Dark Sun Dawn saga by Stephen Zimmer

*This is a combined review for Heart of a Lion and Thunder Horizon*

While reading Heart of a Lion and Thunder Horizon I kept asking myself "Why did I stop reading fantasy?" I never really missed it untill I stared reading the Dark Sun Dawn saga. But then again I have to be honost Stephen Zimmer has a way of writing where it is extremely difficult to stop reading.

The characters are very indepth developed and well thought out. I really enjoyed the interaction between Rayden and Ammanus. Stephen Zimmer's writing made Rayden come to life and it is not hard to identify with her not so much with everything she is going trough but with the decisions she makes and the morals and standards the holds high.

The stories are fast paced and written so vividly that you feel like you are part of the story. Which in return makes it very difficult to put the books down. Now I was lucky enough to read both books back to back but now I have to wait for the next installment. Thunder Horizon is a great second installment, just a bit more darker, more battles where she has to fight harder, just a bit more fast paced. Definately what I expect in a second installment.

I have read books by Stephen Zimmer before (sadly enough not all of them yet) and can be honost that I love this series best so far.

If you haven't yet read my interview with Stephen Zimmer you can find it HERE you can also find the trailer of the Rayden Valkyrie Saga of a Lionheart TV Pilot right after the interview.

My rating: 4/5

Rayden Valkyrie. She walks alone, serving no king, emperor, or master. Forged in the fires of tragedy, she has no place she truly calls home.
A deadly warrior wielding both blade and axe, Rayden is the bane of the wicked and corrupt. To many others, she is the most loyal and dedicated of friends, an ally who is unyielding in the most dangerous of circumstances.
The people of the far southern lands she has just aided claim that she has the heart of a lion. For Rayden, a long journey to the lands of the far northern tribes who adopted her as a child beckons, with an ocean lying in between.
Her path will lead her once more into the center of a maelstrom, one involving a rising empire that is said to be making use of the darkest kinds of sorcery to grow its power. Making new friends and discoveries amid tremendous peril, Rayden makes her way to the north.
Monstrous beasts, supernatural powers, and the bloody specter of war have been a part of her world for a long time and this journey will be no different. Rayden chooses the battles that she will fight, whether she takes up the cause of one individual or an entire people.
Both friends and enemies alike will swiftly learn that the people of the far southern lands spoke truly. Rayden Valkyrie has the heart of a lion.
Heart of a Lion is Book One of the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy.

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A deadly menace stalks the shadows of the lands to the north, stirring the winds of war. Farther south, the power of the Teveren Empire spreads with every passing day, empowered by dark sorcery. Formidable legions bent on conquest are on the march, slavery and subjugation following in their wake.
Within the rising maelstrom, Rayden Valkyrie has returned to the Gessa, to stand with the tribe that once took her into their care as a child. No amount of jewels or coin can sway her, nor can the great power of her adversaries intimidate her.
With a sword blade in her right hand and axe in her left, Rayden confronts foes both supernatural and of flesh and blood. Horrific revelations and tremendous risks loom; some that will see Rayden's survival in the gravest of peril.
Even if Rayden and the Gessa survive the trials plaguing their lands, the thunder of an even darker storm booms across the far horizon.
Thunder Horizon is the second book in the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy.

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Stephen Zimmer is an award-winning author and filmmaker based out of Lexington Kentucky. His works include the Rayden Valkyrie novels (Sword and Sorcery), the Rising Dawn Saga (Cross Genre), the Fires in Eden Series (Epic Fantasy), the Hellscapes short story collections (Horror), the Chronicles of Ave short story collections (Fantasy), and the Harvey and Solomon Tales (Steampunk).

Stephen’s visual work includes the feature film Shadows Light, shorts films such as The Sirens and Swordbearer, and the forthcoming Rayden Valkyrie: Saga of a Lionheart TV Pilot.

Stephen is a proud Kentucky Colonel who also enjoys the realms of music, martial arts, good bourbons, and spending time with family.