Runemaster: Shield Maiden's Blade by Mike Bullock is just one of the many exciting new releases from Airship 27. Runemaster is illustrated by Chris Nye with cover art by Steve Otis.

Skarl Kirwall has been banished. His crime was consorting with the enemy. Innocent, he yearns for justice. His only hope is dashed when he returns home to a bloody, burning ruin. Discovering that his true enemy has taken Lacina, his beloved, Skarl vows vengeance. Pursuit across the cold and treacherous north; Skarl must face many obstacles in a race against time. With only his wits and his father's Runeblade, Skarl carves a bloody furrow across land and sea to rescue Lacina.

Skarl is not a figure made larger than life. Yes, his feats and deeds would seem so, but he uses his wits and bald determination with a generous heaping of luck to win against insurmountable odds. I, for one, love monsters in my sword and sorcery. Runemaster is chocked full of 'em. From the Ice Worm—a tentacled creature that lives in the dark underworld, to the deceptive and ravenous An'kar, and the monstrously large Ysfang—the serpent god of the Ysling; just to name a few.

Bullock is hard on his characters too. The fatality rate is almost certain. Becoming friends with Skarl Kirwall is hard on your mortality. The story is also told through first person perspective. Skarl is given to flashbacks of memory illustrating previous experience in any given situation.

Until Runemaster I was unfamiliar with both author and publisher.

Mike Bullock is an established author with many titles under his belt. He has been creatively writing for over twenty years now. "Bullock is one of a handful of authors at the core of the New Pulp movement, a revival of pulp fiction storytelling for the modern age." His bibliography can be found on Amazon. I look forward to more of his work in the future.

Who is Airship 27?

Airship 27 is a publisher of "Pulp fiction for a new generation." Their mission is to publish the finest new pulp novels and anthologies. The catalog is a veritable playground of imagination available in print-on-demand trade paperback or universal PDF format. Check them out at www.airship27hangar.com!