Grimdark Fantasy Archives - tambojones.com

The Lord Apparent’s Razor

December 28, 2019 Comments Off

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Haunted by the ghosts of mutilated servant girls, desperate Castellan Dubric risked his staff to catch their killer. His bold move failed, and page Lars Hargrove nearly died. But Lars saw a scratch on Dubric’s prime suspect, Lord Risley Romlin who is grandson of the king and Faldorrah’s lord. Risley has motive, opportunity, a collapsible razor similar to the killer’s, and an ever-increasing obsession with linen maid Nella.Each morning brings another dead servant girl in the snow, each girl missing her kidneys and hair, each razor-slashed more viciously than the victim before. Residents of the castle grow angrier every day and demand Risley’s arrest, but Dubric has to be certain of Risley’s guilt before risking war. At least until Dubric’s own guards are killed beside the women they failed to protect.

A Film of Blindness

July 19, 2020 Comments Off

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Risley Romlin killed the murderer who’d plagued his grandfather’s castle and tortured his beloved Nella. The horror of the castle slasher finally behind them, Risley and Nella thought they could rest and heal in a nearby village, but Inek, the man who’d corrupted the slasher and sent him to slaughter servant girls, wasn’t done.

Hells, he’s barely started, and now he needs a new apprentice.

Only Risley and Nella stand between him and another murderous rampage. But Risley’s still injured, Nella can’t walk…

And Inek can wield magic.

Weight of the Castellan’s Curse

December 28, 2019 Comments Off

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For Dubric Byerly, aging head of security at Castle Faldorrah, saving lives has become a matter of saving his sanity. A silent, unseen killer stalks his castle, mutilating servant girls while leaving no clues or witnesses—only the gruesome ghosts of the victims. Ghosts only Dubric can see.

Caught in the grisly tangle is Nella, a linen maid working to free herself from a tortured past—if she can survive the invisible killer and pay off her debt to Lord Risley Romlin, grandson of the King and Dubric’s prime suspect. Every snowy dawn brings a new victim, a new ghost, and Dubric must resort to unconventional methods to unravel the few clues. With the future of Faldorrah and countless lives at stake, including his own, he can’t afford to be wrong. And if he’s right, the entire kingdom could be thrust into war.

Seeking the Devil’s Eye

July 19, 2020 Comments Off

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Dubric was summoned to The Reach to find an artist taken by the dark, but found the ghosts of twenty-three murdered young men instead, all violently tortured before they were killed. Despite the best efforts of Dubric and his team, Braoin Duncannon, the young artist they had been called to find, was murdered by a madman’s needle through his skull. Most of Dubric’s clues are lost to the river after the bodies are dumped—if the bodies are ever found at all—and local officials remain more concerned with blame than providing assistance. Despite numerous ghosts and limited clues, Dubric has to press on, has to find the thread leading him to Braoin’s killer, because the long-dead Demon of The Reach has returned to take Otlee into the dark.

The Seer of Truth

December 28, 2019 Comments Off

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Eleven murders, eleven ghosts, and one lone linen maid.

An unseen killer has slaughtered ten servant girls and one guard, leaving disemboweled corpses in the castle courtyard. But Nella, a linen maid, survived her attack. The slasher took only her hair, not her life.
Nella loves a nobleman, the King’s grandson Risley—she admitted it with a bloody razor held to her throat—then she woke in Risley’s bed, surrounded by shining Holy Knights who pledged to protect her at any cost. Soon her beloved fled, insisting he left to get help. Without Risley near, the knights remained true to their vow and killed a man who attempted to assault her.

The castle people grow ever angrier in the wake of the knights’ ruthless protection and demand Risley’s arrest and execution. Castellan Dubric does little to quash their fury, but Dubric has burdens of his own—the heavy, dribbling ghosts of the eleven slaughtered victims, mostly servant girls like Nella. Dubric’s set a high bounty for Risley capture and return to the castle alive, but Nella, now isolated from even her friends, fears the reward may not be enough to save Risley’s life.

The Scourge of Demon Metal

July 19, 2020 Comments Off

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The castle slasher is dead, killed by Risley Romlin to save his beloved Nella, but Castellan Dubric finds more death in the slasher’s secluded lair along with a terrifying corruption, a substance so vile none but the corrupted can look upon it, let alone touch it. He knows someone else has been killing and collecting death in ways he hasn’t seen since The War. Someone who corrupted the castle slasher. Someone who wields the scourge of Demon Metal.
Meanwhile, Risley’s taken Nella to the nearby village of Klinder to rest and heal and plan their future together. They think it’s quiet and safe, but they soon learn the killing’s not over, not yet.
Because this new threat is in the village, watching the young couple and the soldier assisting them. He has a score to settle and Dubric’s too far away to stop him this time.