Broken Blade

Read Broken Blade Online

Authors: Kelly McCullough

 

 

Table of Contents
 
 

 

“Aral the jack, formerly the noble Aral Kingslayer, is the best kind of hero: damaged, cynical, and despondent, yet needing only the right cause to rise from his own ashes.
Broken Blade
gives him that cause, and gives the reader a great ride through Kelly McCullough’s rich new fantasy world.”
—Alex Bledsoe, author of
Dark Jenny
and
The Sword-Edged Blonde
Praise for Kelly McCullough
SPELLCRASH
“Simple and elegant . . . McCullough is the true demigod of web magic. Brilliant!”
—
Huntress Book Reviews
 
“The book is filled with action and suspense. The world-building is awesome, the plot intense, and there is plenty of pathos and humor.”
—
Three Crow Press
 
“Entertaining and rapid-fire.”
—
San Francisco Book Review
 
 
MYTHOS
 
“A smooth, flowing tale that entices the imagination.”
—
Huntress Book Reviews
(★★★★★)
 
 
CODESPELL
 
“A hint of cyberpunk, a dollop of Greek mythology, and a sprinkle of techno-magic bake up into an airy genre mashup. Lots of fast-paced action and romantic angst up the ante as Ravirn faces down his formidable foes.”
—
Publishers Weekly
 
“One long adrenaline rush, with a few small pauses for Ravirn to heal from his near-fatal brushes with the movers and shakers of the universe, all while trying to figure out how to survive the next inevitable encounter.”
—
SFRevu
“Imaginative, fascinating, with a lot of adventure thrown in . . . Mr. McCullough has followed his first two books with a worthy sequel.
CodeSpell
will keep the reader on edge.”
—
Fresh Fiction
 
“This third book featuring hacker extraordinaire Ravirn is every bit [as much] of a fast-paced, energetic page-turner as its predecessors. Ravirn continues to be a fascinating protagonist, and the chaotic twists of the plot carry the reader through to the end.”
—
Romantic Times
 
 
CYBERMANCY
 
“McCullough has true world-building skills, a great sense of Greek mythology, and the eye of a thriller writer. The blend of technology and magic is absolutely amazing, and I’m surprised no one has thought to do it quite like this before.”
 
“This is the second book in McCullough’s series that fuses hacking culture with ancient gods, and it’s every bit as charming, clever, and readable as its predecessor.”
—
Romantic Times
 
“It’s smoothly readable, vivid, and fun . . . highly recommended.”
 
“McCullough has the most remarkable writing talent I have ever read . . . Not satisfied to write a single genre or to use a subgenre already made, he has created a new template that others will build stories upon in later years. But know this: McCullough is the original and unparalleled.”
—
Huntress Book Reviews
 
WEBMAGE
 
“The most enjoyable science fantasy book I’ve read in the last four years . . . Its blending of magic and coding is inspired . . .
WebMage
has all the qualities I look for in a book—a wonderfully subdued sense of humor, nonstop action, and romantic relief. It’s a wonderful debut novel.”
—Christopher Stasheff, author of
Saint Vidicon to the Rescue
 
“Inventive, irreverent, and fast-paced, strong on both action and humor.”
—
The Green Man Review
 
“[An] original and outstanding debut . . . McCullough handles his plot with unfailing invention, orchestrating a mixture of humor, philosophy, and programming insights that give new meaning to terms as commonplace as ‘spell-checker’ and [as] esoteric as ‘programming in hex.’”
—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)
 
“A unique first novel, this has a charming, fresh combination of mythological, magical, and computer elements . . . that will enchant many types of readers.”
—
KLIATT
 
“McCullough’s first novel, written very much in the style of Roger Zelazny’s classic Amber novels, is a rollicking combination of verbal humor, wild adventures, and just plain fun.”
—
VOYA
 
“
WebMage
contains a lot of humor and a highly inventive new way of looking at the universe, which combines the magic of old with the computer structures of today.”
—
SFRevu
 
“Complex, well paced, highly creative, and, overall, an auspicious debut for McCullough . . . well worth reading for fans of light fantasy.”
—
Sci Fi Weekly
 
“[A] fascinating world, somewhat redolent of Zelazny’s Amber universe . . . The interface between magical and computer technology definitely tickles my inner geek.”
—
MIT Science Fiction Society
 
“This fast-paced, action-packed yarn is a lot of fun . . . weaving myth, magic, IT jargon . . . into a bang-up story.”
—
Booklist
 
“Kelly McCullough has the hacker ethic and the hacker mind-set down pat . . . The combination of mythos, magic, and technology is great fun . . . Ravirn is the literary grandnephew of Corwin of Amber . . . If you like the Amber books, you will certainly enjoy
WebMage
.”
—
Bewildering Stories
 
“It has finally happened. Someone crossed the genres of sci-fi and fantasy to create a magical world that has modern (futuristic) computer hackers . . . McCullough has taken characters out from the darkness of mythology and brought them into the light of this modern digital age . . . out-freaking-standing.”
—
Huntress Book Reviews

 

Ace Books by Kelly McCullough
The WebMage Series
 
WEBMAGE
CYBERMANCY
CODESPELL
MYTHOS
SPELLCRASH
 
The Fallen Blade Series
 
BROKEN BLADE

 

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
 
BROKEN BLADE
 
An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author
 
PRINTING HISTORY
Ace mass-market edition / December 2011
 
Copyright © 2011 by Kelly McCullough.
 
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in viola- tion of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

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