Owl Abridged
Book Tour,  Fantasy

Solace Lost Tour & Giveaway

Fenrir de Trenton, a disgraced guardsman-turned-ineffective-criminal, is accustomed to taking orders. So much so that, despite the danger, he finds himself neck-deep in the politicking of his current superiors as well as the rulers of the country. The fact that Fenrir’s father would rather see him dead doesn’t help matters.

Emma Dram, a handmaiden of the great Lady Escamilla, hates Fenrir with a fiery passion and with good reason: he lopped off most of her hand. Nonetheless, she finds herself in close proximity to her former lover as she seeks to serve her lady liege in fomenting her own rebellion.

Hafgan Iwan is a Wasmer, a race reviled by humans, who serves the same masters as Fenrir. His efforts to assimilate with human culture only earn him the derision of his own race, and he seeks to find belonging amidst the escalating conflict.

Meanwhile, Merigold Hinter, a serving girl with an unusual power, lives a simple existence, hoping for love, adventure, and to see the world. Her life should be untouched by political maneuvering and war. However, her world becomes a crucible—how much can one woman bear before breaking?

A story of love lost and family destroyed, of bigotry and belonging, of suffering and strength, and of religion and magic, SOLACE LOST grows from a character-driven tale to something grand in scale, perhaps even involving the gods, themselves.

Solace Lost is a character driven grimdark fantasy with detailed worldbuilding and political intrigue. Each character is a different shade of grey, and as the story progresses the actions and beliefs of the protagonists continue to be shaped by a merciless and unforgiving world. Merigold in particular was my favorite. She begins the story a naïve, hopeful dreamer but is quickly disillusioned through tragic events. Her development is the most drastic, but each of the four protagonists are compelling in their own right.

This book is the definition of slow-burn. The first half of the story is slow, but there’s so much to unpack with MPOVs and an intricate plot that the pacing really felt necessary. The book does eventually pick up towards the middle as the character’s storylines begin to converge, and by the end I was completely invested in both the characters and political machinations leading into book two.

Fair warning: this book is dark and violent. I don’t even remember the last time I read a book with this many trigger warnings (see below). For those unfamiliar with grimdark fantasy you may want to proceed with caution.

Thank you so much to Escapist Book Tours for including me on this tour!
Book Information:

Solace Lost by Michael Sliter
Published: 2018
Series: Pandemonium Rising
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Intended Age Group: Adult
Pages: 568
Publisher: Dragyn Press (Self Published)

BOOK LINKS:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Solace-Lost-Michael-Sliter-ebook/dp/B07BGW6BDP
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39326498-solace-lost

CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS:

  • Ableism
  • Abusive relationship
  • Ageism
  • Alcoholism
  • Amputation
  • Animal violence/death
  • Blood (gore)
  • Bodies/corpses
  • Body horror
  • Bones (animal/human)
  • Bullying
  • Child abuse
  • Childbirth
  • Classism
  • Death/dying
  • Death penalty
  • Decapitation
  • Domestic abuse (emotional, physical, sexual, verbal)
  • Drinking (heavy)
  • Drug use
  • Fatphobia
  • Forced captivity
  • Graphic sex
  • Hospitalization
  • Hostages
  • Kidnapping
  • Medical procedures
  • Murder
  • Murder (attempted)
  • Needles
  • Poisoning
  • Pregnancy
  • Prostitution
  • PTSD
  • Racism
  • Rape (attempted)
  • Serious injury
  • Sexism
  • Sexual abuse
  • Skeletons
  • Skulls
  • Slavery
  • Slurs
  • Smoking
  • Swearing
  • Torture (sexual)
  • Violence
  • Vomit
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Sliter was born in the deep wilds of Cleveland, Ohio, where he fought off at least two siblings for scraps of pizza. His bedroom, growing up, was a monument to fantasy, containing a stack of worn and well-read books, a medieval Lego civilization spanning half the room, and a very real sword circa World War II.

Though always fascinated with the written word, Michael ended up with only a minor in writing, instead majoring in Psychology (Hiram College, OH). He later went on to complete his M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (Bowling Green State University, OH)—overall spending a larger portion of his life than strictly necessary in school. Following, Michael was a psych professor for a time, and then moved into the real world to help organizations hire the right people.

He attempted to write some childish fantasy novels in the past, all abandoned as derivative refuse. It wasn’t until his daughter was born that Michael decided to begin writing in earnest, and he published Solace Lost, the first book in the Pandemonium Rising series. Since, Wisdom Lost (Book 2) and Valley of the Free (novella in the same world) have been published.

Today, you can find Michael back in the Cleveland area, where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dogs. They are quite tolerant of his writing, reading, video game, and racquetball habits.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeSliter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormichaelsliter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17838702.Michael_Sliter

GIVEAWAY

Prize: An eBook or Paperback Copy of Solace Lost!
Starts: September 5, 2022 at 12:00am EST
Ends: September 11, 2022 at 11:59pm EST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit the Solace Lost tour page to keep up with the rest of the stops this week. Good luck to all the giveaway entrants!