The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V.S. Redick

In The Red Wolf Conspiracy, Robert V.S. Redick manages to overcome several flaws and some conventional character types to create a mostly compelling and complex novel that leaves the reader eager to continue on to the next installment.

The plot is far too complex to go into any detail here, but the major set-up is this: two great Empires, Arqual and Mzrith, are in a period of uneasy peace after having fought several wars, the most recent a few decades earlier. The massive (and I mean massive) ship Chathrand, last of the Great Ships built with skill and magery, sets sail from the Arqual Empire bearing an ambassador and his daughter Thasha — promised as a truce-sealing bride to a prince of Mzrith. Except in reality, the Chathrand has a secret mission as ordered by the Emperor. But others, including a talking-minx mage from another wor... Read More

Editor's note: This book is tilted The Rats and the Ruling Sea in some markets (UK) and The Ruling Sea in others (US).

The Rats and the Ruling Sea by Robert V.S. Redick

PLOT SUMMARY: The great ship Chathrand, supposedly launched to bring an end to centuries of war, has all along been a tool of evil men. And behind them all stands Arunis, a 3000-year-old sorcerer bent on scouring life from the world of Alifros.

Now this enchanted, 600-year-old vessel has reached the island of Simja, where the tarboy Pazel Pathkendle will see the young woman he loves, Thasha Isiq, face death to thwart Arunis — and Pazel himself will be forced to confront his shattered past.

But the journey is only beginning. After Simja, Pazel and his friends must face the terrors of the Ruling Sea, an ocean so vast and violent that no ship but the Chath... Read More

River of Shadows by Robert V.S. Redick

PLOT SUMMARY: The crew of the vast, ancient ship Chathrand has reached the shores of the legendary southern empire of Bali Adro. Many have died in the crossing, and the alliance of rebels, led by the tarboy Pazel Pathkendle and the admiral’s daughter Thasha Isiq, has faced death, betrayal, and darkest magic. But nothing has prepared them for the radically altered face of humanity in the South.

They have little time to recover from the shock, however. For with landfall, the battle between the rebels and centuries-old sorcerer Arunis enters its final phase. At stake is control of the Nilstone, a cursed relic that promises unlimited power to whoever unlocks the secrets of its use — but death to those who fail. And no one is closer to mastering the Stone than Arunis.

Desperate to stop him, Pazel and Thasha must join forces with their enemies, including the depraved Captain Rose... Read More