Billy Wong

Star Rating: 5 out of 5

This book hit all the right notes for me. You have Alfred, a Baron who was living a happy life until Emperor Nebulus comes with his army and invades his barony on behalf of his God Metheld. In one fowl swoop all of Alfred's family and land are gone. Alfred goes to the capital to get help from the king, only to find Prince Colin in his place and unwilling to help him. So he sets off to a bar to drown himself in his sorrows. While bashing the head in of a bar patron (yes show more you read that right, he was bashing a guys head in because he said the wrong thing) a woman by the name Dandelion stopped him and agreed to help him take down Nebulus and the God that sent him there.

This is where the story really gets moving! You see Dandelion is a very strong warrior and not only does she agree to help Alfred, but she starts training him too. I love this! The book doesn't make Alfred this unstoppable Baron, it makes him human. He isn't perfect, he was comfortable in the peace his barony had so he didn't think it was important to train with intensity. The fact that he had to be trained in order to try and take back his barony was fantastic and it was not done in a slow paced fashion either.

Once he is ready he goes back to the outskirts of his barony with Dandelion and attempted to recruit people to help him take back his land. He meets opposition because the townspeople are afraid, but they come to an agreement. If Alfred and Dandelion can take the fort back alone then they will have allies to help him take back the rest of the barony. So they have no choice but to try and take back a fort alone....them vs 20 soldiers. The odds seem daunting but they succeed. Alas this was not the end of the story, this was just the beginning!

The rest of the book is full of battle, magic, a fallen angel, and a God. It was so hard to put the book down. There were never moments that felt rushed or like they were added in just to take up pages. You are left to get to know Alfred, Dandelion, Colin (the prince), and Sherry (the knight first class) in a very organic way. And by organic, I mean that you get to know who they are when they are put to the test. For example, you first met Sherry when she saves Alfred in battle.

So if you love books that make it almost impossible to put them down this book is for you. As I mentioned before there are battles, magic, a fallen angel, and while all of this is happening you get to see Alfred evolve into a warrior. You have female characters that are more than just a love interest. They are fleshed out and are strong warriors in their own right. This book is a must read for fantasy book lovers.

Pros:
•Fast paced, it makes it so hard to put the book down.
•The female characters are seriously bad ass! They are equal (maybe even stronger) than their male counter parts. That is so fantastic. Sometimes you find that when there is a male lead the women are just filler.
•the battle scenes were written really well. I enjoyed imagining these amazing battles!
•the book ends in a way that makes you look forward to the rest of the series

Cons:
•Now I have to wait for book 2 to get written.

Overall:
I think this book was seriously well written. I have not read other books by this author, but this book really makes me excited to read more by him. You become invested in these characters and how they are going to survive. I really am looking forward to book 2 of this series! show less

What a thrill ride!
Jason's dad is sick and can't work to pay the mortgage, but Jason is good enough at MMA to add to his pay from poorly paying jobs. He goes up against The Ice Princess in the cage, loses to her, but they become friends, and she agrees to meet him at the gym and give pointers to him and his friends. They begin to see each other separate from their friends, and he learns what the family business really is, and why She really is The Ice Princess.
Then the action really show more begins! He is only human, but he is her back-up and together they really kickass.
Pretty well written, and full of action. The characters are well developed and engaging.

"This book was provided by the author or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of LibraryThing." show less

This book has knights, magic, barbarians, assassins, intrigue, hints of sex, some of the toughest female characters I've ever seen, and ... Mark, a major wimp. This book chronicles Mark's journey to find his birth mother and to save himself from a horde of men who are attempting to kill him. The story focuses on the action with a touch of gore; finer points of character development and dialogue are lacking. The hand of a good editor would help as there are a few minor typos and show more continuity/plausibility issues that make it hard to follow the plot. That said, this book is clearly the start of a series and the story is interesting enough that I would like to know what happens next. show less

Hammer Out A Future by Billy Wong

Mercenaries Allen and Lars are looking for a way to heal an injury Allen got during a battle that destroyed most of civilization. They meet up with a young girl named Cart-Dagger, a warrior carrying a huge hammer. She is well known as a legend for her skills.

She saves them from God Soldiers, and the three become friends. Together they try to rebuild what is lost, although it appears another war is about to begin, but the trio is ready for the fight.

A well show more written story of friendship, adventure, action, and tense moments. Cart-dagger is an unlikely heroine; young, small, female, fierce, determined, she is very likable. Both Allen and Lars are likable as well.

The story moves at a rapid pace, with well developed characters, the perfect mix of adventure, intense moments, and originality. I was hooked from the first page. I highly recommend Hammer Out A Future to those who love a fantastic action/adventure tale. Five stars for sure! show less