This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Enter the Bull's Burrow by J P Manning is book two in the Guardians of the East series, which began with Eleven Arrows in 2300 BC, during the reign of King Sargon. The Guardians, a tribe surviving the Akkadian Empire's expansion, suffer a devastating attack. Salarn, an elder living in a separate tower, and Kar, the tribe's youngest man, journey west to uncover the reasons behind the assault. They find survivors, including Kar's father, Unbetum, and encounter a sacred tree, awakening Salarn to its significance. Millennia later, in 1850 AD, English archaeologist Fred Baker is called to authenticate a manuscript detailing these events and evaluate a potential dig site in Nineveh. Before Baker can process his findings, his colleague Victor returns from Marseille with news of stone tablet fragments discovered in Nineveh. As Baker deciphers the Guardians' journey, he anticipates the possible revelation of an undiscovered city and prepares for his own exploration following the Guardians' path.
Nobody in their right mind could ever accuse author J P Manning of not being almost poetic in their prose, and creating the most visual depictions in Enter the Bull's Burrow. Aside from the settings themselves, I loved the sense of mystery and wonder in Manning's storytelling which combines supernatural elements with the struggle between gods and humans, immersing the reader in the world. "The tree has trapped Mother Ki. She can knock on the door of the underworld with her roots, feel the earth through her trunk and talk with the world through her branches, yet she is defenseless against a god walking as a man." The suspense grows as the stakes get higher, and there is a scene where Kar is confronted and tested, when his identity and intentions are questioned. Losing means persecution and death, and it's near heart-stopping as we are pulled into the first-person fear that really does transcend the page. Manning continues to go from strength to strength as a writer and I look forward to seeing what comes off their press next. Very highly recommended.
