#BlogTour ‘The Black Coast’ by Mike Brooks

About the book…

Epic world-building at its finest, in an upcoming author’s fantasy debut. The Black Coast is the start of an unmissable series filled with war-dragons, armoured knights, sea-faring raiders, dangerous magic and crowd-pleasing battle scenes.

When the citizens of Black Keep see ships on the horizon, terror takes them, for they know who is coming: for generations, Black Keep has been raided by the fearsome clanspeople of Iwernia.

Saddling their war dragons, the Naridans rush to defend their home only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all.

Driven from their own homeland by the rise of a daemonic despot who prophesies the end of the world, they have come in search of a new home. Meanwhile the wider continent of Narida is lurching toward war. Black Keep is about to be caught in the cross-fire of the coming war for the world – if only its new mismatched society can survive..

Huge thanks to the ever awesome duo of Orbit Books and Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for inviting me on the blogtour for fantasy debut, ‘The Black Coast’, which is out on February 16th 2021.

To be honest, I was sold on the concept of this new series by the phrase ‘war dragons’, it would have to go hideously wrong to have me not slap a 5 star review on this bad boy. And in his debut novel (one of the Orbit stars for 2021, go check them all out!) Mike Brooks doesn’t skip a beat.

Immaculately plotted, dunking you head first in the action from the very beginning, this is a wonderful high fantasy novel set in the country of Narida. The Black Coast is guarded by the Black Keep and the story is told from 3 vantage points-pickpocket Jeya who is a citizen of Narida, Black Keep watchman Daimon and chieftain Sanaa from Tjakorsha.

Daimon is the one who alerts his ‘law father’ to the imminent arrival of 17 warships (the presence of the Black Keep is to protect the exposed parts of the Black Coast from the occasional ferocious marauders who intermittently launch raids on Narida) Sanaa is pinning her hopes on a native Naridan who has spent many years with her people to negotiate a safe passage and settlement far away from their home lands.

Their arrival is a portent for a country that is poised precariously on the brink of war, run by a royal family headed by the Splinter King, survivor of many assassination attempts, but with no visible face due to his, and his family’s, tradition of wearing intricately jewelled masks. Jeya is the anchor of the story, the one who gives the reader the inside scoop on what life is like in Narida including the creeping specualtion that the royal family are not all they seem.

With these three perspectives, you feel that there is a rounded and, more importantly, grounded story line with characters who you can relate to and root for. No one is where they are ‘supposed’ to be , they are victims of circumstance as well as political machinations, ruled over by a family whose real faces have not been seen in some time. The allegory between these masks and showing your true face is so stark and relevant to these times-on the one hand we need leaders to be figure heads to give us focus, link us to our history and remind us of a commonality, yet, at the same time, the masks represent a disconnect from the realities of every day life, a system which is supported by a tradition which is not understood by most of the populace, and a physical barrier between the classes.

That this book has been written as a reaction to the Brexit vote does not surprise me-it made the intricacies of the plot and restlessness of the people, caught between tradition, moral compasses and an old world order which feels threatened by the new, so seeks to isolate itself and protect its own interests in the face of coming together and being stronger for that, so valid and grounded to me.

The seamless weaving of plot and dialogue brings to life a world which is so welcome, a world in which you can switch off and dive into, I read this through my breaks on night shifts and reluctantly dragged myself back to reality each and every time I put it away. At a time when we cannot physically travel, books have become so vital to so many for their ability to transport you away from a time and place which makes you feel trapped.

The dedication of this novel says –

”I don’t know exactly who this book is for,but whoever it is,I hope they find it.”

And I , for one, am thankful for the people who put this copy into my hands, I am so excited to delve further in Book 2, which is coming not soon enough! Look out for part 2 of the ‘God-King Chronicles,’The Splinter King’, from Orbit Books!

About the author…

Mike Brooks was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and moved to Nottingham when he was 18 to go to university. He’s stayed there ever since, and now lives with his wife, two cats, two snakes and a collection of tropical fish.

When not working for a homelessness charity he plays guitar and sings in a punk band, watches football (soccer), MMA and nature/science documentaries, goes walking in the Peak District or other areas of splendid scenery, and DJs wherever anyone will tolerate him.

Links-http://mikebrooks.co.uk/

https://www.compulsivereaders.com/

Twitter @mikebrooks668 @OrbitBooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n