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Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time, Book 3)
Author: Robert Jordan
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: October 15th, 1992

Synopsis: Soon to be an original series starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine!

Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®, continues.

The Dragon Reborn—the leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the savior who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him—is on the run from his destiny.

Able to touch the One Power, but unable to control it, and with no one to teach him how—for no man has done it in three thousand years—Rand al’Thor knows only that he must face the Dark One. But how?

Winter has stopped the war—almost—yet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon. But where is he?

Perrin Aybara is in pursuit with Moiraine Sedai, her Warder Lan, and Loial the Ogier. Bedeviled by dreams, Perrin is grappling with another deadly problem—how is he to escape the loss of his own humanity?

Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve are approaching Tar Valon, where Mat will be healed—if he lives until they arrive. But who will tell the Amyrlin their news—that the Black Ajah, long thought only a hideous rumor, is all too real? They cannot know that in Tar Valon far worse awaits…

Ahead, for all of them, in the Heart of the Stone, lies the next great test of the Dragon reborn….

It is time to fall deeper into the world of Rand al’Thor and all its magical intrigue. The Dragon Reborn opens with our heroes coming to grips with the climax of book two, when the armies clashed in Arad Doman and Rand battled one of the Forsaken in the sky for all to see. Rand can no longer deny that he is the prophesized one, and he is terrified of what he might do to his friends if, and when, he goes mad. Read along as the world begins to weave itself around Rand and his companions. Everywhere they go, they leave a wake of altered lives on their path.

Jordan again weaves a riveting epic that pulls you through every page. The complex characters change as the story continues, and you will pick your favorites and root for them through their troubles. Personally, I love Matt and Perrin. Rand is interesting, as the central focus of the story and all, but Matt and Perrin are fascinating. They both would rather not be a part of this adventure and would love a quiet life now that they’ve experience more of the world than they bargained for. But each time they try to leave Rand and return to a normal life, they are pulled back into the story. They are taver’en, important people that the fabric of reality weaves itself around.

Another 5 out of 5 stars from me!

Available from Amazon and Bookshop.

Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear 07/18/21

Please note: We are temporarily closed to short flash stories (unless for one of the Specials) but open to drabbles, unholy trinities and serials. We hope to reopen later in the year once we have caught up with the publication of those already accepted.

It’s been a quiet week in terms of anything happening, I’ve progressed my novella and started writing a short for a submission call I’ve on Horror Tree – and I’m still waiting on submission news. I’m reading an ARC of Coy Hall’s Grimoire of the Four Imposters and loving it and I’ve bought even more books recently to add to my TBR pile – the Waterstones in Birmingham (UK) is wonderful by the way!

As TWF moves forward, you will find Amanda Headlee, our specials, trinities and serial killers editor, becoming more involved in the day-to-day running of things, eg acknowledging receipt of stories. Amanda has been a terrific addition to the team and I value immensely the load she has taken on her shoulders. I will freely admit it’s stopped me turning into a gibbering wreck. If you would like to read any of her own work – she released a novel, Till We Become Monsters earlier this year – pop over here to find out more.

Now to this week’s Trembling with Fear. Our first story is House of Evil by Damon Sweeney which plays to the murder house trope and automatically triggers the impulse to shout ‘don’t go in there’ when you seen someone about to do just that. Sometimes though, evil doesn’t just live in a house – it takes a walk around the neighbourhood and calls you friend. Is anyone what they seem?

Life and Death by Ben Coppin gives a different perspective on life and death via this zombie tale. But who is the zombie?

Like a White Snake by Christina Nordlander has an ethereal, nightmarish quality to her lab reminiscences. Nice setup using ‘what if’.

Fly Tipping by April Yates sets a typical scene of something apparently dumped where it shouldn’t be, plays to assumptions and then throws in the unexpected.

 

Enjoy our stories and send in yours!

Steph

 

Stephanie Ellis

Editor, Trembling With Fear

The unpacking continues, interrupted only by children, my day job, my MBA program (yay, did well on my midterm!), and keeping the site running. So, basically, I’ll be unpacking for the next seventeen years 😉 

So, the latest update on the Trembling With Fear copies, the first two below are both digital and physical while “Serial Killers: Volume 2” is still digital only at the time of writing this update. Hopefully, soon! 🙂 

If you pick up a copy of any of the above or our previous anthologies, we’d truly appreciate a review on Amazon. 

Stuart Conover

Editor, Horror Tree

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Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time, Book 2)
Author: Robert Jordan
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: October 15th, 1991

Synopsis: Soon to be an original series starring Rosamund Pike as Moiraine!

Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time®, continues as Rand al’Thor and his companions set out to retrieve a powerful magical artifact from The Dark One’s Shadowspawn in The Great Hunt.

For centuries, gleemen have told the tales of The Great Hunt of the Horn. So many tales about each of the Hunters, and so many Hunters to tell of…

Now the Horn itself is found: the Horn of Valere long thought only legend, the Horn which will raise the dead heroes of the ages.

And it is stolen.

In pursuit of the thieves, Rand al’Thor is determined to keep the Horn out of the grasp of The Dark One. But he has also learned that he is The Dragon Reborn―the Champion of Light destined to stand against the Shadow time and again. It is a duty and a destiny that requires Rand to uncover and master magical capabilities he never imagined he possessed.

Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time® has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. The last six books in series were all instant #1 New York Times bestsellers, and The Eye of the World was named one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

In book two of Robert Jordan’s epic Wheel of Time series, we dive deeper into the complex world of Rand al’Thor and his friends from the Two Rivers. Rand, being one of the dangerous few men who can channel, comes to grips with the fact that he is the one prophesied, and he must eventually fight the great evil beneath the Mountain of Shadow. We start with a visit from the leader of the Aes Sedai, the female magic wielders, when the Horn of Valere and a magical knife bound to Mattrim Cauthon, one of Rand’s best friends, are stolen. Matt cannot live long without the knife, and the enemy cannot gain the power of the horn, so Rand, Matt, and a few hunters track the thieves.

While this goes on, the Aes Sedai and the women who came from the Two Rivers, return to the White Tower, the seat of power for all Aes Sedai. There, they train to become Aes Sedai for varying reasons. We also see a few familiar faces from book one. As the adventure progresses, we learn more about this fascinating world and the different forces at play, all building up to a massive battle in Arad Doman between multiple armies, both living and dead.

The stakes really ramp up in this book.

Another 5 out of 5 stars for this one.

Available from Amazon and Bookshop.

Articles

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Indie Bookshelf Releases 07/16/21

Click on the book covers for more information. Remember to scroll down to the bottom of the page – there’s all sorts lurking in the deep.

Got a book to launch, an event to promote or seeking extra work/support as a result of being hit economically by Covid? Get in touch and we’ll promote you here. The post is prepared each Thursday for publication on Friday. Contact us via Horror Tree’s contact address or connect via Twitter or Facebook.

Services

Editing, critiquing, artwork – Eugene Johnson is a man of many talents, an award-winning editor, filmmaker and artist. He will be will be selling his art, book covers, book art, logo designs, making prints, offering short story critiques/edits, special book projects like a coloring book he’s creating with another author and more for a small fee. Initially to fund desperately needed repairs on his car, once that is complete he hopes to turn his focus towards helping others that need support. Join him in his endeavours in getting this help to those who need it. Contact him via https://plaiddragonpublishing.com/ and he can also be found on https://www.facebook.com/eugene.johnson.14855. If you’d like to help him get his car fixed that bit quicker, please drop in on his Fundraiser set up by friends. (I think another link will be set up in the near future regarding his services and I’ll update it here when that happens.)

Editing – Elle Turpitt, elleturpittediting.com, is facing redundancy. Help her by considering her as an editor. She is available for all editing work – short story, novella, novel, or chapter extracts. She also has a Ko-Fi (ko-fi.com/elleturpitt), or if you’d rather send a little gift to help her smile at a stressful time, she has a wishlist set up for this month (amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls). All support is appreciated. 

 

Writing and Editing Services from Ben Long. Go to Ben for ‘Killer Copy, Creative Content, and Eye-opening Edits’! Ben is ‘a passionate and engaging freelancer with 2+ years of experience in a variety of writing and editing endeavors. He is also a regular contributor to several online brands in the horror niche.’ You can find out more about him here https://readingvicariously.net/services/.

 

Events

Please send us details of any online panels, conventions, festivals and workshops and we’ll list them here.

Charity Anthologies

 

 Tales Of The Lost Volume Two- A charity anthology for Covid- 19 Relief: Tales To Get Lost In A CHARITY ANTHOLOGY FOR COVID-19 RELIEF by [Gaiman, Neil,, Hill, Joe,, Johnson, Eugene M,]  Flashes of Hope by [Anna Taborska, Dave Jeffery, Amy Grech, Matthew Davis, John Cady, Emma Lee, Gwen Weir, Ken Goldman, Alyson Faye, Theresa Derwin]    

 

Latest Book Launches

Horror Tree Sponsor* and Patreon Releases!

24th June

9th JulyTrembling With Fear: Year 4 by [Stuart Conover, Stephanie Ellis] Trembling With Fear: More Tales From The Tree: Volume 3 by [Stuart Conover, Stephanie Ellis, Catherine Kenwell] Trembling With Fear: Serial Killers: Volume 2 by [Stuart Conover, Stephanie Ellis, Catherine Kenwell]

*All Horror Tree sponsors are able to claim a spot at the top of our listing during the donation of their sponsorship. Please use our contact form for more advertising pricing.
 
 

They Slipped Through the Net!

 Hunger Pangs by [Scott J. Moses, Daniele Serra]  

June

5th Paths Best Left Untrodden by [Kev Harrison] 6th 7th The Walking Son by [Eddie Generous] 7th

9th Spiffing: A Cosmic Horror Novella by [Tim Mendees] 11th Metaphoria14th 15th Ride or Die by [James Newman]

15th Trench Mouth by [Christine Morgan]15th Murmur: Collected Horror16th 17th Far, Far Away Anthology - Ebook

18th 18th 24th  25th Dismal Dreams by [Red Lagoe]

26th The Creeping Void: Terror on the Highlands (AFTER: A POST-APOCALYPTIC SURVIVOR SERIES) by [Tim Mendees]29th Savage Island by [Brian Moreland]29th Apocalypse, Zombie (Guardians of the Apocalypse Book 6) by [Jeff Thomson]29th

30th 30th Side Roads: A Dark Fiction Collection by [Rachel A. Brune]

July

1st 2nd Non-Practicing Cultist (Short Sharp Shocks! Book 75) by [Scott J. Moses]2nd Milk Kisses & Other Stories (Short Sharp Shocks! Book 68) by [Ross Jeffery]4th

6th Lambs Among Wolves by [Russell James] 6th 7th The Samaritan by [Dave Jeffery]8th Dead Men Tell No Tales by [Jeffrey Kosh]

9th 9th After the Fall (Underground Book 5) by [Stephen Herczeg] 12th Brand New Dark by Beau Johnson 14th Demons Never Die: A Collection of Artwork & Flash Fiction by [P.J. Blakey-Novis, David Paul Harris]

15th Immortelle by [Catherine McCarthy]15th 20th 20th Slattery Falls by [Brennan LaFaro]

20th Only The Stains Remain by [Ross Jeffery] 23rd Beyond Human 29th Absolute Unit by [Nick Kolakowski, Crystal Lake Publishing] 30th They Come in the Night by [Lynn-Cee Faulk]

August

3rd The Final Gate by [Wesley Southard, Lucas Mangum] 5th 17th Below by [Kev Harrison] 26th The Girl in the Attic by [Jon Athan]

September

1st The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales by [Eric LaRocca] 1st Writers Workshop of Horror 2 by [Michael Knost] 6th Picture 7th Grimoire of the Four Impostors by [Coy Hall]

10thFloaters by [Garrett Boatman, Crystal Lake Publishing]21st The House of Little Bones by [Beverley Lee]22nd 28th Midnight From Beyond the Stars by [Gabino Iglesias, James Newman, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Tim Curran, Lee Murray, Ronald Kelly, Samantha Kolesnik, William Meikle, Kenneth W. Cain]

30th Kill Kit Killers: Premeditated murder, proved with their kits TBA 

October

1st Gorefest: Extreme Horror Anthology by [Wrath James White, Stephen Kozeniewski, Armand Rosamilia, Wesley Southard, Jay Wilburn, Jonathan Butcher, Jack Bantry, Robert Essig, Patrick C. Harrison, K. Trap Jones] 1st A House At War: House Arrath Book 119th

November

12th With Benefits: What's a bit of fun between friends?

Offers!

Sorry. Can’t link all so you’ll have to search amazon 🙂

Telecommuting by [L. Marie Wood] 99c!

Kickstarters!

MEMENTO MORI – A Horror Noir Graphic Novel MEMENTO MORI – A Horror Noir Graphic Novel. A 64-page full-color story about the serial killer who resurrects Victorian Post-Mortem photography into a modern work of art.

Happy reading.

Steph

 on behalf of Stuart and the Horror Tree Team

 

Anthology / Events / Flat Amount

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Taking Submissions: Blood Moons

Deadline: September 5th, 2021
Payment: £15
Theme: Space and Scifi

Submissions open from July 13th to September 5th. Please send your submission to [email protected] with the subject heading “STORY TITLE – AUTHOR NAME” and include an author bio (up to 150 words). 

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We’re looking for stories between 1,000-8,000 words with a theme of SPACE AND SCI-FI. Please ensure any scenes of a sexual nature are necessary and non-exploitative.

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Trembling With Fear

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Unholy Trinity: Party by Martin P. Fuller

Our church worships at the altar of the Unholy Trinity. Its gospels are delivered as a trio of dark drabbles, linked so that Three become One. All hail the power of the Three.

This little collection of drabbles is in part a nod from Martin to my recent move. He knows me so well – including my music tastes!  – Steph

Party, Party

Their move complete. Boxes emptied. Furniture unloaded. A new life in the town of Wrexham.
The husband relived at relocation success, decided on celebration. Beer, food, wine and loud, raucous music. After all, their nearest neighbours were firmly planted in the nearby churches cemetery.

The walls trembled to Metallica. Party-goers danced wildly. It was just after midnight a heavy knock at the door deadened festivities.

On the doorstep stood a rotting corpse, mouldering green skin and white bone. Grating words fell out of its mouth along with rampant worms.

“Please turn down the music. It’s enough to wake the dead.”

A Moving Story

She regarded her old house fondly, ghosts of happy times haunting every room. But time passes and her new house in Wrexham beckoned. The removal men had finished loading the large Victorian display case, minus its contents of course. She’d packed those treasures separately, and discreetly. 

She’d worried the new owners of her house may find the bodies under the rockery, but they were elderly;  happy to leave the garden intact. She would always have the collection of desiccated heads however, their smiles lighting up her new house. A collection she would add to, after she built a new rockery.

Welcome to Wrexham

Jasper Bottomley was determined to pay his respects to the new family now in residence at the house by the churchyard. The hour was late, true, but he would not tarry. A cordial introduction and a welcome to Wrexham. He mayhap be able to learn of news form the rest of the country and how parliament fared in the war before returning home his obligations complete.

It occurred to him as he clawed his way to the surface he might invite them to his abode if they were decent God-fearing people. After all, truly decent company was hard to find.

Martin P. Fuller

Martin P. Fuller lives in his shoebox house in West Yorkshire. He was in his previous exitances: –

 a beer salesman, a pall bearer, a car delivery driver, and oh yes… a police officer for over 34 years.  

He started to write in 2013 after attending a creative writing class and since then has become a writing course junkie. 

Discovering his dark side, Martin has had a number of stories published in Trembling with Fear and several other anthologies including Deadcades published by Infernal Clock.

Articles

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The Art of Creating a Clever Plot Twist

The Art of Creating a Clever Plot Twist

 

A plot twist can make or break a story. The right type of plot twist is something audiences will remember. A plot twist can surprise, anger, or sadden the audience. Of course, there needs to be a great storyline and character development, but a plot twist brings intrigue and depth to a narrative.

 

One of the most renowned plot twists can be seen in “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”, when Darth Vader tells Luke that he is his father. (This classic favorite can be enjoyed on Hulu with the Disney+ package.)

 

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Events / Flat Amount / Magazine

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Taking Submissions: New Gothic Review #4

Deadline: August 31st, 2021
Payment: $50
Theme: Gothic fiction for the 21st century

Submissions will be open twice a year.

Jan 1 – March 1

July 1 – August 31

These dates are always subject to change. Check on our social media pages for any updates.

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What we’re looking for:

We’re looking for previously unpublished short stories that reimagine Gothic fiction for the 21st century. We want stories that are beautifully written, heavily atmospheric, and psychologically chilling. Also:
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