Curse of the Dragon King by Lyn South and Michael Anderle
Monster-hunting is business-as-usual for the Fairborne daughters.
The new fantasy Curse of the Dragon King, by Lyn South and Michael Anderle, draws you in from the start. Lush descriptions on page one — a lakeside wood grove of ancient trees, velvety green moss and air that smells of damp earth and old magic —give way on page two to the image of two hulking, reptilian Bonecrushers who move with “deadly grace.” Two young women — our protagonist and her sister —assiduously await the monsters with twelve-inch daggers and a mission to destroy them and the pace never lets up.
A Family Forged in Battle and Healing
As the story opens, protagonist Maisie Fairborne considers her older sister Sela — a seasoned warrior already, albeit with deep emotional scarring — to be her North star, the one who guides her and is never far from her side. The two are the eldest of twelve siblings within a lively and closeknit family. Their mother Evelore and their Granny Faelin were trained as Shadowslayers and have passed that legacy down to their girls. Their dad Brenton served an illustrious career as a battlefield physick during the War of the Three Realms. In short, Mam taught the girls to fight, Da taught them to heal.
And now the panicked mayor of Tissington has summoned the sisters to obliterate the monstrous Bonecrushers who are slaughtering livestock and attacking those who fish the local waters. The girls hope for a payoff in coin, not goods, since the family is short on money to cover the land’s rent and medical supplies for Da’s physick practice. Worse yet, the repugnant Alistair Bramble, richest man in Draklûn Bay, threatens to buy the family home if Maisie won’t marry him.
From Monster Hunt to Royal Mandate
The Bonecrusher mission segues to a much larger request by King Rodmar. In return for cancelling the Fairborne family’s debt, he asks the sisters to find a legendary treasure buried deep in Balrûth Dûm. The region, deep in the Drakknir mountains, sparks “half-whispered tales of hidden troves, cursed labyrinths, and monstrous guardians that devoured careless souls…This was no ordinary job.” The sisters’ warrior-trained parents believe them capable. But as Maisie reflects, no matter how well you know someone you cannot account for “the quiet steady ways a journey changed a person from the inside out.”
The king assigns two soldiers — Sir Garren Thorne and Sir Castian Valcrosse — to accompany Maisie and Sela. Their father insists that his wartime buddy and decorated war hero Sir Edric Valestorm be included. The duke’s tall lanky cousin Tobin Merryweather, who likes to juggle goblets and tell jokes, insists on coming too. The six take off “in a sphere of fragile trust,” with no one’s survival guaranteed.
Romance and Rising Stakes
Garren shares the leadership role with Sela, while Castian becomes instantly taken with Maisie and never leaves her side. Maisie warms to their intense attraction and it influences her old view that love in this fragile world will only bring heartbreak. As the trip unfolds, each step rougher than the last” and with Tobin’s humor sometimes “the only scrap of normalcy out here,” the level-headed Maisie clings to her mantra. “Trust your heart. Trust the group. Stay alive.” The six fight wraiths in the Wendwood Forest, find their way through the Sunless Path, and unlock answers to ancient magic by deciphering the intricate runes scrawled on stones. Book one ends at the brink of their newest problem: knowing the curse of the dragon king, will Maisie and Sela and their band be able to face those who put that curse in place and want desperately to keep it there?
Curse of the Dragon King is book one of a new fantasy series called The Flamesworn Saga, written by two seasoned fantasy authors. They draw a sensuous world steeped in ancient memory and portray vivid characters bent on a mission to “restore a king to his rightful form.” They unravel the complexity of sisterly relationships and the sexy blossoming of romantic ties — complete with an intense not-to-be-missed love scene — as backdrop to a panoply of life-threatening battles that will up the heart rate of any reader. As icing on the cake, the vulnerable and ever-courageous Maisie provides an emotional resonance and authenticity that feels contemporary and relatable in this absorbing tale.
About Lyn South:
Lyn South is a fantasy and romance author and she loves to tell stories. She lives for writing, adventure, her dog, learning, chocolate, family, love and really great musical theater (not necessarily in that order).
About Michael Anderle:
Michael Anderle was born in Houston, Texas. A very curious child, he got into trouble – a lot. What to do with an inquisitive mind when he was grounded? Read!
In the first 20 years, he mostly read Science Fiction and Fantasy. In the last 10 years he has enjoyed Urban Fantasy and Military Fiction. With this background, he’s been blessed with creating The Kurtherian Gambit series, a well-selling, and fan loved, collection of stories.
