Genre: Fantasy Horror
Publisher: J Ellington Ashton Press
Publication Date: 10th March 2016
Pages: 152
MY REVIEW:
After reading The Scarlett Curse: Sacred Blade of Profanity Book One by Toneye Eyenot, I was pleasantly surprised to get a request to see if I was interested in the latest book in The Sacred Blade of Profanityseries, Joshua’s Folly. Mr Eyenot wasn’t aware I had just read Book One so this was a very happy coincidence to get reading the next instalment so soon. As with Book One, this book is published by the wonderful people at J Ellington Ashton Press.
I said in my review of Book One that this is not my normal cup of tea. I did however see some promise in the first book and was eager to see where the story went. Backwards was my first surprise as this is a prequel to book one. It does, however, explain a thing or two that confused me in the earlier part of the story.
You may not want to read this review if you have not read Book One. Although with this being a prequel you could also pretty much ignore that.
We have more or less the same characters in this one as book one. Scarlett is our main woman again. Beautifully mysterious, you know she is something special. Just how special, I fear is yet to be revealed in this story. I picture her as a sort of Wonder Woman of days of yore. She isn’t a young girl but still has a feisty streak.
Joshua is a troubled man. He isn’t particularly a nice man. He sees things in his own way and would pretty much do anything to get it. He has a new friend in this one in Tummel. Again a mysterious one. A sort of smiling assassin who is going to play a much bigger part in the story as well. Dera is still trying to figure out who she is and more importantly, what she is. I suspect she could lose everything though if she doesn’t hold on to that shiny thing.
Jahl-Rin is the despicable one in the story. A leader of bandits and a man feared throughout the land, he is one person that, if you are like me, you will want to kick repeatedly in the danglies after a very short space of time.
The plot? Much easier to follow than book one. Although I ain’t going to tell you what it is. Well, a little snippet. Scarlett has a big sword that talks to her and she wants to kill Joshua. Simple. Not.
This is a tale that is very carefully woven together and written in such a way that you are always left asking for a little bit more. A little bit more on the back story. A little bit more on Scarlett’s history. A little bit more on the mystical side of things.
You don’t get it though, and although a little frustrating at times I imagine this is exactly how Mr Eyenot wants it to be. He teases you with perfectly written scenes that make you sit up and think here we go, this is where we find everything out, but in the next breath, cuts everything off where it is and ultimately tells you nothing. You are not alone in this frustration though. Some of the characters are just as frustrated to find out what their true part is in the story.
You slowly get introduced to a few new characters that are obviously going to play a bigger part in coming books, and it is building very nicely into a story that has huge potential.
In my review of the first book I said that the story was “a whole new concept and story of probable epic proportions.” I’m so glad I said that because when there are ten books out in this story that have people hooked to them like a Game of Thronesmarathon, I can look back and say I told you so.
I really like Toneye Eyenot’s writing style. It’s not flowery. It’s not over exaggerated. It’s not unbelievable. It is punchy. It is perfectly paced and this one was way less confusing. The darkness came out a bit more in this one as well and the mystical side is explained a little bit more but again, I reckon there is a lot lot more to come.
Do I have a complaint? Only a little one. Stop teasing us Mr Eyenot, you despicable man. Book One was a short read at about fifty pages. This one is three times that but still too short for my liking. Give us a full novel of this, you cad! It looks like you have plenty of material to fill it.
To summarise: part two in a saga that has huge potential to become a story of epic proportions. Written in a very easy to read style, this dark fantasy will have you hooked and begging for more, and not just when you have finished it.
General rating:
★★★★.5 getting better
Dark Fantasy rating:
★★★★.5 as above
If you would like to help support Confessions of a Reviewer, then please consider using the links below to buy Joshua’s Folly or any other books from Toneye. This not only supports me but also lets me know how many people actually like to buy books after reading my reviews.
Thanks.
Book Synopsis:
Jahl-Rin… the very name would cause folk to look over their shoulder in terror. Not Joshua though. Joshua Melkerin was a peculiar character. Unassuming, ordinary looking, generously aged; he was not the kind of person one would consider to engage in the despicable acts such as those of Jahl-Rin and his ilk. His colourful past, a meticulously kept secret from all decent and law abiding folk, Joshua had at last reached the point of no repent. Alone in the world and the last of his ancestry, his zest for life all but extinguished, Joshua cared naught for the fortunes of others.
The Sacred Blade Of Profanity had waited many years to introduce itself, through Scarlett, to Joshua’s tainted blood. The time had come at long and final last. The Kirlt’th sorcerers’ lineage had their motivations behind each targeted kill throughout the extensive history of The Blade Of Power―motives that would one day become apparent, as Joshua plodded uncertainly to his inevitable doom...
Toneye Eyenot hails from The Blue Mountains in Australia. Although writing horrible tales for the better part of 25 years, 2014 has seen his first published work in REJECTED For Content - Splattergore, through J. Ellington Ashton Press, an anthology showcasing alongside many other esteemed authors of the bloodsoaked word. His first extended story, in the form of a Dark Fantasy/Horror novella, THE SCARLETT CURSE is book one in the Sacred Blade Of Profanity series, released through J. Ellington Ashton Press and available now in print and on Kindle.
Book II in the series- JOSHUA'S FOLLY has also just been released through JEA Mar.13, 2016. Book III in the Sacred Blade Of Profanity series is currently being conjured. With more anthology appearances in both, REJECTED FOR CONTENT 2-Aberrant Menagerie and REJECTED FOR CONTENT 3-Vicious Vengeance, also Doorway To Death, Jeapers Creepers and Lost Gods And Forgotten Cities, and more in Cellar Door III - Animals/Hell II - Citizens by James Ward Kirk Fiction, as well as The Grays by James Ward Kirk fiction and more anthologies awaiting publication. Eyenot is also the editor for a werewolf themed anthology-FULL MOON SLAUGHTER, to be released through JEA in October '16. This year sees the author emerge from the muse with terrifying results. Take a walk thru the mind(s) of a luniakk...
And for more about Toneye, visit his site or find him on social media:
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