***Blog Tour & Review***The Necromancer Candle by Randy McCharles

The Necromancer Candle: And Two Additional Tales of Contemporary Fantasy

Genres: Science Fiction and Fantasy

ISBN: 1770530665 (ISBN13: 9781770530669)

Book Length: 212 pages 

Publisher: Hades Publications (EDGE Publishing)

Blurb

The Necromancer Candle

Cassidy’s family has a secret. An ancient, ugly candle passed down through the generations until it is has been all but forgotten. But now someone is looking for it, or so Cassidy thinks. A victim of terminal brain cancer, Cassidy no longer trusts what she sees. But real or imagined, the upheaval of her life is moving quickly toward an end where Cassidy’s greatest wish is to die on her own terms. But is that long enough to solve the mystery of the necromancer candle?

Full House

When Jonas loses his job on the same day a neighbor is murdered, he finds his days at home more challenging yet rewarding than he ever imagined. Against a backdrop of healing family relationships and expounding upon life with his poker buddies, Jonas finds himself pressured to solve the murder. But the more he learns, the more Jonas sees that this is no simple murder, but a mystery that has spanned centuries.

 Merlin’s Silver

Joan gets more than she bargained for when she buys an expensive tea service at auction to shake up a lackluster marriage. It seems the tea service is sought by black magicians who will stop at nothing to get it, with only a peculiar little man named Odds Bodkins standing in their way. But who can Joan trust? The mysterious voice on the phone offering to buy the tea service? Her best friend Sally who offers to take it off her hands? Or Odds Bodkins, whose designs grow more unfathomable by the hour?

 

My Review

4 Fantasy Fun Stars 

This book is comprised of three tales of mystery, legend and magic. It's a wonderfully perfect read for this time of year when we all get in the mood for a little scare and some magical thrills.

Despite the brevity of each tale, as they average around 70 pages, each story packs a fine tuned and thorough storyline that will leave you perfectly content with the endings. I also enjoyed how each story centered around characters that needed to have more faith in themselves and the courage to do what was needed. 

In Necromancer's candle we meet Cassidy who is facing near death and yet she perseveres not only in the face of her illness but also in the increasing danger of a powerful Sorcerer. In Full House its Jonas who after being down on his luck finds the strength within himself to solve the crimes plaguing his neighborhood. And Finally in Merlin's Silver we meet Joan and Patrick who never do anything outside of the ordinary but soon find themselves thrust into a centuries old pursuit of a magical tea service. Forcing them to step out of their comfort zone and take a leap of faith into adventure.

These tales are highly enjoyable and the writing is smooth. They have just the right amount of excitement, magic and wonder that will satisfy your creative fantasy tastebuds. Good, fun read especially during this time of year :) 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Randy McCharles is active in Calgary, Alberta’s writing community with a focus on speculative fiction, usually of the wickedly humorous variety. He is the recipient of several Aurora Awards (Canada’s most prestigious award for speculative fiction), for works including the novella Ringing in the Changes in Okotoks, Alberta which appeared in Tesseracts 12 (Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing) and was also reprinted in Year’s Best Fantasy 9 (David Hartwell and Kathryn Kramer, ed). Additional short stories and novellas are available in various publications from Edge Press, Anansi Press, and Reality Skimming Press, including the 2014 Aurora Award shortlisted titles: The Puzzle Box and Urban Green Man. Randy’s first full length novel, Capone’s Chicago, will be available in May 2014.

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