The Sword and Its Servant by Victor Salinas Pages: 400
Published by LLC on May 20th 2014
Genres: Young Adult, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic
Between Our World and Hel, Uncover...
Deep lore,
Dark intrigue,
Depraved enemies.
The links between the Nine Worlds of Creation are deteriorating. The Gates to the Underworld are closed. A veil of shadow shrouds all the land. Rumors of a dead savior reemerge.
Einsa finds herself without memory of her past and her origin, held prisoner by the Löwa, a species of warped monsters bent on using the Children of Mann for their horrendous experiments. She and her companions are merely lab rats waiting to be plucked by their captors—until they decide to make their escape. Einsa’s only hope for survival in the fallen world that awaits her rests with Klinde, an ancient and infamous warrior who is just as cunning and bloodthirsty as the enemy.
Nothing in this gray world is quite what it seems...
Today I have a pretty exciting post to share. I have author, Victor Salinas here to answer some questions about his dark young adult fantasy series Grauwelt. The first book, The Sword and its Servant was released last year and to celebrate the series, they are hosting a fabulous giveaway exclusive to readers at Book Briefs.
1. What is the Grauwelt Series about?
The series is about a great many things: life and death, freedom and rebellion, and choosing between individual fulfillment and the will of others. The Grauwelt series tells the tale of a teenage girl named Einsa who has no memories of her past. She had lived the entire life she remembers in a dark prison, held captive by a wicked species of creatures known as the Löwa. Einsa and a few of her cohorts decide to make a break for it… but it’s a lot harder and more dangerous than they realized.
The Sword and Its Servant is the first installment of the multi-part Young Adult fantasy saga that takes you on a dark, fast-paced journey through the Grauwelt. It is a world filled with depravity, cruelty, mystery, and more than its fair share of insanity. Experience in vivid detail its strange inhabitants, horrendous creatures, wondrous locales, and deep lore through the eyes of a girl trapped between two evils.
This first book features a fully-fledged glossary called the Graulore™, containing over eighty entries pertaining to the world of Grauwelt, giving you insider details on key characters, places, events, creatures, and technology!
2. What makes the Grauwelt series different from others out there?
It is our honest opinion that there a great number of Young Adult series out there for people to read. However, it is also our honest opinion that the series that do exist are missing a few ingredients that many readers are hungry for.
First off, the Grauwelt series is dark and violent. We suggest that readers be 15 years of age or older to read them and with parents’ permission.
It is fairly common in the Grauwelt books for characters to meet terribly grisly fates, often at the hands of beings they believed to be their friends and allies. Characters and creatures are routinely stabbed, hacked, beaten, slashed, and shot. Grauwelt is not for the faint of heart. Which, we believe, is one of it’s strong points.
Many Young Adult series tend to shy away from this. While the level of violence presented in the Grauwelt series is not for everyone, it is for many. There is a fan base that craves this type of material, whether teenage or older, and it is the mission of the creators of Grauwelt to answer this call.
Secondly, the Grauwelt series is much deeper than most others.
The world in which the Grauwelt series takes place is filled with history, traditions, characters, creatures, institutions, languages, and other lore that could potentially (and will) fill many volumes, including guides outside of the books proper.
While again, this sort of thing isn’t for everyone, we believe many will be enticed by the richness and level of detail presented by the Grauwelt books. For those that love such intricately-crafted series such as The Lord of the Rings, Dune, and the many Star Wars expanded universe books, the Grauwelt series is right up your alley.
3. How many books are there in the Grauwelt series?
The series is still a work in progress. The first book was released May 20th, 2014. From there, Victor currently has five additional books planned.
But knowing Victor… there will probably be more.
4. What served as the inspiration behind Grauwelt?
Grauwelt draws heavily on ancient Norse and Germanic myth. Many of the motifs, themes, names, and allusions to people, creatures, and places will be recognized from these sources.
That being said, Grauwelt has a very large mixture of other inspirations including steampunk, modern high fantasy, and a mix of Victor’s own interesting (and sometimes demented) inventions.
5. Where is Grauwelt exactly?
The old Norse and Germanic myths talked about a Cosmic Tree, or Yggdrassil. On this tree were nine distinct worlds, or different planes of existence. Each world was different from the rest, not only in relative location, but also in the kinds of beings and locales within each.
Grauwelt is found on the Cosmic Tree, directly between our world (in the Grauwelt series called Ærth) and the underworld (called Hel).
The Grauwelt is a world neither of good or evil. In fact, it is a world caught between these two forces, never on one side or the other. While the Ærth is a relatively lush and hospitable world, and Hel the very epitome of desolation, the Grauwelt is a place where beings struggle to survive, against the Grauwelt’s own natural forces and against the numerous terrible beasts and beings that plague it.
The prizes will include one grand prize winner who will receive a 7” Kindle Fire HD loaded with a copy of The Sword and Its Servant AND a hard copy of the book signed by the author. Five runners up will each receive a signed hard copy of The Sword and Its Servant.
All you have to do to enter this exclusive giveaway:
- Enter your email address in the form at this page.
- Drawing will be held on October 16th, 2015.
- Wait for six winners to be announced October 17th!
Special Bonus: Everyone that enters will receive a free eBook preview of The Sword and Its Servant emailed to them immediately!
Visit: http://www.grauwelt.com/bookbriefs/ to enter.
all you need is an email address, no hoops to jump through or anything. Though I would love for you to also follow my blog, it is not required to enter.
Giveaway Rules
Enter your email address on this page to enter and win a Kindle Fire HD or one of five free books.
No purchase necessary to enter.
Entries accepted from September 15th, 2015 (12:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern) to October 15th, 2015 (11:59 p.m., U.S. Eastern).
Six winners will be chosen at random on October 16th, 2015 and winners will be announced by Grauwelt.com to all entrants via email on October 17th, 2015.
The winners’ prizes will be shipped directly to them, at the address of their choosing, within select countries and territories.
Giveaway open to residents of the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and Australia.
this giveaway is not sponsored by Book Briefs.
For full details, see Contest Terms & Conditions.
Contact & Info
If you have any questions about the giveaway, the Grauwelt website, or the Grauwelt books, please contact us directly:
kindlemom1
Great interview Michelle! I like that this series has a grittier darker side to it, it sounds fantastic!
Sarah @ One Curvy Blogger
I do think some YA series could do with more darkness and violence! Although that cover does not look YA, lol! Not that I don’t love it (I do!), but it looked like adult PNR :)I really do love the sound of this series. I might need to check it out soon. Halloween IS just around the corner 🙂