The Necromancer's Daughter - Book Review and Blog Tour Stop!
This is one of the most stunning covers, right? It perfectly suits the genre (fantasy) and is ethereal in its beauty.
I've got the author, D. Wallace Peach, here to tell you a little something about her latest, followed by my review:
Thanks for having me over to your blog, Martha! Today, I thought I’d share a snippet from Chapter 13 which introduces a couple of secondary characters who end up playing a pivotal role in the story. Aster has hitched a ride on their wagon:
Osran said little beyond a muttered instruction when the wagon demanded a push free of a rut or a deep drift. Unlike his father, Issah prattled for hours.
“There’s a wall running all along the border to keep the tribes from raiding our farms,” the boy said. “They get through anyway, and no one knows how. My cousin says they use ladders or ropes that they hide in the bushes, but I think they climb their giant trees and crawl along the branches and drop down. But then how would they get back over? So that wouldn’t work. I seen cutters a couple times at the outpost. They hang human bones on their walking sticks, and some of them don’t have any teeth. I think those ones might be five or four hundred years old. That’s why they’re so big. And they’re tricky too. There’s brothers of the Order who swear they use magic. My cousin says they turn into panthers the size of mules and leap the fence.”
“You’re telling tales,” Osran said. “What’s the rule?”
Issah shrugged. “No sense scaring anyone with stories that aren’t true when there’s enough true ones to make a person think twice.”
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Blurb:
A healer and dabbler in the dark arts of life and death, Barus is as gnarled as an ancient tree. Forgotten in the chaos of the dying queen’s chamber, he spirits away her stillborn infant, and in a hovel at the meadow’s edge, he breathes life into the wisp of a child. He names her Aster for the lea’s white flowers. Raised as his daughter, she learns to heal death.
Then the day arrives when the widowed king, his own life nearing its end, defies the Red Order’s warning. He summons the necromancer’s daughter, his only heir, and for his boldness, he falls to an assassin’s blade.
While Barus hides from the Order’s soldiers, Aster leads their masters beyond the wall into the Forest of Silvern Cats, a land of dragons and barbarian tribes. She seeks her mother’s people, the powerful rulers of Blackrock, uncertain whether she will find sanctuary or face a gallows’ noose.
Unprepared for a world rife with danger, a world divided by those who practice magic and those who hunt them, she must choose whether to trust the one man offering her aid, the one man most likely to betray her—her enemy’s son.
A healer with the talent to unravel death, a child reborn, a father lusting for vengeance, and a son torn between justice, faith, and love. Caught in a chase spanning kingdoms, each must decide the nature of good and evil, the lengths they will go to survive, and what they are willing to lose.
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My review:
Let me just say that I don't usually read fantasy, but The Necromancer's Daughter is one book that will stay with me for a very long time. Do you know what a necromancer is? It's a person who uses witchcraft or sorcery to reanimate dead people or to foretell the future by communicating with them. That's the definition. In this case, the Necromancer (and his daughter) are kind-hearted people who practice their craft for good.
What a meticulously crafted fantasy this is. As I stated, I’m not generally a reader of the genre, but wow, I’m so glad I opened this book. It was difficult to set aside, and I did endure a lack of sleep just to finish the next chapter (and the next...)
The author's writing is absolutely exquisite. When we say authors paint pictures with words, this is what we mean. Spellbinding, gorgeous prose, and a storyline that will hook you early. Thank you, Diana, for allowing me into this world. It was quite the unforgettable adventure. I recommend The Necromancer's Daughter for everyone.
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A long-time reader, best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life when years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books. She was instantly hooked.
In addition to fantasy books, Peach’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of the arts in her local community, organizing and publishing annual anthologies of Oregon prose, poetry, and photography.
Peach lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes.
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Now! Go get the book!
US: https://www.amazon.com/Necromancers-Daughter-D-Wallace-Peach-ebook/dp/B0B92G7QZX
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Necromancers-Daughter-D-Wallace-Peach-ebook/dp/B0B92G7QZX
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Necromancers-Daughter-D-Wallace-Peach-ebook/dp/B0B92G7QZX
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Necromancers-Daughter-D-Wallace-Peach/dp/B0B9FY6YZJ
IN: https://www.amazon.in/Necromancers-Daughter-D-Wallace-Peach-ebook/dp/B0B92G7QZX