A.J. Demas

Review - Honey and Pepper by A.J. Demas

My rating:

Nikias is a recently freed slave that's come to the big city to find work. He ends up working in a snack stall that occupies one corner of a grand old house. That's where he first spots Kallion, a man about Nikias's age who seems to work at the mansion. The two meet when Kallion is attacked outside the house, and despite some initial misunderstandings, they become friends. But Kallion harbors a dark secret about his cruel former master that prevents him from fully opening up to Nikias.

Tags: Fantasy Ancient Greece

Review - Strong Wine by A.J. Demas

My rating:

Note: The author kindly offered an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review. You can purchase this release starting October 14, 2021. Another month has passed since Damiskos came to visit his lover Varazda in Saffron Alley. He really doesn't want to go home to Pheme, but knows he will need to at some point, at least to move out of his lodgings and collect his horse.

Tags: Fantasy Ancient Greece Mystery

Review - Saffron Alley by A.J. Demas

My rating:

Note: The author kindly offered an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review. A month has passed since the events recounted in Sword Dance. Damiskos has returned to Pheme while Varazda has come back to Boukos, but now Damiskos is coming for a visit and Varazda wonders what the ex-soldier will make of the odd little family he has created over the years living in Saffron Alley.

Tags: Fantasy Ancient Greece

Review - Something Human by A.J. Demas

My rating:

Adares, the young archon of Tios, seems doomed to die of thirst and starvation on the battlefield outside of the city he only recently was elected ruler of. He’s not seriously hurt but he’s trapped under his horse and the ruins of a seige cart. Just as he is pretty much resigned to his fate, he’s pulled out of his predicament by Rus, a young priest-warrior from the attacking Luth tribe.

Tags: Fantasy Ancient Greece

Review - Sword Dance by A.J. Demas

My rating:

Damiskos is a retired army officer working for the quartermaster corps, since his parents spent the family fortune and the army doesn’t pay much in the way of retirement. He’s been sent to a seaside villa to negotiate the purchase of fish sauce from the owner, who happens to be an old friend from the capital city. It’s supposed to be a bit of a vacation, but on arrival he finds the house filled with philosophy students, and a businessman from a neighboring island-state who also has a captivating eunuch slave, Varazda.

Tags: Fantasy Ancient Greece