Drasmyr Review + Giveaway

The Drasmyr book tour is orgainzed by  the wonderful team over at Goddess Fish, and when I saw this tour pop up I knew that I had to be involved.
Title: Drasmyr by Matthew D. Ryan 
Pages: 203
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Reading Level: 14+
Source: Received in exchange for an honest review in conjunction with a book tour.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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We vampires do not make easy prey. Our weaknesses are few, our strengths many. Fear is something we do not know, and death but a distant memory. So tread softly, pray to your god, and gird yourself with silver when the moons arise and night’s dark prince awakens. We fear not the wizard, nor the warrior, neither rogue, nor priest; our strength is timeless, drawn from darkness and we know no master save the hot lust of our unending hunger. We long for blood, your blood and no blade, nor spell, nor clever artifice, can keep us long from our prize. Feel our teeth at your throat, your life ebb from you, and know as darkness comes to claim you that the price of your folly is your everlasting soul.

I change shape and take to the air. It is a clear, cold night, with no clouds to hinder my vision. Below me, the dark canopy of the forest bears an even darker scar; the trail of the old river and its sister road to town and Arcalian.

Despite my near limitless power, I am cautious about openly wandering in a human city on a clear night. I have had run-ins with them before and I have no wish to draw undue notice. I soar in a long gliding circle to free my mind for concentration.

It takes but a moment.

Then the storm begins to build, drawing in clouds from the distant sea. They roil and churn in the darkening night, reaching forth with long writhing tendrils as if to grasp the town with a shadowy hand. A chilling gust of wind sweeps through the forest trees and the mists boil forth from the valley floor. All told, I spend an hour circling the town while the storm gathers its strength. Then, as the first lightnings begin to flash and the rains begin to fall, I descend on shadowy wings into the heart of Drisdak, the city on the Sea of Sorrows.

The mages guild is easy to find; its rancid stench of magic can be smelled from blocks away. It’s a tall building, made of stone, looking more like a miniature keep than a guild house. Five circular towers loom up from a central stone edifice. I have no doubt that Arcalian can be found in the highest tower in the room of the guild master, undoubtedly basking in the luxuries my services provided.

There are many different types of vampires in fiction today, there's the sparkling vampires in Twilight, the warrior vampires in The Black Dagger Brotherhood, the Atlantian vampires in Argeneau novels to name just a few. Each is different in their own right. The vampires in Drasmyr are not like any of these.

This is much more true to the legends we grew up on (well, at least I grew up with), the Dracula myth. It also includes mages, though in other myths you might call them witches.

Though this is classified as a YA novel, I myself didn't get that vibe, adults would easily enjoy this book along with teens 14 and up. There is also quite a bit of action going on. 

Matthew D. Ryan tells a dark haunting story, with a strong plot, engaging characters with a mystery wound within it's pages. I found it very difficult to put this book down. This is one author that I will be keeping an eye on.

This title is currently free at B&N, Smashwords, and Amazon. Go get your copy today. 

Matthew D. Ryan is awarding a package of metal miniatures of vampires/vampire hunters to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. This giveaway is only open to US and Canada residents.

So leave a comment and follow the tour for more chances to win here. The more comments you leave across the blogs, a greater chance you have to win. 

 Matthew D. Ryan is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. He has a background in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. He also has a black belt in the martial arts and studies yoga. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He believes he saw the legendary Lake Champlain Monster (a.k.a Champy) once and he has a cat named Confucius.