A Recommended Reading List Pick for Locus and a Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Editors' Pick for Amazon
A Reactor Magazine Best of the Year Pick
"Omigosh! I've just found an author to put on my list of I've got to read everything they ever wrote! The Warden is a gem of the first order. Aelis is my hero."—Glen Cook, author of The Black Company
"Old-school fun with new-school sensibilities."—Marie Brennan, author of A Natural History of Dragons: a Memoir By Lady Trent
"A dark and delightful coming-of-age story, a reading experience that captures the best essence of a single-player tabletop RPG romp with a sly and witty gamemaster."—Elizabeth Bear, multiple Hugo-award winner
"An appealing new fantasy series filled with adventure, action, and old magic."—Library Journal
"Captures an endearing fish out of water vibe in this pleasantly romantic fantasy about the importance of supporting one’s local necromancer. . . . The charming misfit cast is the highlight here. Readers who enjoy the maturing mages and heroes of Robin McKinley and Melissa Caruso will find another youngster on the rise to cheer for in these pages."—Publishers Weekly
"If such a category as a ‘cozy mystery' exists, then The Warden should be placed on the ‘‘cozy fantasy’’ shelf that must be nearby. . . . When the second book is released, I plan to save it for a week when real life is hectic and I’m craving a fresh-yet-familiar world to sink into."—Locus
"A great first entry in a series, setting up an interesting sword-and-sorcery world whose secondary cast clearly has stories to tell, from retired soldiers turned innkeeping couple Rus and Martin to a pair of dwarves who are bankers turned adventurers. Fans of Brandon Sanderson will enjoy details about the complex magical system. It will be fascinating to see where Aelis, and her world, goes from here."—Booklist
"I was hooked. . . . It’s refreshing to read a fantasy adventure with a female main character who feels realistic. . . . I had a lot of fun with The Warden."—Geekly Inc
“I would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a quick fantasy read that features a strong female protagonist, really cool magic, and some fascinating worldbuilding that transports the reader into a wondrous setting “—Out of This World SFF
Praise for Daniel M. Ford
"With a brisk plot, believable characters who balance wit with grit, and a complex world rife with intrigue and moral quandaries, Ford completely banishes all thoughts of middle-book sag. This is heroic fantasy far above the usual hack-and-slash, raising compelling questions about morality and belief in a tale full of excitement and high-stakes action." —Publishers Weekly Starred Review, on Stillbright
"In Body Broker, we meet Jack Dixon, the literary world's newest wise-cracking, swashbuckling, bad decision-making P.I. All his follies and scrapes and bruises and bizarre enemies are bad news for him, but make for exciting reading for us. Don't miss this one." —Rion Amilcar Scott, author of The World Doesn't Require You
02/20/2023
Ford (the Paladin Trilogy) captures an endearing fish out of water vibe in this pleasantly romantic fantasy about the importance of supporting one’s local necromancer. Ambitious necromancer Aelis de Lenti is disappointed to be appointed Warden of the remote frontier town of Lone Pine, off on the edge of fallen Old Ystain kingdom and far from the city life she enjoys. Overqualified but determined to keep the peace and win over her wary neighbors, she turns her considerable skills to dealing with tavern brawls, sheep-killing bears, and family squabbles. Helping her cope are the ex-military spouses who run the local tavern, a half-orc shape-shifter whose silence in tracking is matched by his eloquence in speaking, and a beautiful half-elf adventurer who might prove more than a friend. But there’s a reason Aelis was assigned to Lone Pine: a nest of undead monstrosities lurks in the orc-haunted wilderness that the town borders, and it falls to Aelis to keep them from overrunning the kingdom. The charming misfit cast is the highlight here. Readers who enjoy the maturing mages and heroes of Robin McKinley and Melissa Caruso will find another youngster on the rise to cheer for in these pages. Agent: Paul Lucas, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Apr.)
02/01/2023
Lady Aelis de Lenti un Tirraval, daughter of a noble house, was determined to become a Magister of the Lyceum, one of the only female necromancers, and create her own profitable life in a lovely cultured city as its Warden. Instead, Aelis finds herself as Warden of Lone Pine, a tiny village far removed from most of what she considers civilization. For the next two years Aelis will serve the residents and likely have manual labor and farm husbandry as the bulk of her duties. When a traveling salvage group makes its way to Lone Pine, Aelis soon finds that trouble has followed them. As she works to track the source of the problems, Aelis discovers that the answers lie in magic: old, repudiated magic that no Magister should ever consider using. But it may lead Aelis on a path far bigger than Lone Pine. High stakes are set with characters rooted in war and magical trauma, and Aelis's school scenes frame her new role and discoveries. VERDICT Ford (Cheap Heat) begins an appealing new fantasy series filled with adventure, action, and old magic.—Kristi Chadwick
Lindsey Dorcus smoothly narrates this adventurous audiobook perfect for fans of fantasy role-playing games. Aelis, a recently graduated wizard and the only female necromancer, is assigned to guard the remote village of Lone Pine as their new warden. Because Aelis is used to people's disdain for her choices in magic and their sexist skepticism of her abilities, Dorcus's voice is appropriately brazen and occasionally exasperated. Tun, Aelis's companion, is voiced gruffly with staccato enunciation. Dorcus emotionally connects with Aelis's passion for her charges and her burgeoning romance with a beautiful half-elf woman. As the citizens of Lone Pine start to act strangely and violence breaks out, Dorcus's narration intensifies, hooking listeners on the unfolding mystery that Aelis's unique magic can confront. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Lindsey Dorcus smoothly narrates this adventurous audiobook perfect for fans of fantasy role-playing games. Aelis, a recently graduated wizard and the only female necromancer, is assigned to guard the remote village of Lone Pine as their new warden. Because Aelis is used to people's disdain for her choices in magic and their sexist skepticism of her abilities, Dorcus's voice is appropriately brazen and occasionally exasperated. Tun, Aelis's companion, is voiced gruffly with staccato enunciation. Dorcus emotionally connects with Aelis's passion for her charges and her burgeoning romance with a beautiful half-elf woman. As the citizens of Lone Pine start to act strangely and violence breaks out, Dorcus's narration intensifies, hooking listeners on the unfolding mystery that Aelis's unique magic can confront. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
