In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound by Bradley R. Blankenshift

In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound

Book 1 of the Genean Chronicles

By Bradley Blankenship

(Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Sci-fi, Horror)

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In lost dreams the four were bound: the ancient friend lulled by comfortable melancholy, the jilted lover bent to sisterly duty, the prideful brother jailed in bloody ambition, all while Virage slept trapped in nightmare…

For over three hundred years, a tribe of elvish Hyunisti talvuo has lingered in somber isolation deep within the giant trees and briar trails of the Lorinian Witchwood. Within their treetop village, the burdens of four outsiders underscore a chain of catastrophes eyed by watchers from afar. These chains weigh upon them, each a strand of past friendship, star-crossed love, resentment, and tragedy.

While the outsiders toil beneath their ambitions, the rites of spring herald cascading changes for the forest folk. With four days remaining, suspense clings to the village. Yet beneath the anticipation, an abominable evil stirs. Its promise of freedom lures the cursed villagers to play to its manic tune. Its insatiable hunger threatens to devour all it touches.

Can the four dreamers weather the coming storm?

Or are they destined to be consumed by the horrific madness welling from the depths of the forest?

Fantasy, mystery, swords, and sorcery await you in In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound, the first book in the Genean Chronicles and part of the larger Remi’s Cross Saga universe.

Readers

★★★★★ I kept thinking that it would be a good movie! Long, but intense and well-written.”

★★★★★ “A unique blend of sword and sorcery action… The sense of impending doom is a page turner”

★★★★★ ” The dialogues really caught my attention as they are almost perfect, so rich and inciting…”

★★★★★ “Mesmerizing characters… If you are into horror, monsters, mysticism, and fantasy, this book is for you.”

★★★★☆ “If you are a fan of epic fantasy and looking to immerse yourself into a new series, I highly recommend this one.”

Reviewers

“Bradley R. Blankenship’s ‘In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound’ is a high fantasy novel with the feel of a folktale, punctuated with a science fiction twist… This is the work of a promising writer, with a thoughtfully developed culture at its center.” – BlueInk Review

★★★★★ “The bleak landscape provides an evocative backdrop for characters obsessed with lust, power, duty, and death… Fantasy lovers with large appetites will be gripped.” – The Prairies Book Review

★★★★★ “His knack for building characters with pathos and wit, his immersive dystopian world, and stellar prose draw readers along while building up the shocking final showdown… This dark tale is sure to impress.” – BookView Review

★★★★☆ “In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound is a well-imagined dive into a science-fiction fantasy world in which the reader will be swept along with the riveting narrative.” – Literary Titan

★★★☆☆ “In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound introduces a complex world of androids, chimeras, treetop villages, and mystic ruins… The story moves toward an uncertain future full of inconceivable dangers.” – Foreword Clarion Reviews

★★☆☆ “The author’s writing style is ornate, with abundant description and little explanation. This creates a story that is felt rather than read, with passages washing over the reader…” – OnlineBookClub

A Word from the Author

“In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound” is the first book of the “Genean Chronicles” and “Remi’s Cross Saga.” It begins the process of summing up adventures formulated over 20 years of games and storytelling from my youth: when my best friend Clayton and then brother Todd would make up tales of fantastic worlds and heroic characters triumphing over challenges mundane and gargantuan. The book encapsulates years of feelings I struggled to process, with each of the main characters dealing with loss and duty in tragic ways as the story comes to a terrifying, somber conclusion.

At times, we find ourselves struggling to keep a grip on reality. We fight against the happenings in our lives. We try to maintain a semblance of control and a rational view of the world. We tell ourselves everything happens for a reason, to alleviate the cold truth behind it all.

We have very little control, if any, over ourselves or our surroundings. And while everything does happen for a reason, the universe carries on uncaring for our vain struggles.

Yet to be a living thing is to be vain. To be alive is to hang onto whatever small threads of hope exist, whatever illusions that offer us comfort in the cold vacuum surrounding everything we know. To be human is to chart a mortal path through the vast unmoved expanse that is the future before us.

For Elis, Neris, Nerin, and Davnian… that is the ultimate terror and dread laid before them. And with even a hint of an opportunity to change, are they able to discard comfortable nightmares? Or will they be willing to throw it all away for a chance at something better, knowing the dread of a cruel, emotionless reality?

(Bradley R. Blankenship)