Discoucia/Gemenicia by Nicholas Lovelock -Reveiw Tour

Discoucia
(A Victorianish Fairytale / Discoucia #1)
by Nicholas Lovelock
Genre: YA, Steampunk
Release Date: June 29, 2017

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Revolution, romance and technological wonders are all in a day’s work for the decorated hero of Avalonia, Sir Arthur Pageon.

An acclaimed explorer and inventor, Sir Arthur Pageon takes his unofficial role as defender of the realm of Avalonia very seriously. A fantastical world, Avalonia is home to the Discoucian Monarchy, as well as monstrous creatures and secretive academies for the highly gifted.

Upon returning from his most recent exploits aboard on his personal flying galleon The Nostradamus, Pageon is treated to a hero’s welcome and celebratory procession through the streets of Avalonia’s capital, Evermore. Little does Pageon know he’s being followed by a mysterious group known as the Purple Guard, whose devious leader is his estranged sister, Queen Lily Pageon of Harrha Island. Fiercely intelligent, Lily specialises in dastardly technological inventions with the aim of bringing down the Discoucian Monarchy so that she may reign as its dictator. However, the heir to the throne is one Princes Josephine Oladine, whose youth and royal position masks her role in the Discoucian Secret Service.

Joining forces, Princess Josephine and Sir Arthur’s adventures will take them across the whole of Avalonia — from the fog-bound shores of Karga, to the secret underground shanty town beneath the frozen prison of Icester, south to the verdant city of Proceur and from there to the affluent Starfall Academy — in their quest to foil Lily’s revolutionary

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REVIEW: Reading the back cover I was a little intrigued. A new author is always a risk, but I fired up my kindle and dived in …..

Sir Arthur Pageon is an adventurer and an explorer. He invents in his spare time, but he’s also a guardian (an unofficial one) he guards the realm from creatures that would do them harm.

But coming back from his latest adventure he’s followed by a mysterious figure (we find out later that his sister has sent spies to watch Arthur)

Josephine is heir to the throne of Avalonia, but it’s under attack from Queen Lily Pageon (yes Arthur’s sister) she wants Avalonia under her rule, and will do anything to get it. So Josephine and Arthur join forces in a bid to stop Lily. (We also find out that Josephine is a type of secret agent for the royal family, so is capable of handling herself).

They travel through Avalonia and into many other regions, searching for a way to thwart Lily. (how? You’ll have to read to find that one out)?

We meet a variety of people (including the only crew member of Arthur’s flying galleon) and we meet a few Godesses (who I’m sure will play a major role in the next book).

I’ll have to admit, the writers style is very different to what I’m use to reading. It does jump around, and everything is minutely detailed?but once you get a few chapters read, you get inside the author head. It’s very descriptive and very well written. And I’m reminded of a movie I watched a little while back “Stardust” with flying ships and double dealings.

Copy supplied for review

? Reviewed by Julie B

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Gemenicia
(A Farewell To Epics / Discoucia #2)
By Nicholas Lovelock
Genre: YA, Steampunk
Release Date:May 30, 2019

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The second part of Arthur and Jo’s strange adventures throughout the land of Discoucia, and a time when Archie the Water Goddess has made the ultimate sacrifice to rid the world of her nemesis, Cordelia Paradise, the Fire Goddess.

However, things rarely go to plan and Arthur finds himself at war with Archie’s hidden agenda rather than the insane task that he has to help Archie complete.

Hidden around Discoucia in its sixteen major cities are sixteen gems that Archie must collect before a year is up. If she wins then Cordelia will disappear to another dimension and not return until she agrees to stop causing forest fires, volcanic eruptions and droughts.

Team Archie has Arthur and Jo, who both have the understanding that by collecting these gems a natural order can be brought back and maybe Jo’s father will get well again. Team Cordelia has Alicia May, who has a talent for becoming anyone and a deep malicious streak; and Iren, who has a fanatical hatred for Archie, which Archie herself doesn’t like to talk about.

Along the way they meet old friends and old enemies, as well as Archie having to perform miracles without the use of divine power. From the murky ruins of Tanalos to the haunted corridors of Ashin Dance Academy, the frozen caverns of Icester and the verdant streets of Proceur, the adventure will take them around Discoucia and beyond, unless Cordelia and Alicia May can stop them first…

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REVIEW: After reading the first book (Dicoucia A Victorianish Fairytale) which I throughly enjoyed, I happily dived into the second book.

Jo and Arthur have to race through sixteen cities to find sixteen gems (this will help another character to defeat her enemy) and they don’t have long to find them.

Archie (a man’s name for a woman took me a little time to get use to) needs Jo and Arthur to help defeat Cordelia (a goddess of fire) Archie is in fact the goddess of water. To banish the goddess of fire will take time and certain gems (of which Archie has neither) but Archie also has a hidden agenda (do you find out??) so instead of finding gems, Arthur is caught up in Archie’s schemes.

The race to collect the gems is continually thwarted by another couple of characters (Iren and Alicia) they serve Cordelia and will do anything in order for Jo, Arthur and Archie not to collect the gems.

The writing is the same style, but as I read the first book, I knew roughly what to expect.

So who wins ? Cordelia the fire goddess? Or Archie the Water Goddess? For that answer your going to have to read the book ?

Copy supplied for review

? Reviewed by Julie

Nicholas Lovelock lives in a small village in Oxfordshire and has already published Discoucia, the first part of the Alavonia Series which spans multiple novels set to be released in the future. He enjoys riding around the countryside as well as illustrating his own works, as can be seen in his second novel Gemenicia. These Illustrations in stark black and white provide a glimpse into the world of Alavonia and how he sees it, as well as showcasing the different locations and characters that make up the Alavonia series universe.

He is a keen musician capable of playing the electric guitar as well as the acoustic and the piano, often trying to play like his musical heroes David Gilmour, Jimmy Page and Jeff Lynne. His coin collection has transformed from a hobby to a passion and obsession as he attempts to collect one of every issued coin in Great Britain. He is over halfway in that respect collecting such treasures as a 1675 Charles the Second Crown and an extremely rare Edward the Seventh Half Crown of 1905, and has begun metal detecting in an effort to tick some boxes in the Hammered Coinage section.

His love of Steampunk literature and cinema has been with him from a young age when he first saw the film ‘Wild Wild West’, sought out the original series and discovered a world of fantasy that he has painstakingly tried to pay homage to in his novels, to bring the wild west to an English setting and to create something that has never been done before.

History has always been a major passion of his as he makes many references in his literature, from characters whose personalities resemble those of eccentric historical characters or monarchs. The ability to change history through literature was one of the things that attracted him to become an author in the first place, to create similar timelines and put a unique spin on the mundane.