About The Dark Rises: The Dread Lands Book 1
Rainer was looking forward to serving his time and getting back to the cushy capital he came from, the last thing he expected was an ancient menace rising from the deserted lands around him.
Rainer expected to live out his days as a soldier patrolling the most pleasant place in the entire empire, the capital city. He had worked hard to get a post that would require little work and provide lots of fun for him. And that’s exactly what he found in the capital. Lazy patrols flirting with girls, nights drinking away his earnings at the brothel with his squad mates, it was all Rainer could ever ask for.
But that all changes with one simple mistake. Next thing he knows he’s being shipped out to worst place in the empire, the dread lands, to serve the rest of his time in the army. Rainer settles in for a life of monotony staring at hills and hills of dirt and rock. The nearest town is miles away and there’s only one road to get there. He’s stuck out there where the only thing to die of, is boredom.
But while on patrol his squad mate is attacked by a strange beast. Alarms are raised but it couldn’t be that big of deal. Just a strange animal that wandered out onto the wastes. But then there’s a stomping in the night and something marches for the raggedy outpost. Something not seen for many ages.
Now what he thought would be a life of drudgery has turned into a desperate struggle for survival. Can he face this ancient threat? Can he keep his squad mates together and alive? And can he take them out of the dread lands? Or will all be lost?
The Dark Rises is the first book in The Dread Land series by Arthur Drake, a dark fantasy sword and sorcery series. Fans of fantasy that’s fast paced and with lots of action will find much to enjoy here. Daring sword battles, sieges of great forts, mysterious evils from ancient days, and much more.
Pick up your copy of this tale filled with heroic action combating ancient evil and cure your boredom today.
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Learn More About The Author
The Return Of True Sword & Sorcery.
Have your recent fantasy reading left you wanting more? Do you feel that modern fantasy suffers from a glut of teenage protagonists bowling over the biggest baddies with ease? Or works that are bogged down in political correctness, overwrought moralism, or a desperate need to be seen as edgy or artsy?
Do you yearn for tales of heroic action and high adventure that ring with truth?
Put simply do you desire fantasy for adults?
Are you wondering if there’s any fantasy with flesh and blood left in it? With worlds and people who are, as Robert E. Howard said “They’re rough and rude, they got hands and they got bellies. They hate and they lust; break the skin of civilization and you find the ape, roaring and red-handed.”
Something like that?
If any of that applies, then Arthur Drake is the man for you.
Arthur, in his own words, makes an effort to write stories that are written for everyday people, not for literary snobs or people living in gated communities. Stories that are straight forward, mature, engaging, and don’t strive to be edgy but rather clear.
Stories that have the right combination of making you think and getting your heart pumping at the same time. Stories that make you laugh, cry, and say “hell yeah” every now and then.
Stories that are just damn good stories.
Some of his favorite authors, and therefore influences, include Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, and Louis L’Amour.
He says “Thing I love about Howard is he puts people out just as they, not idealized, yet still heroic. For example Conan the Barbarian, far from being some simple minded brute, he is a complex individual, as all warriors are. With Lovecraft I love the sense of dread and otherworldliness. Fiction is meant to convey truth and that the world is filled with horrors is a truth that gets passed off far too much. As for L’Amour while not a fantasy writer I like his “workingman” approach to writing. He wrote for the reader not for some literary snobs. His works had a realness to them people appreciate. He worked the railroads and was a boxer, something I can see this come through in his writings. Something I try to emulate in my own writing.”
Some of Arthur’s other pursuits are participating in combat sports and “natural living” (you’ll have to ask him what that means).
You’ll find free short stories of his at ArthurDrakeFiction.com and can sign up for his mailing list there. He can be reached at ArthurDrakeFiction@gmail.com for any questions