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Book of Never #6
The Phoenix of Kiymako
Rejoin Never as he searches for his father's legacy and the sister he hadn't known existed.
In The Phoenix of Kiymako Never must navigate a secretive new culture ruled by warrior monks. Distrusted and hunted for his blood, he must forge new alliances while following the dark trail his father has left. If Never can survive, it will lead to both his long lost sister and - finally - the truth about his mysterious name.
In The Phoenix of Kiymako Never must navigate a secretive new culture ruled by warrior monks. Distrusted and hunted for his blood, he must forge new alliances while following the dark trail his father has left. If Never can survive, it will lead to both his long lost sister and - finally - the truth about his mysterious name.
- GenresFantasy
199 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2020
About the author
Ashley Capes
75 books569 followersAshley is a poet, novelist and ex-teacher living in Australia.
He taught English, Media and Music Production, played in a metal band, worked in an art gallery and slaved away at music retail. Aside from reading and writing, Ashley loves volleyball and Studio Ghibli – and Magnum PI, easily one of the greatest television shows ever made.
See poetry and fiction at http://ashleycapes.com/
He taught English, Media and Music Production, played in a metal band, worked in an art gallery and slaved away at music retail. Aside from reading and writing, Ashley loves volleyball and Studio Ghibli – and Magnum PI, easily one of the greatest television shows ever made.
See poetry and fiction at http://ashleycapes.com/
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 6, 2018
Never’s journey across the water to Kiymako was a time of learning for him – the language of the Kiymako people was important to Never if he was to blend in when he arrived. The dangers were huge – searching for his sister; the sister he hadn’t known he had – caused uncertainty within him. Never wasn’t sure if she was still in Kiymako – but he would follow where his intuition – and his blood – led him.
The monks who cared for his sister - perhaps imprisoned - were dangerous. There was no way he would be able to get into any of the many temples to search. But there had to be a way. Never was determined to find his long-lost sister, and also his real and birth name. His journey had been a long one – surely the truth was near?
The Phoenix of Kiymako is the 6th in the Book of Never series by Aussie author Ashley Capes, and just as in the first five, this one was fast-paced and action-packed. I was pleased to learn The Phoenix of Kiymako wasn’t the conclusion to Never’s story – the many adventures are set to continue! A brilliant fantasy/paranormal novel which I highly recommend – make sure to read from the first though!
With thanks to the author for my digital ARC to read and review.
The monks who cared for his sister - perhaps imprisoned - were dangerous. There was no way he would be able to get into any of the many temples to search. But there had to be a way. Never was determined to find his long-lost sister, and also his real and birth name. His journey had been a long one – surely the truth was near?
The Phoenix of Kiymako is the 6th in the Book of Never series by Aussie author Ashley Capes, and just as in the first five, this one was fast-paced and action-packed. I was pleased to learn The Phoenix of Kiymako wasn’t the conclusion to Never’s story – the many adventures are set to continue! A brilliant fantasy/paranormal novel which I highly recommend – make sure to read from the first though!
With thanks to the author for my digital ARC to read and review.
September 7, 2019
Never Slays Again!
"To those who seek to pass beyond this point know that a pure heart has naught to fear".
Another non-stop action adventure, filled with fantastic magic, as could only be expected from Ashley Capes. I was truly delighted to see Never again. Especially after his previous loses, which thankfully did nothing to dull his fantastic spirit. My favorite book so far! I'll definitely be moving on to Spectre soon.
"To those who seek to pass beyond this point know that a pure heart has naught to fear".
Another non-stop action adventure, filled with fantastic magic, as could only be expected from Ashley Capes. I was truly delighted to see Never again. Especially after his previous loses, which thankfully did nothing to dull his fantastic spirit. My favorite book so far! I'll definitely be moving on to Spectre soon.
Read
May 9, 2018Update - May 9th
Hello again!
So, after a tremendous Kickstarter last month, I wanted to quickly mention now that the 'regular' pre-order is now live if you wanted to visit your fav retailer:
The Phoenix of Kiymako Pre-Order
:)
Update - March 31st
Hi folks, following on from the update below - the Kickstarter is live and you can take a look at the link below :)
The Phoenix of Kiymako Kickstarter
Hello, Never readers!
When I finished writing the Never series back in 2016 with Imperial Towers I wasn’t sure there’d be another story, as personally, I tend to like fairly open endings. But two years have gone by now and I think it’s definitely time for more snark and adventure – and so I've set out to tell the tale of Never’s search for his sister :)
Some of you may remember that I considered running a Kickstarter campaign to contribute toward costs for Imperial Towers back then and as it turns out I'm going ahead with a campaign after all – only it’s for The Phoenix of Kiymako instead! (If you’re not familiar with Kickstarter, it’s basically like an elaborate pre-order set-up to help creators fund projects.)
So, stay tuned for more details and a cover reveal in the coming days!
*And the cover art is of course, not final - that's just me having fun with pastel colours and a chunky font
Hello again!
So, after a tremendous Kickstarter last month, I wanted to quickly mention now that the 'regular' pre-order is now live if you wanted to visit your fav retailer:
The Phoenix of Kiymako Pre-Order
:)
Update - March 31st
Hi folks, following on from the update below - the Kickstarter is live and you can take a look at the link below :)
The Phoenix of Kiymako Kickstarter
Hello, Never readers!
When I finished writing the Never series back in 2016 with Imperial Towers I wasn’t sure there’d be another story, as personally, I tend to like fairly open endings. But two years have gone by now and I think it’s definitely time for more snark and adventure – and so I've set out to tell the tale of Never’s search for his sister :)
Some of you may remember that I considered running a Kickstarter campaign to contribute toward costs for Imperial Towers back then and as it turns out I'm going ahead with a campaign after all – only it’s for The Phoenix of Kiymako instead! (If you’re not familiar with Kickstarter, it’s basically like an elaborate pre-order set-up to help creators fund projects.)
So, stay tuned for more details and a cover reveal in the coming days!
*And the cover art is of course, not final - that's just me having fun with pastel colours and a chunky font
May 22, 2018
I received this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review.
Never’s story gains another chapter in his journey of discovery, and change: after the massive revelations of the last two installments, which saw not only Never’s unexpected transformation but also his disillusionment and grief, our hero embarks on a new quest in the search of a sister whose existence he did not suspect until recently, and in so doing takes us to a remote part of the world that is quite different from his usual stomping grounds.
Kyimako is an island far away from the mainland where Never’s previous adventures took place, and it has a decidedly far-Eastern flavor, both in environment and culture: from the plains and mountain ranges of old we are taken to a lush jungle-like territory, where bamboo and rice paddies share space with tropical forests. Thanks to their isolation, the inhabitants have developed a very different culture, one more geared toward mysticism and a heightened sense of spirituality, as testified by the temples dotting the island and the great number of monks that seem to present in every settlement.
This does not mean that our hero faces an easy task, because he soon discovers that the place is rife with plots within plots and that power games are being played at any latitude: as he starts to inquire on the whereabouts of the young woman to whom he might be related, Never must guard his back carefully and be even more wary than usual. Thankfully though, he also manages to make some friends, something that seems to be his true advantage in any situation: for a man who has always lived alone and counted only on himself, he has this uncanny ability to engender friendship and loyalty in the decent people he meets, so that his quest is facilitated by some much-needed allies.
As I have come to expect by now, Never’s search is a long theory of discoveries that lead to puzzles to be solved, which in turn help him unearth some new clue that will guide his steps forward: this kind of storytelling will certainly appeal to readers who also enjoy playing games because, as I have noted before, the narrative looks like a series of levels of increased difficulty to be unlocked before Never can move to the next challenge. Unlike previous stories in his journey, though, there is a difference here: due to the sometimes unpleasant truths he finds, Never becomes progressively disillusioned with his origins, understanding as he does that he, his late brother and now his newfound sister were nothing more than pawns in their father’s far-reaching plans. And it’s for this very reason that his encounter with innocent Ayuni gives him hope for a better future, and for a family tie that is finally free of ulterior motives.
Unfortunately, the name our protagonist goes under seems to determine his fate and never looks like the final word for every one of his goals, as he’s forced to continue in his quest for the heritage that gave him great powers, but also – as the saying goes – great responsibilities, and also exposes him and all those of his blood to great dangers.
And so the adventures go on…
Originally posted at SPACE and SORCERY BLOG
Never’s story gains another chapter in his journey of discovery, and change: after the massive revelations of the last two installments, which saw not only Never’s unexpected transformation but also his disillusionment and grief, our hero embarks on a new quest in the search of a sister whose existence he did not suspect until recently, and in so doing takes us to a remote part of the world that is quite different from his usual stomping grounds.
Kyimako is an island far away from the mainland where Never’s previous adventures took place, and it has a decidedly far-Eastern flavor, both in environment and culture: from the plains and mountain ranges of old we are taken to a lush jungle-like territory, where bamboo and rice paddies share space with tropical forests. Thanks to their isolation, the inhabitants have developed a very different culture, one more geared toward mysticism and a heightened sense of spirituality, as testified by the temples dotting the island and the great number of monks that seem to present in every settlement.
This does not mean that our hero faces an easy task, because he soon discovers that the place is rife with plots within plots and that power games are being played at any latitude: as he starts to inquire on the whereabouts of the young woman to whom he might be related, Never must guard his back carefully and be even more wary than usual. Thankfully though, he also manages to make some friends, something that seems to be his true advantage in any situation: for a man who has always lived alone and counted only on himself, he has this uncanny ability to engender friendship and loyalty in the decent people he meets, so that his quest is facilitated by some much-needed allies.
As I have come to expect by now, Never’s search is a long theory of discoveries that lead to puzzles to be solved, which in turn help him unearth some new clue that will guide his steps forward: this kind of storytelling will certainly appeal to readers who also enjoy playing games because, as I have noted before, the narrative looks like a series of levels of increased difficulty to be unlocked before Never can move to the next challenge. Unlike previous stories in his journey, though, there is a difference here: due to the sometimes unpleasant truths he finds, Never becomes progressively disillusioned with his origins, understanding as he does that he, his late brother and now his newfound sister were nothing more than pawns in their father’s far-reaching plans. And it’s for this very reason that his encounter with innocent Ayuni gives him hope for a better future, and for a family tie that is finally free of ulterior motives.
Unfortunately, the name our protagonist goes under seems to determine his fate and never looks like the final word for every one of his goals, as he’s forced to continue in his quest for the heritage that gave him great powers, but also – as the saying goes – great responsibilities, and also exposes him and all those of his blood to great dangers.
And so the adventures go on…
Originally posted at SPACE and SORCERY BLOG
August 26, 2024
Forgot to mark down as finished a little while ago
July 9, 2019
Homonymical! First, let me say this is still a refreshing series and that you should absolutely buy/read all of the books — especially considering the low price for the e-version. Now on to what caused me to knock (nock?) off a star.
We’re on book six of this series, but it is still peppered with enough oddities and grammatical errors to distract me. Here are the ones I noted in this book:
* “...tree that they’d ~fallen~ across the road” instead of “felled.”
* “Her raven hair was ~shaven~ high” instead of “shaved.”
* “who’d always had a ~slither~ of Amouni heritage” instead of “sliver.”
* “...there ~was~ no dividing walls or curtains” instead of “were.”
* “...sense of belonging will even ~extent~ to Muka” instead of “extend.”
* “Garugi was motioning ~from~ them to hurry” instead of “for.”
* “...heads of spinach,” though just maybe that leafy green vegetable grows in heads in this world. Speaking of leaf...
* “...by checking the ~leafs- for pests” ... seriously, I’m trying to come to terms with the author pluralizing “roof” as “rooves” through the whole series, but then he pluralizes “leaf” as “leafs” and not “LEAVES?”
* “he moved like a young man, ~taught~ with a hidden strength...” instead of “taut.”
I realize this might come off as pedantic, but those little things distract me from what is otherwise a great read. I’m sure it’s a tough process to weed out every error in a manuscript this long (I’m lucky to get through a post or email cleanly), but even so the occurrence seems a bit high. Beyond the grammar, the only other thing that has me beginning to wonder is how Never has this super-powerful “curse” that allows him to suck someone dry in seconds but seemingly fails to capitalize on it during at least one critical point in this book when the blood was flowing. In fact, for a creature that inherited god-like powers, he seems to consistently get his arse handed to him, can’t do a fraction of the things his brother could do (sense other Amouni?), and doesn’t think to yell “Guide!” every time he gets near a river. The bad guys all make him look like an amateur, as they can seemingly track him and his friends anywhere, and they can instantly arrive exactly where he is, even if he’s just flown into a forest. I couldn’t help but keep wanting him to get a little smarter/stronger the whole way through the book.
We’re on book six of this series, but it is still peppered with enough oddities and grammatical errors to distract me. Here are the ones I noted in this book:
* “...tree that they’d ~fallen~ across the road” instead of “felled.”
* “Her raven hair was ~shaven~ high” instead of “shaved.”
* “who’d always had a ~slither~ of Amouni heritage” instead of “sliver.”
* “...there ~was~ no dividing walls or curtains” instead of “were.”
* “...sense of belonging will even ~extent~ to Muka” instead of “extend.”
* “Garugi was motioning ~from~ them to hurry” instead of “for.”
* “...heads of spinach,” though just maybe that leafy green vegetable grows in heads in this world. Speaking of leaf...
* “...by checking the ~leafs- for pests” ... seriously, I’m trying to come to terms with the author pluralizing “roof” as “rooves” through the whole series, but then he pluralizes “leaf” as “leafs” and not “LEAVES?”
* “he moved like a young man, ~taught~ with a hidden strength...” instead of “taut.”
I realize this might come off as pedantic, but those little things distract me from what is otherwise a great read. I’m sure it’s a tough process to weed out every error in a manuscript this long (I’m lucky to get through a post or email cleanly), but even so the occurrence seems a bit high. Beyond the grammar, the only other thing that has me beginning to wonder is how Never has this super-powerful “curse” that allows him to suck someone dry in seconds but seemingly fails to capitalize on it during at least one critical point in this book when the blood was flowing. In fact, for a creature that inherited god-like powers, he seems to consistently get his arse handed to him, can’t do a fraction of the things his brother could do (sense other Amouni?), and doesn’t think to yell “Guide!” every time he gets near a river. The bad guys all make him look like an amateur, as they can seemingly track him and his friends anywhere, and they can instantly arrive exactly where he is, even if he’s just flown into a forest. I couldn’t help but keep wanting him to get a little smarter/stronger the whole way through the book.
September 21, 2021
Absolutely, excellent, an awesomely epic fantasy series I just can't get enough of, thanks to amazon for the recommendation, an email that popped up in my inbox, I thought I'd give it ago, and damn I was not disappointed, I have not been able to put it down and I still have a short story and book seven still to go, I really hope book seven is not the last book in the series, Never is just one of those characters that comes along, his adventures so far has brought me lots of fun and giggles, in book six we follow Never adventures into a whole new threat of evil and danger, now that his brother Snow has been exposed by his own hands, Never wonders if he has any other siblings and what other evils his father got up to, there are hints that he might have a gone a lot further with his evils that Never has ever dared to suspect, he meets some cracking new companions, and whilst he continues to seek out his father past, he must come to the rescue of some very special people, wow the worldbuilding in so good, the characters are so captivating, if you are looking for an intriguing, a fun adventurous quests for truth and just good oul camaraderie between friends, then look no further, Joshua Macrea continues his fabulous preformence, I enthusiastically highly recommend...😁⚔💥
July 1, 2018
Supposedly, the book before this one in this series was to be the concluding title. However, there were hints that maybe there would be another one, and here it is; I was so glad to see this book. Never is back and on the hunt for his sister, and maybe, just maybe, he’ll find out more about his father, and his journey takes us on an action-packed adventure as only Never can take us. This book is filled with wonderful descriptions and characters, and it takes away to a far away land, keeping the reader enthralled. Never has come a long way, and he’s such a great character. And, yes, we finally find out his true name, but he will always be known as Never. With the events that took place in this book, it seems we have seen the end of Never, but have we really? If you are a fan of this series, you will love this installment. If you haven’t read the series, begin at the beginning for a fun ride! Highly recommend! I was provided the e-book which I voluntarily reviewed.
November 19, 2020
Another ‘Must Read’ adventure!
Never transitions in ‘The Phoenix or Kiyamako’ into a much different quest. The thrill of adventure remains as does the ever present threat of evil and danger, but now that his brother Snow is gone Never wonders if he has other siblings, and what other evils was his father involved in? How far does it go? The hints are that it goes a lot further than Never has ever dared suspect. With the assistance of new companions, Never will Explore that question while he comes to the aid several very special people. Never’s story takes on a different type of intrigue along with some reflection.
The author consistently presents unique and captivating characters. This is a large part of what has kept me surprisingly attached to Never’s story. I enthusiastically recommend this series (Book of Never) by Ashley Capes to anyone looking for an enjoyable read filled with adventure, a quest for the truth, the comradery of interesting characters and intrigue.
Never transitions in ‘The Phoenix or Kiyamako’ into a much different quest. The thrill of adventure remains as does the ever present threat of evil and danger, but now that his brother Snow is gone Never wonders if he has other siblings, and what other evils was his father involved in? How far does it go? The hints are that it goes a lot further than Never has ever dared suspect. With the assistance of new companions, Never will Explore that question while he comes to the aid several very special people. Never’s story takes on a different type of intrigue along with some reflection.
The author consistently presents unique and captivating characters. This is a large part of what has kept me surprisingly attached to Never’s story. I enthusiastically recommend this series (Book of Never) by Ashley Capes to anyone looking for an enjoyable read filled with adventure, a quest for the truth, the comradery of interesting characters and intrigue.
January 25, 2024
Was a fun read (the entire series) and this was the final book to tidy up the series although I believe there is another offshoot "Never" adventure that follows this one. However, this book solves the mystery to all his questions re his background and family. It was a lovely action packed holiday read with lots of adventures, twists and turns in the narrative. I initially bought the first 5 books as a set which I quite enjoyed.
May 1, 2023
Another great installment in Never's saga. This book is a bit more complete and longer than the others, with some great new characters and a very Japanese feel to the setting. We also learn some interesting new information about Never's father and mother. Looking forward to the next one!
January 1, 2019
Great read
This is in my opinion the best yet. Never is a wonderful character to read. Thank you. Well done Sir.
This is in my opinion the best yet. Never is a wonderful character to read. Thank you. Well done Sir.
August 27, 2019
Happy to see Never finally got the ending he deserved. Hardships either make or break most people. No matter the right spot he always found himself in he made it thru “okay”.
July 12, 2024
The biggest deviation from the plotlines and setting of the first five books, I feel like The Phoenix of Kiymako was the weakest entry so far. Taking Never to new shores in pursuit of a sister who he is certain exists this was felt like the longest story of the lot even if it was a little but shorter than the last entry.
There’s some good revelations as always and more lore building including an answer that we have been waiting for since the very first pages of this series. But the amount of times that Never just escaped trouble felt a time too many even if his sister wasn’t so lucky. Going by the title it makes sense what happened, but I’ll be disappointed not seeing more of her and Never learning about each other.
I don’t know where the story can go from here and for once I feel a little apprehensive to continue onwards at such a rapid pace. Hopefully the next short story and following novel are a bit better.
There’s some good revelations as always and more lore building including an answer that we have been waiting for since the very first pages of this series. But the amount of times that Never just escaped trouble felt a time too many even if his sister wasn’t so lucky. Going by the title it makes sense what happened, but I’ll be disappointed not seeing more of her and Never learning about each other.
I don’t know where the story can go from here and for once I feel a little apprehensive to continue onwards at such a rapid pace. Hopefully the next short story and following novel are a bit better.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews