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Son of Grendel: Battle for the Wastelands #0 Kindle Edition

by Matthew W. Quinn (Author), Matthew Cowdery (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
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A tyrant’s heir must go into the mountains to face a band of insurgents on its own ground. Not everybody will emerge from the confrontation unscathed, not least him.

Falki Grendelsson, eldest son of the first lord of the Northlands, serves as a company commander in his father’s elite Obsidian Guard. Though many lords would keep their sons close and out of harm’s way, Grendel is determined his son learn the business of war firsthand for the day he puts on his father’s cloak. But when Robert Dalton leads displaced farmers armed with stolen Old World repeating rifles in a raid that kills a favored officer, Grendel sends Falki to make an example of them. Falki has never fought this type of war before. Although the Obsidian Guard has the deadly weapons of the ancient world and dirigibles to rain fire from the skies, Dalton’s insurgents know the land and the mountains hold terrors beyond his increasingly-desperate men.

In order to cement his father’s new order, Falki has to triumph not only over a physical foe who would gladly kill him, but his own demons. And victory over one might mean falling to another…

This novella is set a year before the first novel in the series, Battle for the Wastelands.
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  1. Print length
    68 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    May 25, 2020
  5. File size
    2926 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Quinn is an excellent writer with a fine sense of pacing and some top-notch action scenes...Overall, if you're a fan of post-apocalyptic adventure tales, I think this one is well worth reading."-James Reasoner, New York Times best-selling Western author.


"This fast read was a post apocalyptic, steam punk, fantasy adventure. I look forward to reading more from Matthew W. Quinn in the future."-Mindy Cordes, Mindy's Book Journey

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0897FVPT8
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 25, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2926 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 ‏ : ‎ 68 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

About the author

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Matthew W Quinn

Matthew W Quinn

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Matthew W. Quinn (b. 1984) grew up in Marietta, Georgia. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a dual degree in magazine journalism and history, he worked in Atlanta media before moving onto social-studies education. Throughout all of this, he has written science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His first sale was the short horror tale "I am the Wendigo" to the webzine CHIMAERA SERIALS and he later wrote licensed fiction for the BattleTech science fiction universe. 2017 saw the publication of his horror novel THE THING IN THE WOODS, while 2019 saw the publication of his horror-comedy novella LITTLE PEOPLE, BIG GUNS and his military fantasy novel BATTLE FOR THE WASTELANDS. 2020 saw the premiere of his newest work, the THING sequel THE ATLANTA INCURSION, as well as the BATTLE prequel novella "Son of Grendel." His most recent work is the 2023 BATTLE sequel SERPENT SWORD.

Matthew is a member of the Horror Writers Association Atlanta chapter and a regular participant in the film podcast MYOPIA MOVIES. Those interested in learning more about him can check out his Substack, The World According To Quinn.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

James Reasoner
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Post-Apocalyptic Tale
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
It’s been a while since I read a post-apocalyptic yarn. A while back, I bought the e-book edition of a novel called BATTLE FOR THE WASTELANDS by Matthew W. Quinn, mostly because of the great cover since I wasn’t familiar with the author. I hadn’t gotten around to reading it yet, though, so when Quinn recently published SON OF GRENDEL, a novella-length prequel to the novel, I decided to start with it instead.

Quinn doesn’t spend a lot of time on world-building. Instead, in an opening reminiscent of Ernest Hemingway’s FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, he drops the reader down in the middle of the action as a group of resistance fighters in some future America ambushes a column of soldiers from the army of a tyrant known as Grendel, who evidently has conquered most of North America.

Then Quinn cleverly switches the focus to the title character, a young army officer who’s the son of that tyrant, and how he handles the campaign of reprisal against those resistance fighters. There are also some unexpected elements to the story, such as a mention of pterodactyls, that lead me to believe this is either an alternate universe from ours, or else something really weird happened in that apocalypse.

I suspect I’ll find out in BATTLE FOR THE WASTELANDS, which I intend to read soon because Quinn is an excellent writer with a fine sense of pacing and some top-notch action scenes. I really want to discover more about the world he’s created in this series. I’ll add, too, that SON OF GRENDEL is very well edited and formatted, something you don’t always get in books these days, even from the big New York publishers. Overall, if you’re a fan of post-apocalyptic adventure tales, I think this one is well worth reading.
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Christine
4.0 out of 5 stars Christine's Horror Fiction Reviews
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2023
You know the really good kind of snack-mix? The kind that’s got salty and sweet and chewy and crunchy, with a whole variety of tasty treats combined into an addictive gestalt where each diverse element complements each of the others in myriad ways? So no handful is exactly the same, in unpredictable but delicious bite? (brb getting snack-mix)

Okay, back. Where was I? Oh, yes. That experience is the equivalent of I got reading these books, where the elements of the snack-mix are different genres, distinct but mixing, and totally delightful. There’s a little bit of damn near everything here, and it all goes together so, so well!

Like ... post-apocalyptic dark-fantasy steampunk western feudal military action/adventure horror with dynastic intrigue, Viking lore, cannibals, racial and religious conflicts, scheming harem concubines, radioactive monster-breeders, old-world relics and remnants. Like, there’s dirigibles. There’s dinosaurs, with no explanation of how or why there are dinosaurs, but you don’t care, because DINOSAURS!

And they all work. They all fit together, even when they shouldn’t. Even especially when they shouldn’t. In another writer’s hands, it might have turned into a total chaotic jumble of a trainwreck, but Quinn handles everything so well, you don’t question; you just trust him to know what he’s doing, and he does not let you down.

Battle For The Wastelands is the first main BOOK-book of the series, introducing a host of dynamic characters, from the young townie who gets swept up into major events to the warlord/overlord determined to establish and hold an empire. Some are in it for power or profit or personal gain, some are seeking revenge for or reunion with loved ones, some are only trying to survive.

Son of Grendel, a story set before the events of the first book but published after, follows that warlord/overlord’s eldest son, out to build a reputation and prove himself worthy of his place, despite the stigma he faces by being biracial and the threat presented by his half-brothers.

Challenging though these may be to categorize in terms of genre, they make for a tasty and very satisfying snack-mix indeed, and I’ll be ready to dig right in to the next one!
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Daniel K Weddermann
5.0 out of 5 stars Nailed it
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
I loved this novella!
After reading Battle For The Wastelands I picked this one up. It gave a really interesting side story and character view that you only touch on in the main novel. I'd love to read one of these novellas for EVERY character and then come back to reread the original.
Really impressed with the writing, characters, the world creation, and plotline.
Phenomenal book and I can't wait for the release of the next book in the series!
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josh tutterow
5.0 out of 5 stars Accurancy and Honesty. Compelling Characters.
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2023
While the book’s characters are fictional, the reader will care about their outcome as if they are actual people.

As an author, Matthew Quinn has a unique, yet timeless sense of the world. He completely captures the working man’s view of humanity trapped within and nearly encapsulated by wartime. He also captures the ruthlessness that is the basic requirement of the soldiers who represent either side of war.
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Mindy
4.0 out of 5 stars A great prequil to a great series
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2020
Son of Grendel was a great prequel novella that takes place about 1 year before the events of the first novel in the series A Battle for the Wastelands. This novella is about Grendel's son Falki as he leads his father's army, The Obsidian Guard to prepare him to take his father's place someday.

I really enjoyed getting more character development for Falki, more world building, and more well done battle scenes. I liked seeing both sides of the war's point of views. This fast read was a post apocalyptic, steam punk, fantasy adventure. I look forward to reading more from Matthew W. Quinn in the future.
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John Allred
5.0 out of 5 stars Cowboys and Post Apocalypse world, what is not to like?
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2022
I am big fan of cross-genre fiction, and the author delivers! M. Quinn had obviously done his research on aspects of the history of the old American West, 18th through 20th century warfare and conquest, and competition between competing subsistence societies and cultures to serve as the basis of this book's world and its actors. The character development and story arcs of this and the related works make for riveting reads that make you want to come back for more. Great story and I highly recommend acquiring it!
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Top reviews from other countries

MDStien
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Short Story of the Wastelands
Reviewed in Canada on May 31, 2020
Verified Purchase
I've read the full novel this is a little sidequel (side prequel) to. Both are excellent, and this one is a sweet little slice of action that will whet your appetite between the next novel Matthew Quinn writes.
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