Thought I might do a longer post to help introduce people to my series a little better and help prospective readers better understand what they might be in for. Sooo: A Blade For Hire is a low magic, swashbuckling matchlock fantasy that follows the fortunes of Hale, a former solider with extensive experience in the Cantabrean wars turned hired blade, who predominantly works for his former commander the Lord Barthelme, now the Lord Mayor of the capital city Tylkin. The series heavily focuses on the people Hale meets and the battles he gets into along the way, being noted by reviewers especially for the quality of the action and the realism of the personal interactions between the characters. Magic is present, but plays a somewhat minor role for the most part. I sometimes describe it as "like 'The Three Musketeers', if d'Artagnan was actually John McClane." As such, expect plenty of violence and strong language throughout. The first book, 'A Blade For Hire', sees Hale and his favoured sword 'Iguane' (a greatsword with a four and half foot blade) sent to meet a pair of priests who are acquainted with the Lord Barthelme and have requested help in a delicate matter: the search for their missing contact, known only as 'Amheris'. Despite the reluctance of the priests to explain who Amheris is and what he may have been up to, Hale agrees to go with them as their lifeguard on the promise of a solid payment for an otherwise routine looking task. But almost immediately things begin to go awry and Hale soon finds himself knee deep in a lot more trouble than he had bargained for, hunted by a relentless and deadly foe through a series of spectacular, heart stopping swordfights and melees. In the sequel, 'The Man With The Broken Sword', we see Hale return home from his long journey, tired and ready for a long, well deserved rest. But life is not quite ready to give it to him, and having crossed swords with a secret order he finds they are not ready to let him rest either. To further help figure out if this is the book for you, here is a collection of some of my favourite quotes from reviewers to give you a flavour of what others thought: "It has all the elements you could wish for in such a book: sword fights, a conspiracy to solve, a protagonist who is nothing short of iconic, and a bit of romantic pining. Brand also has an extraordinary talent of writing dialogue - the banter alone makes this series worth reading." "This was a really good book with such great characters! Father Naurice was adorable. His innocence and naïveté made me feel for him in their dangerous situations but he also found his courage" "The characters are very strong indeed. You get to know every character and their intricate habits, opinions, and attitudes to the story as it progresses. The depth of effort used to make them blend into the story feels seamless and unfettered." "The plot is great, as are the characters, and it very much aspires to, and often gets pretty damn close to, the literary heights and thematic world building of the marvellous Mr. de Castell's Greatcoats series." "The dialogue is supremely enjoyable... The humour is tremendous, and the amount of times I laughed out loud were plentiful. There are also moments of true sadness when characters suffer and are left behind, this is a true skill, you invest yourself fully in their plights and travails." "However the sheer joy of this book is that Christopher D. Brand is a master of writing realistic personal interactions, and differentiating in style between friends, acquaintances and people on the journey from one to the other. His conversations flow naturally between banter to crisis to planning to dinner with the right tone and voice for each. What this allows for is genuinely plausible friendship development between characters. Many writers have their leads talk neutrally, in a "intro", "plot point", "exposition", "crisis" manner where the reader is expected to assume friendship or camaraderie develops on the way, but where the tone of writing reveals little of it. In Brand's book we see that development as the characters talk naturally/normally over a period of time, as they share more and more and how insults turn to banter turn to friendship. Oh if all that isn't enough the characters are a joy, the combat enthralling and plot deeply satisfying. This book is a @#_&ing triumph. Read it immediately." "Like the best kind of action movie! A roller coaster ride of magic, sword and gun fights, and ambushes. Makes you laugh out loud and hang on the edge of your seat because you can't wait to see what happens next. It wad a great read and I highly recommend it!" "A thorougly entertaining story. With tons of swordfights, a bit of magic, and a great big mystery to solve, A Blade For Hire is like Skyrim and The Three Musketeers combined. The characters and the witty dialogue alone make the book well worth reading" "My review for "A Blade for Hire" focused heavily on the author's skill in writing dialogue, and that really is still the highlight again. He is able to write realistic, yet witty and interesting dialogue better than all but a handful of authors in this genre, all of whom are far more famous. Chapter 3 for instance would be a paragraph or two for most authors, but here its a genuine joy to read and brings the protagonist to life in a way I have not read anywhere except in the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien. The action is also a standout strength - with the fights very well written." "With Hale, Chris builds a supremely likeable character. He is a brute, finding his way through life based on hard earned experience, has a big heart, a big sword, a practical view to solving problems (bold action), flaws and a sharp wit that shines through out the pages in wonderfully constructed dialogue." "From the hard chase, the stand-up fight, an occasional ambush or encountering overwhelming odds, Chris cobbles together flowing, nail biting and brutal scenes that allow the reader to ride along without missing a beat. The prose avoids overcomplication and provides just the right bits of descriptive stylings making the action scenes a treat for the reader. "That said, I'm putting this disclaimer right here: Chris is not Shakespeare. BUT! Damn if his ability with cutting, witty, humorous exchanges doesn't conjure to mind some of the best performances of the Great Bard's works that I've seen live or otherwise. Often, it was if I was watching the events and exchanges unfold before me in the Bill’s well-lit Globe Theater." "A little bit on the writing style. I thoroughly enjoy the craftmanship Chris employs. The mechanics of his writing style provide a smooth enjoyable experience. Changes in pace are well timed. Comedic relief is used with proper care to great effect. Banter/dialogue is exceptional. The descriptive stylings are wonderfully balanced delivering the “show” of the trite old saying “Show, don’t tell.” "The Man With The Broken Sword earns my wholehearted recommendation. It was a fun quick paced tale that was difficult to turn the light off on. I found the swashbuckling low magic nature of work refreshing, it was something I didn’t realize I needed." So if this sounds like something that would interest you, please check out the links below. amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DZBVGPVC?b…

we got more St. Augustine before THE WINDS OF WINTER

More video of the blue, striated shelf cloud in southeast Iowa this morning ahead of a potential tornado outbreak.

This would be the ultimate Cunk joke, if halfway through an episode she was just replaced by Kidman for one scene and that was that.

RIP Special Effects master Brian Johnson (1939 - 2026)

Planning de l'été

I need to make a YouTube playlist with nothing but all of my absolute favourites from all the different genres, like an old school megamix tape but it's nothing but the absolute elite.

Unreal! I can't believe I'm almost to 600 followers and more than halfway to 1,000. 😳 Thank you for your love and support. 🙏 I'm just one guy trying to spread positive vibes and share good times, and I'm so grateful that you're joining me for the ride. 🙂

The problem we have is it would only be 5/6, and they would each represent a marginal quality improvement, whereas that defence replaces ours entirely and is a significant upgrade.

My inciting incident is the Big Bang. Checkmate.

bond villain type aura i approve

I volunteer as tribute

Didn't realise they had pressurised, pumped water supplies in the old days.

Hydration break.

RT @CoyHallBooks: Took time to reread Gregory’s 6th century history of the Merovingians this summer. I love when he just throws out lines l…

The beauty of Le Mans at sunrise. Ferrari AF Corse, 51. 🫠

Tacticos are just now discovering the concept of a low block.

It's a hard life this author lark

Hands up if you used to love playing this?

The folding of steel was to compensate for the shit quality of the raw metal, so are we saying French buttery dough is actually rubbish?

Because it's the first round of the group stage, after which things normally settle down, aside from the odd shock here and there due to woefully unprepared teams. Then you get your classic Germany/France/Spain/Brazil/Argentina/top African team/surprise Euro other team quarters.