Book Tour - SHADOW DEBT by William Ray

 

Out of This World SFF Reviews is extremely delighted to be just one of the many blogs participating in the Storytellers On Tour Book Tour featuring SFF author William Ray and his western-themed fantasy book, SHADOW DEBT!  Today is day #4 of the tour and I am very excited to be bringing you a synopsis of the book, my review, as well as showing you a few samples of the incredible illustrations that start off some of the chapters in the book, designed by the phenomenal Tom Parker!

And now, here is a brief synopsis of WiIliam Ray's SHADOW DEBT, followed by my review.

Book Blurb:

Glynn Sorley is sheriff of Keat's Field, a tiny settlement in an otherwise lawless frontier.  With the discovery of diamonds, her town is flooded with fortune-hunters looking to strike it rich.  It's also a target for competing colonial powers, savage goblin tribes, and outlaws.

A rustler on the run from the law stumbles across his father's mysterious legacy - a weapon of immense magical power.  He uses it to ravage across the territory as the notorious outlaw Gentleman Jim.  

But the weapon's power comes at a terrible cost, and Keat's Field may just have to pay the price.

This third Tale of the Verin Empire returns us to the world of Gedlund and The Great Restoration.  It explores a frontier trapped between competing nations, where goblins reign and a lone sheriff fights to keep the peace.

Drawing inspiration from L'Amour's Comstock Lode, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and our own late 19th century, Shadow Debt continues William Ray's bold critically acclaimed reinvention of classic fantasy in a world of memorable characters and unique perspectives, and features sketches from acclaimed illustrator Tom Parker.  

Review:

Boy this was just a fun book to read!  It also is a fairly short book, which really contributed to my enjoyment of it because it felt like so much was packed in those pages and they flew by.   I had never read anything by William Ray before and so I was a little apprehensive since this is the third book in his Tale of the Verin Empire series.  The good news is you don't have to have any prior knowledge of the first two books to enjoy this one as they are all self-contained stories set in the same universe essentially.  

I won't get too much into the plot so as to avoid potential spoilers but I will give you an idea of how this truly unique blend of fantasy western had me totally focused on every aspect of the world-building and characters.   And make no mistake, this is a very cool world populated with all manner of magical creatures living alongside humans.  Did I mention it takes place in a Wild West type of setting?  I can't think of many fantasy books where that particular setting is the backdrop.  But it works so well in my opinion and really lends an element of originality to the story itself.

What is truly interesting about this book and the overarching world is that Ray injects real world issues like prejudice and racism into his story but tells it through fantasy characters.  The goblins are the oppressed in this story and even though they are indigenous to this Wild West land, they are treated awfully by the humans who also populate it and often make up the law and order aspect of the society.  Sound familiar?  It really is a unique way of making a point about lots of things that we are seeing in our own daily life, and it was not lost on me.  In fact, it was pretty darn powerful and a great way to convey the message to the reader.  Often the best stories make an impression by coming at you from an angle that you didn't expect.  This is so with SHADOW DEBT.  

But this book is not just about conveying a social message, there's also a very satisfying magical story that unfolds too.  That story takes place in the world of Gedlund, which seems familiar to our own, and yet there's a mystery and fantasy feel to it that creates such an awesome melding of a setting with one leg in each world.  Honestly, it kind of reminded me of David Gemmell's Jon Shannow series in the best ways.  Also gave me a bit of the Roland - Dark Tower feels at times.  

In the end, I really enjoyed this book a great deal.  So much so that I feel the need to make some time to read the first two books in this series now.  SHADOW DEBT takes you on a cool adventure that moves along at a quick pace and never lets you down with regard to a cracking good story and Willliam Ray has delivered an original fantasy book that takes much from our own history and mixes it beautifully with the fantastic.   Definitely check this book out if you have the time, it will be well worth it I assure you.

Rating: 8.5/10

You can purchase SHADOW DEBT on Amazon by clicking HERE.

As an added treat, I wanted to share some of the amazing illustrations in this book that were done by Tom Parker, an accomplished artist who has worked with some of the best authors in the genre.  You are going to love these as Tom possesses a talent that not many in his field can match.  So check them out, they are breathtaking 👇 

These are all images inspired by WIlliam Ray's SHADOW DEBT.  As if you needed another reason to read this book, right!   You can see more of Tom Parker's work on REDBUBBLE.  He is also on Twitter @papagaeio.  

Author Bio

William Ray is the author of the Tales of the Verin Empire; including Gedlund named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2016), The Great Restoration and the forthcoming Shadow Debt.

Originally from North Carolina, he currently lives in Reston, VA with his wife and dogs.  A graduate of Ithaca College, and Wake Forest's School of Law, he has worked in television, retail, patent prosecution, trademark law and other irrelevant nonsense.  To paraphrase Lloyd Alexander, however, if being a life-long lover of fantasy literature qualifies one to write it, then he is well qualified indeed.   You can connect with William online via his Website, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

And that concludes my stop on the SHADOW DEBT book tour!  I would like to extend a special thank you to Storytellers On Tour and author William Ray for the opportunity to participate.  There are many more awesome stops on this tour, so if you would like to follow along, below is the official schedule.

Thanks as always for supporting and visiting the blog.  I appreciate it more than you know.

Happy Reading!

- Nick