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Jesse Teller

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Song (The Manhunters Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Jesse Teller (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.6 51 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Manhunters

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Magic and Mayhem. Deception and Lore.

This gritty dark fantasy ushers you into a dangerous world of tarnished heroes and magic-slinging fugitives.

Some of the darkest minds in Perilisc attacked Mending Keep, releasing all its prisoners.

Despite his strained relationship with the crown, Rayph Ivoryfist calls old friends to his aid in a subversive attempt to protect King Nardoc and thwart terrorist plots to ruin the Festival of Blossoms. But someone else is targeting Rayph, and even his fellow Manhunters might not be enough to save him.

Dive into the stunning exploits of this bold and daring crew!

1st Prize, 2017 Drunken Druid Book Award
2017 Literary Titan Gold Book Award
2018 Kindle Book Awards Cover Winner

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fantasy that comes alive, with no holds barred, from start to finish. Mr. Teller's storytelling is bold, his characters are fierce and his plot is a fascinating twist of scenes and events that are spellbinding." --Tome Tender Book Blog

"Has all the ingredients of an exciting, dark fantasy epic." --Fantasy Book Review

"A ton of action and fighting scenes. On top of that, the world building was so 'otherworldly' even when not much was going on, it was still interesting because it's so different from our own world." --The Weatherwax Report

"If you are the kind of person who loves super powerful wizards or swordsmen battling it out in very descriptive battle scenes with a high body count that remind me of battles right out of an Avengers movie then this is the book for you." --The Nerd Book Review

"One of Teller's greatest skills is relationships. Not romantic quest love relationships, but bonds between people and spirits. These bonds draw the readers in sometimes more than the story lines do because they are so powerful and relatable." --Literary Titan

"Jesse Teller has created a convincing world and populated it with characters that are endearing and relatable. " --Readers' Favorite

"Teller is a skilled storyteller, with some outstanding worldbuilding. This is a fully realized world that we're dropped into, with interesting mythology, demons and magic that doesn't need to explain itself to us - indeed, the mystery makes it more alluring." --Tome and Tankard

From the Back Cover

1st Prize, The 2017 Drunken Druid Book Award
Awarded each year for the best original full-length fictional novel. Titles are nominated on the basis of 'high literary merit' of creative authors. We encompass all fictional genres into one, making The Drunken Druid Award unique in its coverage of international fiction.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B074GP13JC
Publisher ‏ : ‎ (October 5, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 5, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4868 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 321 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #935,342 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #7,648 in Dark Fantasy Horror
- #12,131 in Dark Fantasy

Customer Reviews:
3.6 51 ratings

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Jesse Teller

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Jesse Teller fell in love with fantasy when he was five years old and played his first game of Dungeons & Dragons. The game gave him the ability to create stories and characters from a young age. He started consuming fantasy in every form and, by nine, was obsessed with the genre. As a young adult, he knew he wanted to make his life about fantasy.

His writing influences include Stephen King, Steven Erikson, Robert E Howard, George RR Martin, Piers Anthony, and Paulo Coelho. From exploring the relationship between man and woman, to understanding the qualities of a leader or a tyrant, Jesse Teller uses his stories and settings to study real-world themes and issues.

Bronze Medal, 2018 Readers Favorite Book Award

1st Prize, The 2017 Drunken Druid Book Award

Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner, 2017

Drunken Druid Editor's Choice, March 2017

Short List, The 2016 Drunken Druid Book Award

Hungry Monster Gold Book Award Winner, 2016

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3.6 out of 5

51 global ratings

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Chris Haught

Manhunter Madness Ensues

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2019

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Review now posted at Grimdark Magazine.

Book One of the Manhunters series starts off with a hook, with our “hero” Rayph playing a game in a bathhouse and a serving boy approaches. “I’m afraid we are about to be interrupted,” Rayph said.

And just like that, we’re thrown into the action. I wasn’t sure what was going on or who these people were, but my interest was piqued from the get-go. I am pleased to say that it never wavered.

Rayph is an old wizard of several thousand years and was once the protector of the kingdom of Lorinth. Some major fallout happened between him and the current king, and he walked away from his post. It’s hard to break 10,000-year habits though, and he is watching out for the kingdom he loves from the shadows.

We see right away that a major event has happened, as this opening chapter is pointedly set “one year after the escape”. Well, this interruption that Rayph must face is a result of that escape, and we soon learn along with him what happened, and how it is playing out going forward. Seems that a bunch of super villains were locked away in a prison and they have now been busted out. Some of them want revenge and others are just straight-up nasty bastards. Once Rayph finds out who the ringleader is, he learns that Black Cowl has a target for assassination in mind, the current king of Lorinth.

The rest of the book follows this plotline, as Rayph must battle with his grudge with the king and his oath to protect the kingdom and its royal family. Labelled a criminal by the king, he has to go underground to gather up a team that will help him prevent the assassination and round up or kill the escaped baddies.

As enthralled as I was in the main storyline, I was even more intrigued with a secondary plot which ties in eventually. The character of Konnon quickly caught my attention and I was most excited when his POV chapters came up. He’s a bounty hunter with a past (aren’t they all?), and what makes this so interesting is that we learn his past gradually, in small pieces. It’s easy to relate to this guy after we see what he’s been through.

I kept thinking about another book I’ve read recently, Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames, because a big part of the story early on is an old veteran character is rounding up a band to work with after what seemed to be a retirement. Add to that the mystery of Steven Erikson, who is well known for just throwing the reader into the action without having any backstory of the world or characters. Like with Erikson, all of the framing material works itself out as it goes along. The payoff in this book is definitely there too, as there are two or three really cool surprise twists by time it wraps up.

I liked this book quite a bit. It is the highest of four-star ratings and was shy of a full five stars because it seems to set the groundwork for something even better down the line. The story is self-contained enough that the reader will feel satisfied, but there are plenty of nuggets staged to set up more books in the series.

I also think it’s safe to say that I’ll be rounding up the books sooner rather than later. (I also see that the author has recently released a collected edition of the three Manhunters books).

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Marcia

Big potential, needs work in the execution

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2018

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This is a book that requires a bit of an exercise from the readers’ part: there are some parts which were in need of more work, some more details and some characterization of characters and settings.
Jesse Taylor tries to create a fantasy world in this Song and the story gains a relentless pace, action scene after action scene. There are some very strong segments, some good details about monsters and mythical powers but there are so many characters and secondary plots that it is hard to keep track (and be invested) in all of them. Nevertheless, this is an interesting sci-fi for anyone who is a deep fan of the genre and it will be excellent if what you really care about is battle scenes and a quick pace. I’m sure the following titles will be better if the author takes the time to check all the honest reviews because there is a big potential in here.

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Lynn - Grimmedian

Rayph Ivoryfist is a new favorite Warrior Wizard!

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2018

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This tale is told in the characterizations and the world building is mostly done through them as well. It is grim and bloody, but from the very first chapters, you know that Rayph Ivoryfist is someone you want to know better. A powerful wizard, he walks out on the Lorinth king and spends the next 7 years traveling and is semi-retired. The king is enraged by his desertion and the bitter hatred the two have between them plays a major role in the story. A devastating attack on the Mending Keep, an inescapable prison for the most foul and powerful enemies of the land, has Rayph scrambling to find the criminals and calling on old acquaintances to help him discover the plot behind the break out.
In the other alternating arc, Konnon and Gryss are a pair of deadly bounty hunters and mercenaries for hire. While there is plenty of bloodshed, there are scenes that will bring you to tears while the author reveals the motivations of the main his characters. Inexorably, the story arcs blend together into one place, the city of Song, and home to the Royal family. This is where Teller’s outstanding executuion reveals itself. The story arcs intertwine and take you to an end result that will leave you amazed and wanting more. You’ll get more too as rather than finish the main conflict and end it, the story continues to deal with the aftermath and sets up a great story for the second book.

Great execution and well written prose, alternating the chapters in two story arcs, with plenty of action and plenty of scenes tell us a great
deal about the characters, who are on a collision course, but for entirely different reasons. Highly enjoyable book, Highly recommended for Sword & Sorcery lovers as well of fans of Grimdark.

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Sanjin

Fast, bloody, action-packed, fun, imaginative

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2018

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Fast, bloody, action-packed, fun, imaginative, this book is all of that. It is a fantasy novel that has no brakes, from the very beginning you are thrown head first into the action and battles. It is all very entertaining, although it can be a little overwhelming if you are the type of reader who likes to read a large chunks of the book at once. I found that taking some breaks works well with this book, just to take a breath, because the plot doesn’t let you to. Speaking of the plot, it is nothing spectacular, kind of standard fantasy thing that you probably seen in one form or another, but it serves it’s purpose. Similar situation is with the characters, and that is fine too. Real strength if this book is action and gore, and that part is written extremely well. It is a really good fantasy book, I will probably check out further installments in the series.

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Top reviews from other countries

R

great action scenes and a perfect balance of gore / ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2018

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It took me a couple of chapters to get into this book, but once I did, I found this to be a fast-paced read with effortless prose, great action scenes and a perfect balance of gore / violence and touches of light humour. This is a great read for those who like their fantasy on the darker side and I really enjoyed the concept of a prison break as the opening of a fantasy novel – I don’t think I’ve ever come across that before.

Peter Buckmaster

If you like 70s & 80s fantasy, worth a look!

Reviewed in Japan on January 25, 2021

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This book was exactly what I needed after getting stuck in a bit of a rut with a sci-fi and then reading a horror that was a bit too nasty. "Song" by Jesse Teller brought me back to my comfort zone of fantasy, and also harkened back to a more classical kind of fantasy. Teller mixes this kind of old school fantasy with dark moments, and the result is a highly enjoyable, well-paced read.
One interesting aspect is that one of the heroes is a powerful wizard, but not in the Gandalf mentor-type role. Rayph Ivoryfist is deep in the action, a mighty mage who gets his hands dirty. When you have a Superman-level hero though, you need antagonists of similar abilities and Teller delivers on that front. We have quite a Rogues Gallery of "villains".
Yes, "villains". This was something else I liked. The language had a nice feel to it. Maybe nostalgia in me, but I enjoyed characters talking like epic heroes of myth, and being noble and acting with honour, or being downright dastardly. I like "grey" characters, and Ivoryfist does have a few of these in his squad, but it's nice to have a straight-up good vs evil story for a change.
Final thought is that Teller's writing really tugged at my imagination. I feel like he may have grown up on the same kind of fantasy as myself (70s, 80s) and I believe readers of that generation will find a lot to like in The Manhunters series.
I've just ordered the second book in the series, "Hemlock" and look forward to that.

Keith M.

Fast-paced Dark Fantasy!

Reviewed in Australia on March 31, 2019

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One of the things I liked about this book and books written in this style was the pacing and action. Right from the start, we're dumped into the action, which for me, is perfect. I really enjoy fast-paced books that keep me turning pages.

Rayph Ivoryfist (an ancient wizard, and by ancient I mean possibly immortal, rather than just an old man) was a prison warden at one of the most dangerous prisons in this world. The prison holds some of the most powerful, evil entities imaginable. And they just escaped thanks to a particularly nasty dude by the name of Black Cowl, who wants to build an army. Now Ivoryfist must bring a group of manhunters together to put a stop to this lunacy before it's too late.

Rayph eventually crosses paths with Julius Kriss, who I disliked the most in this book. I won't go into too much detail, but Kriss is a very nasty piece of work.

Probably the character who stood out the most for me was Konnon, who is a manhunter and uses the money he makes from his profession to help treat his daughter's disease. His daughter can no longer feel her legs and the disease ailing her is growing worse. Soon it will kill her. Konnon will do anything to stop this from happening and due to his situation, this makes him a kind, loving father, but also an effective, lethal killing machine that will stop at nothing to ensure the safety of his child. I was really drawn to him and enjoyed following his journey.

All in all, this was a good book and I look forward to digging into the rest of this series to see where Jesse Teller leads us. If you like fast-paced Dark Fantasy with great action scenes, then you need to grab this book.

Mr Paul S Lavender

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2018

Verified Purchase

Rayph Ivoryfist builds a prison to house all the nasty, evil doers of the world in. Someone should have told him that that was a bad idea as they are freed to run amok.

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