Blog Tour: Giveaway, Guest Post & Review of Call of the Herald by Brian Rathbone

Welcome to my stop on the Godsland series blog tour! This is a YA epic/high fantasy adventure series by Brian Rathbone. The tour consists of reviews of all of the books and the audiobook, as well as guest posts, interviews and more. Be sure to check out the tour page with all the tour information and additional tour stops.

The books in the Godsland series:

Call of the Herald (Book One) - FREE
Inherited Danger (Book Two)- FREE
Dragon Ore (Book Three) - 2.99US

You can also find it in one bind up called The Dawning of Power Trilogy Omnibus. Find the full list of titles and links at http://brianrathbone.com/ as this is only the first trilogy in the World of Godsland series.

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Publisher: White Wolf Press
Series: The Dawning of Power Trilogy #1
Format Read: Kindle book
Source: tour company in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 2008
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository*
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission for purchases made through these links. 

Blurb from the author: 

Echoes of the ancients' power are distant memories, tattered and faded by the passage of eons, but that is about to change. A new dawn has arrived. Latent abilities, harbored in mankind's deepest fibers, wait to be unleashed. Ancient evils awaken, and old fears ignite the fires of war. When a Catrin Volker, a teenage horse trainer, inadvertently fulfills the prophecy of the destroyer, she becomes the most feared and hunted person on all of Godsland. With the help of her friends, she must convince the world that she wants only peace.

Bea's Thoughts:

I was intrigued by the religious setup of this world and the religious politics. Epic fantasy is something I've mostly moved away from but I enjoyed this. Part of the appeal was the religious and magical aspects with none of the supernatural beings; it's just humans at their best and worst.

Catrin, a young farmer's daughter, finds herself caught up in a religious prophecy and on the run from foreigners who want to crush both her and the prophecy she represents. Catrin occasionally seems a bit Mary Sue-ish; there's little she can't do and do well. She's also a strange mix of teenage insecurity and authoritative adult. Her transformation from teenager to religious leader is abrupt, with little development or growth. I do like that the majority of the characters we meet in this book are ordinary folk, not upper caste or special in some way; well, other than Catrin being special as the Herald and Benjin, a family friend and honorary uncle who is more than he seems. These are ordinary folk, doing what they think is right during difficult times. There's betrayal, impulsiveness, loyalty, action, and even a bit of humor. Rathbone gives us glimpses into how people react to strangeness in their midst and what happens when your land is invaded by conquerors from another land. I hope these themes will continue to be developed.

The story is sometimes bumpy with awkward transitions and erratic character development but the story held me all the way through. A heads up, the story continues in the next book so the book doesn't end with all the threads tied up. Although the character development is sometimes lacking, Rathbone spins an engaging story and I read it in two big gulps, staying up late to finish it. I was caught up in the action, the descriptions, and the characters. I cared about Catrin, Chase, Benjin, Osbourne, and Strom and I want to know what happens next. I've already downloaded the second book. :D

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Brian Rathbone started out as a professional racehorse trainer, but he later transformed himself into a network engineer, programmer, and, more recently, rural broadband specialist. One thing that never changed was Brian's love of reading fantasy fiction. For years he would think of story lines for his own stories as a way to keep from dreaming about writing code. When the time came that Brian could concentrate on writing, The World of Godsland became real. 

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Thanks so much for having me on your blog, and hello to your readers!

Reading wasn't much a part of my early life. It wasn't until I read A Wrinkle in Time (One of my all-time faves! ~ Bea) that I started to think of reading as something I wanted to do. Speculative fiction engaged me in a way no other books had. This trend continued into my high school days, and I'll never forget wanting to read Dragons of Autumn Twilight for a book report. My English teacher said fantasy books didn't count, since they weren't 'real' books. I was offended by this very notion and argued a bit more vehemently than may have been called for, but eventually she agreed to read the book herself and decide. I will always remember the day she said I could do my report on Weiss and Hickman's fantasy. After writing my first trilogy, I sent her a signed copy and thanked her for recognizing the value in fantasy fiction.

I'm of the opinion that readers should read what they like and writers should write what they love. The Godsland series stems directly from the fond memories I have of reading fantasy fiction during my formative years. I learned many lessons from those books and was able to look at important social issues through different lenses and context. These are the reasons I'm most proud to call myself a fantasy writer. 

I often advise genre writers not to be concerned if friends and family don't like their work. If you write genre fiction, find people who like the types of stories you write and have them give you some feedback. Not sure where to find like-minded readers? Goodreads, Twitter, and Wattpad are the best places I know to find people who like the same kinds of stories you do and who might be willing to critique your work.

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TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY

Giveaway:

(2) signed first editions of The Dawning of Power
(25) ebooks editions of The Dawning of Power
(10) audiobook editions
Open internationally

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour: http://www.candacesbookblog.com/2013/09/tour-sign-up-godsland-series-blog-tour.html