The Shadow City by Ryan Wieser Book Tour and Giveaway :)
The Shadow City
Hunters of
Infinity #2
by
Ryan Wieser
Genre: Sci-Fi/Space Opera
Pub
Date: 10/16/18
The
Hunters of Infinity have guarded the Daharian galaxy for ages, but
when betrayed, they can become a vicious enemy . . .
Jessop,
the first woman to join the Hunters, has finally been reunited with
those who mean the most to her. In her quest for vengeance, she has
left many embittered and betrayed, chief among them Kohl O’Hanlon,
the Hunter who once loved her.
Now,
as the feared Falco Bane leads his forces into the Hunters’
territory, Kohl attempts to retaliate, flooding their infamous Shadow
City with his own followers. Jessop must fight a war on two fronts,
testing her commitment to the ones she loves and challenging her
abilities as the most elite warrior among the Hunters. With the
future of Daharia’s leadership at stake, Jessop is determined to
protect those closest to her at all costs . But when allies turn into
adversaries, the real threat comes from a place least expected . . .
CHAPTER 1
Azgul
Present Day
In her dream, Jessop wore a linen
cloak, identical to one she had first donned in the Blade’s
mystical pool. He wore dark funerary robes, and he moved quickly,
disappearing around corners, catching her eyes in the shadows. She
followed him through the maze, wondering where he went, what he
thought. She quickened her step, trotting after him, chasing through
the dark corridors. She spun around the wall’s end, and felt a
sudden ache in her abdomen. His arm was around her instantly, holding
her close to his body. She looked down, over the sheer linen, and saw
between her breasts the hilt of his dagger, his gloved hand still
tight around the weapon. Blood soaked the robe, slick and crimson,
sticking to her form. She wasn’t angry with him; it hadn’t hurt
that badly. She rested her hand against his chest, and blood leached
through her fingers. She looked up into his dark eyes. A tear ran
over the star-shaped scar.
“You’re bleeding,” she whispered,
pressing firmly against his chest, ignoring her own wound.
He smiled at her, shrugging casually.
“It’s only my heart.”
Jessop woke to the sound of crying,
lurching up in her bed. It had been the same dream, for the hundredth
time. Her hair snaked around her neck with sweat, her brow damp and
hands clammy. Again, the small cry called to her. She glanced over
the large, dark bed where Falco slept, motionless and silent. She
rolled off, her feet finding the cool ground, and crossed the room,
her eyes navigating the dark with their usual ease. Jeco was sitting
up in his bed, his damp dark hair standing on end, his large gray
eyes
brimming with tears.
She looped her hands under his
shoulders and pulled him to her body. “I couldn’t sleep either,
love.” He clung to her tightly, burying his small face under her
chin. He didn’t care that she was slick with sweat or weary with
exhaustion; she was his mother, his protector.
In the darkness, large arms wrapped
around her, and she leaned back into Falco, finding the safety in his
arms that their son found in hers. Falco was silent in the night, a
predatory creature whose abilities amazed her as much in that moment
as they had a decade before.
His lips kissed the space where her
neck met her shoulder. “Nightmares again?”
“Both of us, it seems,” she
whispered, her breath travelling over Jeco’s short hair.
“What should I do when my family
cannot find peace?”
Jessop breathed heavily at her
husband’s question. It had been a month since Kohl had escaped the
Blade, nearly killing her in the process. The Blade had been his home
for most of his life. It had been more than a home. It had been his
training facility, where he had lived with his Hunter brethren,
patrolling the Daharian galaxy on behalf of Hydo Jesuin. The same
Blade she had infiltrated and handed over to her husband, Falco.
Jessop pushed the thought back, blinking away the image of Kohl
O’Hanlon’s face. “Find the one who torments me,” she ordered.
The Glass Blade
Hunters
of Infinity #1
The
Hunters of Infinity have been protecting the Daharian galaxy for
years, but there has never been a female Hunter—until now.
In a seedy bar in the shadowy corners of Daharia, Jessop comes to the rescue of young Hunter Kohl O’Hanlon. Impressed by her remarkable sword-wielding skills, the Hunters invite her to their training facility, the Glass Blade, though not all are pleased with the intrusion. But they soon discover that Jessop learned to fight from the rogue leader of the Shadow City of Aranthol—and escaped. Now they want to use her intimate knowledge of their enemy to destroy him.
As Jessop grows closer to this elite brotherhood, their leader succumbs to a mysterious ailment, and Kohl learns that Jessop is hiding dark secrets, raising suspicions about the enigmatic woman who saved his life. Has the Hunters’ security been breached—or do they have a traitor in their ranks?
Allegiances will be questioned.
Loyalties will be betrayed.
Vengeance will be brutal.
"This thrilling, action-packed debut ties together a strong characters with a building story line that will have readers clamoring for the next volume in this new series." —Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW, on The Glass Blade
In a seedy bar in the shadowy corners of Daharia, Jessop comes to the rescue of young Hunter Kohl O’Hanlon. Impressed by her remarkable sword-wielding skills, the Hunters invite her to their training facility, the Glass Blade, though not all are pleased with the intrusion. But they soon discover that Jessop learned to fight from the rogue leader of the Shadow City of Aranthol—and escaped. Now they want to use her intimate knowledge of their enemy to destroy him.
As Jessop grows closer to this elite brotherhood, their leader succumbs to a mysterious ailment, and Kohl learns that Jessop is hiding dark secrets, raising suspicions about the enigmatic woman who saved his life. Has the Hunters’ security been breached—or do they have a traitor in their ranks?
Allegiances will be questioned.
Loyalties will be betrayed.
Vengeance will be brutal.
"This thrilling, action-packed debut ties together a strong characters with a building story line that will have readers clamoring for the next volume in this new series." —Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW, on The Glass Blade
Ryan Wieser completed her B.A. in Sociology and Socio-Legal Studies before going on to complete her MSc. in Experimental Psychology. Having been raised in Africa and educated across multiple countries, Ryan has a passion for travel and an interest in diverse cultures. She currently resides in Wyoming with her husband, where she is writing her next book.
As
we approach the end of the protagonist-led fantasy trilogy, Hunters
of Infinity, readers are wondering if this is the last we will be
seeing of Jessop? If so, what is author Ryan Wieser working on next?
Even
though the second book is only just being released, I have actually
already finished writing the trilogy. The last installment is set for
release in 2019. The entire experience of writing this story has gone
by in the blink of an eye, as clichéd as that is to say, it’s
simply true. Even though the last book is done, I honestly can’t
say if this is it for Jessop, Falco, and Kohl (if they all survive to
the end of the last book, that is…). If
you love your characters it feels impossible to say that you’re
done with them forever. And I love
these characters. They’re crazy, impulsive, and immature. They make
the same mistakes over and over. They are blinded by their motives.
But they all end up on the same quest for redemption, reaffirming
their love and loyalty along the way. For me, the trilogy was always
about the personal journey and relationships of these characters. It
is difficult to know for sure if their stories are completely done.
Maybe it’s their time. At this point, I can’t say for sure what
will happen. Like my main characters, the
trilogy is imperfect, but with each book, it developed more and more.
I definitely feel like I had the opportunity to learn a great deal
and to exercise new skills with each installment, and in some ways,
that’s what Jessop, Falco, and Kohl do – with each book, they
learn and they change. I do think that perhaps with a trilogy, you
have more room to explore and more pages to fill. It all depends on
the way you write, how much of your plot is planned in advance, how
many pages you intend to utilize to tell your story… There are a
lot of factors to consider. Oddly, I wasn’t necessarily trying to
write a trilogy when I started writing the story; I was more focused
on the characters, their relationships, histories, and individual
profiles. If anything, the trilogy helped provide some structure and
give the overarching story a beginning, middle, and an end. In
terms of next projects, I am actually already busy working on my next
book, a medieval-esque fantasy novel. I learned a lot from the
trilogy. I got some amazing reviews and a lot of feedback, some
wonderful and some less so, but all of it served a purpose. My flaws
as a novice writer have been highlighted, the interests of my readers
have been made known, and the path forward has been laid out with
hope and determination. This next book is really quite different from
the Hunters of Infinity series. While it is also an action packed
fantasy led by a strong female protagonist, it’s set in a different
world, a different time, and supported by an entourage of different
characters. I’m excited to see where these new characters go. I am
committing to them with the same passion and care I did for Jessop
and her leading men and it’s my hope that they are received by my
readers with as much enthusiasm and support (if not more!).
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