The dwarves have gone!
Thousands have been slaughtered in the blood-drenched streets of their ravine city by a demonic axe in the hands of one of their own.
The survivors have fled beyond the mountains, heading into a realm haunted by the nightmares of a twisted god.
When Nils Fargin, son of an underworld boss, is hired to find them, he travels with his client to seek the advice of a lowlife mage. With what he learns, he should have asked for more money.
The trail leads them to the domain of the terrifying Ant-Man, who is rumored to eat the flesh of anyone refusing to pay his toll.
And as if that wasn’t enough, it turns out Nils’s client is none other than the Nameless Dwarf, better known to his kind as the Ravine Butcher.
The Nameless Dwarf is an epic tale of remorse and redemption that pits a whiskerless thief, a guilt-driven assassin, a consumptive wizard, and an amnesiac dwarf against the worst imaginings of a craven mind.
But the companions bring troubles of their own, not least of which is an ancient grimoire that leads them inexorably towards a forest of tar and an evil that threatens the existence of an entire race.
The last hope of the dwarves comes from the unlikeliest of sources: a mythical city beneath the waves, an axe from the age of heroes, and the Nameless Dwarf, in whose veins flows the blood of legends.
The Nameless Dwarf: The Complete Chronicles contains all five books of theChronicles of the Nameless Dwarf:
- The Ant-Man of Malfen
- The Axe of the Dwarf Lords
- The Scout and the Serpent
- The Ebon Staff
- Bane of the Liche Lord
AUTHOR BIO
Who the Shog is D.P. Prior?
I was born in the South East of England in the late sixties, just in time to get a good sniff at the Summer of Love.
I spent most of my childhood immersed in fantasy and SF novels as well as Marvel comics. I also had an unhealthy obsession with D&D and was, for a long time, a member of the rather dodgy wargaming society at the Archery recreation ground.
After studying theatre at Lewes I did a season as Father Christmas, worked as a lighting and sound technician, and then trained for three years to be a Mental Health Nurse. I started in one of the Victorian asylums but ended up at the University of Sussex.
Once qualifying, I was immediately off to Aberystwyth to study for a BA in Drama. I also studied Classics and Medieval History and ended up specializing in Acting and Intercultural Theatre.
I gained twenty years of varied experience in mental health, working in acute services, crisis resolution, management of violence and aggression, and eating disorders. This was interspersed with a five month postulancy with the Carmelite Order in Melbourne and further studies at the University of Notre Dame in Western Australia.
On my second sojourn in Australia, following the birth of my son, Theo, I began work on my first completed novel, The Resurrection of Deacon Shader. This went through many iterations and ended up forming the raw material for Cadman’s Gambit, book one of the Shader series. It was at this time that I took to wearing a poncho and Panama hat whilst chopping firewood. It seemed to help with the writing at the time, but now I have my doubts.
I founded and moderated the Mysticism Unbound discussion group to help explore some of the themes for my postgraduate research into Antonin Artaud and the Theatre of Cruelty. Although the group eventually closed, it has subsequently been resurrected twice and is currently flourishing on Facebook.
Following my return from Australia I trained to become a Personal trainer and set up my own gym (Fitness Instruction for Strength and Health). I specialized in resistance training and worked exclusively with private clients until I sold the gym.
I began to edit professionally in 2009 during a trip to Chicago and this developed into a flourishing business (Homunculus Editing Services).
Since 2011 I have been a full-time author and editor.
I am married to Paula and have two children, Theo and Cordelia.
My chief influences as a writer are: David Gemmell, R.E. Howard, Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp, Stephen Donaldson, Joe Abercrombie, and Mary Doria Russell.
REVIEWS
Format:Kindle Edition
"The Nameless Dwarf - The Complete Chronicles" is a five book omnibus of an epic fantasy adventure by author Derek P. Prior. This Kindle e-book was a 1343 Kb download and sold for $5.99 at the time of writing this review.
The five books in the omnibus are
1.) The Ant-Man of Malfen
2.) The Axe of the Dwarf Lords
3.) The Scout and the Serpent
4.) The Ebon Staff
5.) Bane of the Liche Lord
Please Note... this review comes from reading each individual book as soon as it was made available on Amazon.com. All books except the last, of which I received a free finished draft copy from the author, were purchased by myself.
Spoilers
This series follow four adventurers thrown together under some unusual circumstances... that being our main heroes, Nameless (the dwarf), Nils a thief, Ilesa a shape-shifter assassin and Silas, a down on his luck, third-rate wizard.
Early on we learn that Nameless has, under the malevolent influence of the Black Axe, slaughtered many of his own people... resulting in his banishment and having his name stripped from him (thus Nameless). Guilt and a desire to atone for his grievous deeds of the past lead him on a journey to find his surviving fellow Dwarves who inexplicably have gone missing.
Little do they realize that their ongoing quest has been influenced all along by an ancient evil... the omnipotent wizard, Dr. Otto Blightey. Thus the tale begins with our heroes traveling to Malfen and ending with a thrilling final showdown.
End Spoilers.
Some thoughts on "The Nameless Dwarf"...
The Pros:
1.) great writing... story telling of the highest quality
2.) humor... many spots of humor, word plays and descriptions that had me chuckling to myself if I wasn't laughing out loud.
3.) horrors... some events and descriptions that are just plain vile... skin crawling creepy
4.) enemies... some old standards but maybe more importantly, several new gruesome and mind boggling creatures... some with incredible and unusual 'abilities'.
5.) character development... the author has taken the time to develop conversations and express inner-most thoughts of several of our questers, resulting in a great story with characters that we, the reader, can identify with and care about.
6.) battles... many... both large and small, but all well described, tense and exciting. Page turning.
7.) many, many unexpected twist and turns
8.) important characters that can be severely injured or even die... adding a touch of realism to this superb fantasy adventure... no one is sacro-sanct.
9.) map... a beautifully drawn map that is subtly colored and highly detailed. (see Concerns below)
10.) cover art... a beautifully done, dark and foreboding cover. It captures the absolute essence of this terrific tale.
The Concerns:
1.) and this comment is not really the fault of the author, but the map contained so much info and detail that on the Kindle App version the markings were somewhat difficult to make out. And enlarging the map only made the markings more indistinct.
Conclusion:
A great five book series... not a weak link in the entire collection.
Fantasy adventure writing that simply put, just does not get any better than this.
In fact, the final book, "Bane of the Liche Lord" is my nomination for "Fantasy Adventure Book of the Year for 2012". It is THAT good!
5 Stars... more if I could.
Ray Nicholson
raynicholsonsreviews@hotmail.com
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