Draxinger (The Draxinger Series Book 1)

"With its mythic qualities and mesmerizing voice, this novel will appeal to fans of Tolkien, Gaiman and Rothfuss." —Trish MacEnulty, The Historical Novel Society "Draxinger is a brilliant and genre-twisting tale of intrigue and Gothic horror." —David Day, author of An Encyclopedia of Tolkien "Comparable to Roger Zelazny for his blend of humor, serious comment and darkness." —Allen Stroud, Chair of the British Science Fiction and Fantasy Association "Mixing the supernatural with secret agent skullduggery, Draxinger is a gorgeously crafted, action-packed fantasy thriller mashup set during a mind-bending, alternative occult version of WWI."—Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks "Draxinger holds you spellbound with hilarious dialogue and exciting action until its final page. But the real achievement is a breakdown of the costs of war and hatred on our souls." —Clay Carmouche, writer of Destiny: The Taken King "Fast-paced and darkly comic, Draxinger is a brilliantly heady mix of fantasy, espionage and the paranormal." —Colin Falconer, author of Silk Road and Harem The charmingly eccentric Otto Draxinger appears to be your typical pipe smoking Oxford professor, doing his best to preserve his sanity while his beloved former students are being slaughtered at the Western Front. But the American expatriate has diagnosed himself with the newly coined term “schizophrenia.” And he believes the nightmarish waking visions he’s been experiencing are caused by the psychological trauma of the catastrophe that is The Great War. But after a chance encounter on a train with a beautiful and dangerous woman, the witty academic is drawn into a web of espionage and the paranormal. Conscripted by a secret British intelligence agency called The Department of Anti-Mageia, the astonished Draxinger is transported to an isolated castle and immediately put into training for a desperate mission. Here, at the mysterious brigade's headquarters called The Crypt, Draxinger makes friends with his fellow recruits including the fighter pilot ace Buppy Singh, the wily weapons inventor code named "Fizz," and the brilliant cryptologist/suffragette known only as Abacus. But Draxinger soon learns that to uncover the appalling truth about his terrifying visions, he will have to come face to face with the German side of his family’s legacy of the Dark Arts. For he has been ordered to fly straight into the heart of enemy territory, and assassinate his murderous brother—an operative for the German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm’s own agency of the occult. From Oxford to Berlin to the skies above No Man’s Land, the reluctant yet always humorous professor-turned-spy must discover how to wield magic for good…in a world gone truly bad. AUTHOR BIO Noble Smith is the Franchise Narrative Director of Microsoft’s legendary video game series Age of Empires from Xbox Game Studios. He is an award-winning playwright, documentary film executive producer, and author of The Wisdom of the Shire—a book about the philosophy of Tolkien’s Hobbits (translated into eight languages). And the epic historical fiction trilogy Nikias of Plataea (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press) set in ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War.

About the Author

Noble Smith is the Franchise Narrative Director of Microsofts legendary video game series Age of Empires from Xbox Game Studios. He is an award-winning playwright, documentary film executive producer, and author of The Wisdom of the Shirea book about the philosophy of Tolkiens Hobbits (translated into eight languages). And the epic historical fiction trilogy Nikias of Plataea (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martins Press) set in ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War.

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