Arrows of Darkness is the second book in the Word of Arcas fantasy series aimed at children and young adults. I reviewed the first book, The Hunter, The Bear and The Seventh Sister on this blog back in January 2014 and described it as 'an amalgamation of all my favourite childhood reads'.
The lovely and talented authors, Ila and Ben also wrote a great guest post for me a few months after that, and so I'm delighted to welcome them back to Lipsyy Lost & Found once more.
After reading the synopsis for Arrow of Darkness, I think it's fully acceptable to include this in #HorrorOctober, it certainly sounds a lot darker than the first book, and would be a great read for children and young adults who like their adventures with a sprinkling of horror and scary creatures.
B.I Woolet have put together another great guest post, but first, here's everything you need to know about Arrows of Darkess...This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Author: B. I Woolet
Editions: Paperback, 328 pages
Publication Details: October 2nd 2015 by ArcasArts
Genre(s): Fantasy; Children's; Young Adult
Frightening creatures have overtaken the beautiful Starling Forest, destroying everything in their path. Jackson and Nekkar narrowly escape the beasts together, but Nekkar blames the Son of Earth for releasing the present darkness in Arcas. The rocky, new friendship strengthens as they journey through dangerous lands toward the Free Realms. Can their loyalties survive when the beautifully gutsy Princess Andromeda interrupts their quest and the darkness of war batters their souls?
While Rigel, Otava, and Merope work together to rescue the six sisters trapped at the White Palace, Sephdar returns from shadowy crusades to find White Wings' army leaderless. The new self-proclaimed ruler has a plan for the Seven Sisters and a plan for The Bridge to Earth. But when his ambitious arrows pierce the peaceful kingdoms, an unlikely force confronts the dark lord and the future of the crowns is changed forever.
Hold to your axe and hold to your lass as you join Jackson to combat the darkness spreading through the world of Arcas. But remember, the most powerful arrows do not pierce the body but the soul.
"Man's destruction and bloodshed now appeared trivial and small next to these uncontrollable beasts of nature." - Arrows of Darkness
From nasty orcs and a greedy dragon in Middle Earth to fluting fauns and a brave mouse in Narnia, fantasy worlds are full of interesting creatures! We love that the World of Arcas is also bursting with fascinating, strange, and terrifying creatures.
In The Hunter, the Bear, and the Seventh Sister, its immediately evident that Jackson has entered another realm when the white-winged Cygnus grabs him mid-air in the bright triune sunlight and safely lands him next to the little cabin in Starling Forest.
After escaping the talons of a freakishly large black raven, Jackson then meets Otava. He's a furry, talking brown bear inspired by Usra Major (the Great Bear in the night sky) and named from the Finnish word for the constellation. Though Otava is powerfully strong and well-armed with an arsenal of weapons, he's also nervously paranoid, doesn't like change, and loves cooking even more than his medieval artillery. Since the Big Dipper is also part of his constellation, Otava's favorite soup dipper likes to enter the story often as a quirky astronomy joke on the side. He's our lovable, loyal, but not-so-huggable big bear friend.
In Arrows of Darkness, we get to enjoy the talking bear-next-door again, but massive sea monsters dive into the story to shake things up. Cetus is the most famous and mystical watery monster in the Kingdom of Altair. Bridled and ridden by a duo of strange river nymphs, this translucent, whale-like creature randomly bursts through the surface and capsizes anyone in its way. His haphazard, destructive tendencies frighten most in Arcas from ever braving the water.
While Cetus destroys like a raging bull, our other sea monster calculates its attack with lust for flesh and pleasure. Minaruja is a titan terror of the Ligeian Sea. This giant water snake (from the Hydra constellation) strikes without warning and injects venom into its prey. One seamen describes the day that the dreadful villain Sephdar got attacked by Minaruja and barely escaped alive: "Minaruja's serpent head shook him back and forth and back and forth like a rabid dog shaking a helpless rabbit [...] To thee ruins he stumbled with a black hole in his middle and a black poison ever pumping through his veins."
So, if you like mystical, larger-than-life monsters and talking bears, stick around because the World of Arcas has only begun to unleash the stellar creatures within!
Thanks so much to B.I Woolet and Xpresso Book Tours for letting me be part of this tour.
This is a tour-wide giveaway in which you can win both books in the series in paperback (US only) or e-book (International). Good luck!
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