If you want a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Clan of the Cave Bears (albeit with a manageable amount of non-graphic sex) then this is the book for you.
A dead warrior king frozen in winter ice. Six grieving sons, each with his own reason to kill. Two weary travellers caught up in a web of suspicion and deceit.
In a time before our own, wandering bard Talus and his companion Bran journey to the island realm of Creyak, where the king has been murdered.
From clues scattered among the island’s mysterious barrows and stone circles, they begin their search for his killer. Nobody is above suspicion, from the king’s heir to the tribal shaman, from the woman steeped in herb-lore to the visiting warlord. And when death strikes again, Talus and Bran realise nothing is what it seems. Creyak is a place of secrets and spirits, mystery and myth. It will take a clever man indeed to unravel the truth. The kind of man this ancient world has not seen before.
An interesting book which took me a while to get into but once I was finally there I had trouble putting it down. I did find it strange to have so much 19th and 20th century information in a book set so far back in time when superstition is the order of the day, I’m not entirely sure it worked but the writing was good.
Talus is thinking about superstition and still seems to believe in ghosts and the spirit world but is beginning to think about them and will soon come to the point of wondering if they’re real. He uses his eyes a lot and makes connections most people aren’t able to make so he comes to a conclusion about the death of the King of Creyak. I did find that part to be very Sherlock Holmes and he’s helping Bran find his lost love, Keyli, who died while Bran saved Talus.
As Bran and Talus continued their journey following the uncovering of the murderer this could possibly be one in a series of detective books set in the dim dark past where they still use flint and tinder to light a fire (those that don’t twirl sticks, that is).
Graham Edwards has written other works, notably the Ultimate Dragon Saga Trilogy which look to be very good so I’ll be keeping them on my To Be Read List.
Solaris Publishing have been kind enough to give me a copy so I can scribble a few words about it. Available in paperback, epub and mobi so it’ll suit most readers.