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In 59 AD, as the Celt horde on Anglesey succumbs to Roman aggression, war goddess Fey grants Lucan Mac Aliester his wish—life. Lucan soon discovers that it is not his Druidic people the bargain elevates, but himself.

20 tales of action, suspense, intrigue and terror set in the Majestic Universe by the author of Nocturnal Vacations and Depths of Savagery. "His dark and primal passion explodes in vicious tales. Likened to the timeless author Robert E. Howard's barbarism, Steven L. Shrewsbury is the reincarnated Howard." -Peggy Jo Shumate aka Brutal Dreamer, Eternal Night Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror

"Depths of Savagery is a collection of 13 tales of barbaric heroic fantasy. Through tales involving ancient Celts, Vikings, other-worldly Crusaders, and Confederate Guerillas, the human animal is dissected to the bone..." Click for more info.

Nocturnal Vacations, by Steven L. Shrewsbury. "Dack Shannon, albino agent from secret intelligence cabal Majestic Services, is exiled to a remote locale and dispenses ruthless justice as he sees fit..."

DeathGrip: Legacy of Terror, spanning the globe with tales of ancient horror. "PREORDER NOW! 18 mind-blowing stories by an international cast of authors revolving around the theme of ancient horrors! Shipping October 2003!"

"Herman Melville said it best when he proclaimed that every path eventually leads to the sea. For it is the sea that holds our most sacred and terrifying fears, yet it also holds a glorious mysticism over us as a race, an attraction so strong that most of us flock to beaches, river banks, creeks, and lakes at every opportunity to stare out into the vast blueness and wonder: what's out there?"

"Grimoire de Solace is a dark fantasy anthology by 15 writers, with illustrations by 15 artists. A vast array of stories covers many settings and themes, with elements of horror, romance, mystery, action, and everything in between. A must for readers of the fantasy genre."

"In the world of The Blackest Death things are never what they seem and a trip down a lonely stretch of highway, through the shadow-rooms of a darkened house at the edge of the woods, or through the inhuman imagination might just bring you face to face with your worst possible nightmare come true..."

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DEPTHS OF SAVAGERY
Steven L. Shrewsbury
DDP Price: $4.99 USD
eBook 132 Pages (April 2003)
Double Dragon eBooks
ISBN: 1-55404-051-5

I remember as a teen, when I first started to enjoy reading, I received a flyer from the Science Fiction Book Club and saw that remarkable, "SIX BOOKS FOR A PENNY," deal that I just couldn't refuse. So, I filled out my membership form, marked down the Order Codes for my SIX FREE BOOKS (Wow, wasn't I lucky!) and eagerly waited for that first shipment.

Well, a great deal of time has passed since then, and I've bought quite a few more books over the years-nearly 1,400 in my collection at last count. But I still remember fondly that first box of hardcover books with the wild cover art and the fantastic Inside-The-Flap Blurbs. One of those books was Robert E. Howard's THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON, which was my first real dose of Conan The Barbarian and Barbarian Style Fiction. I went on to read most of the Conan Series, collections put together after Howard's death by L. Sprague De Camp, and enjoyed every single one. These tales even inspired me to try my hand at barbarian fiction…but that was back when I was a teenager and I won't go any further than that on how it turned out.

Over the past few years, barbarian style fiction has no longer been available to a great degree, or at least it seemed that way to me. But then, as I began to learn of the wealth of great reading material available on the internet, I was introduced to the writing of Steven L. Shrewsbury. First through his amazing Dack Shannon character (appearing in 2002's NOCTURNAL VACATIONS, PublishAmerica, and the upcoming paperback release, BULLETPROOF SOUL, by Black Death Books) and his other enthralling stories, I began to follow this author and his work, both on line and in print. Shrewsbury has also made a name for himself in recent years with some fantastic barbarian style fiction, stories that harken back to the old days of Robert E. Howard's Conan and the pulp stories of our youth. That's why I relished the news when I heard that Double Dragon Publishing was putting out a collection of Shrewsbury's barbarian tales in E-Book Format titled, DEPTHS OF SAVAGERY.

This collection of carnage and bloodshed, swords and battle-axes, Celts and Picts, won me over from Page-One! 132 Pages of action sequences, ancient Gods, muscle-bound warriors and burly Vikings sets the tone throughout as these tales are told in the unique style that is immediately recognizable as Steven L. Shrewsbury's work. Thirteen tales are crammed tightly into this E-Book, tales that are historic in scope, mystic in vision and pounding of heart. I enjoyed this collection immensely, right from the very start with the amazing Cover Art by Deron Douglas. One of the high-points in DEPTHS OF SAVAGERY is the wonderful character, Dr. Elijah Blackthorn, who appears in four of the stories: "Shalt Thou Reign Forever (Vikings And The Head Of John The Baptist)," "Generation Clash," "Paradigm Vault," and "Annihilation Of An Epoch." The archeologist from the Miskatonic Institute of Technology (better known as MIT) is of Navajo and Nordic descent and possesses a peculiar ability-he is either blessed, or cursed (it is up to the reader to decide) with a very rare talent known as Pyschometry-the ability to witness the history behind a particular relic by merely a touch. Although it doesn't always work and there's no guarantee of what the good doctor will witness, he is often called upon by scholars, researchers and scientists to grab a hold of ancient items to see where history will lead.

Shrewsbury takes a certain love of ancient history and melds it perfectly into these tales. With mentions of Romans and Druids, Odin and Thor, Zulus and King Arthur, this collection takes the reader on a whirlwind tour throughout time, spanning the globe. His, "Black Ribbon Of Josephine," tells of barbarism in the Civil War (with a neat little twist at the end). His short-short, "Parting Shot," tells how the Black Death really came to Europe. His, "Not To Be," tells of royal family intrigue within the Kingdom of the Danes and his, "Spirit Of The Game," tells the story behind barbarism in a future Olympic Games.

All of these gems, my friends. A well-organized collection to say the least. Fans of action and adventure, fantasy and sorcery, barbarism and bloodshed will eat this stuff up. It moves along fast, reaching the end of its 132 pages too quickly for me. But, as I know from following Steven L. Shrewsbury's career, there is much, much more to come. Another favorite of mine, one of Shrewsbury's trademarks, is the use of historic quotes at the beginning of all of his stories. Within this collection are some great ones, too-quotes by Shakespeare, Balzak, Robert E. Howard, Frederich Nietzsche, Plato and even one from the Bible. My favorite of these, which marks the beginning of, "Black Ribbon Of Josephine," is a quote from Robert E. Howard's A WITCH SHALL BE BORN: "Not all men seek rest and peace; some are born with the spirit of the storm in their blood, restless harbingers of violence and bloodshed, knowing no other path…" A perfect precursor to the story that it opens for.

Overall, DEPTHS OF SAVAGERY was one fantastic E-Book, a grand collection of barbaric tales by one of today's up and coming authors. Steven L. Shrewsbury aims to please the reader when he writes, and please us he does. I will continue to look for more fiction of all types from this very talented writer. If you like what you see in this Review, you'll find yourself doing so as well. We want more, Mr. Shrewsbury! Get those fingers to typing!

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