CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR)

Author of the swashbuckling matchlock-fantasy novels 'A Blade For Hire' & 'The Man With The Broken Sword'.

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

Thought I might do a longer post to help introduce people to my series a little better and help prospective readers better understand what they might be in for. Sooo:

A Blade For Hire is a low magic, swashbuckling matchlock fantasy that follows the fortunes of Hale, a former solider with extensive experience in the Cantabrean wars turned hired blade, who predominantly works for his former commander the Lord Barthelme, now the Lord Mayor of the capital city Tylkin.

The series heavily focuses on the people Hale meets and the battles he gets into along the way, being noted by reviewers especially for the quality of the action and the realism of the personal interactions between the characters.

Magic is present, but plays a somewhat minor role for the most part. I sometimes describe it as "like 'The Three Musketeers', if d'Artagnan was actually John McClane." As such, expect plenty of violence and strong language throughout.

The first book, 'A Blade For Hire', sees Hale and his favoured sword 'Iguane' (a greatsword with a four and half foot blade) sent to meet a pair of priests who are acquainted with the Lord Barthelme and have requested help in a delicate matter: the search for their missing contact, known only as 'Amheris'.

Despite the reluctance of the priests to explain who Amheris is and what he may have been up to, Hale agrees to go with them as their lifeguard on the promise of a solid payment for an otherwise routine looking task.

But almost immediately things begin to go awry and Hale soon finds himself knee deep in a lot more trouble than he had bargained for, hunted by a relentless and deadly foe through a series of spectacular, heart stopping swordfights and melees.

In the sequel, 'The Man With The Broken Sword', we see Hale return home from his long journey, tired and ready for a long, well deserved rest. But life is not quite ready to give it to him, and having crossed swords with a secret order he finds they are not ready to let him rest either.

To further help figure out if this is the book for you, here is a collection of some of my favourite quotes from reviewers to give you a flavour of what others thought:

"It has all the elements you could wish for in such a book: sword fights, a conspiracy to solve, a protagonist who is nothing short of iconic, and a bit of romantic pining. Brand also has an extraordinary talent of writing dialogue - the banter alone makes this series worth reading."

"This was a really good book with such great characters! Father Naurice was adorable. His innocence and naïveté made me feel for him in their dangerous situations but he also found his courage"

"The characters are very strong indeed. You get to know every character and their intricate habits, opinions, and attitudes to the story as it progresses. The depth of effort used to make them blend into the story feels seamless and unfettered."

"The plot is great, as are the characters, and it very much aspires to, and often gets pretty damn close to, the literary heights and thematic world building of the marvellous Mr. de Castell's Greatcoats series."

"The dialogue is supremely enjoyable... The humour is tremendous, and the amount of times I laughed out loud were plentiful. There are also moments of true sadness when characters suffer and are left behind, this is a true skill, you invest yourself fully in their plights and travails."

"However the sheer joy of this book is that Christopher D. Brand is a master of writing realistic personal interactions, and differentiating in style between friends, acquaintances and people on the journey from one to the other. His conversations flow naturally between banter to crisis to planning to dinner with the right tone and voice for each. What this allows for is genuinely plausible friendship development between characters. Many writers have their leads talk neutrally, in a "intro", "plot point", "exposition", "crisis" manner where the reader is expected to assume friendship or camaraderie develops on the way, but where the tone of writing reveals little of it. In Brand's book we see that development as the characters talk naturally/normally over a period of time, as they share more and more and how insults turn to banter turn to friendship. Oh if all that isn't enough the characters are a joy, the combat enthralling and plot deeply satisfying. This book is a @#_&ing triumph. Read it immediately."

"Like the best kind of action movie! A roller coaster ride of magic, sword and gun fights, and ambushes. Makes you laugh out loud and hang on the edge of your seat because you can't wait to see what happens next. It wad a great read and I highly recommend it!"

"A thorougly entertaining story. With tons of swordfights, a bit of magic, and a great big mystery to solve, A Blade For Hire is like Skyrim and The Three Musketeers combined. The characters and the witty dialogue alone make the book well worth reading"

"My review for "A Blade for Hire" focused heavily on the author's skill in writing dialogue, and that really is still the highlight again. He is able to write realistic, yet witty and interesting dialogue better than all but a handful of authors in this genre, all of whom are far more famous. Chapter 3 for instance would be a paragraph or two for most authors, but here its a genuine joy to read and brings the protagonist to life in a way I have not read anywhere except in the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien. The action is also a standout strength - with the fights very well written."

"With Hale, Chris builds a supremely likeable character. He is a brute, finding his way through life based on hard earned experience, has a big heart, a big sword, a practical view to solving problems (bold action), flaws and a sharp wit that shines through out the pages in wonderfully constructed dialogue."

"From the hard chase, the stand-up fight, an occasional ambush or encountering overwhelming odds, Chris cobbles together flowing, nail biting and brutal scenes that allow the reader to ride along without missing a beat. The prose avoids overcomplication and provides just the right bits of descriptive stylings making the action scenes a treat for the reader.

"That said, I'm putting this disclaimer right here: Chris is not Shakespeare. BUT! Damn if his ability with cutting, witty, humorous exchanges doesn't conjure to mind some of the best performances of the Great Bard's works that I've seen live or otherwise. Often, it was if I was watching the events and exchanges unfold before me in the Bill’s well-lit Globe Theater."

"A little bit on the writing style. I thoroughly enjoy the craftmanship Chris employs. The mechanics of his writing style provide a smooth enjoyable experience. Changes in pace are well timed. Comedic relief is used with proper care to great effect. Banter/dialogue is exceptional. The descriptive stylings are wonderfully balanced delivering the “show” of the trite old saying “Show, don’t tell.”

"The Man With The Broken Sword earns my wholehearted recommendation. It was a fun quick paced tale that was difficult to turn the light off on. I found the swashbuckling low magic nature of work refreshing, it was something I didn’t realize I needed."

So if this sounds like something that would interest you, please check out the links below.

https://t.co/pkQzh1lJM8

[Vinay Vasan @vinayvasan]

The Soft Touch by @DanielPolansky is so fabulously written & more importantly, hits my sweet spot in terms of clever narration & witty back & forth dialogs. I started to highlight dialogs, then sections and then entire pages

@Grimdark_Mag

[J.M. Goodwin @jmgwritten]

Wouldn't it be cool if this was what we did in the writing community? Solved worldbuilding problems or helped authors get over writers block?

Wouldn't that be more fun than posting "what would your MC have for breakfast?" and us all replying as though that will sell any books

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

@brianmccoppin

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

I love the roof mechanism because I'm a nerd, but stadiums are about atmosphere, not fancy roofs and wifi. It's why college football is better than the NFL, because the atmosphere created by those tight, jam packed stadiums with the band etc is incredible.

[Kiko Suarez @imkikosuarez]

Europeans will suffer aneurysms when they see the type of stadiums that exist in the US

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

'Commander' is his rank in the Royal Navy Reserve. He's a SIS agent. Until he retires from the RNR, at which point he can refer to himself formally as 'Commander Bond'.

[verypete lambert @Prof_Quiteamess]

Why did the Queen call him 'Mister Bond' in the London Olympics opening bit? She's his superior officer not a supervillain and they're both on duty so it should be 'Commander Bond'.
I think about this even when I'm watching Star Wars.

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

@SaffronAsteria

[Dark Road Games @dark_road_games]

Sometimes I forget how "normies" see the world. There are people out there that believe "consumers just decided to switch to streaming and give up physical media".
Youtube lost money for a decade before it made a profit.
Spotify lost money for 17 years.
None of this is accidental or organic. People didn't "choose" these systems. They outright rejected them for literally decades while these systems operated at a loss that made competition with them impossible, funded by people who wanted to change the world into what we have now. A system where you own nothing, consume whatever is offered on-demand and nothing else, and you have no privacy or anonymity.

Netflix killed Blockbuster with by-mail PHYSICAL MEDIA at a loss. The entire time they were eating Blockbuster's business they were losing money. After Blockbuster died, Netflix phased out physical media and I remember the severe backlash, but the choice was streaming or nothing. Still many (maybe most) people just cobbled together private collections from bargain bins and garage sales. Netflix continued to lose money....10 BILLION dollars of loses in the 2010s even after Blockbuster went out of business.

Understand the truth, that a cabal of global institutional investors funded companies that nobody wanted for literally decades at a cost of untold billions of dollars....until there was NOTHING ELSE LEFT for you to use.

[Plan @planfromspace]

Reminds me of the first Doctor William Hartnell. He famously refused to just fiddle with random buttons and instead memorised what every single button and lever on the TARDIS console did He told the directors: "The kids look at this... if I turn the wrong knob, they'll know."

[Khan Noonien Singh @wtfcetialpha5]

You only think about yourselves.

[Sarah R. New @aldbera]

Not sure about picking up CATFOOD yet? Here’s a guide with everything you need to know!

[Matthew @KingDivock3]

Strong contender for worst World Cup group of all time?

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

@MysterD @RussTheOtaku The plus sides were 1) I only paid £1 for it 😆 and 2) it wasn't actually as good as I remember it.

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

Perhaps a controversial opinion, but I don't think an old game should be allowed to be listed on the Steam store unless it (mostly) works on newer systems. If the developer cannot come up with a patch or other solution, they should not be allowed to take your money.

[Brian P McCoppin ✝️🥋 | Homeschooling Florida Man @brianmccoppin]

Ok Indie Writers.
I have $3 to burn on a Kindle book.
Pitch me your book and why I should buy it!

[Exotic Orange @anexoticorange]

I finally got to redesign a cover by one of my favorite designers! Original was made by @jeffbrown67 for @TheRyanLanz Rhael is sent to subdue rebels (the Corrupted) only to discover he has more of the enemy in him than he thought. I think my version is better than Jeff's

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

@ichimaru_novel Careful, he might betray you!

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

@Whitedale_U I knew for your first sentence it wasn't me 😂 All my popularity is outside this place.

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

@MysterD @RussTheOtaku I appreciate it's not easy. But I'm not asking them to curate the games. I'm asking them to make sure games they sell on their store page work on modern systems straight out of the box, which will be the majority of their user base.

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

@MysterD @RussTheOtaku Fine, but Steam is not the place for that.

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

@MysterD @RussTheOtaku It's a fairly universal issue with newer systems it seems and is common across a wide array of their titles. It's their problem, they know it, they should fix it or not be allowed to sell those games on Steam.

[CHRISTOPHER D. BRAND (AUTHOR) @CHRISDBRAND]

@MysterD @RussTheOtaku I get that you can't account for everything, but like some games have issues with every PC. For me I was thinking of Splinter Cell. It worked on my old shitter with a 1060 that I was using temp, but now with my proper rig it's not happening.