Tales from Ashen Falls

A Prelude to the Eighth God

De: Paul S. Lavender

Narrado por: Damien Brunetto

Monsters are on the rise and Gods walk the streets of Ashen Falls in four stories that serve as a prelude to The Eighth God.

"Melress and The Fading Man"

A young half-elven boy is kidnapped by a children's nursery rhyme.

"The Doves Head Inn"

Someone wants to get their hands on The Doves loot, but they have to get past two bouncers to do it.

"Melress Investigates"

Something is killing residents of Ashen Falls, and a young Melress is found standing next to a body. Can the Battle Mage find the real culprit?

"The Scarecrow"

It's a foggy night in Ashen Falls, and soon monsters walk the streets led by a man with one thing on his mind - revenge!

©2016 Paul S. Lavender (P)2017 Paul S. Lavender

A Fun Day Trip to Ashen Falls

The author takes us on a road trip to Ashen Falls witj a quartet of short stories from the worldnof his debut novel "The Eight God." He maintains the humour from the novel throughout, while throwing in some decent short stories. "The Doves Head Inn" alone deserves six stars.

Entertaining listen

I liked this prologue to “The 8th God” a lot. It is a fantasy novel with some elements of other genres, like horror (zombie children!), and an underlying wit that makes it a fun listen. The narration by Damien Brunetto is very clear and easy to follow. I am interested to see what kind of shenanigans that the brothers, Pock and Cock, get up to in future installments.

Cracking good Grimdark fantasy shorts!

Tales of Ashen Falls drops you into the grimy gutter of Lavender's amazing fantasy world where you get to rub shoulders with heroes, villains and all those unspeakable folks in between.
It's got quite a lot of gritty humor with its action and you can't help but smirk at the characters banter.

Reminds me of a fantasy version of Lick, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and for me that's a very good thing!

Recommended!

Fun, quick, and fantasy-based tales

I have not yet read the Eighth God, but enjoyed these four tales. The stories were well paced and entertaining.

The narration was excellent, with the voices adding depth to the story. I am now looking to continue to read the series. I look forward to the audio version when it becomes available.

Loved it!!

Great story line and very lighthearted, can’t wait for the next book.
Loved the comedic content

A great little collection of stories!

Despite the fact that it is described as a prelude to The Eighth God, I chose to read it afterwards, just so that I had a good idea what the characters were like before I dove in, and I don't regret that decision, though it can definitely be read first as well. These stories follow either Melress who is my favorite character from the series so far, or the bouncers from the Doves Head Inn. Sometimes both. 

In the first story, Melress and the Fading Man, we get a story from the point of view of a 7-year-old Melress who is kidnapped by a nursery rhyme character, the Fading Man, a man who comes and snatches naughty children. It gives a little bit of insight into some of Melress' abilities as a half elf, and just how mature and sensible he is, as a character. It also explains how Melress and Caw, his raven familiar met, as well as how he and Beatrice met. 

The Dove's Head tells the story of two brothers who are the bouncers of the Dove's Head Inn in Ashen Falls. It seemed like a normal everyday night at the inn, and they were just hanging out and playing some cards when shenanigans happen! This was a fun little story.

Melress Investigates takes place when Melress is 13 years old and in battlemage training. He and Caw are wandering Ashen Falls when they stumble upon a body in an alley. Melress, being Melress, decides to help the investigation of the murder. This story had an interesting ending that I didn't see coming at all. :)

The Scarecrow was a neat little story about a man who calls himself the Scarecrow (because they scare birds) and his revenge against the proprietor of a certain inn in Ashen Falls and two certain bouncers that also reside there. The manner in which he attacks is interesting, and makes it quite hard for his enemies to fight back. Interesting story, with some neat ideas in it. Necromancy shenanigans!~

All told, a pretty neat little collection of stories. I may even go as far to say that I liked this little collection more than I liked the book they're based on. :)

A Great Prelude. Can't wait for the next book!

Loved the short stories. Can't wait to hear the books that they are a prelude to.
The narration was done quite well helping to enhance the world that the author has created.