#philliptomasso

A war is coming. There is no way to prevent it. The only thing for certain is that there will be one loser. . .and one winner. WIZARD’S RISE (A Severed Empire Novel)

For over two hundred years the Rye Empire enforced drastic measures outlawing the use of magic. To avoid capture a handful of remaining Wizards escaped royal persecution and made it into hiding. Shortly after the decree the empire crumbled, but the laws remained in place. . .

The Mountain King’s ambitions of becoming the next Emperor will be realized. With forced help from an enslaved sorceress, he will stop at nothing until he achieves his dreams. The easiest path to victory can be obtained by retrieving buried talismans. With those enchanted items in his possession he can summon the Wizards, steal, and harness their power.

In an effort to save the Old Empire from a growing, sinister magic, seventeen-year-old farmboy Mykal and five friends begin a desperate journey. They must collect the talismans before the Mountain King. Their trek will force Mykal to face fears, and accept truths he’d never known existed. There isn’t much time. A war is coming.

Their chances of winning will depend on whether they succeed or not. If they fail, a terrible darkness will steal the light from the Grey Ashland Realm. . .forever.

 I’m generally not a huge fan of fantasy but, I’m always willing to try something new, as was the case with Phillip Tomasso’s Wizard’s Rise.  While it took me a little bit to really get immersed in the story and to get to know the characters, overall I think that this is a good turnout for fantasy fans. The story follows young farmboy Mykal on a perilous adventure in an effort to stop the upcoming war. Throughout the tale Mykal learns more about his family, his own role as a powerful wizard.  Mykal and readers get to experience the adventure together as Mykal’s powers develop more with each task and talisman they must find.  

As seems to be the case with many fantasy books there are some moments where there is a lot of descriptive detail of places and things that at times distracted me a bit from the story.  The momentum of the tale builds extremely well, leaving the reader much more engrossed in the story by the end of the book.  The one real downside for me was that this book is not a standalone tale and ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.  Be prepared to keep an eye out for more from Tomasso in this series to follow the rest of Mykal’s adventure.

Overall, this was a fairly solid read for a genre that is generally not my personal taste.  If you’re a fantasy fan, be sure to check out Wizard’s Rise and let me know what you think!

Purchase Links~

Amazon

To find out more information about Mirror Matter Press, visit their

website

Phillip Tomasso is the award-winning author of over 17 novels. He began his career writing mystery and suspense novels in 2000. Since, he has gone on to publish books in a wide variety of genres, including Horror, Young Adult, Science Fiction, and Fantasy.

His first short story was published in 1995, and he was paid a penny a word. It was an 8,000-word western.

However, it being a Canadian publication—and at a time, when the U.S. dollar was worth more—his check was for just under $40. It was a great starting point, and has been selling regularly since then.

Although not a full-time writer, Tomasso works a full-time job as well. After 19 years at Kodak as an employment law paralegal, he’s spent the last six plus years a Fire/EMS Dispatcher for 9-1-1. He works the midnight shift, First Platoon, and has found the hours conducive to his creativity.

Tomasso prefers to both read books in the same genres he writes. He has been inspired by the likes of Walter Mosley, the entire Easy Rawlins series. Anything by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Robin Cook, John Saul, Warren Hammond, Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Charlie Huston’s Joe Pitt novels, and Jim Butcher’s Dresden series. Just to name a few!

Tomasso lives in Rochester, NY with his 3 kids—who are not little any longer. Aside from reading and writing, Tomasso plays guitar, and is an self-admitted horrible singer. He is always at work on a next novel.

For more information, visit Tomasso’s website.

Praise for Phillip Tomasso~

“This is different … confident, addictive storytelling, great characters, and an intriguing plot. You’ll read it fast but remember it for a long time. ” —Lee Child, best-selling author of One Shot and the Jack Reacher series

“(Tomasso) takes the standard fare of the private investigator genre and adds twists and turns to make it anything but standard. Tomasso’s writing is crisp and clear … thoroughly enjoyable.” —Joseph Nassise, author of Internal Games and King of the Dead

“Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island is one of my all time favorite adventure yarns . . . Tomasso has managed to preserve Stevenson’s characters and pacing as the story enters this terrifying new adventure into the land of the living dead.  I hadn’t counted on loving this story as much as I did, but it surprised me and delighted me and terrified me every time I turned the page.  Great adventure, great thrills, and a terrifying glimpse into the jaws of death.  Highly recommended!” –Joe McKinney, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Dog Days and Plague of the Undead