The Great Restoration

Paperback, 491 pages

English language

Published Sept. 27, 2017 by Independently published, Independently Published.

ISBN:: 978-1-5498-4450-8

(2 reviews)

The Wardens have returned. Traitors to humanity, the Wardens were an ancient order of men and women seeking to once more enslave their own people to the Elves. With the rise of rifle and iron rail, Elves were finally driven from the world, but in secret enclaves, the Wardens speak of the Great Restoration, which will bring their masters back into power…

Nearly a decade after fighting the war in Gedlund, Gus Baston has found work as a private investigator in the Verin Empire’s crime-infested capitol. He makes his living at the edges of society, friend to neither police nor criminal classes, and when the Wardens suddenly emerge from obscurity to kidnap a prominent engineer, Gus must rescue him or risk being blamed for the crime himself.

But why would Elves want an engineer? And why have the Wardens suddenly shown themselves after forty years in hiding?

This second Tale …

The Wardens have returned. Traitors to humanity, the Wardens were an ancient order of men and women seeking to once more enslave their own people to the Elves. With the rise of rifle and iron rail, Elves were finally driven from the world, but in secret enclaves, the Wardens speak of the Great Restoration, which will bring their masters back into power…

Nearly a decade after fighting the war in Gedlund, Gus Baston has found work as a private investigator in the Verin Empire’s crime-infested capitol. He makes his living at the edges of society, friend to neither police nor criminal classes, and when the Wardens suddenly emerge from obscurity to kidnap a prominent engineer, Gus must rescue him or risk being blamed for the crime himself.

But why would Elves want an engineer? And why have the Wardens suddenly shown themselves after forty years in hiding?

This second Tale of the Verin Empire returns us to the world of Gedlund, which was named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2016. The second Tale explores a world of crime and intrigue in both the capital, and on the Aelfuan frontier. Drawing inspiration from Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes and our own late 19th century, The Great Restoration continues William Ray’s bold, critically acclaimed reinvention of classic fantasy in a world of memorable characters and unique perspectives.

1 edition

William Ray reviewed The Great Restoration by William Ray (Tales of the Verin Empire, #2)

Review of 'The Great Restoration' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It was great, I would totally writ... uh... read it again. :)
(I'm not sure why Goodreads is asking me to review my own book, but I'm happy to chat about it for anyone who's interested in learning more!)

The Great Restoration takes place in the same Verin Empire depicted in my debut novel, Gedlund, but rather than a hero's journey following military adventure on the frontier, this is a detective story set across two major cities. Drawing on the real world's 19th century, the fantasy world of the Verin Empire is depicted as a complex place, rendered all the more complicated by the lingering presence of magic. As a mystery, it is a bit shorter than Gedlund, since mystery stories are usually shorter than a hero's journey. Like Gedlund, it is a mixture of the real and the fantastic, and there is always more at play than immediately meets …

It was great, I would totally writ... uh... read it again. :)
(I'm not sure why Goodreads is asking me to review my own book, but I'm happy to chat about it for anyone who's interested in learning more!)

The Great Restoration takes place in the same Verin Empire depicted in my debut novel, Gedlund, but rather than a hero's journey following military adventure on the frontier, this is a detective story set across two major cities. Drawing on the real world's 19th century, the fantasy world of the Verin Empire is depicted as a complex place, rendered all the more complicated by the lingering presence of magic. As a mystery, it is a bit shorter than Gedlund, since mystery stories are usually shorter than a hero's journey. Like Gedlund, it is a mixture of the real and the fantastic, and there is always more at play than immediately meets the eye.

If you enjoyed the first one, I hope you'll enjoy this as well, even though it's a very different sort of story. Many minor characters return, but among them, only Gus takes center stage. There are glimpses of others (Tam, Glynn, Kilgrave, Sara Calfaur, Ollie Clarke, &on) but for the most part, this is a detective story about a secret group known as the Wardens, who are hard at work in Aelfua hoping to bring the Elves back into the world.

At the end of Gedlund, I promised that older, stranger things lurked in forgotten corners of their world, and I think this story delivers them. I look forward to sharing it with you.

William Ray

rated it

Oct. 7, 2017