| REVIEWED BY FROST |

| "A Holy Bloody Day" by Malachi E. Maynard |
| A Holy Bloody Day 2 Sword Rating Prologue to the Unholy Fire of Blood Trilogy Malachi E. Maynard Dark Fantasy Booksurge LLC Fall 2007 {revision of original December 2005 publication} Pagination: unknown ISBN: unknown Print Paperback Rating: Two Swords Author Malachi Maynard undertakes an epic fantasy with what seems to be a “cast of thousands.” He populates his novel with an incredible number of characters: gods and goddesses, mortals, paranormal creatures such as geni; and this reviewer had some trouble keeping the multiplicity of characters and the various subplotting straight in my mind. Certainly, if the reader is looking for a Tolkienesque or Herbertesque multi-layered epic, A Holy Bloody Day would fit that bill. Mr. Maynard demonstrates a vivid imagination that might well be effective transformed into film. Definitely his flair for vivid description brings the reader directly into the story as a close observer, and nearly a participant. Two semi-mortal brothers, one a supreme mage, and the other a superb swordsman, are survivors of the Great Dragon Wars which occurred centuries earlier. Now their efforts have been enlisted by the god Kaotica, who insists the two perform an arcane ritual in order to restore his demigoddess sister Shalkal to full goddesshood. The price of the ritual means the death of one of the gods, and the draining of the powers of seven gods. Additionally, the other gods will be driven from their homelands. Older brother Levi is beyond Arch-Mage level, and is a Mage who can steal souls. Younger brother Articty has a bloody sense of humour but oddly enough, falls in line with a legendary prophecy involving a Frost Elf. The resultant conception and birth will change the course of time, and progress through subsequent installments in this series. If you would like to be Reviewed by Frost, send an email to frost@jlfoster.biz or reviewed_by_frost@jlfoster.biz with the subject line "Submission." Include the author's name, title of book, publishing house, genre, page count, and an excerpt. |