Review: Storm’s Herald by J.W. Golan is book 1 of the Stormfall Chronicles. It’s an epic fantasy novel suitable for all ages.
Title: Storm’s Herald (Stormfall Chronicles Book 1)
Author: J.W. Golan
Publisher: Independent
Genres: Fiction – Fantasy – YA Fiction
Print Length: 300 pages
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Synopsis and edition information is from Goodreads and Amazon.
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Review: Storm’s Herald by J.W. Golan
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Synopsis:
All Lynette wanted was to leave her boring village life – to attend the Fae Academy and become a Druid priestess like her teacher before her. Her clumsy attempts at magic are a reminder of how much she has yet to learn. But if they would only accept her if the Fae Kingdom – closed to human visitors for centuries now – would only just open its doors, she is certain she could become a master of the magical arts.
Yet her journey puts her on a collision course with a reawakened evil – offering a king’s ransom for the recovery of a long-lost relic. Treasure hunters of every variety – werewolves, mercenaries, common thieves, and undead alike – are soon locked in pursuit of its promised riches.
A peasant girl who dreams of becoming a sorceress, a boy who imagines himself a knight – trailed by a ruthless mercenary armed with an ancient sword
Together with Baxter, a young squire who fled his own kingdom, and Eirlon, a gnome who trades in rare antiquities, Lynette is drawn unwillingly into the hunt for the elusive relic. Hounded by goblins, ogres – and darker things – Baxter carries his own burdens: secrets that have made him the enemy of the crown. And then there is Garth, the mysterious mercenary who both frightens and intrigues Lynette: the weapons-master armed with an ancient blade – snatched from the hand of a long-vanished fae prince.
Willingly or not, Lynette, Baxter, and Eirlon must together solve the riddles behind the relic – and stay one step ahead of the ruthless killers that pursue them. The complete Book One of the Stormfall Chronicles, Storm’s Herald, is an Epic Fantasy series suitable for all ages.
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My Review: Storm’s Herald by J.W. Golan
Storm’s Herald is Book one of the Stormfall Chronicles. The author builds a very credible world in which his characters play. The pacing worked well for me. There are a few places it got a bit wordy, but certainly not enough to detract from the story.
The characters develop nicely over the course of the book. They are consistent with their actions throughout the story. I enjoy books with strong female leads, and both Lynette and Elise fit that description. Baxter is easy to cheer for, even though he is a step behind most of the time. Eirlon is a unique character that adds a great deal to the plot. Mystery man Garth is quite intriguing. Is he Fae, human, or something yet unknown?
The story, as expected, does have the feel of building toward book two. The final scene is the perfect lead-in to Storm’s Clouds.
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Storm's Herald: Stormfall C...Shop on Amazon 
Storm's Herald: Stormfall C...Shop on Amazon
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Comments are greatly appreciated. Please scroll to the bottom to find the comment section!
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Meet author, J.W. Golan
A writer, father, and aeronautical engineer, John Golan lives in New England together with his wife and three daughters.
An engineer in the U.S. aerospace industry for over two decades, John Golan has been a designer, structures analyst, and engineering manager. He has participated in the development and maintenance of the jet engines that power aircraft ranging from the Boeing 737 to the Airbus A380, and from the Boeing F-15 to the Lockheed F-35. His past aerospace publication credits include articles in Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, Aviation History, Tablet, and the Jerusalem Post Magazine.
More recently, he has taken up writing Fantasy novels as an independent writer – and as a passion he could share with his three daughters. He maintains a Fantasy-Fiction blog where he chronicles his experiences as a fiction writer and announces upcoming publications:
J. W graciously answered a few questions for this review:
I first toyed with writing in the fantasy genre when I was in high school. My earliest attempts were influenced by a variety of novels from that era – including writers such as Tolkien and Terry Brooks – as well as from my experiences creating fantasy worlds as a Dungeon Master. So I’ve been writing, in one form or another, since at least the mid-1980s.
After a long hiatus, I decided to write again in the young adult, fantasy genre largely due to the influence of my three teenage daughters. Literature was something that we could all discuss and compare. When they were growing up, I would read the first book of whatever series or author they were reading at the time – because I wanted to know what their favorites were.
I don’t really have a set schedule. It’s more of applying my spare waking hours towards refining my prose. I have a full-time job, of course, and my daughters are always on the go – whether I’m picking them up from horseback riding at the barn or taking them to martial arts practice. So my spare hours are often over lunch or at the very end of the day.
An Epic Fantasy for readers of all ages!
Do you need silence to write, or can you work in any environment?
I usually need a more quiet environment to work and focus under. When my daughters are all doing homework in the evening, for example, is often the best time to write.
Were you an avid reader growing up?
I was always an avid reader, with a relatively broad range of tastes. Contemporary fantasy authors were a favorite, but I also had an appreciation for a broad range of older and more classical sources. I loved Shakespeare’s poetic use of language and extraordinary vocabulary, as well as early storytellers such as Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Edgar Allan Poe, and John Steinbeck.
If you could form the ultimate writer’s group, which authors past or present would you invite to join you?
There are so many authors who have influenced me and who I admire. If I could pick some of the ones who I would most want to meet or collaborate with, I would have to include, of course, the Bard, William Shakespeare for his unmatched mastery of the English language, Anne McCaffrey as a key writing influence growing up, and Yehuda Amichai as my favorite modern-day poet.
Do you have a favorite snack or beverage while you are writing?
Coffee. Writing requires lots and lots of coffee.
An excellent read-along for family time!
Who has influenced your writing the most?
I’ve been influenced by a range of authors, both old and new. I believe there tends to be a certain stylistic continuum, however, between writers who are more narrative in their approach, such as Tolkien, and those who write completely “in the moment,” such as Sarah J Maas. My daughters tell me that my writing style is firmly in the middle of that continuum, incorporating elements of both.
If I had to point to an influence that’s most similar to where I strike that balance, I’d have to pick Anne McCaffrey – whose novels similarly featured a fairly broad cast of characters who populated her worlds.
Is there anything you would like my readers to know about you and your book?
When I set out to write the Stormfall Chronicles, I had a strong sense of where the overall story would go. Some of the characters in the novel are adaptations of characters I had imagined when I was very young. Others are characters influenced by people that my daughters have known or events they might have lived through. All of these threads eventually circle back. All of it is connected. I’ve already begun writing Book3. There’s a lot more yet to come.
Author’s contact info:
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Storm's Herald: Stormfall C...Shop on Amazon Storm's Herald: Stormfall C...Shop on Amazon
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