release date: June 22, 2016
sub-genre: Epic Fantasy
About The Water Road:
Two women are about to expose a terrible secret that will
turn their world upside down.
For centuries the great river known as the Water Road
separated the Altrerians in the north from the Neldathi in the south. When the
Neldathi clans united and struck out across the river, the nations of Altreria
formed an alliance, the Triumvirate, to drive them back. For more than a
hundred years after, the Triumvirate kept the Neldathi barbarians at bay,
fighting amongst themselves across the Water Road.
Antrey is a woman without a country, the daughter of a
Neldathi mother and an Altrerian father. She’s found a role for herself in
Tolenor, the headquarters of the Triumvirate, that's given her access to a
secret the alliance has kept for generations. When she finds it, she explodes
with rage and embarks on a quest to find justice for the Neldathi people.
Strefer is a reporter without a story, desperately working
the streets of Tolenor for any kind of lead. When Antrey flees the city,
Strefer slips in and discovers her uncovered secret, stained with blood and
fury. It’s the story of a lifetime, one powerful forces want to keep her from
telling. With the help of a renegade Sentinel, Strefer sets out for a mythical
city in hopes she can make the world listen to the truth.
Together, they’ll inflame the passions of a people and set
the world alight. The Water Road -
first book of The Water Road trilogy.
Excerpt:
“Antrey, you know how happy it makes me to see you so involved
with books,” Alban said, adopting a fatherly tone, “but your grasp of history
is rather shallow at this point. Bringing together the Guilders, the Arborians,
and the Telebrians has brought out the best in all of us. It has shown that we
can work together peacefully in common cause.”
“Can you actually hear yourself, Alban?” Antrey asked. “How can
you make that argument, to me of all people, in the face of this enthusiastic
embrace of bloodshed? I know you, Alban. You are such a good man. If not, I
wouldn’t be here right now. Why would you, of all people, defend this?”
“Because it’s worked, damn you!” Alban shouted, all pretence of
respect and calm shattered. “Because in the century since the Neldathi revolt was
put down and this alliance was formed the Neldathi have stayed where they
belong, in those horrible mountains south of the Water Road. Their nature is
base. They seek only conflict and know only strife. Better those urges be
turned on themselves than on us.”
Antrey staggered under the weight of his words, unable to respond
for a moment. “Is that it, then, Alban? No matter how distasteful the means, so
long as your people benefit, the suffering of others is all right? You care
nothing for the Neldathi who dies, cold and alone in the falling snow, in the
wake of some pointless battle?” Although she spoke calmly and chose her words
with care, Antrey’s fury was still present and had begun to focus itself. Her
initial reaction to the Triumvirate’s policy had been abstract, a rage against
something done long ago by people long since dead. All that had changed,
however, the more Alban talked. Now the anger in her was directed at the man in
front of her. He was her employer, her mentor, and her savior. Still, she hated
him for the secret he kept and the way he kept it.
As she had come around the desk, Antrey had somehow picked up the
pikti, the ancient Sentinel fighting staff, that was normally propped in the
corner of Alban’s office. It was so light that it felt like barely anything was
there. The weight surprised her. She had held a sword once, a small one, and by
comparison it was a clumsy weapon, a weight that hung on the end of her arm
like a dead limb. Not the pikti. Even when she took it in both bands, it felt
like a part of her, an extension of her will. As if it would do whatever she
commanded. She held it out in front of her, hands about a foot apart.
“Antrey,
put that down,” Alban said, raising his hands again. His tone had softened
considerably since he, too, noticed the weapon in her hand. “You have no idea
what that can do, and you’re liable to hurt yourself. Neither of us wants
anyone to get hurt, right?” He started to back away from her slowly.
About J.D. Byrne:
JD Byrne was born and raised around Charleston, West Virginia,
before spending seven years in Morgantown getting degrees in history and
law from West Virginia University. He's practiced law for more than 15
years, writing briefs where he has to stick to real facts and real law.
In his fiction, he gets to make up the facts, take or leave the law,
and let his imagination run wild. He lives outside Charleston with his
wife and one-eyed dog.
He has a blog series called Water Road Wednesday where he talks about the book, provides excerpts, and more. You can read more about The Water Road Trilogy here.
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