Hello bookworms! I hope you are doing well. I don’t have a review for you all today, instead I am doing a spotlight of an amazing book. Who has not wanted to be one of those readers who get to vote on selecting the best book for the year? Not just to simply vote for the books we have read but actually go through the process of looking through synopsis, excerpts and final versions of books to find the best one?
I have done a number of tours with @The_WriteReads and in collaboration with the Folio Society, they organized The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA). It was their first year in 2020 and in the midst of the pandemic, they did a wonderful job of coordinating digital files, short listing based on readers’ opinions, and sharing about the books that made it to each round. In 2020, over a 100 bloggers participated as panelists. Though I was really excited to read the books that were assigned to me, with the sudden changes in my professional life, I was unable to help out in the final round.
Today, it is my pleasure to bring you the winner of BBNYA 2020:
The Lore of Prometheus
by Graham Austin-King
Genre: Urban Military Fantasy, Thriller
Synopsis:
John Carver has three rules: Don’t drink in the daytime, don’t gamble when the luck has gone, and don’t talk to the dead people who come to visit.
It has been almost five years since the incident in Kabul. Since the magic stirred within him and the stories began. Fleeing the army, running from the whispers, the guilt, and the fear he was losing his mind, Carver fell into addiction, dragging himself through life one day at a time.
Desperation has pulled him back to Afghanistan, back to the heat, the dust, and the truth he worked so hard to avoid. But there are others, obsessed with power and forbidden magics, who will stop at nothing to learn the truth of his gifts. Abducted and chained, Carver must break more than his own rules if he is to harness this power and survive.
Content Notes (see full list on Book Trigger Warnings): Depiction of violence, death, alcoholism, body horror, torture, PTSD.
My First Impressions
I have read some great reviews of this book in the blogging community (don’t worry, I will share a few to definitely check out in the next section). Since I am moving this week, I did not have enough time to read the book and share my review as part of the blog tour. I am hoping to get to it sometime in the future.
From the name, The Lore of Prometheus gives a science fiction vibe. My mind instantly thinks of the movie Prometheus and god-like creatures that roam the universe. That is not the case with this book though. As you read the synopsis and know from the genres, this is an urban fantasy with a lot to offer.
It isn’t like any Fantasy I have read before (I am a few chapters in). John Carver is a rugged character. He has seen a lot in life and after facing death in the face, and meeting ghosts repeatedly without inviting them, he is rough around the edges. I am fascinated by him and am interested to see where the story leads to.
Some reviews of The Lore of Prometheus
- Noly from The Artsy Reader is one of the first people I met when I joined the book blogging community and I trust her recommendations. She was expecting a different story and really liked what she got.
The Lore of Prometheus will take you on a rollercoaster ride of thoughts and emotions, and you won’t be able to get a grip on your brain thinking, ‘What will happen next?!’. The plot will surprise you, the characters will grab hold of you, the story will grip you. Let me promise you this – you won’t want to put the book down before you haven’t reached the ending.
Noly, The Artsy Reader
Read full review at #BBNYA #Winner #BlogTour #BookReview: The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King
- Timy from Queen’s Book Asylum first reviewed The Lore of Prometheus back in 2018.
The Lore of Prometheus is a shockingly wicked dark tale of the power of the human mind. The most dangerous monster of them all. If you still wonder if this book is for you, let me tell you what you can expect: characters far from being perfect, struggling with their own demons; tension from page one to the last; plenty of action; a few things to think about; an unhealthy dose of torture, and a few laughs, because who says people can’t go down with a good laugh?
Timy, Grimdark Magazine
Read full review at REVIEW: The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King.
- Beth from Before We Go Blog says that this book is pure adrenaline and I believe that’s one of the highest compliments I have heard about a book. Since this book is marketed as a thriller, that bodes very well.
The Lore of Prometheus is a brilliant take on government experimentation and the Men in Black boogeymen concept. The story is shocking in its ferocity because Austin-King holds no punches. It deals with PTSD in a real way, it deals with psychological damage brought on by trauma, it has realistic characters… it is pretty much everything you would want in an exciting book. And the finale will blow you out of the water. No, seriously, it was an edge of your seat exciting.
Beth, Before we go blog
Read full review at Review – Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King
- Dorothy from Starlight Shelves explains her first impressions of the book and she could not have put it in better words. I felt exactly the same when I was first introduced to John. Later in her review she adds:
I found this to be a story that I just couldn’t put down. I found myself constantly wondering what was going to happen next. I could almost picture the kind of laboratory set up John and Mackenzie find themselves in. I remember at one point feeling as if I could actually taste the sand in my mouth (which was certainly an interesting feeling).
Dorothy, Starlight Shelves
Read full review on Book Tour: The Lore Of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King (BBNYA Winner 2020)
- Renee from Renee Reviews found this book to be a delightful mix of urban fantasy and military fiction with some dark elements.
Overall The Lore of Prometheus was dark (as advertised) but creative – something new in the urban fantasy genre I haven’t seen before. Graham Austin-King takes familiar super hero origin story tropes and throws some modern military backstory in to make it feel real to our times. Gritty, kickass characters shine through the sandy terrain and contrast the grimy motivations of their captors. The powers portrayed in the story are exciting to read in action. I only wish we got to see more of them.
Renee, Renee Reviews.
Read full review at Review and Blog Tour: “The Lore of Prometheus”.
From all these reviews, I am convinced that this book deserved to be the winner. Congratulations to the author, Graham Austin-King, on such a phenomenal work.
Thank you to the bloggers who agreed to being featured in this spotlight! Their names have their Twitter links. Please do check out the post about this book by friend Stephen – it is also out today. Follow @The_WriteReads tours team to read what other bloggers on the tour are saying about the book. If you posted a review of this book, feel free to drop a link in the comments!
About the Author
Graham Austin-King was born in the south of England and weaned on broken swords and half-forgotten spells. A shortage of these forced him to consume fantasy novels at an ever-increasing rate, turning to computers and tabletop gaming between meals.
He experimented with writing at the beginning of an education that meandered through journalism, international relations, and law. To this day he is committed to never allowing those first efforts to reach public eyes.
After spending a decade in Canada, learning what ‘cold’ really means, and being horrified by poutine, he settled once again in the UK with a seemingly endless horde of children.
To date he is the author of five novels, drawing on a foundation of literary influences ranging from David Eddings to Clive Barker.
Find Graham on Facebook and Twitter. He loves to chat with readers.
About BBNYA
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors.
If you are an author and wish to learn more about the 2021 BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website or our Twitter account, @BBNYA_Official. If you would like to sign-up and enter your book, you can find the BBNYA 2021 AUTHOR SIGN UP FORM HERE. Please make sure to carefully read our terms and conditions before entering.
If you are a book blogger or reviewer, you can apply to be part of BBNYA 2021 by filling out this form (also remember to read the terms and conditions before signing up)!
BBNYA is brought to you in association with the Folio Society (If you love beautiful books you NEED to check out their website!) And the book blogger support group TheWriteReads.
Many thanks to BBNYA and The Write Reads for providing me with a complimentary copy of the book with the request for an honest review. I look forward to posting it, and hope that the tour and reviews offer you a variety of opinions to pick the book too. This was part of the BBNYA 2020 competition and the BBNYA tours organized by the @The_WriteReads tours team.
Cover Photo by Aditya Vyas on Unsplash
Wonderful spotlight, Kriti!
Thank you so much 🙂 Glad you liked it!
This is a fab spotlight!
Thank you Ellie! 🙂