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David Dobson

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Flames Over Frosthelm (Inquisitors' Guild) Kindle Edition

by Dave Dobson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.5 310 ratings

Part of: Inquisitors' Guild (4 books)

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An Investigation Gone Awry Sometimes, your case takes a left turn. Or three or four. Marten Mingenstern and Boog Eggstrom are provisional inspectors, fresh out of Inquisitor’s Guild training and eager to prove themselves. Assigned the mundane task of tracking down stolen jewels, they instead uncover a mysterious cult set on destroying the city. After a thief explodes, they earn the enmity of a vicious noble, the Chief Inquisitor gets bought off and goes rogue, they are seized by barbarians, and they are sentenced to death at least a couple of times. In a final, frantic race with prophecy, they face ruthless fanatics, a city turned against them, and terrible forces long buried.Flames Over Frosthelm is the first novel about the Inquisitor's Guild, the investigative arm of the government of Frosthelm, a medieval city-state where criminals thrive, nobles scheme, and dark secrets lurk. Expect intrigue, mystery, swordplay, adventure, politics, romance, and the strong bonds of friendship. And a little magic along the way. Described as Princess Bride meets CSI, this new novel is a tale of classic adventure with a healthy dose of humor.
If the description above was too much, you might prefer this
TLDR Summary Haiku
Young inspectors flailAgainst a rising darkness.Fighting, jokes, and more.
About the Book
Flames over Frosthelm is a full stand-alone novel clocking in at just over 120,000 words. Beginning, middle, and end, and no waiting for sequels to find out how the adventure ends (hear that, George R.R.?). There is swordplay, violence, death, and some romance, but the book does not include anything terribly hardcore. Think PG13 or Harry Potter and you're probably in the right place.
Author's Note
Ever since I started reading the Oz books and Andrew Lang's fairy tale compendia in elementary school, I have loved fantasy. As I grew as a reader, I branched out into heroic and epic fantasy, starting with tales of heroes like Conan and John Carter, set in places like Middle Earth and Witchworld. I also adored comedic fantasy, from Terry Pratchett to Neil Gaiman to a host of others, and my favorite tales were those where young heroes and heroines grew (or were forced) to play a role beyond their station, in many cases learning on the fly and making it up as they went along.There are so many great authors working now trying out new ideas, pushing the fantasy genre in interesting new directions (some of them full of sparkly vampires or brooding antiheroes with anime hair). Despite all that innovation, it is hard for me to resist the draw of the classics. In this book, I've tried to weave together many of my favorite threads from the books of my childhood, to write the kind of book I have always loved reading, both at 13 and at 49. If I've succeeded, this story should provide a fun mix of humor and adventure, an introduction to a new world and a few new cultures, with derring-do and jokes along with some solid emotional touches, against a backdrop of a classic fantasy city, bustling with taverns, markets, nobles, politics, religions, thieves, and warriors. There's magic, but it's limited to rare wizards, scholars, and artifacts, not pervasive, and it's not well understood. Everybody you meet is a human with human goals - no elves, dwarves, dragons, trolls, or Klingons. Although moral complexity is fascinating, and even the best people are not always their best selves, in general I like my good guys good, my bad guys bad, and the stakes high. I hope you do too.Please enjoy Flames Over Frosthelm.

From the Publisher

The Inquisitors' Guild Series

Set in the tumultuous city-state of Frosthelm, where mysteries, treachery, and secrets lay hidden...

Mysteries Abound

An intrepid group of investigators unearths hidden magic and treacherous plots

Bravery, Adventure, Swordplay, and Humor

Each Inquisitors' Guild book is full of adventure, peril, derring-do, sorcery, and danger. And jokes. A lot of jokes.

Each is a stand-alone mystery, a complete story, and a grand adventure.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A native of Ames, Iowa, Dave loves writing, reading,boardgames, computer games, improv comedy, pinball, pizza, barbarian movies,and the cheaper end of the Taco Bell menu. Also, his wife and kids.

Dave is the author of Snood, Snoodoku, Snood Towers, and other computer games. He first publishedSnood in 1996, and it became one of the most popular shareware games of theearly Internet. His most recent games are Scryptix andPolaric (coming soon). He also designs and publishes boardgames though hiscompany, Plankton Games. You can see his games at the PlanktonGames.com website.

Dave teaches geology, environmental studies, andcomputer programming at Guilford College, and he does improv comedy every week at the Idiot Box in Greensboro, North Carolina. He's also played the world'slargest tuba in concert. Not that that is relevant, but it's still kinda cool.

Flames overFrosthelm is Dave's first novel.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07T12STNY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ ; 1st edition (June 11, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 11, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3794 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 400 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #824,140 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #6,420 in Action & Adventure Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #10,503 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy eBooks
- #11,307 in Epic Fantasy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 310 ratings

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David Dobson

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A native of Ames, Iowa, Dave loves writing, reading, boardgames, computer games, improv comedy, pizza, barbarian movies, and the cheaper end of the Taco Bell menu. Also, his wife and kids.

In addition to his novels, Dave is the author of Snood, Snoodoku, Snood Towers, and other computer games. Dave first published Snood in 1996, and it became one of the most popular shareware games of the early Internet. His most recent project (other than writing) is Doctor Esker's Notebook, a puzzle card game in the spirit of escape rooms.

Dave taught geology, environmental studies, and computer programming at Guilford College for 24 years, and he does improv comedy every week at the Idiot Box in Greensboro, North Carolina. He’s also played the world’s largest tuba in concert. Not that that is relevant, but it’s still kinda cool.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

310 global ratings

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Roger Fauble

A5-star, enjoyable, unique read

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2022

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Flames Over Frosthelm (Inquisitors' Guild), my first read from author Dave Dobson. A well-written, entertaining read, not at all what I expected. with intriguing, well-developed characters that I read in a single setting. 400-pages. “I received a free Kindle copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. Now I need to get The Outcast Crown (Inquisitors' Guild). (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

One person found this helpful

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The Baker Family

Fun Read! PG-13.

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2020

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I really enjoyed this book. The author is imaginative, writes well, and presented a thoroughly entertaining story. I would easily have given this five stars but for two things which I will point out later.

WRITING STYLE: First person and well done. The author combined action, adventure, mystery, and intrigue into a well written story. The book is decently edited and you'll find yourself reading right along at a fairly fast pace.

PLOT: The plot was well thought out, kept me guessing in many cases, had some unexpected twists and turns. There were a few moments where I thought aspects were not developed all the way through and were tossed in as afterthoughts to explain why certain things happened the way they did. But overall, the plot will keep you guessing.

The story is of a young inspector who stumbles into a sinister plot to free some demonic and ancient evil that would wreck chaos across the land. He quickly gets in over his head, struggles into his budding abilities to utilize ancient magic, and then seeks to put a stop to the menace that threatens him, those he loves, and his world.

CHARACTERS: The characters are dynamic, likable, and fun to read about. There is significant humor throughout the book, the main character is relatable and not so needy or powerfully heroic that you can't simply put yourself in his shoes. Well done.

But here is one of the two areas I disliked. There is not a drop of femininity in the entire book. Every woman seems to be a male accidentally stuck in a woman's body. It seems the author went out of his way to make sure the women in the story had as much presence as the men when it came to abilities to swing a sword or deliver a punch. In fact, it may be there were more masculine female soldiers and warriors than men in the story. It struck me as too overboard, too much to try to make the women equal to men in all things, including muscle mass, hairy chests and smelly armpits (the last two are impressions). I missed the femininity of the women. You could have simply changed "her" to "him" in nearly every case a woman is mentioned and you would find no difference in the story whatsoever. Didn't seem realistic.

CHILD SAFE: Here is where I also found issues. Rated PG-13. There is certainly profanity (though I ran the book through a profanity filter first before I read it). The profanity is not overwhelming and would be what many call mild, but it is most certainly present. There are no sex scenes and only a small amount of romance. There was, however, at least one crude sexual joke at the beginning of the book.

RECOMMENDATION: Outside of the profanity, I would recommend this book. I think you'd enjoy it, get a chuckle if not a full laugh occasionally.

3 people found this helpful

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Robert Lewis

VERY Enjoyable

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2023

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I'm not one to write reviews. All I have to say is I loved the book and the characters . One of the most enjoyable books I've read in quite a while.

One person found this helpful

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Elizabeth Lavender

Entertaining, Action Packed Read

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2021

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This was an entertaining read, full of fun, fast paced action at every turn, and action-packed at each scene. The two inquisitors, Marten and Boog were a thrill to watch together. Their interactions are full of humor throughout, despite the nature of their profession. Boog is the physical strength of the two and Marten … is just amazingly resourceful or lucky in the altercations many times … I’m still deciding. You’re sure they would manage to get the job done, but then you shook your head wondering how they managed to survive between the two of them. They leave one scene of trouble only to find themselves quickly catapulted into the next one, each time leaving a bigger mess behind it. However, they are loyal to their cause, fully committed to fulfilling the oath of their office. When they find out they must be the ones to save their home from complete destruction by a long-imprisoned evil, they rise to the challenge even if it cost them everything. Their heart shines through as they race to unravel the mystery of their career and face the biggest battle of their life. I enjoyed the story and loved Boog and Marten. Fantastic read!

One person found this helpful

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Athena (OneReadingNurse)

A punny Fantasy Mystery with great narration

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2024

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Between the explosions, characters, and constant action, the book is also funny. Dobson is infamous for his puns in the Indie community and I hope he never stops. The chapter titles always have me cracking up, such as, “Frown for the Count” or “The Pursuit of Undomesticated Geese.”. The stakes are high, the city is going up in flames, lives are in peril, but darn it we are going to laugh along the way.

Simon de Deney is also a great narrator, bringing out a widw range of voices and tones to the guild. I'll definitely be reading the other stories in this universe!

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024

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Having been the first book I have read by Dave Dobson, I was favourably surprised by Flames over Frosthelm.
The main characters, Marten and Boog are such disparate characters that no one would really think they are the closest of friends.
Having recently becomre assistant Inquisitors, their task is finding and capturing criminals.
Assigned a case of stolen jewelry, Marten soon starts uncovering eivdence of some religious cult having a hand in this theft. Puzzling though.
But raising the ire shortly thereafter was not such a good thing though.
Frosthelm has become a hot place for Marten and Boog. Dangerously so.
Thereafter it became impossible not to finish reading this book in probably a record time as the plot progresses in a manner to make gasp in fright and delight numerous times.
Just as well this book does not require a follow up in the series in order to finish the story. In fact, each book in this series, is self contained, to my delight.
Enjoy

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Kindle Customer

Enjoyed This Fantasy

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2024

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Plenty of the things that make a Medieval tale exciting.

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2020

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Wish it weren’t so artificially complex. Great concept, excellent characters an good plot and yet held back by too much extra cliches. Still, overall, an interesting read!

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Top reviews from other countries

wrw

Excellent combination of fantasy and police procedural

Reviewed in Canada on July 20, 2019

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The characters in this story are all full of life, and the plot twists and turns enough to keep things both moving along, and interesting. There's enough mystery and intrigue to keep readers engaged, even though the villain is obvious fairly quickly. In the tradition of the best sort of police procedurals, the best part of the story is figuring out how to make them pay.

Chris

Good magical balance.

Reviewed in Australia on March 14, 2022

Verified Purchase

The usual trope of inept wizard finding his calling is well balanced between cynical humour and descriptive gore. The protagonist anti-hero is well backed up by stout buddy and clever girlfriend. An enjoyable read that travels at a steady pace.

Kindle Customer

Not the most original, but still a lot of comfort-read fun

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2022

Verified Purchase

One for fans of urban fantasy that's heavier on the fantasy than the urban and those who like their magical crime procedurals to be by the book. It reminded me of the Alex Verus books by Benedict Jacka crossed with something more Discworld or Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire. A slow and steady read, it won't have too many surprises for followers of the subgenre but it was a surprising amount of fun anyway.

Picture a Medieval-magical city full of ordinary humans going about ordinary business; some poor, some rich, some criminally inclined... That's where the Inquisitor's Guild comes in. Marty and Boog are on the case of a jewel thief who unexpectedly... Explodes. To find out what's what, their only lead is a mysterious mage woman who can pull a disappearing act and a symbol of a sun and moon combined that seems to mean something to her. The inspectors are drawn into a conspiracy that threatens all of Frostheim. Finding themselves stymied at every attempt at uncovering the truth by powerful people, it's up to these newly graduated investigators to prevent doom and death and possibly the end of the world.

Yup, it's one of those old chestnuts: the influential people in a big ol' city full of corruption, evil cults, weird magic, and an unlikely duo needing to round up an oddball crew in order to save the day. It's nothing new, but it's well executed none the less. Slow, steady, not in a hurry to rush out reveals; it's one of those comfort type reads because you know where it's going and can settle in for the journey.

Marty is our narrator, and manages to pull of the sarcastic humour without it becoming grating or acidic. He and his partner Boog are those rare things in investigative style stories: they are neither Too Clever By Half or Too Stupid To Live. Can we get a round of applause for that? The foreshadowing of the clues they uncover works in that it allows the reader to twig at exactly the same time as they do, and yes, they do run into fights against terrible odds, but to be fair they get beaten up enough (and *le gasp* require recovery time) to make their narrow escapes possible. I liked their easy banter and partner dynamic for how natural it felt.

The world's pretty standard but again nicely done. We're told what we need to know when we need to know it, not after the fact (excuse me while I glare at some urban fantasy procedural series). Marty also doesn't play the "oh, I knew this about our world and so did everyone else and it was totally key to solving the case but I'm only telling you, dear reader, right at the end!" card (a depressingly common and irritating cliche in the boy-oriented UF crimes books). Again, it might not have held a lot of surprises, but there are some nice original parts to the usual fantasy setting in the form of ancient Auger magics that get expanded on as the characters learn more.

The only thing letting it down somewhat are the side characters. There are a lot of them who just don't feel quite as fleshed out or shown-not-told as would have been nice (Lia and Gueran for example). The love interest again is told-not-shown, and much like a Marvel movie is conveniently just in the love the guy because... reasons? I'd like to have seen them interact, not just been told about it. The same goes for two Very Important Characters who have a lot of significance in the plot, yet those roles lack much impact because they're just reports of characters rather than characters shown in the narrative. I honestly wish we could have seen Marty and Boog with them, or witnessing them with others, just so that when they had their parts to play it'd have had some emotional impact. The ending also felt just that little bit quick and easy after all the effort it took getting there.

Overall a well-constructed and engagingly written slice of fantasy crime drama. What it lacks in surprises it makes up for in being one of those cosy go-to books that's more about the journey than the destination.

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Flames Over Frosthelm (Inquisitors' Guild) Kindle Edition

From the Publisher

The Inquisitors' Guild Series

Mysteries Abound

Bravery, Adventure, Swordplay, and Humor

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

David Dobson

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

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Top reviews from other countries