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Paul E. Horsman
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Shardfall (The Shardheld Saga Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Paul E. Horsman (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 out of 5 stars 47
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Muus is only a thrall, a chattel without rights, but he knows the small, blue shard he picked up belongs to him alone. His commonsense saves their lives from cold and starvation.

Kjelle, heir to the Lord of a rich mininghold, is spoiled, and covetous of his thrall's tantalizing find. His greed causes an avalanche that leaves both young men marooned on an icy mountain slope.

Birthe, young wisewoman and huntress, mother of baby boy Búi, is brave and clever. She knows her way through the snowy wilderness of the Norden and her songs are filled with magic.

Now the three young people are bound together on a danger-laden journey to a lost and burning land, where Muus needs to connect the skyshard to the Kalmanir, the standing stone that is the world’s wellspring of all magic. The Kalmanir's time is almost up and it urgently needs to be replenished before the magic of Gods and men runs out. The two boys have to learn to trust each other, for all around them, enemies abound. Rebels threaten both the kingdom and Kjelle's holding, and a tribe of mad idolaters is trying to recall the banned primordial Old Gods. Even more imminent is Muus' danger, for it comes from nearby, from the shard itself.

An action-packed adventure in a snowy land full of betrayal, rebellion and danger.
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    The Shardheld Saga
  2. Print length
    133 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    January 20, 2014
  6. Reading age
    15 - 18 years
  7. File size
    1719 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

5 Star review by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' FavoriteShardfall: The Shardheld Saga (Volume 1) by Paul E. Horsman is the story of two men, Muus and Kjelle, who are trapped in an avalanche which leaves them stranded on the icy mountain slopes, fighting cold and starvation. Kjelle knows about the small blue shard picked up by Muus. Muus has to now connect that skyshard to the Kalmanir, a standing stone which is the world's fount of all magic. In trying times when they are surrounded by only enemies, Muus and Kjelle become friends and learn to trust each other. They have to reach the Kalmanir to replenish before its magic dies. Will they be able to do it?The story takes us through a tough journey in a snowy land. The four main characters, Muus, Kjelle, Tuuri and Birthe with her baby boy Bui, form an integral part of the story. Apart from undergoing this journey, it is also a journey into themselves, which makes them realize about their true selves. The antagonism between Muus and Kjelle and the realization that they need to help each other for survival is interesting to read. The story captures the starkness and harshness of the biting cold. The discovery of the blue light adds to the magic appeal of the book. Like any fantasy story, this book also enthralls its readers with adventure, intrigue, whimsy, and suspense.The historical setting, Norse mythology, and magic have been woven into the story with great expertise. The story line is clear and the scenes are described with clarity, which makes it vivid and colorful.

About the Author

Paul E. Horsman is a Dutch fantasy author, born on June 22 1952 in Bussum, The Netherlands. He served his country as a soldier in Surinam and was a scoutmaster for over 30 years. After many years in business, he worked from 1995 to 2012 in education. Since 2012 he is a professional writer. SF and Fantasy fascinated him since High School, but only in 2007 he took the first steps in what ultimately would become the fantasy world of the kingdom of Rhidauna. The first three books of his series The Shadow of the Revenaunt were published in The Netherlands in 2012 and 2013. Especially for the international market, Horsman writes a new series, The Shardheld Saga, of which book #1, Shardfall, appeared in June 2013.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00D962P6E
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Red Rune Books; 1st edition (January 20, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 20, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1719 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 133 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 47

About the author

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Paul E. Horsman

Paul E. Horsman

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Paul E. Horsman (1952) is a Dutch and International Fantasy Author. Born and bred in the Netherlands, he now lives in Roosendaal, a town on the Dutch-Belgian border.

He has been a soldier, a salesman, a scoutmaster and an instructor in Dutch as a Second Language and Integration to refugees from all over the globe.

Now retired, he is a full-time writer of fantasy adventure stories suitable for a broad age range. Several of his books are both published in the Netherlands, and internationally.

His works are characterized by their rich, diverse worlds, colorful peoples and a strong sense of equality between women and men. Many of his stories, like The Shardheld Saga trilogy and The Shadow of the Revenaunt books, have mythological or historical elements in them, while others, especially Lioness of Kell and his current Wyrms of Pasandir books, contain many steampunk elements.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
47 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Melissa @ RIA
5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and original fantasy
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2013
Shardfall is the first book in The Shardheld Saga. Sometimes with a first book the kinks are still getting worked out, but I didn't find that problem at all with Shardfall. I was interested immediately, and I thought the book was very well written. The characters are engaging, the scenery explained well, and the plot exciting.

The book centers around four main characters, with plenty of secondary characters throughout. I was invested in each of these characters and how everything would turn out for them. I enjoyed Muus in all of his strength. I started out disliking Kjelle, but I loved the growth he went through in this book. Birthe is a bit in your face, which I really enjoyed. Tuuri is a character that I assume we'll learn more about later. He is the only character that I didn't completely connect with, but that may be because I was so distracted by Muus, Kjelle, and Birthe's adventure. There were also many secondary characters that I loved, especially Hraab.

I have read some fantasy books, and while they all tend to center around some type of journey, I found Shardfall to possess plenty of aspects that made it very original. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters and following along on their adventure. I loved the magic, the gods, and the interesting glimpse into the society's hierarchy. I think that lovers of fantasy will enjoy reading this book. I can't wait to read the next one.

I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
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Andrea at Adventures in All Things Food
4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Quest Begins
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2013
Verified Purchase
Shardfall is the first book of the Shardheld Saga, written by Paul E. Horsman. In this book the cast of characters is assembled and the great quest is outlined. I immediately felt compassion for Muus and disliked how Kjelle treated him. But since Muus is the main character in the book, and Shardheld, the tables soon turn and the "thrall" or slave becomes empowered. I have to hope there will be some redemption for Kjelle, maybe in the upcoming books, since he is just such an un-likable character. I like how Horsman developed his characters throughout this first book and little by little showed us the past of each character and the motivations that made them who they are in our present story.

I appreciate that the story was not just steeped in testosterone. I was pleasantly surprised to see a female character, Birthe, holding her own in the story. And with a young babe, no less.

Overall I enjoyed reading Shardfall. There was a lot of names and background to become familiar with in this book, but I expect to devour the next ones and just continue on with the story where Shardfall left off.
3 people found this helpful
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Fan reader
3.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2018
Verified Purchase
A good read
One person found this helpful
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Becca Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Viking Journey
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2013
I absolutely loved this book. I loved that it was set back in time during the Viking era. Everything begins as you meet a slave named Muus, who has a master that is named Kjelle. Kjelle and Muus go on a hike up the mountain to find the source of what is making the blue light. An avalanche ensues after that and this is where everything truly begins of them having to work together to survive and find answers. I will warn that a lot of the names of the people are a little hard to pronounce but whatever you decide to call the characters in your head is perfectly fine as there are not many to remember.

The author was very into describing how the characters felt and what their surroundings were like so that you could really get a feel for everything that they were having to endure. One of my favorite characters in the book that seemed to me to be the most calm in all the sticky situations was Birthe, the Volva. When everyone else was scrambling, she was almost always the voice of reason.

I can not wait until the next installment in the story because I was left hanging a little too much at the end of this one. Overall, this gets FIVE STARS because I enjoyed the plot and the characters and it left me begging for the next book.

Disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book for my open and honest view. All opinions are my own.
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Wade
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Quest-Adventure Story
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2014
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed reading Shardfall. It’s a short tale but filled with adventure. It has an authentic Scandinavian/Viking feel to it, beyond the names. The author lives in the Netherlands, so that only makes sense, but I mention this as the feel of the characters, culture, and actions with a keen interest in such a setting will appreciate it.

The combination of myth and magic bumped this up from an average quest-type story, and the difficult relationship between the thrall, Muus and master, Kjelle and how it developed by necessity kept it interesting.
2 people found this helpful
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Sue Ann B
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book!!!
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2013
Wow - the first in The Shardheld Saga series and I am already wanting the second book!!!

Being the first in the series, the author does a fantastic job with character development - being sure to give each character their chance of being the star for a while. Taking into consideration all the twist and turns that are in the story - only made the story that much more interesting. The author also went into great detail with descriptions of the characters surroundings - made you feel like you were experiencing the biting wind or hearing the wind howling as it blew.

I found this to be another one of those - I just can NOT put this book down type books. My only complaint is the way the book ended. I was expecting another chapter and there was no more - so, now I wait for the 2nd book of the series to be available.

I received a copy of this book for an honest review.
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