Hello everyone and welcome to my stop on the Escapist Book Co. virtual book tour for Mike Sliter’s Epic Fantasy/Grimdark novel Wisdom Lost! Today, I am excited to help kickoff the tour by sharing an interview with the main character of the book, Hafgan Iwan!
You can find our interview below, along with all of the info about the book, the author, and links to purchase a copy of Wisdom Lost for yourself! Also, be sure to take a look at the schedule here or at the top of the post and follow along to see the stops from our other awesome hosts!
Book Information:
Wisdom Lost by Mike Sliter
Series: Pandemonium Rising #2
Genre: Epic Fantasy/Grimdark
Intended Age Group: Adult
Pages: 592
Published: 2019
Publisher: Dragyn Press (Self Published)
Blurb:
Ardia is fractured, torn apart by civil war initiated by deceit. Florens has fallen, and the rebel army of Lady Escamilla has been scattered by the Feral. Little stands in the way of the Rostanians and their ruthless rulers seizing the entire country. Amidst this rising conflict, four people seek to stem this tide. Or, to simply survive.
Fenrir, also called the Bull, Coldbreaker, Dukeslayer, and sometimes bastard, has the worst kind of luck. Instead of being dead, pierced by a dozen swords, he finds himself under the control of the most horrible person he knows: his father. And an unwelcome family reunion is made more unpleasant as clandestine and legitimate powers vie for the rule of Rostane.
Meanwhile, Hafgan Iwan breaks an oath to himself—that he would never return home. The hallowed Wasmer city of Hackeneth is not welcoming, particularly as a new god has usurped the old ways. Hafgan is torn between the world he once knew and the one he has created for himself.
Leading the exhausted and haphazard remnants of a rebel army, Lady Emma Breen seeks allies across the border, in the crumbling city of Farrow’s Hold. But when faith clashes with politics, can a faithless former handmaiden hold them all together?
And Merigold Hinter travels across oceans to the fabled Agricorinor with a wish and a warning. The wish? That she may understand her powers and take revenge. The warning? The Feral are coming, and they will tear out the throat of the world.
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Pandemonium-Rising-Michael-Sliter/dp/0999802135
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/44222680
Character Q&A
Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Hafgan Iwan, exile of the Carreg Da.
What music do you listen to?
The music hurts my ears. We have little time for such frivolity in the harsh clime of the Tulanques.
What are 3 items you can’t live without?
My spear. My razor. The rich food of Rostane.
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is one thing you’d like to have with you?
My spear. This will always be my answer, to most questions you be… to most questions are you asking.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
You know, those people in Rostane, the ones who barely speak their own language correctly. Who spit and insult. Who treat others like lessers, when they themselves lack the intelligence to string a sentence together. Those are the ones I revile.
What do you do in your free time?
I be… I am learning Ardian. I will master the language.
What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?
I do not sleep well, so the boredom of laying in bed will pull me into the sun, so that I can train.
What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Taearn told me, years ago, “you cannot trust anyone.” I just did not realize that he was including himself in that statement.
What do you carry in your bag?
My razor. I must keep my face clean, if I am to blend with the humans.
What’s your favorite animal?
The goat. It is admirable, powerful. It can live in harsh climes that would break a human or even a Wasmer. The humans call us this as an insult. I see it as a compliment.
What do you think about [other MC(s)]?
Fenrir—he’s a destructive man. He underestimates himself. He is actually funny.
Morgyn—she is tough. I like her, though do not tell her I said that.
Do you have favorite saying?
I’ve adopted the human saying “it was a big fucking pile of shit.” It is crass, I know, but it can be applied in so many situations.
What is your favorite holiday?
I find the Ascension Festival to be fascinating. Some of these human are devout believers. Some are pretenders. All eat, dance, and sing. Such unity is near unheard of among the Wasmer.
If you could go anywhere in [the book’s world], where would you go and why?
I would love to see Rafon. They say the winds during their storms can blow a man off their feet. I would welcome the challenge.
What do you do to relax?’
I eat. But then I must train.
What is your favorite food?
The sausage gravy of Rostane. They drench everything in it… I could be drinking… I could drink the stuff.
What is your favorite season?
The winter. It is closer to the mountains. Summer is unbearable down here.
How would you define happiness?
If I knew that, I would have a people to call my own.
What are you passionate about?
If I had some passion, I would be changing the world. As you can see, I am not quite doing that.
How do you feel about your government?
Among the Wasmer? Cowards. Manipulators. Liars. Among the Rostane, likely the same, but much more impressive.
If you could change one thing about [the book’s world], what would it be?,
The Wasmer would integrate with humans. The humans would let them. But, that is a fairy tale, and there is no worth thinking about fairy tales.
What’s your biggest secret?
What happened to cause me to leave the Carreg Da. And I am not likely to tell you, right now.
What do you hate?
Cowardice. Bigotry. They usually go hand-in-hand.
What’s your biggest fear?
I’ve little left to my name, and perhaps I never did. I suppose going home would be my biggest fear.
What do you think your best quality is?
I have little worth impressing. I suppose it would be my ability to battle, though I do not enjoy it.
How would you describe the world you live in?
It could be worse, I suppose. It could always be worse.
About the Author
Michael Sliter was born in the deep wilds of Cleveland, Ohio, where he fought off at least two siblings for scraps of pizza. His bedroom, growing up, was a monument to fantasy, containing a stack of worn and well-read books, a medieval Lego civilization spanning half the room, and a very real sword circa World War II.
Though always fascinated with the written word, Michael ended up with only a minor in writing, instead majoring in Psychology (Hiram College, OH). He later went on to complete his M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (Bowling Green State University, OH)—overall spending a larger portion of his life than strictly necessary in school. Following, Michael was a psych professor for a time, and then moved into the real world to help organizations hire the right people.
He attempted to write some childish fantasy novels in the past, all abandoned as derivative refuse. It wasn’t until his daughter was born that Michael decided to begin writing in earnest, and he published Solace Lost, the first book in the Pandemonium Rising series. Since, Wisdom Lost (Book 2) and Valley of the Free (novella in the same world) have been published.
Today, you can find Michael back in the Cleveland area, where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dogs. They are quite tolerant of his writing, reading, video game, and racquetball habits.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeSliter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormichaelsliter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17838702.Michael_Sliter
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