Red Adept Tour ~ Wytchfire

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Title ~ Wytchfire

Series ~ The Dragonkin Trilogy, #1

Author ~ Michael Meyerhofer

Publisher ~ Red Adept Publishing

Published ~ 28 April 2014

Genre ~ Fantasy

Pages ~ 375

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My Rating ~ 5 bites

War is marching across Runn and the Free Cities are falling. As the army reaches Lyos it appears that Fadarah, General of the Throng, has made a serious tactical error. Or has he? The battle for Runn has been waging on for months, but the battle for Lyos is the pivotal one. Where does Silwren, Rowen Locke and the Isle Knights fit into this grand scheme? Are they pieces falling into place or monkey wrenches gumming up the works?

Wytchfire is full to the brim with epic fantasy. It’s a rich new world for me to explore with several different kinds of people, magic, fantastic history and medieval-type settings, but war, famine, disease, poverty and prejudice have made it into an ugly place. Told from several POVs the threads of this story are slowly woven into the beginnings of a complex tapestry. By the time this first book of the trilogy ends I have a better understanding of where this story is heading. And I have a feeling it’s going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

The writing is superb. It flows so smoothly and quickly that it took no time at all to be lost in the tale. The characters are well-developed and very real. I felt as if I could glance up and see them standing in front of me. I especially like Rowen, but there are others I like as well. Even the villains are, well, not likeable per se, but they pull me in two directions. At times I loathe them then they do something to make me pause and say, yeah, I can see why they are doing what they are doing. However, what they are doing is pretty damn fucked up. So, conflicted much? There are very rarely people who fit into an all or nothing category. People are shades of grey and those are the best characters to read about. They make me think, what would I do if I were them? Could I go that far?

This is an excellent start to a wonderful epic fantasy and I look forward to reading more about Rowen, Silwren, Shade, Fadarah, Aeko and all the others as the next stage in the war begins. Plus, you know, there are swords. What can I say? I have a thing for swords. :D 

About the Author

 Michael Meyerhofer grew up in Iowa where he learned to cope with the unbridled excitement of the Midwest by reading books and not getting his hopes up, Probably due to his father’s influence, he developed a fondness for Star Trek, weight lifting, and collecting medieval weapons. He is also addicted to caffeine and the History Channel.

Michael Meyerhofer’s third poetry book, Damnatio Memoriae, won the Brick Road Poetry Book Contest.  His previous books of poetry are Blue Collar Eulogies (Steel Toe Books, finalist for the Grub Street Book Prize) and Leaving Iowa (winner of the Liam Rector First Book Award).

He has also published five chapbooks: Pure Elysium (winner of the Palettes and Quills Chapbook Contest), The Clay-Shaper’s Husband (winner of the Codhill Press Chapbook Award), Real Courage (winner of the Terminus Magazine and Jeanne Duval Editions Poetry Chapbook Prize), The Right Madness of Beggars (winner of the Uccelli Press 3rd Annual Chapbook Competition), and Cardboard Urn (winner of the Copperdome Chapbook Contest).

Individual poems won the Marjorie J. Wilson Best Poem Contest, the Laureate Prize for Poetry, the James Wright Poetry Award, and the Annie Finch Prize for Poetry.  He is the Poetry Editor of Atticus Review.  His work has appeared in a number of journals includingPloughshares, Hayden’s Ferry Review, North American Review, River Styx, and Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.

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