Review & Giveaway: Drasmyr by Matthew D. Ryan

This is my review tour stop for Drasmyr by Matthew D. Ryan. This book is about vampires, but nothing like the sparkly or romantic ones that are so popular these days. Check out my review and read more about the book. Matthew D. Ryan is also doing a cool giveaway for US/CAN residents! I mean, really cool giveaway.

About the book
We vampires do not make easy prey. Our weaknesses are few, our strengths many. Fear is something we do not know, and death but a distant memory. So tread softly, pray to your god, and gird yourself with silver when the moons arise and night’s dark prince awakens. We fear not the wizard, nor the warrior, neither rogue, nor priest; our strength is timeless, drawn from darkness and we know no master save the hot lust of our unending hunger. We long for blood, your blood and no blade, nor spell, nor clever artifice, can keep us long from our prize. Feel our teeth at your throat, your life ebb from you, and know as darkness comes to claim you that the price of your folly is your everlasting soul.

Drasmyr actually turned out to be a refreshing read. I’ve been wary of vampire books since vampires these days tend to be portrayed as romantic and/or reluctant hero types or whatever brooding tortured character. Matthew Ryan’s Drasmyr brings us back to the classic vampire reminiscent of Dracula. Yep, this book was a real gothic piece and I’ve been missing gothic literature lately so I truly enjoyed reading this book. It had old creepy fortresses, dark forests, wizards, sorceresses, magical weapons, and, most of all, white-faced vampires that burned under the sun, couldn’t stand mirrors, detested garlic, changed into fanged furry winged creatures, and were just pure bloodthirsty evil.

Although the novel and its themes were refreshing to me because they seemed like a novelty these days, the overall  storyline wasn’t really anything knew. You had a devious vampire that needed to be destroyed and you had battle scarred warriors and hardworking wizards fighting to defeat this powerful vampire. Classic battle between good and evil, right? There were, however, little backstories that added a little more meat to it. This book reminded me of Dracula for obvious reasons and the Sword of Truth series for the little stories and intrigues, especially within the wizard’s guild. Drasmyr also happens to be a prequel for a series, too, so I’m actually quite interested in that. As a conclusion, if you like classic and gothic, you might like this book!

I received a review copy of this book at no cost and with no obligations. All opinions and views expressed here are my own.

Giveaway (US/Canada only)

Matthew will be awarding a package of metal miniatures of vampires/vampire hunters to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour! How cool is that? For more chances of winning, visit and comment on the other tour stops!

Read an excerpt

There’s a woman in chain mail standing across the room from me; her sword is leveled at my chest. I can smell the enchantment on the blade, it’s a strong one; maybe even strong enough to cause me harm. Still, I’m not too concerned; it’s at least a ten foot lunge and I know I move faster than she does. Indeed, she’s the one who is looking worried. My display of strength and the death of her comrade have shaken her resolve.

She’s got a pretty face, flushed with excitement but strong and in control. It is her neck that really draws me, though, so soft and inviting, filled with the warm blood I desire. The curve of her flesh glistens, waiting for a well-placed gentle kiss.

She’s breathing rapidly now, her breath coming in shallow gasps. Her trek up through the castle has sapped much of her strength. And the fear she feels is naked in her eyes. Now, she’s getting ready to pounce, just a little too much tension in her stance, her eyes just a little too focused. She couldn’t give me more warning if she were to ask my permission first.

She moves in with remarkable speed, her blade striking out like a serpent’s tongue. Even winded, she still manages to cut my cape, then prances away with her back toward the wall, ready for anything. Anything, except me.

The book is available on Smashwords and elsewhere for no cost.

About the author

Matthew D. Ryan is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. He has a background in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. He also has a black belt in the martial arts and studies yoga. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He believes he saw the legendary Lake Champlain Monster (a.k.a Champy) once and he has a cat named Confucius.
Connect with him on his blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Smashwords author page, Smashwords book page, and Shelfari.