BOOK: Blood and Iron by Jon Sprunk

		Blood and Iron Part One of The Book of the Black Earth Jon Sprunk 445 pp • ISBN 978-1-61614-893-5  Paperback • $18.00 March 2014 Cover Illustration © Jason Chan

 This action-heavy EPIC FANTASY SERIES OPENER is like a sword-and-sorcery Spartacus set in a richly-imagined world. It starts with a shipwreck following a magical storm at sea. Horace, a soldier from the west, had joined the Great Crusade against the heathens of Akeshia after the deaths of his wife and son from plague. When he washes ashore, he finds himself at the mercy of the very people he was sent to kill, who speak a language and have a culture and customs he doesn’t even begin to understand.  Not long after, Horace is pressed into service as a house slave. But this doesn’t last. The Akeshians discover that Horace was a latent sorcerer, and he is catapulted from the chains of a slave to the halls of power in the queen’s court. Together with Jirom, an ex-mercenary and gladiator, and Alyra, a spy in the court, he will seek a path to free himself and the empire’s caste of slaves from a system where every man and woman must pay the price of blood or iron. Before the end, Horace will have paid dearly in both.

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Reviews

Praise for Blood and Iron:
“The clear writing and fast pace make Jon Sprunk’s Blood and Iron a fun adventure of magic, political intrigue, and good old-fashioned heroes.”
—Michael Sullivan, author of the Riyria Chronicles

Praise for Jon Sprunk:
"The intrigue, action scenes, and ever-more-revealing character insights are masterfully woven together in a book the reader won't want to put down.... Overall, a first-rate sword-and-sorcery tale, with intriguing characters, that moves at a fast pace."
—Booklist

"This book IS action. ...The pacing, action, and characters are all well written, and really that is what the focus is on for this novel. ...We'll read his stuff readily, every time. So should you."
—Elitist Book Reviews