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The Guild of the Cowry Catchers, Book 1: Embers, Deluxe Illustrated Edition
 
 

The Guild of the Cowry Catchers, Book 1: Embers, Deluxe Illustrated Edition [Kindle Edition]

Abigail Hilton
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Product Description

An honorable prince. A jaded assassin. Can they work together to catch a pirate?

Those with paws eat those with hooves. This is what the wyvern gods of Wefrivain teach. The fauns of the islands are the slaves and food animals of their paw-footed counterparts, and the wyverns maintain the hierarchy. In return, wyverns are fed and worshiped. These days, however, faun pirates are spreading new ideas. Their charismatic leader, Gwain, has taught them to kill wyverns, and they are effectively killing off Temple Police. Gwain's pirates are starting to worry Morchella, the Priestess of the wyvern cult.

She thinks she's found an answer in the person of Gerard Holovar, the new captain of her Temple Police. However, upon his promotion, Gerard strikes up a quarrel with Silveo Lamire, the admiral of Morchella's Temple ships and her second in command. Silveo has a reputation for cruelty, cunning, and a biting wit. He's a foxling - a minority species - and rumors say that he was once an assassin, who clawed his way to power from a childhood of poverty and abuse. He cultivates serial affairs with persons ranging from his own lieutenants to dock prostitutes. On the surface, Silveo could not be more different from Gerard - a member of the dominant species class, born to money and power, adhering to strict codes of honor, and devoted to his wife. When Gerard is promoted, Silveo is intimidated. Gerard's presence seems to jeopardize the position Silveo has painfully carved out for himself. Silveo threatens to kill Gerard if he stays with the Temple service.

In spite of their differences, Morchella believes that Gerard and Silveo have between them the skills to catch Gwain. She orders them to work together. They make little progress until Silveo meets Gerard's wife, Thessalyn, and hears her sing. Silveo is generous to Thessalyn and vocal in his admiration of her talents. Gerard finds it difficult to hate anyone who is kind to his wife. The three of them develop a complex friendship that deepens as details from their pasts reveal that they have more in common than they thought.

Embers if the first book in the 5-part Cowry Catchers series.

Warning: This is an illustrated series for grown-ups. It includes beautiful, whimsical artwork, because adults deserve pretty pictures, too. However, the explicit elements of the story escalate as the series progresses. There are sexual scenes and situations in these books, as well as types of violence not usually found in children's books. These books are not intended for children or young teens.

This 50,000-word book is DRM-free and carefully formatted. It includes 11 character portraits, 12 full-page illustrations, and a map.

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 1554 KB
  • Print Length: 178 pages
  • Publisher: Abigail Hilton (26 Dec 2010)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B004HD5Y02
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,691 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
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Abigail Hilton
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
not my cup of tea 4 Jan 2012
By Furio
Format:Kindle Edition
Bleak (or grim, or murky) hardly begins to describe the atmosphere of this book.

People in Ms Hilton's world have no redeeming quality whatsoever: the only outright good one, Thessalin, the minstrel wife of the lead, being a woman, blind and with no family connection depends exclusively on other people's mercy to keep afloat. That she is the wife of a man who respects her is coincidental as we are perfectly aware that, should her husband die, she would find herself at the mercy of nearly anyone, once again.
I am not so naive not to know that this is a rather accurate rendering of our own world but when reading fiction I still need to escape and do not wish to confront a world so bleak as to depress me. Unless the writing is exceptionally lyrical, beautiful and moving. Our author writes well but not THAT well.

As for the rest, I tend to agree with Shirer's three-star review, except for the fact that I cannot stand Mr Martin's books while I could read this which is well plotted and well written. Shirer could not relate to the characters and neither could I. Once again a matter of personal taste is involved: I am no great fan of "alternative" beings taking the place of humans, especially if they behave exactly like humans. Characters here are half human (where are the full breed supposed to be, by the way) and half animal and sport the worst traits of both: the fierceness, amorality of the animals and the ruthless cruelty of the humans. Not really appealing, especially not the fact that they eat each other on a regular basis... urgh!

I will not read further but, as the first volume is available for free for kindle, I suggest you check for yourself if this work can please you or not.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Imaginative 25 Nov 2011
By Avatre
Format:Kindle Edition
I thought this first book was an excellent start to a new series. The world, the characters and the different races were all extremely well done and very imaginative, it was all well explained and the illustrations of the character list at the start was helpful in picturing the strange part animal creatures. The images were beautiful and well placed and I would like to have seen more of them. The story itself is well thought out and well written with very few mistakes, the characters all had hidden depths with their own backgrounds and stories and individual personalities. My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough and I wanted more, especially as it ended on quite an effective cliffhanger, but I see book two is already out and waiting to be read. The short passages before each chapter was a helpful insight into the world the author has created and I would certainly like to read more in the same setting on how the world operates.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:  25 reviews
26 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Fantastic world and characters 30 Dec 2010
By Hughes Hilton - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition
Unlike many reviewers, I'll reveal my conflict of interest right up front: I am the author's brother.

That being said, I wasn't asked to write this review, and I get nothing for writing it. I have read every one of my sister's books and Cowry Catchers is really her best work and a fantastic read. My sister was a talented writer when she started at 13 years old, but over the intervening 20 years she has honed her talents and gained life experiences that make her writing today on par with almost any other author I can think of (and I read a lot). The characters really come to life and you read each new chapter because you want to see what happens to those characters. Cowry Catchers will keep you engrossed from the first page to the last.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Looking Forward to More! 8 Mar 2011
By Nyssa - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition
What a fantastic, cliff-hanger of a story! I especially like the fully formed, well thought out, imperfect characters.
I can not wait to continue the story with The Guild of the Cowry Catchers Book 2: Flames Deluxe Illustrated Edition.

Edit: I forgot to add, that the illustrations look fabulous, even on the Kindle where there is no color. The illustrator(s), did a wonderful job, and added an element of fun to the stories.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Fantasy Fun for Everyone. Well Done! 26 Dec 2011
By Reality Crafted - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This first book in the series is a true fantasy fiction in every sense.
Abigail Hilton has created a whole new world and a whole new race of
characters inhabiting it. The language is descriptive and flowing, the
story expansive and exciting and overall an excellent book. I read the
illustrated version and whilst the drawings were beautiful and imaginative,
the quality of the writing really made them just a delightful appendix, you
didn't need to see them to get a detailed and full idea of all the
characters and locations. I would like very much to add the reviews for
the following 4 books. For fantasy fiction or general fiction readers this
is highly recommended.
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Popular Highlights

 (What's this?)
&quote;
Shinies, said Gerard. Make it flashy enough, and no one will look too closely. &quote;
Highlighted by 3 Kindle users
&quote;
Sight is overrated, said Silveo. Any fool can have it and often does. &quote;
Highlighted by 3 Kindle users
&quote;
Thessalyn released him with a sigh. Well, you wont let me say what I want to say. Maddening, isnt it? &quote;
Highlighted by 3 Kindle users

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