Drasmyr by Matthew D. Ryan - Review tour and giveaway

(Full length dark fantasy)

This review is done in conjunction with the author's virtual tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding Metal vampire / vampire hunter figurines to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so comment today AND follow the tour (if you click on the tour banner above, it'll take you to a list of his tour stops) -- the more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a fun prize!



We vampires do not make easy prey. Our weaknesses are few, our strengths many. Fear is something we do not know, and death but a distant memory. So tread softly, pray to your god, and gird yourself with silver when the moons arise and night’s dark prince awakens. We fear not the wizard, nor the warrior, neither rogue, nor priest; our strength is timeless, drawn from darkness and we know no master save the hot lust of our unending hunger. We long for blood, your blood and no blade, nor spell, nor clever artifice, can keep us long from our prize. Feel our teeth at your throat, your life ebb from you, and know as darkness comes to claim you that the price of your folly is your everlasting soul.


I'm not sure why this is being marketed as YA, as none of the characters is a young adult, and the storyline is certainly adult (though, I do believe teens would really eat it up).  If you're a grown-up and hesitant to read anything marked "YA" but you love a good fantasy, do yourself a favor and pick up this book.

It was refreshing to find a book which makes vampires scary again.  To have them long for human blood, to make their souls dark and their powers strong.  This book is very much a battle between good and evil.

I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect after reading the blurb for this book -- and it's not a good representation of what this is about.  But I completely enjoy a good fantasy, so was game for just about anything and accepted the challenge.  I cut my reading teeth on fantasy many years ago (didn't most kids?) and haven't found many of late that were really enjoyable. I'm happy to say, this was the exception.  I gobbled this book up, picked my teeth and looked for more.

Drasmyr has all the elements of a good, old-fashioned fantasy:  wizards, a quest, and great evil.  The writing reminds me of the classic fantasies with sometimes flowery descriptions and formal dialogue.  I enjoyed every word.  The author is incredibly talented and truly paints a picture with words.  I was immersed in the story from the first line and didn't want to stop reading.  He cleverly used different points-of-view, so I was invested in every character (even the vampire's) and had to know what happened to them. 

Each piece to the puzzle is cleverly added, many surprises were in store for me (I love a story where I can't figure everything out right off the bat) and the ending is satisfying (and clearly indicates that this is the beginning of a series).  I'm so glad I chose to review this book, despite my apprehensions over the blurb and somewhat lackluster cover (yes, it reflects the darkness of the book, but just didn't grab me with anything that felt unique and certainly doesn't make it clear that it's a story filled with magic and fantasy elements).  The author's way with words made the journey through Drasmyr utterly entertaining and worth every minute of my time.  I look forward to reading more from this author.

Don't believe me? Try for yourself. Drasmyr is currently available FREE at all eBook outlets.

5 / 5 Flowers - I loved it!

Matthew D. Ryan is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. He has a background in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. He also has a black belt in the martial arts and studies yoga. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He believes he saw the legendary Lake Champlain Monster (a.k.a Champy) once and he has a cat named Confucius.

Author’s Smashwords Page: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/matthewdryan
Author’s Book Page: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/131156
Author’s Blog: http://www.atoasttodragons.com
Author’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000038781652
Author’s Twitter Handle: @MatthewDRyan1
Author’s Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/579148.Matthew_D_Ryan
Author’s Shelfari Page: http://www.shelfari.com/matthewdryan/shelf

The book is available on Smashwords and elsewhere for no cost.