Wednesday 25 March 2015

BOOK OF THE DAY: Husk by D.P. Prior

Husk  
by D.P. Prior 
(Click for UKAustraliaCanada  or India purchase)





BOOK DESCRIPTION
They call them ‘husks’, the demons that cross the Farfall Mountains, leaving a trail of blood in their wake. 

No incursion goes unmet; otherwise the cancer would spread until the whole of Aethir was consumed by nightmares.

That’s why the Maresmen were formed—trackers and warriors charged with holding back the tide. Each of them is different, uniquely suited to the task in hand, but one thing they hold in common: they are half-breeds, part human, part husk; and they are bound by an inviolable rule:

Hunt the husks, or be hunted themselves.

Jebediah Skayne has been hunting husks his entire adult life, but there’s something different about the trail leading to the fishing town of Portis on the shores of the Chalice Sea: no spoor, no footprints; nothing save the unmistakable feeling of wrongness.

Finding a husk in Portis would be near impossible for someone who didn’t have the sixth sense, but the instant Jeb arrives, all trace of the incursion vanishes. Forced to rely on more mundane methods of investigation, he starts to uncover a town rife with corruption, where a man will kill you for looking at a woman the wrong way; a town that’s seen its share of incursions from the land of nightmares before.

As events start to slip from his control, he realizes the husk he's come to kill is one step ahead of the game, and it holds a secret that will shake his world to the core.


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.

You can find me at http://dpprior.blogspot.co.uk


REVIEWS
5.0 out of 5 stars 
I highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys high-paced action, September 22, 2014
By 
I was a beta reader for this book. Husk is a fast-paced, thoughtful adventure into the shared universe of The Nameless Dwarf and Shader novels, told from the viewpoint of Jeb, a Maresman, who hunts Husks. Jeb is a fully fleshed-out character who acts with grim purpose, but is also philosophically tormented by the kind of man he is. With several shocking twists, the plot progresses at a swift pace to a conclusion that is both satisfying and thought-provoking. I highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys high-paced action, with solid characterizations and a unique plot line.


4.0 out of 5 stars What a great book! Blending so many genres with deftness and ..., September 22, 2014
What a great book! Blending so many genres with deftness and without feeling forced is not easy, and this book does it very well. You will connect with the characters because of the human traits – loyalty, betrayal, jealousy and love, which create the various plots of the story. Many of the characters are developed very well. I dig the world that we have come to know from Prior's other novels. (Which you should read) One day it would be great to see them all meet up. I am excited to see more adventures with this group of characters. It has a lot of action and a lot of soul. You will defintely enjoy the ride. It is not the longest book in the world, but its tight focus and great characters leaves you wanting more at the end, and it is more memorable as a result of its length. Definitely a great author.

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