Warrior of Darkness review

Posted by Absolute XPress on January 4, 2011 with Comments Comments

Sequential Tart reviewed Marie Bilodeau’s Warrior of Darkness.

The review, by Sheena McNeil, contains some ’spoilers’. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Here it is:

I love this book just as much as the first, and while I don’t know how Book 3 will end, I do know how the author will handle the last book. There are three main heroines, each with a book in the Heirs of a Broken Land series. Princess of Light introduced us to all three while focusing on princess Casara, her newfound magic and a battle for survival as more Eloms attack. Warrior of Darkness picks up where it left off but with the focus now on the warrior Avarielle. She manages to escape from Siaballa’s Rage (a previously impossible task!) and finds the missing prince! They find friendship and help from a man Avarielle freed in Book 1, Kryde. However, Elihor’s magic tries to kill the young prince, and an attempt to cross back into Graydon separates them. Now Avarielle attempts to help Kryde save what’s left of his people who are being turned into Eloms. The Wall of Loss is falling, Shirina gathers what’s left of the Circle and Casara leads an army to the West. Is there struggle playing them right into Siabala’s hands or will newfound powers save them all?

I love that the story shifts to focus on Avarielle, and that (I assume) Book 3 will focus on Shirina. The three leading ladies are all strong, inspiring women, and they are all quite different. Even with the focus on one, all three still play major roles in the developing story, and there is a nice balance of switching between them so that we don’t lose track of what else is going on with them and the big picture. I also love how Avarielle allows us to gain an inside look at the people of Elihor as she is the first (and only so far) of the three women to experience all three major areas of their world. Plus, the romance is a nice touch even if it is tragic … but I was quite shocked by the twist at the end. I mean, as far as I knew Avarielle and Kryde did nothing more than kiss and snuggle (they were always exhausted and / or injured). I’m still scratching my head on this one, but otherwise it’s a straightforward read that will enthrall and engage you.

There are some other aspects of the story I really like. The prince is brought back and given some kind of magic power! This calls into duty the two older guards we left in Book 1 so I’m quite curious to see how they all fit into the final battle. We also get another side to the Elihor / Graydon history, romance and betrayal as well as more information on and interaction with Siabala. It’s all quite interesting, and still, so much of this story has the grand scale that The Lord of the Rings has with rich characters that are well thought-out. This book is a bit harsher with torture, deaths and suffering but it does an admirable job depicting the bleak situation this world is in. I highly recommend this series for anyone looking for an epic swords and sorcery story with some killer female leads.

Written: January 2, 2011
Published: January 3, 2011

Aurora Award Nominations

Posted by Absolute XPress on January 4, 2010 with Comments Comments

auroraLogoIt’s time to nominate your favourite Canadian stories for the Aurora Awards, and AXP has several works we would love for you to vote for.

To nominate, you must be a Canadian citizen (not necessarily living in Canada), or a permanent resident.

Best Long-Form Work In English – 2009
- Bilodeau, Marie. Heirs of a Broken Land Series Book 1: Princess of Light. Absolute XPress
- Bilodeau, Marie. Heirs of a Broken Land Series Book 2: Warrior of Darkness. Absolute XPress

Best Short-Form Work In English – 2009

- Any stories listed under the anthologies “Seven Deadly Sins” or “Creatures of the Night”
- Any stories listed under the novella collection “Woman of the Apocalypse”.

Best Work In English (Other) – 2009

- Collaborative collection of Novellas “Woman of the Apocalypse” Absolute Xpress, October 2009, ISBN 978-1770530003.

Artistic Achievement – 2009
- Lau, Herman. Covers: “Seven Deadly Sins”, “Creatures of the Night” & “Women of the Apocalypse”, Absolute Xpress, 2009

A full list of all eligible publications by Canadian Citizen’s are listed here: http://www.canadiansf.com/wiki/SF_Wiki. And if you have room on your ballot, don’t forget to nominate some of the works from our sister press, Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy.

To nominate your favourites, please go to the official Aurora Awards Website: http://www.prix-aurora-awards.ca

AXP has done remarkably well for our first (official) year in print. We even have an amazing Aurora recommendation from Robert J. Sawyer (author of Flash Forward and Wake) for “Women of the Apocalypse”. You can check out his recommendation on his blog.

Thank you to everyone for being a part of such a wonderful 1st year for us. 2010 promises to be even better.

Filed Under: Announcements

Warrior of Darkness Book Launch News

Posted by Absolute XPress on August 21, 2009 with Comments Comments

Marie Bilodeau’s book launch in Ottawa, Ontario, for her second book “Warrior of Darkness” was a great success. Check out this article from SNAP Ottawa Downtown, a free monthly local newspaper.

Copy of the Article:

Following the breakthrough success of Princess of Light, Absolute XPress went to print early with book 2 of the Heirs of a Broken Land series and even came to Ottawa for this special event.

Fans of the series had a chance to meet the author and members of the team of Canada’s biggest genre publisher while showing their support for the series at a special Ottawa launch party for the second instalment.

SNAP Ottawa Downtown missed this event, but fortunately some photos were supplied to us. We’ll be sure to attend the launch party for the already anticipated third novel… which is probably just around the corner knowing how hard Marie works!

Book three of Marie’s series, “Sorceress of Shadows”, is due out in March of 2010.

Filed Under: Media

Warrior of Darkness Released

Posted by Absolute XPress on July 21, 2009 with Comments Comments

Today we released “Warrior of Darkness” by Marie Bilodeau. It’s the second book in her “Heirs of a Broken Land” trilogy.

There will also be an two official book launches for this book. One at WorldCon on August 7th, and one on August 14th in Ottawa (5 to 7 pm at Maxwell’s on 340 Elgin Street). I hope you can make it out to one of these events to congratulate her.

Warrior of Darkness From the back of the book:

The Wall of Loss separating the lands of light and darkness has been breached…

After leaving her home in pursuit of marauding Eloms, Avarielle Grayloft found allies in a grieving princess and a sorceress with a hidden agenda. As dark powers poisoned the land, the three fought their enemies and each other, until faced with a foe they could not defeat.

Betrayed and wounded, Avarielle is held captive in the fiery depths of a dangerous and deadly prison. Seeking vengeance, she escapes only to find herself trapped in the savage Land of Darkness. And, as she discovers the truth behind the Eloms, she is forced to question everything she believes in.

With her homeland on the verge of destruction, her powerful sword about to fall into the clutches of evil and the Eloms growing in strength and number, Avarielle must take the greatest gamble of all, forging an alliance with the leader of the Land of Darkness and betraying all she has ever known.

(Want a sneak peek inside the book? Click here!)

Filed Under: Announcements