Book Review: Day of the Vikings & A Thousand Fiendish Angels

About Day of the Vikings

She has been called many things: murderer, madwoman, monster. She will become only one thing: a god.

The Crone. A woman of legend, a creature of blood. A Valkyrie. She has tortured, murdered, maimed — performing all the rituals needed to call forth the power of Odin himself and summon Ragnarok. She just needs one more thing: the staff of Skara Brae, and her plans will be fulfilled.

But the staff is already in the hands of Morgan Sierra. An agent of ARKANE, the British agency tasked with protecting the world from supernatural crises, Morgan knows that giving up the staff could spell the end of all things.

Now the Crone has taken dozens of staff members, visitors — even children — hostage at the British Museum, demanding that Morgan turn over the staff. Willing to kill, possessor of powers beyond anything ARKANE has yet encountered, the Crone seems unstoppable.

Morgan’s only advantages are her wit, her skill… and Blake Daniel (of the best-selling Brooke and Daniel crime thriller series). Cursed with clairvoyance, Blake’s powers may be just enough to help Morgan turn back the Crone and stop the end of the world.

But the Crone has her own secrets. Able to weave illusions, to wield fear, even to call forth the dead Vikings of old. She is the most powerful adversary Morgan has ever faced. But will she be the last?

The Crone beckons. Ragnarok looms. And it is up to Morgan and Blake to deny them both.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Day-Vikings-ARKANE-Book-5-ebook/dp/B00K49B3X0/

My Review of Day of the Vikings

I received a free digital copy of Day of the Vikings, by J.F. Penn as a bonus from her newsletter. I am not very familiar with Viking lore, but I do like supernatural thrillers, so I thought I would give it a go, and I’m glad that I did.

Morgan Sierra is an ARKANE agent out to protect the world from ancient evils of the world. When she visits the British museum to examine the Viking Relics housed there, a group of well organized neo-Vikings seize the museum in search of the ancient staff of skara brie, in a fiendish plot to recreate the brutal ritual sacrifice, the Blood Eagle. The Blood Eagle ritual opens the power for them to locate The Eye of Odin and use it to summon Ragnarok and destroy the earth and it’s up to Morgan to stop them.

Day of the Vikings is a fast paced supernatural thriller with a solid plot, although the characters were rather unremarkable. Although allowed small glimpses into the characters, I never got a real sense of who they were. There is Blake Daniels, who holds the potential to become a very interesting character, if allowed, but then it sounds like he has his own series. Even Morgan’s character seemed a bit flat compared to the bigger than life Valkyrie and her terror mongers and their onslaught.

Keeps you reading. I give Day of the Vikings four quills.

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About A Thousand Fiendish Angels

Three dark short stories inspired by Dante’s Inferno, linked by a book of human skin passed down through generations.

Sins of the Flesh:

When the mutilated corpse of a wealthy author is discovered, the police officer sent to investigate finds a curious diary amongst the occult objects at the scene.

Will he uncover the author’s secret at the ruined chapel, and is he willing to pay the price that it demands?

Sins of Treachery:

On the death of their grandfather, twin brothers Simon and Gestas are left a map covered in alchemical symbols that could lead them to great wealth and power.

But they find more than they expected in the frozen wastes of the Arctic north …

Sins of Violence:

In a brutal post-apocalyptic world, a young girl is about to be taken to The Minotaur for a Blessing that will end her innocence.

Can her sister gain access to the fortified city of Dis in time to stop the ritual and avenge her own lost youth?

Purchase link:

My Review of A Thousand Fiendish Angels

A Thousand Fiendish Angels, by J.F. Penn is a triology of short tales with the common theme of sins. Written for a challenge to write three interlinking stories, using the symbolism of Dante’s Inferno, these short tales explore the depths of the human soul. Sins of Flesh, Sins of Treachery, Sins of Violence; each tale explores a different aspect of sin and the human abilities to resist and weaknesses to give in, and the consequences. These stories are well thought out and well written, leaving me with much to ponder.

Thought provoking short fiction with a theme, but there should have been seven, instead of stopping at three. I give A Thousand Fiendish Angels five quills.

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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARCs. Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review here.