BooksChatter: ☀☄ Whisper of Death: The Necromancer Saga [1]

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour to celebrate the forthcoming release of Whisper of Death, a Young Adult Dark Fantasy by Paul Barrett (22 December 2015, Fiery Seas Publishing, LLC, 345 pages).

This is the first book in The Necromancer Saga series.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis, trailers and excerpt below, as well as our Q&A with author Paul Barrett. Read the first three chapters with Kobo Preview.

Paul Barrett will be awarding two paperback and five digital copies of Whisper of Death to randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter during the tour. Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).

Synopsis | Trailers | Teaser | Author Q&A | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

Born with the power of ultimate evil, he is the world's only chance at survival.

Erick Darvaul is a Necromancer, a descendant of the original sorcerers who turned against their dark masters and exiled them. Now these beings have returned, it falls upon Erick and a cadre of newfound allies to rally against these powerful entities and defeat them again.

Through fire, ambush, and betrayal, Erick and his companions claw their way to Broken Mountain to reunite with others who share his ability. There, Erick battles the mortal foe of his ancestors pushing the limits of his Necromantic magic, a force that seeks to corrupt him every time he summons it.

Teaser: Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

     Who was the man known as the Dark Savior?The numerous legends that have sprung up make the wheat of truth hard to separate from the chaff of hyperbole. I can tell you that, before the idea of Dark Savior ever came to be, he was a bitter and frightened young man.
     --Excerpt from lecture by Corberin of Draymed, given at the University of Straph

     Erick Darvaul sat in an uncomfortable iron chair, gazed at the cliff from his manor’s second floor balcony, and watched as his parents fell to their deaths. Their bodies splashed into the raging ocean, never to surface. Every night for the past month, Erick had relived the event in his mind. He did nothing to stop them, as helpless now as the night it happened.
     A creature perched on the balustrade, clawed feet wrapped in between the spiked posts for support, barbed tail extended behind for balance. He did not look at the cliff. He watched Erick, his creator, a pale, frightened man-child with a thin chest and skinny arms, dressed in the same dark shirt and pants he had worn since that fateful night a month ago.Erick’s brown, curly hair flared around his soft face in a tangled mass. Blue eyes reflected nothing but pain.
     Created from Erick’s blood, body, and soul, the homunculus knew his master’s agony as if it were his own. At seventeen, Erick might be a man in years, but still a child in many ways; Blink feared for his master now more than ever.
     “I know what you’re thinking, Blink,” Erick said, his voice soft.
     “Perhaps you do. It’s the same thing I’ve thought all these nights.” Though they could share minds, Blink had not offered his concern to his master’s scrutiny.
     “You’re afraid I’m going to follow them.”
     “I’m afraid they left you ill prepared.”
     “For what?”
     “For life without them.”
     Erick blanched. For a moment, his eyes locked with Blink’s, then returned to gazing at the cliff’s edge. It would be barely visible to his master, even in this night’s full moon. On past nights, Erick had viewed the bluff through Blink’s eyes, using the familiar’s heightened senses to better see where his parents had jumped. Tonight he seemed content with his limited vision.
     “I’ll survive,” Erick said, but the words came out choked. “I’m glad you give a damn, because they obviously didn’t.” A breeze blew, bringing the smell of salt drifting from eight hundred feet below. The ocean that had taken Erick’s parents from him.
     Erick turned toward the town that nestled downhill of the manor. He frowned. “What’s that?”
     Blink shifted on the railing, his wings half spread in case the loose fencing gave way. Erick’s father Darric had often talked of fixing it, but it would likely remain forever undone.
     Pinpoints of light marched from behind the town’s outer buildings. Torches, Blink realized. Lots of torches.
      “It’s the villagers,” Blink said. “What are they doing?”
     Erick sat up and pushed away the hair from his eyes. “They must know my parents are dead. They assume the manor’s empty. They’re going to destroy it and burn out the ‘evil.’ They’ve always hated us, and now they have their chance.”
     The town of Draymed feared his family. It had been a constant lesson from his parents, confirmed by Corby, the one villager who dared speak to him.
     “Do you think Corby told them?” Blink asked.“Maybe he got worried when you wouldn’t see him.”
     “I couldn’t see him,” Erick said. “It was too much, too many thoughts.”
     Fear, despair, and hatred had warred through Erick, and he still didn’t know which would come out on top. He didn’t want his only friend caught in the storm. “He might be worried, but he wouldn’t betray me to the whole town. Would he?”
     “I don’t know.” Blink kept his voice soft as he asked, “What should we do?”
     Erick ran a hand over his round face and rubbed his chin. “We hope the fence turns them away,” he said, without conviction. “If it doesn’t, I’ll let my undead show them they have every reason to fear us.”
     The cluster of torches bobbed toward the manor like a fiery glowworm. Erick connected with Blink and studied them through his familiar’s eyes.He recognized many of the villagers from Blink’s nighttime forays and Corby’s descriptions.
     Reflected torchlight light revealed the five guardsmen who led the way, flanked by their commander, Brannon. Their chain mail gleamed under the light, partially hidden by tabards of brown with a diagonal green slash. Rectangular wooden shields bore a silver rose in the upper left and a red fish in the lower right.
     Carn, the portly, balding mayor, wore a loose fitting blue jerkin and gray breeches. He followed the soldiers, limping as quickly as his cane and lame leg allowed.
     A contingent of villagers followed. Men, women, and children trekked up the hill. Many brandished weapons, wielding scythe, sickle, or hoe.The children carried the torches, leaving their elders with hands free for bloodshed.
     Erick’s previous bravado wavered under the impressive sight. He didn’t have the power to stop such a mass. “It’s the whole damn town,” he muttered.
     “You know, flying away is always an option,” Blink said.
     “To where?” Erick asked. “Some other place where we’re hated. No, I’d rather be killed defending my home than die among strangers.” His mother’s scream echoed in his head. “And it’s better than the way they chose.”

Whisper of Death
Available for pre-order NOW!
Out on 22 December 2015

UK:

US:

About the Author

Paul has lived a varied life full of excitement and adventure. Not really, but it sounds good as an opening line.

Paul’s multiple careers have included: rock and roll roadie, children’s theater stage manager, television camera operator, mortgage banker, and support specialist for Microsoft Excel.

This eclectic mix prepared him to go into his true love: motion picture production. He has produced two motion pictures and two documentaries: His film Night Feeders released on DVD in 2007, and Cold Storage was released by Lionsgate in 2010

Amidst all this, Paul has worked on his writing, starting with his first short story, about Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, at age 8. Paul has written and produced numerous commercial and industrial video scripts in his tenure with his forcreative agency, Indievision. He has two published short stories (As You Sow and Double Cross) and one self-published novel (Godchild). He lives with his filmmaker/graphic artist partner and their three cats.

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