Pistol Rose and the Wedding That Sparked a War by Michael Ryan Hahn

Pistol Rose and the Wedding that Sparked a War by Michael Ryan Hahn: On Tour 

 Publisher:  Swashbuckle Holdings (August, 2023) 

Category: Fantasy, Adult Epic Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Steampunk 

Tour Dates October 16-November 22, 2023 ISBN: 978-1962089005 Available in Print and ebook, 194 pages

 

Description Pistol Rose and the Wedding that Sparked a War by Michael Ryan Hahn

As a young wilderness girl, Pistol Rose knows nothing of the advanced Strelkie City or the mad king Ward Harrol who sits behind its walls. She doesn’t understand why the Strelkie forbid marriage.

When the king forces the surrounding countryside to change their traditional culture to match his vision, the Punimin resist, and Rose learns everything about how to kill Strelkie and get away with it.

But throwing her own secret wedding without being caught… is another matter entirely. Rose refuses to give up her lover, Clock Dancin, for the tyrants who threaten her way of life. And most Punimin stand with her–only one is a betrayer.

In this futuristic medieval steampunk country filled with liars, killers, and wilderuckers, the strongest weapon is love. But using it comes with a heavy cost. Praise For Pistol Rose and the Wedding that Sparked a War by Michael Ryan Hahn

Excerpt Pistol Rose and the Wedding that Sparked a War by Michael Ryan Hahn

The Pistol family, and Pistol Ann’s groom-to-be, a big strong fellow named Forge Hoss, enter the enemy’s cabin and stand humbly before an overly polished and overly hatted Strelkie emissary in his stuffy wooden office. Ann and Hoss wear gloves over their skull brands to look more “presentable” to the Strelkie from whom they have permission to ask. Beau keeps his hands in his pockets, David rubs his brand nervously, Grace wears her beaded watch, and the rest don’t give their brand a thought at all.

The walls are plain, but an air-cooling machine made of birchwood and bronze vibrates in a window and blows air so hard that it rattles the ornamental pistol bullets on Beau’s vest. He holds out his hand and enjoys the cold air. Madrick gently smacks his hand down—they’re not here to enjoy Strelkie amenities. Madrick is wearing a vest of heavy knives, and thick pants with three guns strapped to each leg. The mechanical breeze does not stir him in any way. He sweats defiantly. And the skull brand on his hand isn’t something he hides or shies away from—especially not here among the Strelkie. He grips his collar to make sure the back of his hand shows outward so that all can see his mark. Madrick is the one who always holds his hand so the skull brand can be seen. He calls it Punimin pride, but really it’s a chip on his shoulder and a dare for anyone to confront him. He knows he would have been better off born into times of open war, where he could put his hands to use on a battlefield breaking bones. He used to think of venturing south into the Fire Straits as a boy just to look for trouble, or to band with a group of glorious legends like The Dead Assassins—whom he believes exist despite the naysayers—or to seek out the Chemical People for some real trouble, but then he had children and turned fully to rearing them. These times of slowly eroding peace and creeping abuse torture him because, if war is coming to his people, he’d like to face it while he’s still in his prime. He hopes that if a Strelkie scoffs at the skull brand on his hand, maybe he can get something started—a fight or a kill that sparks his people to act. But so far no one has ever taken his bait, or cared. He doesn’t mean as much to the Strelkie as they mean to him, and that makes him all the more mad.

The glossily dressed emissary, a pudgy little man with peachy cheeks named Galley Waith, counts a stack of coins the Pistols brought and reviews their submitted documents at a round desk made of painstakingly blown glass with colorful crystals inside. The desk is meant to display power and beauty, its shimmering bits are probably booty from some far-off conquered so-and-so, but it’s only good for catching dust and blinding people when the sun strikes it. Waith is a sneery gentleman who leaves fingerprints all over this desk and believes his station in life ought to be in the city, not out here in the “brush.” He observes from under his tall hat, “You have the proper fee, and your medical documents are in order.”

Smiles flit across the Pistol family, but Rose and Madrick remain skeptical and guarded. Madrick flexes his branded hand.

“Groom, step forward,” Emissary Waith says. The groom Forge Hoss obliges, and Waith orders, “Drop your pants and present.”

No one looks like they heard that right. Forge Hoss mutters, “I’m sorry?”

Patience is a robe Emissary Waith does not wear. “Guard!”

A smarmy Strelkie soldier stomps in with an oversized gun with steaming pipes and gears. It looks like it shoots arrow spikes. Waith continues, “Drop your pants and present. It’s part of the application—I don’t like it either, believe me. Come on. Quickly, lad; I have other business today.”

A second, viperish Strelkie soldier strolls in with a whip spiked all along its woven thong with shark teeth. Pistol Grace turns her daughters Jennifer and Rose away to offer the groom some privacy. Forge Hoss drops his pants.

Emissary Waith is disinterested but scratches down the required note. “And back up.” Waith writes another note as Ann’s groom-to-be hitches up his pants. Waith says dryly, “Despite being defectively big for normal applications, the king now wants more sizable men for future wars. The groom is hereby drafted into the city stalls to provide less desirable Strelkie women with large offspring—for the rest of his life. This marriage is disallowed.”

Ann screams, “What?!” The blood seems to instantly flee her cheeks.

“You can’t do that!” Forge Hoss shouts. He doesn’t know if his heart is beating too quickly or stopped all together. He quivers like an electric fever has him. His body is in shock, not working and only just managing to stay standing. He’s in a choking panic.

©Michael Ryan Hahn

 Review Pistol Rose and the Wedding that Sparked a War by Michael Ryan Hahn

An unputdownable read! I promise you will not regret picking up 'Pistol Rose and the Wedding that Sparked a War.'

This is an explosive, thrilling novel that will have even the most jaded reader unable to guess what is going to happen next—I know I couldn't!

Pistol Rose and Clock Dancin' are in love. In fact, they have been since they were children, although Rose may not have realized it when she found Dancin' so annoying as a child. But now that they are both grown up, Rose and Dancin' decide that they want to marry.

Normally, this would be a very sweet and blessed time for a young couple. But not so for these two. See, Rose and Dancin' are Punimin. A race of people that live in the dirt-poor outskirts of a beautiful city populated by the wealthy Strelkie.

Rose and Dancin' have been bossed around by Strelkie their whole lives, but now that they are getting married, they decide to finally do something about it.

Of course, this is easier said than done, and before the wedding is finalized, this young couple may just have started an uprising of their own making and put upon their people.

I was not expecting any part of this book to be so incredible, from the fascinating setting, to the beautifully fleshed out characters. I found myself rooting for Pistol Rose within the first page of meeting her, when she takes down two Strelkie soldiers by herself at ten years old. A character like that just has to make a name for herself, and with a name like Pistol Rose, that's pretty much a given.

Author Michael Ryan Hahn played with fantasy/steampunk tropes in this book in a way that is sure to leave any reader unable to get enough. Such excellent world building!

I think there is also a really strong message here about the importance of family and of being yourself even when all of the odds are against you. 5 stars!

About Michael Ryan Hahn

'Pistol Rose and the Wedding That Parked a War’ is Michael’s debut novel and the first in a planned 7- part series, The Anthem of Ash & Pistols. He previously wrote a standalone horror novella called ‘Children of the Storm’. He recently released an adventure podcast in the style of old radio plays called Fire Pockets. His stories aim to weave exciting action with humor and heart, with complicated villains—probably because of his upbringing. He comes from a big ol’ raucous family, and he survived a shockingly bruising (but not altogether unfun) cadre of violently delinquent Boy Scouts to become an Eagle Scout. He loves fight scenes.

Michael won a ScreenCraft competition that led to development with Bad Robot. He’s a 3x ScreenCraft Finalist, and has 18 other accolades from major screenwriting competitions, including AFF and Final Big Break.

As a director, he won Best Feature at GenCon and Best Director at BAFF for his micro-budget, wild sci-fi comedy action feature, ALIEN THEORY

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife. In his spare time, he designs custom habitats for cats.* The habitats are highly popular with the cats.

Website: https://www.michaelryanhahn.com/
Fire Pockets Podcast: https://www.michaelryanhahn.com/fire-pockets
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelRyanHahn

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