Everyone in the Taskmaster’s Realm knows that narrative convention is as real as the laws of physics (and often much realer). The ferryman is crotchety and greedy and must be tricked. The mystic ghost has essential wisdom to impart. Barbarians are stupid, hairy drunkards led by a berserker. Convention is just the way the world operates.
And it’s oh, so predictable.
So when Fodder and his friends are forced their separate ways, held captive against impossible odds, and threatened by a fate worse than death, they begin to wonder: If we know exactly how the world works, can’t we make it work for us?
Everyone in the Taskmaster’s Realm knows how the story goes: the boy of destiny goes on a quest, defeats the dark lord, and gets the swooning princess. It’s a great story, if you happen to be a knight or a wizard or a hero. But it’s pretty odious if you’re Ordinary: a barmaid who has to inflate her bosom and have her backside pinched, a homely prince who can’t buckle his swash because his face doesn’t fit, or a soldier who gets killed over and over and over again just to progress the plot.
Fodder of Humble Village is one of those soldiers, and, frankly, he’s sick and tired of getting speared, decapitated, and disembowelled twice a day so the good guys can look glorious. In fact, he’s not going to take it anymore.
No matter what The Narrative tries to make him do.
Fodder successfully rebelled against The Narrative once, but now everything’s going completely and horribly wrong.
It soon becomes apparent that his own companions are even more unstable than he realized, between Flirt’s suicidal rashness, Shoulders’ increasing desperation to keep his head attached to his body, Princess Pleasance’s unwillingness to speak, and Prince Dullard’s inability to shut up.
Unfortunately, Fodder has bigger problems, because the Taskmaster is finally getting serious. That means it’s not just the Heroes hunting Fodder anymore; there’s an entire pantheon of gods after him.
It’s too late to turn back, and Fodder wouldn’t even if he could. He’s determined to unveil the secret of the Quickening, even if it means saving the world while he's at it.
The final (and it is the final one, I promise!) novel in the series, The Taskmaster, will be coming out in Summer 2023! :)
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Narrative-Pl...
US: https://www.amazon.com/Narrative-Plot...
The bigger the army, the harder it falls.
Everyone in the Taskmaster’s Realm knows that narrative convention is as real as the laws of physics (and often much realer). The ferryman is crotchety and greedy and must be tricked. The mystic ghost has essential wisdom to impart. Barbarians are stupid, hairy drunkards led by a berserker. Convention is just the way the world operates.
And it’s oh, so predictable.
So when Fodder and his friends are forced their separate ways, held captive against impossible odds, and threatened by a fate worse than death, they begin to wonder: If we know exactly how the world works, can’t we make it work for us?
It’s time to play.
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https://realmofkatherinevick.blogspot...
And for those of you who’d like to start at the beginning, the first novel, The Disposable can be found here:
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disposable-1...
USA: https://www.amazon.com/Disposable-1-P...
The Narrative Must Be Obeyed.
Everyone in the Taskmaster’s Realm knows how the story goes: the boy of destiny goes on a quest, defeats the dark lord, and gets the swooning princess. It’s a great story, if you happen to be a knight or a wizard or a hero. But it’s pretty odious if you’re Ordinary: a barmaid who has to inflate her bosom and have her backside pinched, a homely prince who can’t buckle his swash because his face doesn’t fit, or a soldier who gets killed over and over and over again just to progress the plot.
Fodder of Humble Village is one of those soldiers, and, frankly, he’s sick and tired of getting speared, decapitated, and disembowelled twice a day so the good guys can look glorious. In fact, he’s not going to take it anymore.
No matter what The Narrative tries to make him do.
And its sequel, The Merry Band can be found here:
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Merry-Band-K...
US: https://www.amazon.com/Merry-Band-Kat...
The Taskmaster Strikes Back!
Fodder successfully rebelled against The Narrative once, but now everything’s going completely and horribly wrong.
It soon becomes apparent that his own companions are even more unstable than he realized, between Flirt’s suicidal rashness, Shoulders’ increasing desperation to keep his head attached to his body, Princess Pleasance’s unwillingness to speak, and Prince Dullard’s inability to shut up.
Unfortunately, Fodder has bigger problems, because the Taskmaster is finally getting serious. That means it’s not just the Heroes hunting Fodder anymore; there’s an entire pantheon of gods after him.
It’s too late to turn back, and Fodder wouldn’t even if he could. He’s determined to unveil the secret of the Quickening, even if it means saving the world while he's at it.
The final (and it is the final one, I promise!) novel in the series, The Taskmaster, will be coming out in Summer 2023! :)