STORM
DANCER
By
Rayne Hall
BLURB:
Demon-possessed siege commander, Dahoud, atones for his
atrocities by hiding his identity and protecting women from war's violence -
but can he shield the woman he loves from the evil inside him?
Principled weather magician, Merida, brings rain to a
parched desert land. When her magical dance rouses more than storms, she needs
to overcome her scruples to escape from danger.
Thrust together, Dahoud and Merida must fight for freedom
and survival. But how can they trust each other, when hatred and betrayal burn
in their hearts?
'Storm Dancer' is a dark epic fantasy. British spellings.
Caution: this book contains some violence and disturbing situations. Not
recommended for under-16s.
EXCERPT:
Novel opening,
244 words
Even in the shade of the graffiti-carved olive tree, the air sang
with heat. Dahoud listened to the hum
of voices in the tavern garden, the murmured gossip about royals and rebels. If
patrons noticed him, they would only see a young clerk sitting among the
lord-satrap's followers, a harmless bureaucrat. Dahoud planned to stay
harmless.
The tavern bustled with women - whiteseers hanging about in the hope
of earning a copper, traders celebrating deals, bellydancers clinking finger
cymbals - women who neither backed away from him nor screamed. The youngest of the entertainers wound her way between the benches
towards their table, the tassels on her slender hips bouncing, the rows of
copper rings on her sash tinkling with every snaky twist. Since she seemed
nervous, as if it was her first show, he sent her an encouraging smile.
Ignoring him, she shimmied to Lord Govan.
The djinn slithered inside Dahoud, stirring a stream of fury,
whipping his blood into a hot storm. Would
she dare to disregard the Black Besieger? What lesson would he teach to punish
her insolence?
Dahoud stared past her sweat-glistening torso, the
urge to subdue her washing over him in a boiling wave. For three years, he had
battled against the djinn's temptations. To indulge in fantasies would batter
his defences and breach his resistance. He focused on the flavours on his
tongue, the tart citron juice and the sage-spiced mutton, on the tender texture
of the meat.
BOOK VIDEO INFORMATION
Share URL: http://youtu.be/tI5oxeOziQM
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Rayne Hall has published more
than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in
different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include Storm
Dancer (dark epic fantasy novel), Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2 and 3
(mild horror stories), Six Historical Tales (short stories), Six
Quirky Tales (humorous fantasy stories), Writing Fight Scenes, The
World-Loss Diet and Writing Scary Scenes (instructions for authors).
She holds a college degree in
publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she
edits the Ten Tales series of multi-author short story anthologies:
Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales
of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft,
Spells: Ten Tales of Magic, Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies and more.
Rayne has lived in Germany, China, Mongolia and Nepal and has now settled in a small dilapidated town
of former Victorian grandeur on the south coast of England.
LINKS:
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Buy links:
Amazon (this opens whatever international Amazon site is
relevant to the viewer, e.g. Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.de) viewBook.at/B005MJFV58
Kobo http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Storm-Dancer/book-T8AIA5xS_k6gZlCd-dUyiQ/page1.html?s=KcWDYlJ4lkyuGb9QgU7bxA&r=6
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iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/storm-dancer-dark-epic-fantasy/id483339067?mt=11&buffer_share=d7658&utm_source=buffer
Barnes&Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/storm-dancer-rayne-hall/1106014027?ean=2940011519741
Rayne will be awarding an ebook copy of The Colour of Dishonor, Stories from the Storm Dancer World to a commenter on every stop (chosen by the host).
One grand prize winner will received the following ten ebooks: Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Beltane: Ten Tales of Magic, Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies, Bites: Ten Tales of Zombies, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, Six Scary Tales Vol 2, Six Scary Tales Vol 3, Six Quirky Tales, Six Historical Tales. Every host will receive a copy of the ebook Spells: Ten Tales of Magic.
Follow the tour and comment; because the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/02/review-tour-storm-dancer-by-rayne-hall.html
My Review:
I have not read a book this dark in a long time. The warning needs to be a bit more clear. The rape scene is disturbing and there is also a lot of violence. It is a dark fantasy for sure.
However the characters are also epic. Dahoud character development is amazing, and the way he fought his inner demons was worth the read.
Merida is a weather magician. I didn't think that she would be good for Dahoud, and I had to keep reading to see how their relationship progressed. Dahoud soon realizes that Merida is not like the other women in his harem and is worth fighting for.
Will Dahoud be able to minimize his dark side so he can maximize his good side? Will Merida be able be able to trust him to treat her fairly?
There were other characters in the book that were also well written as was the book as a whole.
The ending was surprising to me even though I think that it could have been more elaborate., as were all the twists and turns in the book. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own!
Thank you for hosting today.
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