Greater Treasures
Greater Treasures, written by Karina Fabian, is filled with
unique diversity, and drama. A dragon, a nun, a
thief, a valuable artifact, and so much more will whisk you in to the workings
of a world weary PI and his conflicts
with society. The dragon (Vern) expresses
his experiences in a sometimes droll and exhausted manner. Nevertheless, he is always enticing, moving
you to the next page for more of his whimsical personality. His friendship and loyalty to his partner and
friend Grace, (the nun) is undying.
Two
worlds begrudgingly share their space in this story, and the history of Vern unravels
as he desperately tries to solve a case and save his partner's life. The story is not without
belligerent authorities, Neo-nazis, and those who would connive, steal, and betray.
Greater Treasures is a page turner, and
without a doubt, a great read. If you
like dragons with abundant personality, then Find a comfy spot and enjoy the search with Vern and his raspy acquaintances.
This book has been reviewed by Susan Hornbach, author of
children’s literature and more.
Excerpt:
Given
the day I was having, it came as no surprise that when I got home, I found the
dogs sprawled in a drugged sleep and the sounds of things being overturned from
within the warehouse. I decided not to bother with subtlety, but I did resist
the urge to burst in with flames going full-blast. I had questions first.
Naturally,
I walked straight in to find an automatic weapon—yep, a bona fide black-market
AK-47—and I thought only Faerie lived their clichés—and six other weapons of
various types pointed at me. I didn't stop, just closed the door with my tail
while I strolled in slow and placid-like. My visitors had shaved heads, faces
painted white with clown paint, and black t-shirts with swastikas in white
circles.
"If
you're the housekeeping service, you're fired."
"You
stay right there, or we gonna fire you!" said one guy from the sidelines
as he held his nunchucks at the ready.
What'd
he think he would do—whack me on the nose? I turned to the one holding the
assault rifle. "Scraping the bottom of the barrel with that one, weren't
you?"
"He's
right. You just stay still while we search the place."
"The
place" was a ten-thousand square foot warehouse with offices on the upper
floor. Boxes I still hadn't opened line the walls and made a maze in the second
warehouse room. I settled myself on the floor and rested my head on my crossed
arms. "Go ahead. I get half of anything you find."
They
stared at me, unbelieving. I smiled back. Mr. Cooperation, that's me. Finally,
Big Gun snarled for the others to get to work. As he turned his back on me,
Nunchucks muttered, "I got your half. Don't think I don't." Guess he
learned such witty repartee in Hitler Youth Summer Camp.
I watched
and listened and waited. With eight teenage skinheads trashing my place, it was
only a matter of time.
"I
wouldn't go in there if I were you," I suggested as Nunchucks made a grab
for the doorknob to Grace's workshop.
"You
gonna stop me?" He turned the knob.
"Nope,"
I said as I closed my ears and my eyes. Even so, I saw the otherworldly light
and heard the harmonious roar of Divine Vengeance followed by Mundane screams.
"The
Heavenly Host on the other hand…"
I
waited until the screams died down to whimpers before opening my eyes and
rising.
Four
of the skinheads were unconscious. Three may as well have been; they were
curled up in the fetal position, whimpering. Nunchucks was actually crying for
his mommy. Big Guns had collapsed to the floor as well, the gun thrown away
from him. He was sitting and rocking and making high-pitched keening through
the roof of his mouth.
I'd
tell Grace to tone down her wards some, except that the effect is directly
proportional to the evilness of the intent. Suddenly, I was feeling a little
shaky about my earlier entrance.
Knights
out of the armor now. I went around, collecting weapons in the office trash can
and poking through pockets. I found the usual stuff—driver's licenses, credit
cards, petty cash… One kid had a condom; wishful thinking on his part, I knew.
Another had a report card. MLK High. Wonder if he was the one beating up Faerie
kids? Honor roll grades, too. Of all the years I've battled evil, there were
still some things I didn't understand.
As I
was returning Big Guns' (aka Rick Matherston's) wallet back into his jacket
pocket, he blinked and focused on me.
"What
was that?"
"Angels,
kid." Actually a kind of magical shadow of the real thing, but close
enough.
"But I thought angels
were—"
"There's
a reason why their first words are usually 'Fear not!' whenever they meet a
human."
His
eyes returned to their unfocused stare. I almost felt sorry for him. Then I
noticed the letters FARISLAR tattooed on his knuckles. Faerie slayer.
Greater Treasures by Karina Fabian, Part
of the DragonEye series of novels and stories
Book
information:
Pages:
130
ISBN-13: 978-1484848296
ISBN-10: 1484848292
ASIN B00CEH934G
Fantasy, paranormal, urban fantasy, noir,
Tag
line: When Grace’s life is in danger, Vern will do just about
anything to find a cure—but will he sacrifice the fate of two worlds for her
life? #dragoneye http://tinyurl.com
greatertreasureskindle
Tweet-sized
Tag line 2: Some
things are worth dying for—but what’s worth letting a friend die? “Greater
Treasures” by Karina Fabian #dragoneye
http://tinyurl.com/greatertreasureskindle
Blurb: Being a private detective in the border town
of the Faerie and Mundane worlds isn’t easy, even for a dragon like Vern. Still, finding the wayward brother of a teary
damsel in distress shouldn’t have gotten so dangerous. When his partner, Sister Grace, gets poisoned by a dart meant for him, Vern offers
to find an artifact in exchange for a cure.
However, this is no ordinary trinket—with a little magic power, it could
control all of mankind. Can Vern find
the artifact, and will he sacrifice the fate of two worlds for the life of his
best friend?
About
Greater Treasures: Most
people associate the DragonEye stories with high humor ranging from puns to
slapstick, and in fact, the first stories and the novels have certainly been
crazy fun. But the life of a cynical
dragon PI isn’t all laughs, and Vern has had a few chilling stories to tell
me. Some of these, I’ve sold to
anthologies, but some are too long for that.
Thus, I’ve decided to start publishing them on my own. One thing I like to do for DragonEye stories is watch old
noir films.
Greater Treasures came to me while watching the Maltese Falcon. If you’ve never seen it, I recommend it. (Then, reread the story to see if you catch
the in jokes.) I needed something with
more “oomph” than a bird statue, and since Vern has some history with the Lance
of Longinus, it made a good fit. I
enjoyed looking up all the conspiracy theories about the use of the Lance by
Hitler, which is where the neo-Nazi angle came in. To say more would be spoilers, so please,
enjoy the story.
Karina Fabian
Author
Bios:
Tweet-sized: Karina Fabian: SFF + horror
writer & award-winning fantasy humorist, enjoys getting dragons in over
their heads. http://fabianspace.com
Small: Karina Fabian is an
award-winning fantasy, science fiction, and horror author, whose books make
people laugh, cry, and think. Check out
her latest at http://fabianspace.com
Big: Winner of the 2010 INDIE for
best Fantasy (Magic, Mensa and Mayhem),
Karina Fabian has imagination that takes quirky twists that keep her--and her
fans--amused. Nuns working in space, a down-and-out Faerie dragon working off a
geas from St. George, zombie exterminators—there’s always a surprise in
Fabian’s worlds. Mrs. Fabian teaches writing and book marketing seminars, but
mostly is concerned with supporting her husband, Rob Fabian as he makes the
exciting leap from military officer to civilian executive, getting her kids
through high school and college, and surviving daily circuit torture…er,
circuit training. Read about her adventures at http://fabianspace.com.
Find
Karina at:
Google +: https://plus.google.com/103660024891826015212
Review
Roundup and tweets
Karina
proves once more that she is a veritable fount of puns and one-liners, causing
random hoots of laughter at the twists she puts into the language of the
hard-headed dragon. Vern's smart-aleck character leaps from the page in 3D,
weaknesses and all, but don't forget, the dragon always wins. This world she
has created involves complex interactions between Faerie and Mundane, religious
and anti, science and magic. Splashdown Book Reviews http://reviews.splashdownbooks.com/2013/05/greater-treasures-by-karina-fabian.html
Rebecca Ryals Russel, http://www.spellbindingsblog.com/2013/05/my-two-cents-about-greater-treasures-mg.html#.UZvYUMr3XYw: One
evening recently I read Greater Treasures while my husband was watching
television.This is significant only in that he kept glancing at me then telling
me to please be quiet because I COULDN'T STOP LAUGHING. It is clear Karina
enjoys and understands the Noir detective style of story-telling. She
has infused such a sly, smart-alec sense of humor into all of the
characters in any of her DragonEye Pi books they are a delight to read. Greater
Treasures is also short enough to be read in one or two sittings. But the
best thing is that this story would be enjoyed and understood by anyone able to
read--Middle Grade through Adult.
“It is a
great read. You’ll keep following along with Vern’s adventures. And, the best
part for me is the underlying story. Fabian’s research about the Lance of
Longinus is well done and makes the book very interesting to read.” Dianne
Sagan
Greater
Treasures
"A
well-done romp into a place that's both strange and familiar" Grace
Bridges
“Vern's
smart-aleck character leaps from the page in 3D, weaknesses and all” Splashdown
Book Reviews
“a fun romp of a read with enough of a
dark side to make the story really matter” Letters to the Cosmos
“definitely
well-worth the price of admission if you like off-beat humor in your
non-traditional fantasy”
Letters to the
Cosmos
“the perfect
weeknight read for anyone who love pun-filled fantasy in the style of Esther
Friesner” letters to the Cosmos
P.I. Vern is
back in dramatic dragon fashion in this cozy Faerie-Mundane mystery that's
sure to delight long-time fans and create new ones. Lyn Perry, Residential Aliens
Karina
Fabian delights fans of Vern, Dragoneye P.I. with another thriller of a
mystery set in her imaginative Faerie-Mundane world.
"Greater
Treasures" is compelling mystery that straddles the line between cozy and
noir - and set in the imaginative world that combines the Faerie and
Mundane. Fun and delightful. Lyn Perry, Residential Aliens
“It's a story of friendship and faith and I
loved it.” Snoring Scholar
“Sister
Grace, who’s as badass as she is devout and complements Vern’s quirks and
personality in a way that I delight in more with every tale I read.” Snoring
Scholar
“Fabian’s DragonEye books have never failed to make me reread passages and
guffaw” Snoring Scholar
“
Vern, a dragon detective, is an
awesome character with a lively personality.”
Kittyb78
“Entertaining and easy to lose
myself in. My only complaint is that it ended far too soon.” Kittyb78
“Greater Treasures was a real
treasure to read!” Virginia Jennings
“Vern’s wit and sarcasm is absolutely hilarious and Karina’s melding of
religion and fantasy together into one world is genius!” Virginia Jennings
“Want a wild and entertaining ride? This book is as good as the Sherlock
Holmes stories!” Virginia Jennings
“Karina Fabian does it again with her newest Dragon Eye, PI book –
Greater
Treasures,” Dianne Sagan
“The best part for me is the underlying story. Fabian’s research about the
Lance of Longinus is well done and makes the book very interesting to read.”
Dianne Sagan
“infused (with)
a sly, smart-alec sense of humor… a delight to read” Rebecca Ryals Russel
“It is clear
Karina enjoys and understands the Noir detective style of story-telling.“
Rebecca Ryals Russel
“(Greater
Treasures)would be enjoyed and understood by anyone able to read--Middle Grade
through Adult” Rebecca Ryals Russel
