- Get link
- Other Apps
Out of This World SFF Reviews is incredibly honored to be just one of the many blogs participating in the Storytellers On Tour Book Tour featuring self-published fantasy author Travis Riddle and his book, SPIT AND SONG! Today marks Day #1 of the tour and I am very excited to be one of the stops. I will be providing you with a synopsis of Travis' book and then giving a special glimpse at an excerpt. So please stick around for that!
But now, without further delay, here is a brief description of SPIT AND SONG followed by my review.....
Book Blurb:
Kali is a merchant who yearns to leave the harsh deserts of Herrilock and travel across the sea, trading goods and soaking in the sights and cultures. With a new potion on the market undercutting her profits, though, her sea-bound dreams are put on hold indefinitely.Failed musician Puk hits rock bottom after another catastrophic performance. Wandering the city streets in search of any sip of booze or whiff of fire-spit he can get his hands on, he resigns to the fact that he's stuck in the desert with no way back home to Atlua.
Until one day, their paths cross with an illicit job opportunity. With its hefty payday Kali and Puk could afford to finally escape the desert heat and set sail across the gulf.
The black market job would see them travel endless dunes on a road made from a massive dead beast's ribs and out to a mythical city in the sea, scuffling with monsters and thugs in search of a long-lost book that might be the most dangerous object in the world.
How hard could it really be?
Review:
I've been meaning to read a Travis M. Riddle novel for quite some time now. I have heard that his stories are very original takes on standard fantasy tales and that they offer something really different. So when I saw that Storytellers was hosting a tour for his book SPIT AND SONG, well I rushed at the chance to sign up and see what all of the buzz was about. It became pretty clear as I read the opening chapters that the hype is well-deserved.
The book blurb does a pretty good job of touching on the main story so in an effort to avoid spoilers, I won't get into the plot too deeply. Suffice it to say reading this book is like reading Alice in Wonderland with a dash of Hunter S. Thompson for good measure. This is definitely not your run of the mill tropey fantasy book filled with blacksmiths and stable-masters. Quite the contrary in fact as Travis injects many real world elements into his fantastical setting and the result is one of the coolest books that I've had the pleasure of immersing myself in.
I enjoyed the alternating main character viewpoints of Kali and Puck. I thought it worked so well in conveying each other's individual story while setting up the eventual crossing of paths. Travis Riddle has delivered quite a trippy fantasy that pushes many of the best buttons when it comes to storytelling and I can't believe that I have waited this long to read his books. But now that I'm a believer, you can bet this won't be the last. Pick up Spit and Song if you want a really inventive story full of characters who jump right off the page. There's also a wittiness and biting humor to the writing that makes the dialogue between the characters flow so effortlessly and creates a connection with the reader. I cared about what happened to them and was fully invested. I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait for the next one!
My Rating: 8/10
You can purchase SPIT AND SONG by clicking on these links:
And now, for an extra special treat, here's a short excerpt taken from the pages of this marvelous book!
The cordol was quite literally taking the bait.
Now was her chance. Kali’s heart and lungs heaved in her chest as she dashed toward the pile of pale orange eggs, huddled together and nestled snugly into the sand.
She didn’t bother to look over her shoulder to find out what Puk was doing. She needed to concentrate, to act as quickly as possible.
Kali came to a sliding stop before the eggs and saw that their mother hadn’t yet reached the bait.
Plenty of time.
She gathered two of the eggs in her arms and held them close to her chest. Two should be enough to satisfy Puk’s acquaintance in Myrisih. It was a more than generous offer, she thought.
Kali turned on her heel and started toward Bella. Puk had not made it back yet with his unimpressive stride, but he wasn’t far off.
To her left, she saw the cordol had arrived at the bait and was busy devouring the miniscule amount of food. It would only be a handful of moments before it curved around and returned to its eggs. She urged her legs to move faster.
Puk was leaning one arm against Bella’s side and panting heavily when Kali made it to them.
“Two?” he wheezed.
“Two,” she said.
He shrugged.
She unclasped the empty sack that had come with Bella. The added space was incredibly useful, granting them an entirely empty bag to house the eggs without fear of them smashing against their other belongings. As she closed it tight, Puk uttered a swear.
“What?” Kali turned around and saw what had elicited his alarm.
Somehow, the cordol had already made a speedy return to its den and discovered two of its eggs missing. It reared up and began to sniff the air for its stolen offspring.
There was no time to waste.
Without warning, Kali reached over and grabbed Puk under the armpits then hoisted him up onto Bella’s back. The qarm yelped in surprise and righted himself.
They had to move faster. The cordol had spotted them.
Shit.
It slithered toward them with ferocious speed. Bella let out a soft whine.
Kali and the cordol moved in tandem.
She leapt up onto the saddle at the same moment the cordol propelled itself into the air. As Kali kicked at the ayote’s sides to take off, the cordol slammed into the ground and burrowed into the sand.
Shit, Kali thought again.
Maybe she hadn’t memorized the bestiary front to back like her sister, but she knew enough about cordols and ayotes to be fully aware that there was no chance they could outrun the beast.
But she had to try. Better that than give up or resort to violence. It was a good thing Bella was so young and hated being cooped up. Those factors combined with her fear of the approaching cordol injected her with an absurd amount of energy.
Kali had never seen an ayote run so fast. They were a blur.
Puk’s arms found their way around her waist again, and Kali had to lean forward to avoid being knocked back by the intense wind.
Their mount instinctively weaved side to side, charting a semi-unpredictable path, but it wasn’t enough to outsmart the cordol. It burst from the ground directly in front of Bella, who skidded to a halt, causing Kali and Puk to tumble forward over her head.
Kali crashed head-first into the sand, her legs accidentally whacking Bella on the face. The ayote yipped in shock, but seemed otherwise unharmed.
Puk had absorbed most of the momentum and was flung right into the cordol, knocking the huge, thick worm onto its back.
He scrambled to stand up, but the cordol was faster.
It whipped its lower half into his torso and sent him flying again, screaming “Fuck!” as he careened through the air.
If the stakes weren’t so high, Kali would have laughed at the ludicrous sight. But as it were, she pushed herself up off the ground and swiftly backed up to her knapsack which hung from the saddle beside the bag carrying the eggs.
“Shit,” she muttered aloud this time, distraught that it had come to this
She extracted her antique dagger from the bag and gripped its hilt.
Just in time, too, as the cordol slid past Bella and rammed into Kali. She braced herself and held on to either side of the beast’s head, stabbing the blade into what amounted for its neck.
It gnashed its rounded teeth and roared with fury, rolling away from her and Bella.
As it rolled onto its left side, it pushed the dagger in deeper.
As it rolled onto its left side, it pushed the dagger in deeper.
Unfortunately, the beast was undeterred by the weapon sticking out of its body. Once righted on its stomach, it reared up again and charged toward Bella, who held the bag that contained its babies. The scent was probably all over her.
Puk was still many feet away, struggling to rise and rejoin the fray.
Kali needed to do something.
But the cordol was fast. Faster than she could have imagined. It smashed its head into Bella’s side, sending the ayote crashing down.
The egg bag slammed against Bella’s side as she landed, but mercifully it was the bags on her other side that had been crushed by her weight. Hopefully Puk wasn’t carrying anything too valuable.
A line of blood trailed from where the cordol had rolled over to where it now slithered around Bella’s frantically kicking body. It might be more concerned about retrieving its eggs than the dagger in its head, but apparently, the weapon was causing some damage.
That was good.
Kali tried to leap forward but slipped on the shifting ground, once again slamming her face into hot sand.
She looked up, spitting sand out of her mouth and blowing it from her nose, to see Puk running past her toward the fight.
“Hey!” he called in a feeble attempt to wrangle the cordol’s attention. “Look at me! Look at me, I’m a big fat idiot!”
His self-inflicted insults naturally did not register with the cordol aside from earning a passing glance. It quickly turned back to the bag where the smell of its eggs was strongest. Blood streamed from the wound in its head.
Puk stopped running. Curiously, he reached down and began to undo his boot.
Kali got to her feet and rushed past him as he continued to mess with his shoe. With more preparedness, she jumped forward and grabbed hold of the egg bag.
The cordol roared at her as she tried in vain to pull it free from the saddle. The stablemaster had done too good of a job securing it.
Suddenly Puk’s boot zoomed through the air and lodged itself in the cordol’s throat while it was preoccupied with another intimidating roar.
The beast began to choke and sputter, which was Bella’s cue to get the hell out of there. She scrambled to her feet and took off straight ahead, dragging Kali along behind her as she held
on to the egg bag. Bella’s wiry tail whipped her face twice before Kali decided to let go.
She rolled a few times before coming to an awkward stop. Up ahead, Bella continued to run for several feet, but soon came to a halt and looked back at her companions.
Good girl.
Kali spun herself around in the sand and witnessed what was possibly the stupidest death ever orchestrated.
Puk too stood motionless, stunned by his own handiwork.
The cordol was still choking on the boot he’d thrown. It thrashed about wildly, kicking up its own tiny sandstorm as it tried to dislodge the sturdy footwear.
Finally, the animal’s body slowed, and it lay down in the sand before coming to a complete stop. Kali watched its body bob up and down in a handful of halting, beleaguered breaths before it ceased.
Puk was astonished.
He was standing on one foot to protect the naked one from the heat, and he hopped to face Kali.
“I killed it!” he yelled, relief and amusement in his voice. “Killed it with a shoe! Dumbass!”
Author Bio
Connect with Travis on these various online platforms:
I hope that you have enjoyed learning some more about Travis M. Riddle and his self-published fantasy book SPIT AND SONG. Sincere thanks go out to Storytellers on Tour and Travis for allowing me to be part of this wonderful tour. Be sure to check out all of the remaining stops because there are some killer blogs still to come (official schedule below).
Thanks as always for visiting and supporting the blog.
Happy Reading!
-Nick
Nicely done, I agree with everything in your review and am Excited to see you on the tour!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Looking forward to reading your post as well. 🙂
Delete