Review: Mage, Maze, Demon (Veridical Dreams Book 3) by Charles Allen Gramlich

The unconventional title of Mage, Maze, Demon as well as the subtitle “A Barbarian Sent On A Mission Of No Return” pretty much tells it all. The barbarian goes by the name “Bryle” and is a warrior fleeing for his life as the read begins. A wildfire is chasing him and every other living creature in the forest. The fire is right

behind him as he flees into a cave. A previously unseen doorway swings closed behind him protecting him from the fire.

That also means that his way out is now closed. He is forced to find another way out of the cave and begins to explore. That exploration leads him downward into the mountain and to an incredible cavern. A cavern populated by one person--- a sorcerer. A sorcerer that wants his help and will grant Bryle his freedom if he accomplishes his task. Much is to be done if Bryle is going to successful in Mage, Maze, Demon by Charles Allen Gramlich.

Beyond the obvious maze and a demon involving a mage (sorcerer) of the tile, much is going on in this short fantasy tale by Charles Allen Gramlich. Bryle is a complicated character as it the tale itself with plenty of detail. Billed as the third entry in the Veridacal Dreams series inspired by the dream journals of Kyle J. Knapp, Mage, Maze, Demon follows the anthology The Lizard’s Ardent Uniform and Other Stories as the fantasy novella Treasure of Ice and Fire. Charles Allen Gramlich quickly pulls the reader into his tale firmly grounded in the sword and sorcery fare while throwing in a mystery element or two. The extensive details are what make this tale come alive for the reader. One hopes there will soon by another outing for Bryle. 

Mage, Maze, Demon

Charles Allen Gramlich

http://charlesgramlich.blogspot.com/

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com

March 2016

ASIN: B01D58N6XG

eBook (also available in paperback)

35 Pages

$0.99

The Amazon Overlords state I picked this up on March 19, 2016. They do not tell me whether my “purchase” came by way of a free read or using funds in my Amazon Associate account. They still do not know everything and I do not either.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016

Review: "Treasure Of Ice And Fire (Veridical Dreams Book 2)" by Wayne D. Dundee

Billed as the second book in the Veridical Dreams series, it is a harsh night filled with cold and ice as Treasure Of Ice And Fire begins. By cunning and a bit of subterfuge Master Nindocai and his fellow travelers made it through the mountain guard post manned by two of the Wyvar regulators. Getting

through that guard post was just one of the many hurdles the group has to overcome in their quest. The fact that the holy man has heard what might be the “Secret Hammer” mentioned in the message from goddess Arya makes it seem that they are on the right track.

Getting to the valley of Gahm was just the first hurdles. Nindocai is a priest of the old gods and part of the religious faith frowned upon to the point of execution by the current regime. He as well as a few other people believe it is long past time to remove the godless Wyvar. The source of the hammering the priest hears is located in the ruins of a temple dedicated to Arya, the goddess of hope. Fortunately, the priest will get some help in Treasure Of Ice And Fire by Wayne D. Dundee.

A Crusade Powered By The Hammer Of The Gods is a line from the cover telling readers all they need to know. This is a fantasy novel featuring a quest. A quest seeking to change the future and the world as these characters know it. Known for his mysteries and westerns, author Wayne D. Dundee proves in Treasure Of Ice And Fire that he can easily write in the fantasy genre as well.

It is one heck of a good read.

Treasure Of Ice And Fire (Veridical Dreams Book 2)

Wayne D. Dundee

http://fromdundeesdesk.blogspot.com/

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com

February 2016

ISBN# 978-1943035090

Paperback (also available in eBook format)

106 Pages

$7.15

Amazon says I picked up the eBook to read and review on March 11, 2016. Amazon does not make a distinction between books I pick up for free during an author promotion and ones that I picked up by way of funds in my Amazon Associate account. At this point in time I have no idea how I got it.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2016

FREE Book Alert-- "The Lizard's Ardent Uniform (Veridical Dreams Book 1)" Edited by David Cranmer

The excellent book  The Lizard's Ardent Uniform is currently free in e-book format from Amazon. My review from August 2014 is here. Amazon synopsis:

 "All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream." --Edgar Allan Poe

The Lizard's Ardent Uniform and Other Stories (Veridical Dreams Vol. I) takes you on several voyages into every day nightmares, bizarre detours, and hellish worlds. Enlisting the talents of authors Chris F. Holm (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine), Terrie Farley Moran (Well Read, Then Dead), Patti Abbott (Home Invasion), Evan V. Corder, Steve Weddle (Needle: A Magazine of Noir), Hilary Davidson (The Damage Done), and Garnett Elliott (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine), thought-provoking fragments from the dream journals of Kyle J. Knapp (writer and poet of Pluvial Gardens and Celebrations in the Ossuary, who passed away in 2013 at the age of twenty-three) are fleshed out into seven stirring tales of crime, science fiction, literary, and fantasy. Edited and with an introduction by BEAT to a PULP's David Cranmer.

Stories:
The Lizard's Ardent Uniform -- Chris F. Holm
Dust to Dust -- Terrie Farley Moran
Twin Talk -- Patti Abbott
The Malignant Reality -- Evan V. Corder (including "The Needles" poem by Kyle J. Knapp)
Ghosts in the Fog -- Steve Weddle
The Debt -- Hilary Davidson
The Zygma Gambit -- Garnett Elliott

A portion of the proceeds from this collection will go to higher education.

Review: "The Lizard’s Ardent Uniform & Other Stories: Veridical Dreams Vol. 1." Edited by David Cranmer

Based on the dream journals of Kyle J. Knapp, David Cranmer has crafted a book of love dedicated to his nephew with The Lizard’s Ardent Uniform & Other Stories: Veridical Dreams Vol. 1. Using a handful of lines from those journals as inspiration, David sent each one off to a few select writers along with some insight into Kyle. As David Cranmer explains in the very moving introduction, the 23 year old Kyle would have liked these stories as they contain a twist or two. To say these stories have a twist is to put it mildly.

The book opens with “The Lizard's Ardent Uniform” by Chris F. Holm. Kyle Williams was forced to leave Boston and move to Santa Fe, New Mexico when his dad got a job at Ardent Industries. It wasn’t what he wanted to do, but at least he got a cool telescope out of the move. The third grader has been putting it to good use and seeing things in the skies above that he never would have been able to see in the old neighborhood on Beacon Hill in Boston. He's never seen a bright light beaming in from space to light up somebody or something out in the yard at 3:17 am before now either.

It may have been nearly 40 years since she has been back to Granny's farm in “Dust to Dust” by Terrie Farley Moran. The past was just too painful to revisit and it still seems like just yesterday.  The road might be paved now and the nearby barns and silos might have been replaced by malls and tract housing, but the legacy is still present. She just doesn't know how deep it runs.

Author Patti Abbott appears in quite a lot of anthologies and her work is always good. Such is the case here with “Twin Talk.” Wendy comes home from work to find her twin daughters doing that cat’s cradle thing with a skein of yarn again. What seemed weird and pointless at age 8 seems even more so at 13. Then there is their obsession with tying fancy knots. That isn't all that bothers mom about her daughters who renamed themselves some time back, Judith and Lilith.

Seeing things is just part of the problem in “The Malignant Reality” by Evan V. Corder. At first he thought the flashes were some sort of after effect from the old days when he used LSD now and then. Instead, it is something far more sinister in this strange tale set in upstate New York that has nothing at all to do with fiddles or Georgia.

Steve Weddle is up next with his “Ghosts in the Fog.” In the wake of an incident Mr. Danny Crawford discovers that his cousin Brent is in another wing of the hospitable undergoing surgery. Danny and Brent managed to get themselves in a mess and trying to explain what they did and why they did it isn't easy.

It begins with a hitchhiker that has bloody blistered feet in “The Debt” by Hilary Davidson. A car is pulling up and he has things to do.

A story titled “The Zygma Gambit” by Garnett Elliot brings the stories in the book to a close. Having the dream in his room, instead of the Precog bays means the dream is very powerful and will come true. Kyler Knightly has to get to work in April 2223 A. D. and protect human history.

Author bios and a poem by Kyle Knapp bring this well done book to a close.

Reviewing a collection or an anthology can be very tough if the book features complicated stories as one has to work to make sure one does not reveal a spoiler. Such is the case here as the seven tales presented are all good ones that push the boundaries in small and big ways. If you like considering the idea that there is far more going on than meets the eye this book is for you. A crime is present in many of the tales, but the tale itself might be fantasy, fiction or something else. The Lizard’s Ardent Uniform & Other Stories: Veridical Dreams Vol. 1. is one of those rare deals where each story is incredible good making the read simply fantastic from start to finish.

The Lizard’s Ardent Uniform & Other Stories: Veridical Dreams Vol. 1.

Edited By David Cranmer

http://www.davidcranmer.com

Beat To A Pulp

http://www.beattoapulp.com

June 2014

ISBN# 978-0991203994

E-book (also available in print)

130 Pages

$6.05

E-book version supplied by the editor in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014