Fallen Blade 04 - Blade Reforged
Read Fallen Blade 04 - Blade Reforged Online
Authors: Kelly McCullough
“Aral the jack, formerly the noble Aral Kingslayer, is the best kind of hero: damaged,
cynical, and despondent, yet needing only the right cause to rise from his own ashes.”
—Alex Bledsoe, author of
Wisp of a Thing
Praise for
BARED BLADE
“The second Fallen Blade fantasy stars an interesting hero with an irreverent, self-deprecating
attitude…Fans will appreciate the magnificent McCullough mythos.”
—
Genre Go Round Reviews
“Full of action, fun characters, and an interesting plot.”
—
Whatchamacallit Reviews
BROKEN BLADE
“Creative world-building really helps the reader to immerse themselves…A strong beginning
to a new fantasy-mystery hybrid series.”
—
Fantasy Book Critic
“
Broken Blade
explores a different side of dark fantasy than the typical European/medieval fare…I
could definitely spend hundreds of pages wandering around in the wilds of McCullough’s
newest creation.”
—
Flames Rising
“
Broken Blade
is a compelling read that was hard to put down…Mr. McCullough has the ability to
make even his dastardly characters sympathetic.”
—
Fresh Fiction
“Filled with multifaceted characters, layered plots, and the type of quixotic scenarios
that only the imagination of Kelly McCullough could possibly create. The author, once
again, crosses genres…Stories by Kelly McCullough are one of a kind—just like him.
I found Aral’s world to be compelling and highly addictive. Brilliant!”
—
Huntress Book Reviews
“McCullough’s atmospheric little tale of betrayal and skullduggery is brisk, confident,
intelligently conceived, and suspenseful…With as promising a start as this, McCullough’s
new series is looking like one sharp blade indeed.”
—SF Reviews.net
“
Broken Blade
is perfect for a fan of political/hierarchal conspiracy in a fantasy series…It’s
also filled with some heart-pounding action…The story is positively bursting with
excitement.”
—
Whatchamacallit Reviews
“The world McCullough sets up was certainly the highlight of the book for me. I enjoy
fantasy-world politics and dark humor, both of which are in abundance here.”
—
Night Owl Reviews
More Praise for Kelly McCullough
SPELLCRASH
“Simple and elegant…McCullough is the true demigod of Web magic. Brilliant!”
—
Huntress Book Reviews
“The book is filled with action and suspense. The world-building is awesome, the plot
intense, and there is plenty of pathos and humor.”
—
Three Crow Press
“Entertaining and rapid-fire.”
—
San Francisco Book Review
MYTHOS
“A smooth, flowing tale that entices the imagination.”
—
Huntress Book Reviews
CODESPELL
“A hint of cyberpunk, a dollop of Greek mythology, and a sprinkle of techno-magic
bake up into an airy genre mashup. Lots of fast-paced action and romantic angst up
the ante as Ravirn faces down his formidable foes.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“One long adrenaline rush.”
—
SFRevu
“Imaginative, fascinating, with a lot of adventure thrown in…Mr. McCullough has followed
his first two books with a worthy sequel.
CodeSpell
will keep the reader on edge.”
—
Fresh Fiction
CYBERMANCY
“McCullough has true world-building skills, a great sense of Greek mythology, and
the eye of a thriller writer. The blend of technology and magic is absolutely amazing.”
—Blogcritics.org
“McCullough has the most remarkable writing talent I have ever read.”
—
Huntress Book Reviews
WEBMAGE
“The most enjoyable science fantasy book I’ve read in the last four years…Its blending
of magic and coding is inspired…
WebMage
has all the qualities I look for in a book—a wonderfully subdued sense of humor,
nonstop action, and romantic relief. It’s a wonderful debut novel.”
—Christopher Stasheff, author of
Saint Vidicon to the Rescue
“Inventive, irreverent, and fast-paced, strong on both action and humor.”
—
The Green Man Review
“[An] original and outstanding debut…McCullough handles his plot with unfailing invention,
orchestrating a mixture of humor, philosophy, and programming insights that give new
meaning to terms as commonplace as ‘spell-checker’ and [as] esoteric as ‘programming
in hex.’”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review) “This fast-paced, action-packed yarn is a lot of fun…weaving myth, magic, IT jargon…into
a bang-up story.”
—
Booklist
Ace Books by Kelly McCullough
The WebMage Series
WEBMAGE
CYBERMANCY
CODESPELL
MYTHOS
SPELLCRASH
The Fallen Blade Series
BROKEN BLADE
BARED BLADE
CROSSED BLADES
BLADE REFORGED
BLADE
REFORGED
Kelly McCullough
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England For more information about the Penguin Group, visit penguin.com.
BLADE REFORGED
An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author Copyright © 2013 by Kelly McCullough.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed
in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in
or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
Purchase only authorized editions.
Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.
ACE and the “A” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Ace mass-market edition / July 2013
Cover art by John Jude Palencar; dragon © iStockphoto/Thinkstock.
Cover design by Judith Lagerman.
Interior text design by Laura K. Corless.
Maps by Matthew A. Kuchta.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance
to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is
entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume
any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
For Laura, without whom I would be lost.
And in loving memory of
Michael Matheny,
one of my oldest writing friends and coconspirators.
Extra-special thanks are owed to Laura McCullough; Jack Byrne; Anne Sowards; my mapmaker,
Matt Kuchta; Neil Gaiman for the loan of the dogs; and cover artist John Jude Palencar
and cover designer Judith Lagerman, who have produced wonders for me.
Many thanks also to the Wyrdsmiths: Lyda, Doug, Naomi, Bill, Eleanor, Sean, and Adam.
My Web guru, Ben. Beta readers: Steph, Dave, Sari, Karl, Angie, Sean, Matt, Mandy,
April, Becky, Mike, Jason, Todd, Jonna, and Benjamin. My family: Carol, Paul and Jane,
Lockwood and Darlene, Judy, Kat, Jean, and all the rest. My extended support structure:
Bill and Nancy, Sara, James, Tom, Ann, Mike, Sandy, Marlann, and so many more. Lorraine,
because she’s fabulous. Also, a hearty woof for Cabal and Lola.