Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Debut Showcase: Slathbog's Gold

Slathbog's Gold (Amazon USA, UK, Canada)
by M. L. Forman (Adventurers Wanted Website)
Hardcover, $17.95
Shadow Mountain Publishing
(See author's website for sample chapters.)

Do you have the courage, the wits, and the skill to claim a dragon’s hoard? If so, apply within …

The sign is small, tucked into the corner of Mr. Clutter’s bookshop window: “Adventurers Wanted. Apply Within.” No one but fifteen-year-old Alex Taylor even seems to notice it is there. And for Alex, who has wished for a change in his life, it is an irresistible invitation.

Upon entering Mr. Clutter’s shop, Alex is swept away on an incredible adventure to a faraway land filled with heroic warriors, mysterious elves, and hard-working dwarves. Alex becomes the eigth man in a band of adventurers seeking the lair of Slathbog the Red – and evil dragon with a legendary treasure. Along the way, Alex and his new friends must battle dangerous trolls and bandits, face undead wraiths, and seek the wisdom of the Oracle in her White Tower.

Alex’s adventure takes him to distant and exotic lands where he learns about courage, integrity, honor, and, most importantly, friendship.

Tia's Take:
I have an advance copy of this novel and it looks good. The above information--scant as it is--was surprisingly hard to find. The publisher doesn't have a formatted page for this novel, making me wonder if the release had been delayed. But it is available at Amazon. I could only find the author's website by guessing at domain names, so whoever designed his website did a terrible job of search engine optimization. Which is a shame, because the website is a really good otherwise, even if it doesn't have a media section (hint, hint). End of rant. This looks like a fun book, and I wish I could have gotten started on it sooner. It can't be next, because I have a few obligations, but I will get to it soon.

Mulluane's Take:
It doesn't get any closer to right up my alley then this! I doubt I will ever get tired of high fantasy, especially dragons! Adventure stories like this are what keeps me young. I have to agree with Tia, that is one of the neatest website I've seen lately but it is definitely not dialup friendly. I could not find alot of info on this one either but it is listed as YA - Grades 7-9.

2 comments:

Neil Richard said...

Sounds like some seriously bad (and potentially fatal) marketing. But the concept sounds interesting. A help wanted ad in a fantasy novel.

Barbara Martin said...

I checked out the website and found it to be nicely interactive for older folks too. With the release of the book being only this month there is still time for it to be marketed properly.