Synopsis
Swords and sorcery.
Mythical creatures and unholy Demons.
Battles and betrayals.
Witches and Wizards.
Noble heroes and ruthless villains.
From the savage steppes of Nagali to the heart of intrigue in Quing Tzu, this anthology is packed with tales of the supernatural, of action and adventure.
Set in the same world as the epic fantasy Convent Series, beginning with A Dead Wizard’s Dream, this collection of eleven original fantastical short stories explores lands heretofore unseen in the series.
Featured in The Chronicles of Maradoum Volume 1 …
Li Mao and the Yaoguai
The Boulders and the Buffalos
Conn and the Faun
A Deadly Present for the Khan
Were-jackals
Kidnapping
Phut and the Blood Worms
The Waystation
The King’s Own Tournament
The Wish-Bird, the Qilin and the Demon
Arvid, Aslaug and the Undead
Most of my reading in the past has been literary fiction, historical fiction, and classics. I’ve been wanting, though, to branch out into other genres – including fantasy. I was afraid though because I thought fantasy books were complicated and sprawling, with lots of characters living in many lands and plots that require a glossary in order to understand what’s going on. I recently learned, however, that there is high fantasy (the complicated type I was familiar with) and low fantasy - lighter and simpler fare. The description for Chronicles of Maradoum sounded like it fit into the low fantasy category, so I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did.
Chronicles of Maradoum is a collection of well-written, easy-to-read short stories, each with a separate plot and set of characters. Because of their length, short stories often lack adequate character development or have a hurried feel to them. That was not the case with these stories. I cared about the characters and could picture the worlds in which they lived. Certain items and locations are mentioned in multiple stories, connecting them, but each one stands on its own. None of the plots are complicated and each story takes around 30 minutes to read. I found every story fun to read. There is enough variety in characters, settings, and plots to keep things interesting. There is some graphic violence, but it doesn’t dominate any of the stories.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. None of the stories required a great deal of concentration, which made reading a story or two from it a great way to relax at night. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys low fantasy or is interested in exploring the genre. Reading it has made me more comfortable in looking for other low fantasy books, and one of those very well may be Volume 2 of the Chronicles of Maradoum series.
'%20fill='%23000000'%3e%3cg%20id='facebook'%20transform='translate(176.000000,%20176.000000)'%3e%3cpath%20d='M15.1169849,16.0001242%20C15.6045895,16.0001242%2016,15.6047137%2016,15.1169849%20L16,0.883077174%20C16,0.395286302%2015.6046516,0%2015.1169849,0%20L0.883077174,0%20C0.395286302,0%200,0.395286302%200,0.883077174%20L0,15.1169849%20C0,15.6046516%200.395224219,16.0001242%200.883077174,16.0001242%20L15.1169849,16.0001242%20L15.1169849,16.0001242%20Z%20M10.9850811,16.0001242%20L10.9850811,9.83468787%20L13.0545174,9.83468787%20L13.3643861,7.43190795%20L10.9850811,7.43190795%20L10.9850811,5.89788478%20C10.9850811,5.20222455%2011.1782548,4.72815506%2012.1758147,4.72815506%20L13.4481544,4.72759907%20L13.4481544,2.57853343%20C13.2281081,2.54925158%2012.472834,2.48383073%2011.5941313,2.48383073%20C9.75969112,2.48383073%208.50378378,3.60358363%208.50378378,5.6599234%20L8.50378378,7.43190795%20L6.42903475,7.43190795%20L6.42903475,9.83468787%20L8.50378378,9.83468787%20L8.50378378,16.0001242%20L10.9850811,16.0001242%20L10.9850811,16.0001242%20Z'%20id='icon'%20style='fill:%20rgb(255,%20255,%20255);'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e){kind=small}
%20-%20http://www.bohemiancoding.com/sketch%20--%3e%3ctitle%3egoogle%20logo%3c/title%3e%3cdesc%3eCreated%20with%20Sketch.%3c/desc%3e%3cg%20id='🔓-Sign-up-/-Log-in'%20stroke='none'%20stroke-width='1'%20fill='none'%20fill-rule='evenodd'%3e%3cg%20id='Sign-up'%20transform='translate(-597.000000,%20-186.000000)'%3e%3cg%20id='google-logo'%20transform='translate(597.000000,%20186.000000)'%3e%3cpath%20d='M1.36199975,18.7602168%20C0.489400966,17.0264668%20-2.84217094e-14,15.0717981%20-2.84217094e-14,13%20C-2.84217094e-14,10.9282019%200.489400966,8.97353317%201.36199975,7.23978324%20L5.83600955,10.583328%20C5.58019074,11.3426754%205.44186047,12.1550221%205.44186047,13%20C5.44186047,13.8449779%205.58019074,14.6573246%205.83600955,15.416672%20L1.36199975,18.7602168%20Z'%20id='Combined-Shape'%20fill='%23EBB000'%3e%3c/path%3e%3cpath%20d='M1.36199975,7.23978324%20C3.52572192,2.9407248%208.04556084,0%2013.3023256,0%20C16.6883721,0%2019.7116279,1.24090909%2022.0697674,3.25%20L18.2,7.03181818%20C16.8697674,5.96818182%2015.1767442,5.31818182%2013.3023256,5.31818182%20C9.81346575,5.31818182%206.86826318,7.51928768%205.83600955,10.583328%20L1.36199975,7.23978324%20Z'%20id='Combined-Shape'%20fill='%23DD3D29'%3e%3c/path%3e%3cpath%20d='M1.36019947,18.7566384%20L5.83238528,15.4058871%20C6.86135513,18.475546%209.8093737,20.6818182%2013.3023256,20.6818182%20C16.9906977,20.6818182%2019.772093,18.85%2020.4372093,15.6590909%20L13.3023256,15.6590909%20L13.3023256,10.6363636%20L25.6976744,10.6363636%20C25.8790698,11.4045455%2026,12.2318182%2026,13%20C26,21.2727273%2019.9534884,26%2013.3023256,26%20C8.04410247,26%203.52321412,23.0576433%201.36019947,18.7566384%20Z'%20id='Combined-Shape'%20fill='%232B9D4B'%3e%3c/path%3e%3cpath%20d='M21.9726923,22.7623303%20L17.7252923,19.5487548%20C19.1140559,18.6922251%2020.0803097,17.371324%2020.4372093,15.6590909%20L13.3023256,15.6590909%20L13.3023256,10.6363636%20L25.6976744,10.6363636%20C25.8790698,11.4045455%2026,12.2318182%2026,13%20C26,17.2371012%2024.4138467,20.5441398%2021.9726923,22.7623303%20Z'%20id='Combined-Shape'%20fill='%233879E7'%3e%3c/path%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e){kind=small}
Comments
Be the first to leave a comment!
Share your thoughts with the community