The Last Days of Jericho - Supernatural Horror in the Bronze Age

[tbrookside]

This title is now available in the Barnes and Noble ebook store.

B&N is currently discounting it to $3.19.

[tbrookside]

Today only, this title is currently available FREE in its entirety at Smashwords.

[Moe The Cat]

Originally Posted by tbrookside

Today only, this title is currently available FREE in its entirety at Smashwords.

Thanks for that, Thomas!

[tbrookside]

As of November 3rd. For a limited time.

A monster is approaching the Bronze Age city of Yarich.

Barnes and Noble NOOKBOOK link

It cannot be stopped. It cannot be turned aside.

And the monster is…God Himself.

The Canaanite city of Yarich is home to a society that is literate, cosmopolitan...and doomed. Sakal, caravan-master to the "Melek" or king of the city-state, recounts the tale of the increasingly desperate battle for survival waged by an urban culture against fanatical outsiders – nomads from the desert wielding a terrible supernatural power.

Half "Deuteronomy", half "Gojira", it examines the horror that arises from the knowledge of inexorable fate, and explores the moral ambiguity at the heart of the Old Testament tales that help make up the foundation of western civilization.

Critiquing the Judeo-Christian tradition by taking it literally, the book combines elements from disaster fiction, monster and "kaiju" horror, and the ancient Ugaritic and Egyptian epic cycles to transform a biblical story of miracle and triumph into an apocalyptic tragedy.

Thanks!

[tbrookside]

Thanks to everyone who has downloaded the promotional free B&N copy so far!

It should be free for about another week, if you haven't gotten to it yet!

[tbrookside]

The free promotion for this title has officially ended at Smashwords, but it may take Smashwords a few days to update the Barnes and Noble database to that effect.

So Nook users can still download the title for free for a while longer.

[tbrookside]

An Amazon reviewer writes:

This book has a large emotional impact, good flow and good pace. I would have enjoyed it just as much if it were longer, but I didn't mind that it is fairly short. I thoroughly appreciated the easter eggs, and the way of skewering perspective while attempting to maintain some semblance of the original story. It's engrossing to see what the people of Jericho think of the "righteous, conquering army" that comes their way. I highly recommend it.

[tbrookside]

Another Amazon review:

"Jericho" is a whiplash-paced gem. At just 162 dead-tree pages, a thorough review could embarrass a lesser book, but sophomore author Thomas Brookside's pricing delivers at about a third of the cost per-page of the legacy authors. Buy, borrow, or download this book. You will not be better entertained in the necessary timeframe, or for a better price.

Overall, the svelte story is its own biggest enemy. Brookside's likable characters cry out for subplots -- most notably smirky Bensakal, ethereal Nahara, and the condescending Egyptian contingent -- and more than one passage hints at a whole world of intrigue (political, romantic, and otherwise) just beyond the narrator's perception. As deft as Brookside is at realistic dialogue and characters that act like human beings, I would have enjoyed seeing more of those stories play out. "Jericho" positively shines, however, as a supernatural historical thriller. Despite the frenetic pace, Brookside manages to draw the reader fully into a dense setting steeped in recognizable Biblical history, with a brilliantly enjoyable twist of perspective.

An author -- especially a self-published author -- can do a lot worse than to edit his work too well. And a reader can do much worse than to be left wishing there was more to read.

[Graham]

You've hooked me, Thomas ;-)

Just bought Jericho from Smashwords.

Graham

[caleb72]

The idea behind this story alone seems awesome to me. Have added it to my list of books to buy.

Will definitely be getting it soon.

Regards
Caleb

[tbrookside]

Thanks, Graham! Thanks, Caleb!

I hope you enjoy it. I'd love to hear any feedback you might have, too.

[tbrookside]

If you have read this title, I'd love to get your feedback on Goodreads.

Thanks!

[tbrookside]

Merry Christmas to all new ereader owners!

All 9 million of you!

[caleb72]

Thomas - thanks for a great book. I really enjoyed this. I sent you a PM about one small "anomaly" which I think must be my mistake as it's quite obvious that you've painstakingly researched all of this.

This is what I wrote on GoodReads:

To me, this book is a great example of what can be gained from independent authors and self-publishing. I purchased this book because it had one of the best concepts I've seen for a novel and it was executed very well.

I was expected it to come across as a horror more than it did, but that did not seem to subtract at all from my total enjoyment. The point of view of Sakal was a perfect and sane companion to the plot and all the characters - even when flawed - came across as very human and so elicited compassion from me.

Interestingly, the Jews became completely inhuman in comparison and their god completely alien and unknowable in its inexplicable violence.

It was this complete reversal of an old bible story that drew me in and I was definitely not disappointed. Thomas Brookside should be praised for his achievement in this novel.

I will be buying another copy of this for my sister as I'd like her to read it as well.

I'm not really sure if your Shylock story is for me, although I did read Merchant of Venice many years ago. I was also a little unwilling to go into a zombie story - even in ancient Rome. But I think your book will end up being one of the few (if not only) zombie book on my TBR list for this year.

Regards
Caleb

[DixieGal]

Caleb, I loved the book also. Your review makes me want to re-read it.