Today marks the official kickoff of the The World Maker Parable Book Tour presented by Storytellers On Tour, and we’ve got a great lineup helping us spotlight this incredible Dark Fantasy tale! The World Maker Parable is Luke Tarzian’s recently released prequel novella in his Shadow Twins series, and it follows in its predecessor’s footsteps as being one of the most unique and challenging stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.
We’ve enlisted the help of a group of wonderful and talented bloggers and Bookstagrammers to help us celebrate the release of the The World Maker Parable. This is what we have going on, so make sure to check out each and everyone one throughout the week for some brilliant content, including reviews, spotlights, interviews, and more.
The Tour
APRIL 26TH – THE WELCOMING
Whispers & Wonder
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APRIL 27TH
The Busy Shelf
The Swordsmith
Kira L. Curtis
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APRIL 28TH
Weatherwax Report
Armed With A Book
Bookends and Bagends
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APRIL 29TH
Annej Reads
Bookriot
The Bookwyrm Speaks
Under a Pile of Books
@trappedinsidestories
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APRIL 30TH
FanFiAddict
The Grimdragon
The Caffeinated Reader
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MAY 1ST
Out of this World SFF Reviews
The Grimoire Reliquary
Fantasy That Takes Flight
@bibliophilesandcoffee
—
MAY 2ND – THE ENCORE
RockStarlit BookAsylum
For more about this tour visit Storytellers On Tour.
The Book
SERIES: Shadow Twins (#0)
PUBLISHED: April 14, 2020 (Self-published)
PAGES: 140
GENRE: Dark Fantasy
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Blurb
Guilt will always call you back…
Rhona is a faithful servant of the country Jémoon and a woman in love. Everything changes when her beloved sets the ravenous Vulture goddess loose upon the land. Forced to execute the woman she loves for committing treason, Rhona discovers a profound correlation between morality and truth. A connection that might save her people or annihilate them all.
You are a lie…
Varésh Lúm-talé is many things, most of all a genocidal liar. A falsity searching for the Phoenix goddess whom he believes can help him rectify his atrocities. Such an undertaking is an arduous one for a man with missing memories and a conscience set on rending him from inside out. A man whose journey leads to Hang-Dead Forest and a meeting with a Vulture goddess who is not entirely as she seems.
Review
ALSO REVIEWED AT: Goodreads
…Even the worst of us, the most misguided can achieve redemption.
The World Maker Parable is Luke Tarzian’s creatively complex and poignant follow-up novella to his Dark Fantasy debut Vultures. Much like its predecessor, it focuses on the fragile balance between order and chaos, and is an exposition of the very human feelings of guilt and grief, as well as the horrific punishment one endures at the hands of their own self. This review is going to be a bit different than what I usually present for several reasons; the most significant being talking about both the plot and characters in detail will completely spoil this tale in its entirety, and simply because I feel the need to speak about what this novella evokes, rather than an examination of the story itself. I’ve given this much thought, and honestly, I can’t get this story out of my head.
Thumbing through the pages of one of Tarzian’s books is akin to studying a Dali. Gorgeously mind-bending and thought-provoking, an emotional journey, if you will. His ability to pay homage to humanity with characters and worlds that are anything but is just astounding, a skill so very rarely seen in the literary world. What you see is by no means what you get, the truth lurking far beneath the surface just waiting to emerge. Hauntingly beautiful, these strange and intelligent forays into his mind leave you in a state of utter disorientation, with an endless, insatiable hunger for more.
In Parable we’re submerged in a deluge of surreal and menacing landscapes, each cultivating such a sense of hopeless foreboding–a forest of the hanging dead, crumbling ruins lost to time, sky-shattering monolithic towers, all encompassed by a wind that carries upon it the unmistakable taste of ash. And strangely, they somehow also conjure an impression of complete serenity – solace in the silence. What should’ve taken me about a day to read took far longer, because there was a need to savor the experience, carefully visualizing the world being constructed around me.
Life where once there had been death. Brilliance where once the light was silent. But most of all, the dreams. The images and whispers born of illium prying memories from the depths of the abyss.
As mentioned, I won’t discuss the characters in much detail, but I need to touch upon how superbly they are portrayed. Otherworldly, divine beings cloaked in majestic wings, with eyes that reflect the endless chasm of the universe, their power only threatened by their self-doubt. They’re world-shapers, creating life that echoes themselves, inevitably leading to exquisite imperfection.
Tarzian tells this tale with a remarkable lyrical prose, setting the stage for a staggering dreamlike spiral of a journey, using descriptors that easily rip readers from reality and pitch them into the yawning black abyss. While many stories offer a glimmer of hope, Parable continues on its slow and grisly descent into the shadowy recesses of the psyche, where all manner of monsters prowl. Even without the use of excessive bloodshed and the dread and consequences of war, it is easily one of the darkest books I’ve ever read, because what could possibly be more grim than the horrors of the mind? It’s crushing, it’s moving, it’s a thing of beauty.
It’s far too easy to lose yourself while searching for truth in the lies as you make your way through The World Maker Parable. Tarzian, unafraid to crack open his heart and let his soul blanket the pages, takes readers on an expedition detailing the origins of his Shadow Twins universe, where nothing is as it seems. This is definitely not for those looking for a light, airy adventure, but rather for those seeking a challenge. Expect confusion, but know that everything will come together in the most unexpected of ways. In order to truly appreciate what Tarzian has done here, you really need to pick up the story yourself – I can’t recommend this book enough.
The Author
Luke Tarzian was born in Bucharest, Romania until his parents made the extremely poor choice of adopting him less than six months into his life. As such, he’s resided primarily in the United States and currently lives in California with his wife and their infant daughters. Fascinated by psychology and the work of Edgar Allan Poe, and inspired by his own anxieties, his character-driven fiction functions as a meditation on emotion, most commonly grief. His debut novel, Vultures, introduced a surreal, demon-ridden world where dreams are sometimes more than dreams and magic, memories, and misery are heavily entwined. Vultures is the first book in the Shadow Twins trilogy with a prequel novella entitled The World Maker Parable due out April 2020.
WEBSITE: https://www.luketarzian.com/
The Giveaway
Enter to win one physical copy of The World Maker Parable, courtesy of Luke Tarzian.
(US Only)
That’s all I got for ya! Be sure to keep an eye on the official The World Maker Parable tour page over at Storytellers On Tour (https://storytellersontour.online/2020/03/26/tour-schedule-the-world-maker-parable-by-luke-tarzian/) to see what the other bloggers and Bookstagrammers have to say!
Find out more about Storytellers On Tour or join our team:
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Happy Reading!
🖤
3 comments
Love the book cover! Is the second time that I’ve seen this book now I have to read it. Since its a follow up Novella do we have to read Vultures first?
Yes! His covers (which he creates himself, by the way) are always gorgeous. It’s definitely a great book to pick up, and no, you don’t need to read Vultures to fully enjoy Parable. That’s not to say you *shouldn’t* read Vultures! That’s another great one. I hope you enjoy when you pick it/them up!
Wow! He’s really talented and Thank you 🙂 I’ve added it to my tbr list.