Brent Nichols

Brent Nichols is a writer and trainer based in Calgary, Alberta.

Blog: http://brentnichols.blogspot.com/

1920s    action    adventure    archer    automaton    cinderella    clockwork    comedy    cthulhu    cult    deiselpunk    diesel punk    dieselpunk    dwarf    dwarves    elf    elves    escape    fairytale    fantasy    fantasy series    gears    goblins    high fantasy    humor    lovecraft    magic    occult    pulp    ranger    rescue    romance    secret identity    sorcery    steam    steampunk    steampunk adventure    super hero    super powers    super villain    superhero    sword    sword and sorcery    sword fight    swordplay    trolls    undead    zeppelin   

• This Brilliant Darkness on Oct. 07, 2011
  
  This Brilliant Darkness by Red Tash is a dark, pretty scary, quite original, and wholly unpredictable horror novel. It's so chock-full of unconventional characters and truly weird plot elements that it's almost impossible to summarize, but I'll try. Christine Grace is an American college professor. A whole batch of weird things happens to her in short order. A strange unmoving star appears in the sky, and it's only visible over Bloomington, Indiana. A dark immortal creature is hunting her. A man she's never met but has long felt connected with has come to Bloomington. A mysterious young religious pilgrim is seeing her in visions. And one of her students is exhibiting strange powers. It's all connected, and somehow Grace is at the heart of it. I liked the complete absence of familiar tropes. I couldn't tell you what book this book compares to. It's startlingly original. It's also pretty well-written. There is mystery, romance, rising tension, complex and compelling characters, and an ever-present sense of dread. Some things I didn't like. It's almost too weird at times. Two of the characters are so deeply odd that the scenes written from their point of view are nearly incomprehensible. Also, I must warn you - this book has some pretty gross imagery. It's not TOO bad, but there is a scene early on, I'll just say that it involves a blood clot and leave it at that. Not really a problem, but you should know that this book is not for the squeamish. There is brilliance in This Brilliant Darkness. If you're tired of the same old paranormal cliches, this will knock your socks off.
  
• Road to Wrath (Book II of the Kobalos trilogy) on Jan. 23, 2012
  
  Ty Johnston's Kobalos trilogy continues with book 2, The Road to Wrath. At the end of City of Rogues, revenge-obsessed Kron Darkbow transferred his rage from Belgad the Liar to a fantastically powerful wizard named Verkain. Now he's on the road to Verkain's kingdom of Kobalos, accompanied by Adara, master swordswoman, and Randall, Verkain's son who has become a healer. The action never stops. Kron thinks he's done with Belgad for now, but Belgad isn't done with Kron. Along the road they'll meet savage mountain tribes, superstitious villagers out to murder Randall for using magic, and a tribe of cannibals who've escaped from prison. Then there's Verkain. He has summoned indestructible war demons and sent them out to find Randall. If Kron and his companions can somehow survive this gauntlet of enemies, they'll have to face Verkain himself, a wizard of such mind-boggling power he could swat them all like insects. My reaction to this book was similar to my reaction to City of Rogues. The story is irresistible. It drew me in completely. There was no question that I would keep reading, and I'll be reading the third book, Dark King of the North, as well. The writing is flawed. Things are phrased in clumsy ways. And the number of typos is distressing. Yet the power of the storytelling trumps all of that. It's irresistibly entertaining. The emphasis in these books is on action. The world-building is moderate at best, as is the characterization. Kron himself is almost ridiculously wooden at times. None of the characters are especially complex. Still, there are some interesting relationships and some tricky moral dilemmas that give the book some depth. The wealth of action is one of the book's strong points, although it leads to one of my minor complaints. There is an appalling body count among the bystanders, in this book and in City of Rogues. Sometimes I almost wished the heroes would be killed, because they kept escaping at such a dreadful cost to the local population. Overall this is an excellent adventure story with loads of action, and definitely recommended.
  
• Dark King of the North (Book III of The Kobalos Trilogy) on July 08, 2012
  
  The Kobalos trilogy comes to a close with Dark King of the North. In City of Rogues we met Kron Darkbow and saw him wage a war of vengeance on local crime lord Belgad the Liar. In Road to Wrath he set out with Randall Tendbones and Adara Corvus to confront the freakishly powerful Lord Verkain, pursued by Verkain's war demons, an angry Belgad, and a professional duelist with grudges against Kron and Adara. Now, in Dark King of the North, everything comes to a head. There's a potential issue in this story with Kron encountering enemies and allies so powerful that he becomes superfluous. However, even as war demons and a mage of mind-boggling power on one side do battle with a powerful wizard and a reincarnated god on the other side, there is still plenty of mayhem for Kron to revel in. One of the beautiful things about the trilogy is how the story has been building up to this bigger-than-epic confrontation. Verkain is a horrifically dangerous opponent, and the stakes have risen and risen until Kron has no choice but to somehow try to stop him. The price he pays is high. He gets hurt. He loses friends. He gets hurt more. The things he tries blow up in his face, and he just has to pick up the pieces and try again. It's very powerful storytelling, and it brings the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. If you liked the earlier books you'll like this one. Dark King of the North could work as a stand-alone novel, but I'd definitely recommend reading the other books first. I think I can see the author improving, as well. Ty Johnston is a writer to watch, constantly challenging himself, writing in various genres, expanding and honing his skills. The prose is still a bit rough, but it has improved over the earlier books. The kick-ass storytelling is still intact and working fine. At three bucks it's a bargain, but there is now a Kobalos Trilogy omnibus edition that will save you a few bucks. It's gritty, hard-edged, action-packed sword and sorcery adventure, and I recommend you check it out.