Release date: December 17, 2015
Subgenre: YA adventure fantasy
About Redblade:
“I want to be a hero. Like the Monkey Queen.”
Michiko Koyama, the hero known as the Monkey Queen, and her partner in adventure Beth McGill are happily adjusting to finally being more than friends. But Beth has made a new friend, student and fellow geek girl Abigail Main-Drake, and Michiko is trying very hard not to be jealous.
Meanwhile, a rise in assaults by ogres is putting Emigre communities in danger. A hero has risen to help defend them, the swashbuckling sorceress who calls herself Redblade. Michiko is thrilled to have a new ally, but Beth is feeling left out, unneeded.
But what Michiko and Beth don't know is that Abby is Redblade. And that secret, and the magic sword Abby carries, could spell doom for the Monkey Queen.
Join the adventure with Michiko and Beth in this fifth book in the Monkey Queen series, written with new readers in mind! Fantasy with heroines, humor and heart!
Excerpt:
Michiko
stopped in front of the fallen tree and waited for the ogres to catch up to
her. "Wow, you guys are out of shape!" she said to them. "All
that burger grease is slowing you down!"
"Any
more jokes?" one ogre growled.
"Besides
your onion breath?" Michiko made a face. "Not really, no."
"Enough
mockery!" The ogre raised his club.
Without
looking, Michiko jumped up and backwards. She landed on her feet on the fallen
tree. "But I've got mockery I haven't used yet!" she said with a
pout. The side of the fallen tree was surprisingly smooth and level, and it was
easy for Michiko to keep her balance. She was still careful, moving slowly as
the ogres closed in. One jumped up onto one end of the tree, near the roots.
"Ha!"
Michiko turned and saw the other ogre climbing onto the tree, near a clump of
branches. "You were foolish, Monkey Queen!"
"Were?"
Michiko said.
"You're
trapped!" The ogre pointed up with his club. "We have you between us,
and if you try to jump, you'll crash into those low branches!"
"Oh,
no," Michiko said in a flat voice. "I am about to be charged at by
two ferocious, clever ogres. I am surely doomed."
The ogre
who had spoken grinned as he approached Michiko, club raised. Michiko looked
over her shoulder and saw the other ogre running at her from behind. "Die,
Monkey Queen!" he shouted.
She
lowered her staff and waited until both of the ogres were almost upon her. Then,
she jumped off the tree to the ground below. Ogres, she thought as they ran into each other.
Michiko
turned and saw that one ogre was staggering back, while the other was spinning
his arms around, trying to stay upright. She jumped back on the tree and struck
the off-balance ogre on the head with her staff; he tumbled off the tree and
hit the ground with a thud.
The other
ogre was almost on her, but she easily dodged the first swing of his club. Before
he could swing again, she had leaped in the air and kicked him twice in the
head. As he reeled, she landed and unleashed an uppercut punch at his jaw; it
connected, and he slumped across the tree, out cold.
Michiko
took a quick deep breath, but as she exhaled, she felt the fist hitting her in
the back, knocking her off the log. Ouch,
she thought as she slid head first on her stomach across the muddy ground.
Above and
behind her, she could hear the ogre chortle. "Any last words, Monkey
Queen?" he said.
Michiko
rolled on her back. She saw the ogre's club coming at her head, and she quickly
raised her staff. The club shattered as it struck her weapon.
The shocked
ogre stared at what was left of his club. "How about these," Michiko
said as she drew her legs back. "Mix in a salad or two!"
She kicked
up, connecting with the ogre's solar plexus, sending him spinning into the air.
As he started to come down, Michiko jumped to her feet. She swung her staff at
the ogre, hitting him in the side. He flew through the air, smashed into a
nearby redwood, and dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Michiko grinned as she caught her breath. She
looked down at the ogres, and her grin faded. "Oh, great," she
muttered. "Now I have to drag them back to the campsite." She pulled the
one ogre off the fallen tree by his collar, grabbed the other's jacket, and set
off through the forest.Amazon
About Robert Dahlen:
Author bio: Fantasy novelist, all-around wisecracker and penguin
aficionado, Robert Dahlen lives in Northern California with
lots of penguins, a tablet stuffed with e-books and works in progress, a
collection of Disney Infinity figures that is growing exponentially, and a very
nice hat.. He is hopefully working on more Monkey Queen stories (and other
projects) as you read this.
(cover art © 2015 by Willow, and used by permission. See more of her wonderful art at http://willow-san.deviantart.com
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