The Copper Promise: Ghosts of the Citadel [Kindle Edition]

Please, read this.

During my English degree I learned a great deal about what makes good literature and what makes authors stand out from others - Jennifer Williams has that sort of talent that makes her stand out from others.

One thing that really caught my eye was her incredible description of things, sentences like "Chednit frowned down at the dark, pushing his leathery old face into a thousand crinkles" are in abundance throughout the story and I think, in my humble opinion, that this is what makes her stand out considerably.

I like the humour,I like the suspense and the pace of it all - it has that Terry Pratchett feel to it, like you really want to know more and get caught up in the adventure that Jennifer weaves so well.

I gave this 5 stars and I meant it, I'd advise others to read this story and see for yourselves

Enjoy!

This is the perfect slice of adventure as we follow a trio of adventurers into the aforementioned Citadel. Jennifer Williams starts the story with a little bit of a prologue in chapter 1 to set up a bit of the world and lay down a few story lines. I was gripped from the very first page. Despite this novella following pulp traditions, there is no lack of skill in the prose, imagery or craft. In Lord Frith, Jennifer expertly creates a character with a multitude of motivations and goals (Can't say too much about the beginning as it would spoil the story), so that when he pops up later in the story, it all ties together perfectly.

We are then taken into a vignette scene of true dungeon-crawling wonderfulness with two comic characters, Chednit and Gallo who get into a spot of bother in the eerie gloom. From this scene onwards we get tons of marvellous atmosphere, tension, and quite often, hilarity.

We then zoom to a frothy, swill laden tavern where we meet the two cornerstones of the story, and the main character in which the series is named after: The Copper Cat, aka Wydrin. She is a spiky, charming, dagger-wielding go-getter who has burned her way into my subconscious along with her disgraced Knight, Sebastian. The dialogue throughout between these adventurers is witty, snappy and a joy to read. Jennifer clearly knew her characters well when she wrote this, as they leap off the page with fully formed three dimensions. Wydrin will soon be a classic fantasy character and one of my favourites and probably yours, too.

Ghosts of the Citadel, being a novella, is a short read. I completed it in two sessions and loved every minute of it. There's great pay off at the end, plenty of daring-do, and wondrous adventure throughout. The pacing of the story is perfect. We have great fight scenes with frenetic energy, then calmer scenes that are no less enjoyable. Jennifer proudly claims some classic tropes in this dungeon-crawler and twists them in her own style which makes for an incredibly enjoyable and believable world. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next instalment; these novellas are going to make a wonderful collection, and I heartily recommend you check this one out.

Well here goes for my first ever review of something that I have bought from Amazon. And even more, my first ever kindle e-book, and what a cracking novella to start the kindle ball rolling. I am talking about The Copper Promise by Jennifer Williams.

This is part one of a series of tales set in a fantasy/dungeons and dragonsesque backdrop, but has the illustrious character and enviroment descriptions that can rival the works of Iain M Banks's Culture novels of which I am a fan of.

The strength of this work is the fact that nothing is wasted. There wasn't any moment in the story which felt superfluous, and it maintained a pace for the reader to follow easily and be easily swept along with, leaving you hungry for the next installment, of which I personally hope isn't too long in the offing.

A must buy for fans of the genre and those who just enjoy a blooming cracking yarn.

I give it 5 stars. Because you genuinely feel the love of the genre eminating from the pages. So much so, I imagine this author actually owns her own sword!