Book Tour - THE WRACK by John Bierce

Out of This World SFF Reviews is delighted to be just one of the many blogs participating in the Storytellers On Tour Book Tour featuring self-published fantasy author John Bierce and his book, THE WRACK!  Today marks Day #3 of the tour and I am pleased to be one of the stops. I will soon be providing you with a synopsis of the book, my review, along with some important links and John's bio.   

But first I'd just like to mention that Storytellers is currently running a very cool giveaway in conjunction with this tour.  Five physical copies of THE WRACK will be up for grabs! (one copy per winner, US entrants only)
To enter, just click this link.  The giveaway ends this Sunday, August 9th at 11:59pm, so get those entries in now!

And now, here is a brief description of John Bierce's fantasy novel THE WRACK!

Book Blurb:
Plague has come to the continent of Teringia.

As the Wrack makes its slow, relentless march southwards, it will humble kings and healers, seers and merchants, priests and warriors.  Behind, it leaves only screams and suffering, and before it, spreads only fear.

Lothain, the birthplace of the Wrack, desperately tries to hold itself together as the plague burns across it and its neighbors circle like vultures.  The Moonsworn healers would fight the Wrack but must navigate distrust and violence from the peoples of Teringia.  Proud Galicanta readies itself for war as the Sunsworn Empire watches and waits for the Wrack to bring its rival low.

And the Wrack advances, utterly unconcerned with the plans of men.

My Review:
First of all, let's get to the elephant in the room shall we?  This book is about a plague that ravages a city, an empire, and the land that surrounds it.  Interesting timing to say the least, but one that we cannot fault the author for.  He himself even comments on the awkward coincidence of releasing his book during these awful and uncertain times.  Be that as it may, it has no bearing on the story itself once you immerse yourself in the fantasy world that John Bierce has created.  Honestly, as I got deeper and deeper into the book, I found myself not even making the connection anymore and was able to just settle in and focus on this solidly crafted tale.

This book is obviously brutal when it comes to the subject matter.  As we follow the plague known as the Wrack and its devastating effects on the populace, I was a little detached at times just because we never really get to become too invested in some of the main characters before we move on to the next grisly death.  This is where I wished the book would have been a little longer as I feel like the short length really made it difficult to flesh the major players out and I would have liked a tad more depth to them.  Obviously with a story about a plague where people are dying left and right I understand that is hard to do though, so it's a minor quibble.  I did feel that the writing was excellent and the descriptions of every pain and convulsion that the Wrack brought down upon its victims was vividly detailed.  So the prose was a definite plus for me.

Another of the major strengths was the world-building in my opinion.  The setting of Lothain and its surrounding environs was exceptionally conceived and a suitably dark background for the high body count tale that plays out on its stage.  The magic was also quite good, especially how the communication network between cities was handled through the use of semaphores.  These are not the traditional semaphores that you are familiar with, I can guarantee that.   And the method of conveying these messages was something that was very original and added a mystical element that strengthened the overall story.

Ultimately, I very much enjoyed THE WRACK despite a couple of minor issues that I had.  It delivered a satisfying story that kept me turning the pages.  Yes it is a dark book and not for the faint of heart, but there are also some touching and very human moments that make this more than just a one-trick pony.  I look forward to revisiting this world in future books (should there be more) and also checking out some of John's other works.

Rating: 7.5/10

Click HERE to purchase THE WRACK on Amazon.

Author Bio

John Bierce is a history buff, fantasy and science-fiction lover, and fan of talking about himself in the third person.  He also has a background in the earth sciences, and has been caught licking rocks before.  For science.

You can connect with John on these online platforms:


And that concludes my stop on THE WRACK book tour!  I would like to extend a special thank you to Storytellers On Tour and author John Bierce for the opportunity to participate.  There are many more awesome stops to come, so if you would like to follow along, here is the official tour schedule:


Thanks as always for stopping by and supporting Out of this World SFF Reviews, it is always appreciated.  Happy Reading!
-Nick

Comments

  1. Fantastic review Nick, I really enjoyed this as well and may well check out John's other works as well at some point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Peter! Glad you liked the book and my review as well.

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