by D.P. Prior
or 
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Plague strikes the city of Sarum, and the dead rise from their graves. The liche, Dr. Cadman, has discovered a long-hidden artifact and perverted its power for his own selfish ends.
But an ancient evil from beyond the stars is drawn by its use and turns hungry eyes upon the Earth.
These are the times of Unweaving, the times Deacon Shader has been prepared for since the day he was born.
A man of prayer, deeply troubled by a contradictory faith, he is also the deadliest warrior of his generation.
As events spiral out of control, and Creation itself hangs by a thread, the paradox at the heart of Shader’s life may just be the last desperate hope of all the worlds.
Contains:
Book 1: Sword of the Archon
Book 2: Best Laid Plans
Book 3: The Unweaving
AUTHOR BIO
Who the Shog is D.P. Prior?
I was born in the South East of England in the late sixties, just in time to get a good sniff at the Summer of Love.
I spent most of my childhood immersed in fantasy and SF novels as well as Marvel comics. I also had an unhealthy obsession with D&D and was, for a long time, a member of the rather dodgy wargaming society at the Archery recreation ground.
After studying theatre at Lewes I did a season as Father Christmas, worked as a lighting and sound technician, and then trained for three years to be a Mental Health Nurse. I started in one of the Victorian asylums but ended up at the University of Sussex.
Once qualifying, I was immediately off to Aberystwyth to study for a BA in Drama. I also studied Classics and Medieval History and ended up specializing in Acting and Intercultural Theatre.
I gained twenty years of varied experience in mental health, working in acute services, crisis resolution, management of violence and aggression, and eating disorders. This was interspersed with a five month postulancy with the Carmelite Order in Melbourne and further studies at the University of Notre Dame in Western Australia.
On my second sojourn in Australia, following the birth of my son, Theo, I began work on my first completed novel, The Resurrection of Deacon Shader. This went through many iterations and ended up forming the raw material for Cadman’s Gambit, book one of the Shader series. It was at this time that I took to wearing a poncho and Panama hat whilst chopping firewood. It seemed to help with the writing at the time, but now I have my doubts.
I founded and moderated the Mysticism Unbound discussion group to help explore some of the themes for my postgraduate research into Antonin Artaud and the Theatre of Cruelty. Although the group eventually closed, it has subsequently been resurrected twice and is currently flourishing on Facebook.
Following my return from Australia I trained to become a Personal trainer and set up my own gym (Fitness Instruction for Strength and Health). I specialized in resistance training and worked exclusively with private clients until I sold the gym.
I began to edit professionally in 2009 during a trip to Chicago and this developed into a flourishing business (Homunculus Editing Services).
Since 2011 I have been a full-time author and editor.
I am married to Paula and have two children, Theo and Cordelia.
My chief influences as a writer are: David Gemmell, R.E. Howard, Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp, Stephen Donaldson, Joe Abercrombie, and Mary Doria Russell.
You can find me at http://dpprior.blogspot.co.uk
REVIEWS
Deep, rewarding fantasy read with a bit of a learning curve,March 31, 2012
By
B Throwsnaill (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sword of the Archon (SHADER) (Kindle Edition)
Cadman's Gambit is an epic tale which follows the exploits of a hero (Deacon Shader) and a villain (Dr. Cadman). Both characters are significant point of view characters, and share the P.O.V. about equally. As I started reading, I struggled to grasp the terminology that was employed. The world(s) in which the story takes place are rich and lovingly detailed, but at times it felt like I was starting a series at Book Two rather than Book One. And I am simply not very good at tracking a lot of new terminology, so I found myself taken out of the story quite frequently in the beginning of this book, as I tried to figure out what the characters were referring to. I'm very glad I stuck with this book though, because the payoff was considerable in the second half. The story is extremely deep and imaginative. I was slightly disappointed by the mysterious ending, but it does serve as a powerful hook to draw the reader forward into the sequels to find out what is going to happen.I was going to give this book four stars because of the issues I had with it; but, in the end, it's an example of the type of deep, complex, but fast-paced fantasy that I crave. Because of this, I simply can't bring myself to give it less than five stars. If you can handle the terminology, Cadman's Gambit is a fully immersive read that I highly recommend.
5.0 out of 5 stars Best start to a series. Ever., September 25, 2011
By
JOA "Journal of Always Reviews" (Hartford, CT) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sword of the Archon (SHADER) (Kindle Edition)
Rating: 5 out of 5Oh, how much I love the melding of genres. To mix and match different aspects of specific literary tropes and use them to tell a truly original and captivating tale can be a wonderful thing to experience, when executed correctly. It then becomes nothing but a story, allowing the reader to concentrate on the strength of the tale being told rather than if they followed all the requisite "rules" ascribed to said genre - ala, in the case of fantasy, the use of magic, mystical beasts, and world-building.
This all brings us to Cadman's Gambit: Shader Book I by D.P. Prior, a novel that now holds a place in my heart as the most perfect introductory novel to a series I've ever read, surpassing the previous champion, The Gunslinger.
In truth, there are quite a few similarities between Prior's book and the seminal work of King. We follow a gruff, old, and cranky warrior (Roland and Shader), travel along a path in search of an object of untold power (the Rose and the statue of Eingana), and there are remnants of an advanced, ancient civilization lurking beneath the surface of both worlds.
This is where the comparison ends, however. While The Dark Tower chronicles the journey of a single man and his quest for absolution, in Shader we're presented with a much larger, more universal plight - the elevation of man into a place of honor within the universe. It's a rather lofty goal that Prior has saddled himself with, and one he's amazingly able to pull off.
In Cadman's Gambit we're introduced, in different flashbacks and wild, swashbuckling tales, to the main character, Deacon Shader. But in almost every way, Shader is overshadowed by the complexity, originality, and turmoil of the world he exists in. This is a version of Earth that has gone far beyond us - 900 years since the end of "civilization as we know it", pretty much - and there are mystical, as well as scientific, wonders drifting about. There are individuals who have lived for centuries, galactic warlords on the quest for universal domination, and many questions pertaining to the nature of existence, including time, itself. Religion is widely discussed, and even ridiculed, in fact becoming the one uniting and divisive cog in the machine, echoing that fact that though society as we know it has moved on, humans remain humans, whether they ascribe to a Christian derivative, a pagan understanding, immerse themselves in Platonic doctrine, or a combination of all three.
But more than anything else, Cadman's Gambit is the story of man's quest for immortality. Every major character either desires it - in spirituality or actuality - or already has tasted a hint of it. It is one of the saddest theological plotlines I've come across, and each key player is, in their own way, selfish to a fault. In an existence where death is all around them, in the form of plague or warfare or strange, bio-engineered beasts, rather than trying to survive, they attempt to cheat death.
Which is why Deacon Shader, the warrior monk (and how great of a contradiction is that?), means so much to the story. He is flawed, cranky, violent, and stubborn, a man set in his ways who wants to change but can't. Because of this, he reflects each and every person I've ever known...though he's way cooler, and stronger, than the average man. Let's just call him an "ideal human," which is a fantastic description because of how imperfect he is. Prior has definitely created a conundrum of a story here, and he couldn't have chosen a better figurehead to anchor it.
The mystery in the tale abounds. What's up with the hidden, underground tunnels? What's a "technocracy?" Why do so many people, when exposed to the deity-like entities (or are they?) that save the world from itself, end up living pretty much forever? He also has the courage to introduce magic, only to pull back and suggest, in a brilliant piece of storytelling, that there's no such thing as magic at all. Just like the rest of the story, it's a grand negation, and one that can make a reader's head spin...in a good way, of course.
There is more than theory and world-building at work here. There is actual emotion and real, honest-to-goodness human relationships. Shader's love for the girl he can't have, his understudy's obsession with the same, a dwarf named Shadrach's fixation on the woman who would be his mother, the religious elite's love of Ain, their godhead, or Dr. Cadman's (the main antagonist) love of, well, himself. I don't want to spoil anything here, but let's just say Cadman is a near-flawless villain. You'll love him.)
The fight scenes in this book are extremely well executed, even if they may be few and far between. Just like everything else at work here, this is a contradiction, for the action acts as a break in the dialogue and philosophic musings instead of the other way around, which is usually the case. Also, there are little Easter eggs thrown in for those of us who still exist in the 21st century, as some of the "immortal" characters reflect upon events and locales from their past, letting we the readers know that, yes, this strange land was once not only very much like ours, but was ours.
Oh, and I'd be remiss to say that, for the first time ever, the map at the beginning of the book was not only well-made, but necessary to the plot! Go figure. I've always been one to never look at them, thinking them superfluous. Not here, my friends. No, if it weren't for that map, I would've been lost.
In fact, I can say in all honesty that the only thing I think might hold this novel back is the fact it's almost too smart for its own good. The language is dense, the plot sometimes convoluted. You really have to read each and every word, to take in each minute detail presented, to truly understand what you're reading. I think there may be some folks who may not appreciate it, though there's nothing wrong with that.
I, on the other hand, loved it. Cadman's Gambit is a work of pure intellect, taking the best facets of fantasy, science fiction, and philosophy, and mixing it all together into a genus all its own. It's surprisingly humorous at times, and the Kantian undertones of consciousness as it relates to time and space resounded with me greatly. I couldn't put it down, though I took my time with it, wanting to bathe myself in every word, every turn of a phrase.
Yup, that's right. My Year's Best list just had a new book jump to the top. D.P. Prior's book is that good. He has a lot to say, and one hell of a story to tell. In my opinion, you should take him up on that journey. Now.
Plot - 10
Characters - 10
Voice - 10
Execution - 10
Personal Enjoyment - 10
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