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Jasmine Giacomo

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The Wicked Heroine (Immortality Archive Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Jasmine Giacomo (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 65 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Immortality Archive #1

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The Cult of Dzur i'Oth wants its magical tome back. They can’t rule the world without it.

The only person who knows how to destroy the twisted tome is Meena, a testy heroine who accidentally inherited immortality from the tome’s pages centuries ago. Long turned to cynicism by the petty whims of mortals, she’s secretive and brusque, dragging her young companions into mortal danger without a second thought.

Yet the magical reach of the cult leader, the Hand of Power, is long. Even from the far side of the world, he causes chaos and death in order to retrieve the key to the tome’s magical prison.

A glorified librarian, a substitute prince and a secret-wielding swordsman must resolve their interpersonal conflicts in order to aid Meena in her quest. But when the Shanallar makes an unexpected sacrifice halfway to their goal, can they carry on without her? Or is the world doomed to enslavement at the hands of a magic-wielding madman?

Editorial Reviews

Review

This is where Jasmine Giacomo begins to shine. These characters are interesting whether they're running naked on the beach or washing socks...The nature of immortality, the problems with isolationist states, the myriad of ways in which men and women interact in different cultures. This is the kind of stuff I love about fantasy...-- Books are Better

Interesting characters, fantastic settings and unique cultures. Here is a recipe for a true fantasy tale that takes you to places you could hardly imagine. The characters and settings are truly the book's strengths.-- Unwritten
The Wicked Heroine is a fresh and original fantasy that serves as a solid debut for a new series.-- Bards and Sages

From the Author

I originally wrote the manuscript for The Wicked Heroine and Oathen as a single novel, under the working title Quest for the Dire Tome. I was prompted by the concept of the clash between immortal heroine and eternal magic. An immovable object/irresistible force sort of thing.

As I wrote, the story came to be more about the characters. More than one major character experiences their own personal epiphany during the course of the duology. While some epiphanies can be devastating, if one makes it through life suffering no epiphanies whatsoever, one hasn't lived nearly enough.

The Wicked Heroine is dedicated to the next generation: you too can save the world.
Customer reviews:
"This book has it all--Robinson Crusoe, remnants of H. G. Wells, some Robert Jordan thrown in, the Titanic, Renaissance court intrigue, humor, magic, and action." -- Lisa, Goodreads
"[An] amazing read. This was a class novel." -- Gary, Smashwords
Strong characters, great story...can't wait for the next one! -- Helmsk, iTunes
"These two books will be keepers to go back and read again and again."
"Absolutely fascinating from beginning to end!"
"I would recommend this book and its sequel 'Oathen'."

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003QCIQ1Y
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cazar Fiction (June 4, 2010)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 4, 2010
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1470 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 282 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #38,511 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #156 in Children's Sword & Sorcery Fantasy Books
- #518 in Epic Fantasy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 65 ratings

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Jasmine Giacomo

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Jasmine Giacomo writes from Washington State, where she lives with her husband, two children, and a Bichon Frisé named Eddie. She graduated last millennium with a degree in English Literature from a college built atop a volcano.

Though she's been writing since the age of four, she also enjoys geocaching, history, science and games, and holds a black belt in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu. She particularly enjoys reading and writing fight scenes.

Her current writing project is book three in the Seals of the Duelists. Look for Prodigal Steelwielder in late 2014. Learn more at www.jasminegiacomo.com.

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4.1 out of 5

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Forest Betz

Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2013

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I got this book as a Kindle freebie. It kept me up until one in the morning, then I went right away and bought the sequel, which I had to put down at two in the morning- I finished it the next day. I thought both books had great characters and a wonderful variety of cultures that were created... Now I want to know what happens next?

One person found this helpful

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G. Cox

Enjoyed it

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2012

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I really, really enjoyed this book. I thought the title was brilliant, and the characters hooked me. I really love the characters. It did have kind of a slow start. The prologue was a little hard to follow, and it took awhile for the book to show you why the prologue was relevant. But once I read far enough to start putting things together, I could see why we were left in the dark for so long.

And this book has it all -- Robinson Crusoe, remnants of H. G. Wells, some Robert Jordan thrown in, the Titanic, Renaissance court intrigue, humor, magic, and action.

And the writing is wonderful. There is a complexity to the characters and plot that I haven't seen much in the Amazon self pub fantasy genre. The author has a command of the language, and the book looks nicely edited. I truly will try to find more books by this author simply because I like the way she puts words together.

The only complaint I have is that I would have liked a few more issues resolved in this first book. I normally hate reading to the end and not knowing every single answer, but for some reason I didn't really mind it in Wicked Heroine. Off I go to find more!

3 people found this helpful

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Tilia Tomentosa

a real winner

Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2013

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Great book. A nice diversity of interesting characters. Fun adventures, many unexpected twists. Nice pace. Jasmine Giacomo creates fun worlds with medieval societies, lots of magic, monsters, very talented people and young people coming of age. And the story continues...

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2012

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I am not a person who is going to look to give you an in depth review. All I can tell you is I lost myself in the story. I read it in a couple of days. I want to know more about the characters and what happens after the story. These are what I look for out of a book. Was a great read give it a chance you will not be disappointed.

2 people found this helpful

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JOA

2.8 out of 5

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2010

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I like ideas. I like a well-written novel. Sometimes, I run across novels where these two aspects don't mesh. Some are well-written but lack imagination. These, I give a shrug to and move on. Some, however, have ideas so interesting that I want to like them, even though the construction of the plot might leave much to be desired. The latter, to me, are the most frustrating of all books. They're written just well enough to be passable, but not good enough to bring those brilliant ideas to the forefront, to give them the power and importance they deserve.

"The Wicked Heroine: Legend of the Shanallar Book I" by Jasmine Giacomo is one of these books. On the surface, it has everything - a legendary and immortal figure who influences the course of history, an expedition that forays into cultures foreign to the protagonists and highlights the differences between the peoples, a government conspiracy, a deep and secret evil that seems to be bubbling to the surface, sea monsters, sword fights, and a preternaturally gifted young girl who might be more than she seems.

The story follows the adventures of three main characters - Geret, a young and brash prankster who is set to be made prince, Sanych, the aforementioned talented young girl, and Meena, the legendary and immortal Shanallar, herself. They set out on a quest from Geret and Sanych's homeland of Vint in search of the lost (and imminently dangerous) Dire Tome, a book of magic that Meena, in one of her many previous identities, had hidden away to protect the world from the dangers that lie within. They journey across their continent and into the sea, in search of the land of Shanal, the birthplace of Meena and burial ground of the Dire Tome, itself.

Along the way they encounter many adventures. There is political intrigue, as the reasons for the quest seem questionable at best, even to those partaking in it. There is the budding brotherhood-hatred relationship between Geret and Salvor, a young Lord who accompanies them on the quest. There are the tales told through flashbacks and those Meena speaks of that discuss the history of this world we've been entered into, which in and of themselves could be complete, fleshed-out books. There are the previously stated sea monsters, whose encounter with the protagonists makes up the most entertaining part of the book. And there are themes of innocence lost and valor that each character must deal with.

As for those characters, they are pretty well fleshed out. Meena, in particular, is interesting. Her demeanor is gritty and more than a bit rude, which flies in the face of normal conventions when it comes to wise immortals. She has a chip on her shoulder, people annoy her, and she isn't shy about letting them all know as much. Geret is likeable in an "ignorant jock" sort of way; he's the type of fellow one might know who's supremely gifted yet just naïve enough to let himself get walked over. And Sanych...she's an idiot savant, the female Rain Man. Gifted with memory and intellect yet socially inept. I mean, when do we not root for a character like that?

These characters change throughout the book, and those changes are consistent with the way they've been presented. But the problem I had with author Giacomo's writing wasn't the characters, but the construction of the tale.

First of all, it is horribly overwritten. One could probably cut about 10% off the word count by eliminating unnecessary adverbs alone. There are extended segments describing droll information regarding locations the characters simply pass through. Long stretches pass without anything happening. On more than one occasion, I found my vision blurring as my eyes scanned the text. In fact, I was a full seventy-five percent through the book before the pace picked up and the action got going. To be completely honest, the author should have cut the word count by a third or more. It would've made for less distracting reading.

Also, I mentioned earlier ideas and how many were present in this book. Yes, they are there, but in many ways they're ignored or used as meaningless plot devices to explain away a character's relevance. For example, there is a fabulous little tidbit about a forced wedding ritual (demand?) where the subject of the engagement is placed under a spell where if they give their love to another, if they're unfaithful, that the person they are unfaithful with will die, leaving the purveyor of this infidelity to deal with the consequences. It was a shocking revelation, one that could've been used to make a nice statement about humans and our responsibilities to others, and I was eager to see where this plot point went. Well, it went nowhere. It was almost as if the characters (and author) said, "Oh, isn't that nice?" and went along their merry ways. I just about pulled my hair out with that one.

Oh, and the ending. It didn't wind down as much as fizzle. Sure, I understand that this is the first in a two-book series, but there has to be at least some resolution. In many ways it felt as if I took this long, drawn-out journey, and nothing happened. Kind of like strolling down a dirt road in Nebraska. The land is flat and uninteresting, and unless you are clued in to all the little things going on around you (if you're even interested in them), it's not very exciting.

As for the writing style itself, once again I find myself reading a book written in third person omniscient. When will folks realize that constant head-hopping from paragraph to paragraph is more than a little bit irritating, not to mention frowned upon? Find a character to tell the story or section through and stick with it, please.

Overall, I will say that although the book frustrated me, and wasn't completely satisfying, I still took something away from it. Like I said, it is the first book in a series, so perhaps the later volume will clear up some of my misgivings - if I pick it up. But, again, the ideas...that's what makes it so maddening. There is so much there, so much that could've made this a wild, thrilling, and original ride. But it wasn't, and in the end, my enjoyment - and the novel's grade - suffered.

Plot - 7
Characters - 9
Voice - 5
Execution - 3
Personal Enjoyment - 4

Overall - 28/50 (2.8/5)

37 people found this helpful

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Sir Arthur III

Enjoyed it

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2013

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I would definitely recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good fantasy book. Good humor reminiscent of Polgara & Silk in the David Eddings series the Belgariad & Mallorean, nice adventure similar to Tolkien, Brooks & Eddings and quickness of pace similar very interesting characters similar to Feist.

There are definitely items that are original. I cannot give it a 5 as I have no idea what the next book will bring and when you judge a book within a series you judge the series.

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Amazon Customer

worth buying book 2

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2012

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This was my first kindle book and I'm so glad it was!! You really get sucked into the story after the first 130pages. You connect so well with the characters in book two, and they both had me shedding a few tears. Well worth reading.

2 people found this helpful

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Virlomi

Couldn't catch my attention

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2013

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It was very wordy, and overuse of some words. It felt repeated. I couldn't get attatched to any of the characters. Thus, I stopped halfway through.

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Fren

Highly enjoyable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2013

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An interesting bunch of characters including a prince with a liking for practical jokes, a surly fighter, a young female archivist, a pirate princess and an immortal healer, all on a quest, with a supporting cast of monsters, pirates and evil wizards. What more could you want?

John L

Odysseys and Oddities.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2012

Verified Purchase

Enjoyable fantasy with that rare achievement, believable strong female characters, that certainly did enough for me to purchase the sequel. Discovered the author on G+ so social networks apparently do have their uses. Now I wonder if Amazon sells Cuttleboats...

RK1992

Great

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 16, 2013

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Really enthralling! Couldn't put it down and I've bought the sequel too! I'd definitely recommend reading it to Anyone at all

Aspidistra

One for the youngsters

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2013

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The story centers around an immortal and apparently invulnerable woman (Meena, a sword bearer with the secret) who has hidden and wishes to destroy the ancient and dangerous book that bestowed her powers. Living alone in the mountains, she is discovered by a 15 year old girl, (the glorified librarian), who seeks her help with an expedition being mounted to find the book, led by a brash young lord (the substitute prince).

I failed to finish the book as I disliked the writing style and I found the three main protagonists juvenile and irritating. Particularly Meena who seemed to me to be a smug know-it-all, not the immortal, world weary survivor of countless adventures. By the time the expedition was underway, I'd had enough and deleted it from my Kindle.

It's not clear from the description but I'd say this was aimed a younger audience - teenagers perhaps. If I'd warmed to the characters, or I was 14 years old, maybe I'd have thought differently.

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