Monday, May 30, 2011

Recommended Reading - The Morcyth Saga

Check Out the Morcyth Saga

The Morcyth Saga is no-nonsense fantasy epic from indie author Brian S. Pratt. There are seven volumes in the Morcyth saga, each one stripped of flowery prose and crammed instead with action. They're nice, thick books, most of them running to well over 400 pages. If you're looking for sword-and-sorcery adventure with the emphasis on excitement, Pratt is your man.

Brian Pratt started writing in a serious way when he got tired of waiting for certain other fantasy novelists to finish their multi-book epics. Robert Jordan in particular was exasperating him. Not only were years passing between instalments of the Wheel of Time series, by the middle of the series the books just weren't to Brian's tastes. He headed for the keyboard and set to work rectifying the problems as he saw them.

First of all, Pratt is very prolific. He writes his books rapidly, and he finishes the entire series before he releases them. There's no waiting around to find out what happens next.

He wrote with certain priorities. There is action in every chapter. There is one main character and he is in every chapter. There is no more description than absolutely necessary.

His books are certainly not for everyone. The Morcyth series is written in the present tense, and the writing distinctly lacks polish. You won't have any doubt that you are reading an indie author. This is not the kind of prose that you'll get from Tor.

However, Pratt has thousands and thousands of dedicated fans. Clearly he's doing many things right. If George RR Martin's books seem fancy and pretentious to you, if you think the Wheel of Time turns too slowly and could use more mayhem, then Brian S. Pratt could be just what you're looking for.

The best part is, you can check him out for free. The Unsuspecting Mage, book 1 in the Mocyth Saga, is available from Smashwords at no cost. Yes, it's a marketing ploy to get you hooked and make you buy the entire series. If it works, you won't mind in the slightest.

Check Out the Morcyth Saga

1 comment:

  1. Agree that the books are good, and you just get to love James and Miko. But there's a bit too many grammar mistakes, some of them quite annoying.

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