Lazarus Bernardius is immortal, but he had to die twice to discover it. The Devil has made Lazarus the ringmaster of a traveling circus of demionis, creatures with supernatural powers that are descendants of demons from Hell. For 140 years, the troupe of mermaids and ogres, medusas and wyverns, satyrs and alrauns has been touring the U.S. tullies, masquerading as just another mud show.
Lazarus's task of giving shelter to unusual creatures requires that he not draw the attention of the Judges, modern inquisitors hunting down the supernatural. Lazarus manages this until Greg, a magician who can control fire, joins the circus. Greg seems like a decent sort, but over time, the magician’s behavior becomes suspicious.
When Lazarus learns that Greg uses his magic to fight villains after performances, it is too late. Soon, the first of the Judges arrives. To save his fosterlings and get out of trouble, Lazarus must seek help from a long-abandoned lover who is still angry with him. What the ringmaster doesn’t know is that some of the inhabitants of the circus have secrets of their own.
FIRETALE is a cocktail of mythology and historical facts, folklore creatures and demons, witches, bikers, and rock ’n’ roll. It is the first novel in a planned tetralogy, which will include the novels Sandtale, Deeptale, and Timetale.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
When I was twelve, I discovered the wonders of horror in a circus with Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak series. In fact, I still reread those today. But since then I have not found anything that quite measures up to what Shan created, to amaze adults like kids were and still are amazed by Cirque. Even AHS Freak Show fell short, in my opinion, to not just scare me, but to expand my imagination as well.
Firetale is a book I immediately got behind.
I don't want to call it a Cirque Du Freak for adults, because the only similarity between the stories is a traveling freak show and a horror theme. It really does amaze the reader as you can so vividly see this preternatural circus in the mind's eye.
Now, I have a very deep fear of fire, so I knew this book was going to freak me out. Greg was so devious, so dark and such a great antagonist. His personality really fit his powers and that was some great work from Mr. Graves.
Each creature is different, there are more than one sub-plots and a lot of historical and mythological facts. It was so much fun to read, and very different. There is absolutely NOTHING like this out there today. It's books like these that make me love reading: books that break the mold, that make you envision new things and transport you to other worlds.
Is it safe to say I am a fan? Yes. I eagerly await the next in the series! I LOVED this book!
5/5--A must read!!!
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