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The Bloodbaths
The Bloodbaths
Book One of the Aqua Pura Trilogy
Crixus Oraan is a water artesan, an engineer who builds aqueducts and piping for bathhouses and mansions in the empire of Rond. His guild has entrusted him with a large sum of gold, but in a misguided effort to win enough to buy a lavish house for his new fiancé Kharrina, he loses the guild's gold in a card game. In this first volume of the Aqua Pura Trilogy, Crixus finds employment with the Lamiae of Nistru, a cruel society where those at the top bathe in the lifeblood of those at the bottom. Will his conscience allow him to finish the job?
Book Excerpt
They could have all saved thousands of sestrices by contributing to the repair and upgrade of the main aqueduct, and thereby won the hearts of the local population. Instead, they brought their snobbishness with them, so Restia would become an outlying suburb of Greater Rond. Their money--and elitism--would put local laborers to work for years. At least the local economy would pick everyone up, to some small degree.
The cart and donkey stood untouched. Lawlessness had not yet found Restia, aside for the docks. That would change with the new road.
The thought caused Crixus a pang of regret as they loaded the cart and watered the donkey. He would never experience life in Restia as it had been--as Kharrina had experienced it.
He flipped his sestric to Stamm, who caught it and winked. It would be spent on ale before nightfall. Thinking of Kharrina's wry smile, Crixus led the donkey back into town.
2. The Future
The rest of the afternoon sped by in a b
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A well-written book with interesting and unusual characters, Bloodbaths depicts an alternate Earth that starts in what feels like an alternate Roman Republic.
This would have been a four star book with potential for more as the author matures the overall, but I felt it was somewhat dragged out in the middle, and rushed in the end.
There were several passages in the text that went missing, 3-4 times what felt like a paragraph or two of text.
This would have been a four star book with potential for more as the author matures the overall, but I felt it was somewhat dragged out in the middle, and rushed in the end.
There were several passages in the text that went missing, 3-4 times what felt like a paragraph or two of text.
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I also enjoyed this book, The characters were interesting and the story line was believable. Thank you for allowing us to ready the book for free.
12/30/2009
I also enjoyed this book, The characters were interesting and the story line was believable. Thank you for allowing us to ready the book for free.
12/30/2009
I really loved this book. It was easy to get lost in this world and i found i couldn't put it down. I cant wait for the next book to come out.
10/28/2009
Very seldom do I get caught up in adventure fiction. Especially that bordering on science fiction. But maybe that was the lure of it as well.
It was interesting, the characters entertaining, and the ending leading you on to wonder of the further adventures of our heroes.
It was interesting, the characters entertaining, and the ending leading you on to wonder of the further adventures of our heroes.
01/31/2009
