off topic, I think,” Korina said.
“You asked about magic,” Lucian said with an arrogant sneer. “I told you what I know.”
Korina frowned. He had not told her much. Barely a smattering. Instead, they had detoured into a lecture on philosophy. “Tell me about the Sceptre of Morgulan,” she said. She knew much already: the sceptre was a weapon of tremendous power wielded by Morgulan during the course of many wars and battles fought over a thousand years ago. It had mysteriously disappeared immediately after Morgulan’s demise.
Lucian sighed as if surrendering to the inevitable. “The Sceptre of Morgulan?” The vampire locked his gaze with her, and smiled. “The wizard Arcalian was also interested in the sceptre. That interest got him killed. As you may or may not know, I have a history with wizards. Generally speaking … I win.”
The arrogant monster! He had lost to Regecon and the guild.
“I’m not interested in your boasts, vampire. I’m interested in the sceptre. Tell me what I wish to know.” A part of her doubted if she was ready for the knowledge the vampire might give her. The sceptre, after all, was an artifact of legend. It had destroyed armies. She longed for its power, but she knew that she must match its power with her own else it would come to rule her. An untrained peasant with a sword was as much a danger to himself as he was to others.
Lucian folded his arms beneath his breast and looked askance at the wall. “Ask your questions, then,” he said.
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How "Children of Lubrochius" stands out against it's competitors. An article by Matthew D. Ryan

I’ve been steeped in the fantasy genre since I was a young boy. I think I read J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings when I was ten, and dozens of other books and series since then. My favorites include the aforementioned Lord of the Rings, as well as Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, and Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. As far as the vampire genre is concerned, I’ve had considerably less exposure. I’ve read Bram Stoker’s Dracula a number of times and that has served as the inspiration for my own vampire, Lucian val Drasmyr. I don’t go in for the romantic vampires. I understand that some people do, and that’s their choice, that’s fine. I far prefer the dark, quasi-demonic creature that threatens a mortal’s very soul. Once upon a time, vampires were evil; they were undead—basically a walking corpse. Who wants to build a romance with that?
In fact, it is this return to the original nature of the vampire that I would argue makes my book stand out. It is like a throwback to olden times. Drasmyr does not whine or pine away for lost love (at least not much). He is sinister and diabolical. You shouldn’t like him, and you won’t.
Further, this book isn’t, strictly speaking, a vampire book. It features a vampire, but that is but one facet of a larger whole. It is, most truly speaking, a fantasy book (as noted above). But it differs from many fantasy books because it follows the viewpoints of the antagonists as well as the protagonists. This reduces some of the mystery in the book, because you are usually aware of what Korina (the evil sorceress) and Drasmyr (the vampire) are up to; but at the same time, it increases the tension as you can watch all parties heading into conflict step by step.
Another quirk of my book is that Drasmyr’s point of view is written in first person present. This started way back in the prequel. In fact, that was how I wrote the original short story and the book grew from that. My justification for that odd point of view choice is that Drasmyr is a one-thousand year old vampire. His perception of time differs from ours. He is constantly living in the present, ever aware of his actions and their repercussions as he makes them. This odd point-of-view can be jarring at first, but once you adapt I believe it adds a richness to the story that makes it more compelling. And again, it makes the book stand out.
Further, one of the functions of fantasy literature is that it provides an escape from the humdrum of everyday life. At least, that is how it is for me. Tales of magic and derring-do stir the soul in a remarkably exhilarating fashion. My novel continues that tradition, but builds upon it with the aforementioned point-of-view of the vampire. In particular, Drasmyr’s point-of-view provides an outlet for the darker aspects of the human soul. Through him, one’s more sinister aspirations can safely find release. I’ve found that true of myself, for example, as I often refer to him as my alter-ego. He’s the character you love to hate. He is my own personal dark side and a catharsis from dark desires. And he is an integral part of my story.
So, although there is more to my novel than a vampire, the vampire is a critical element of the story. As such it is a blend of the fantasy and vampire genres, and the vampire and how he is presented is one of the critical facets that make this story stand out.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
AuthorPic

Matthew D. Ryan is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. Mr. Ryan has a background in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. He has a black belt in the martial arts and studies yoga. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He is the operator of the web-site matthewdryan.com which features his blog, “A Toast to Dragons,”a blog dedicated to fantasy literature, and, to a lesser extent, sci-fi. Mr. Ryan says he receives his inspiration from his many years as an avid role-player and fantasy book reader. He has spent many long hours devising adventures and story-lines for games, so it was a natural shift moving into fantasy writing.
Mr. Ryan is the author of the exciting dark fantasy novel, Drasmyr,, its sequel, The Children of Lubrochius, and a growing number of short stories. His first novel, Drasmyr, has consistently earned reviews in the four and five star range and serves as the prequel to his upcoming series: From the Ashes of Ruin. In addition to Drasmyr and The Children of Lubrochius, Mr. Ryan has published several short stories on-line, including: “Haladryn and the Minotaur,” “The River’s Eye,” and “Escape.”

Links to the Author on the Internet
Author’s website: http://matthewdryan.com
Author’s Amazon Author Central Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/matthewdryan

Buy Links for The Children of Lubrochius:

The prequel, Drasmyr, is currently available free as an ebook at Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and elsewhere.
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