It's in the Blood

The Blood Series

By: Michael Lynes

Narrated by: David Bosco

Get the new short story prequel to the exciting Adventures of Devcalion - Blood Series. Meet Devcalion and Betrayer as they confront the forces of darkness that rise up both in his past and from the nature of his blood.

©2018 Michael D Lynes (P)2018 Michael D Lynes

Violent And Fun

This story might've been short, but building off of an established mythology (Greek) allows the outsourcing of some of the backstory. That way while I followed the main character and his weapon as he fought creatures from that ancient world there wasn't much confusion. I could focus on the fight scenes and drama and worry less about who was who. What story was added, was fine. A story of quick revenge against the overwhelming strength of the Gods and titans, ending with a new level of understanding. It drew a parallel of the story of Hercules, as a man who thinks himself a man becomes aware of the immense power he holds.

Narration was great, especially during scenes of violence as the narrator took on the role of a fight announcer reading off the play by play of conflict.

I received the audiobook review code for this at my request and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

a wonderful short story

very good and very interesting I love this short story very much it's not a simple one but it's very good one it's complex and complicated for this length of story you got everything you could from a short story and it was very very nice
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

It's in the Blood

Interesting way to mix Greek mythology and Christianity. It's definitely worth the listen. The narrator did a good job of differentiating between the characters. I thought the pacing was good. I received this audio book for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

A demi-god and his sword…

I highly recommend Michael Lynes The Blood Series, starting with It’s In the Blood and following with Destroyer’s Blood. If you are into Mythology/Gods, this is the series for you. Sometimes when you’ve read/listen to books in the same genre it’s difficult to find something new/keep interest, but this is not the case with The Blood Series.

Both books kept me engaged from start to finish. They are fast-paced, with great characters, awesome narration, and fun banter between Devcalion “Dev” (the MC) and Betrayer “Tray” (his sword). I devoured It’s In the Blood in one listen and would have done the same with Destroyer’s Blood had it not been for life responsibilities calling…

Some things to expect: Gods such as Zeus, Typhon, Adrestia, Prometheus, Gaia (and more), loyalty, fighting, sarcastic humor between Dev and Tray, great world building/characters/dialogue, samurai influences. There is an echo type sound effect added when certain Gods are talking, so if this isn’t your thing, consider listening to a sample before purchasing.

The narrator, David Bosco, was fantastic! He definitely helped make these books fun and added to the story. He’s one to watch out for to do great things with narration.

I am looking forward to more books in this series. The author and narrator make a perfect team.

Overall, I recommend and will not say much more due to spoilers. Your safe bet is to try the short story, It’s In the Blood, and if you enjoy that, you will enjoy Destroyer’s Blood.

Parental guidance/trigger warnings: whore used once (in first book), hell (Hell’s Kitchen referenced a couple times), breast is mentioned numerous times (grief rose in my breast/I could feel the softness of her breast/his chin slumped onto his breast/mostly non-sexual usage of word), death, fighting, weapons such as swords/knives, engagement to another God that was forced and didn’t work out, a mention of an unclothed woman (not in detail), mention of a kiss (not in detail- “our lips met”). Considering the content, they are fairly clean books.

*I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!

Greek mythology

Usually greek mythology is not my type of thing. I believe it is written so many times that there is nothing new that grabs me. When I first listened to it I did think it's one of those but the author did surprise me with this one. I was not expecting it to go the way it went.
I actually liked it.

good book

Pretty good book. Can't wait to start the next one Destroyers Blood. Hope it's just as good.

Excellent book!

I loved this much more than I thought I would. The character development really helped the story to evolve perfectly. I truly hope to read much more by Michael Lynes asap! Also the narration was good as well. Sometimes I can't get into a story for no reason other than the narration runs it but this flowed seamlessly and I really enjoyed it. Pretty suspenseful. Kept me interested and all in all a great book.

A Great Prequel Story That Sets Up The Series.

I enjoy all types of fantasy stories with Gods and Goddesses. So when I came across "Destroyer's Blood, The Blood Series, Book 1," which features Greek Gods, I was immediately interested. I was about to start on "Destroyer's Blood" when I found out about "It's In The Blood." "It's In The Blood" is a short story that takes place before "Destroyer's Blood" and actually establishes the series. You can pick up "It's In The Blood" as a stand-alone short story or as part of an anthology of short stories by the author, Michael Lynes.

"It's In The Blood" introduces us to Devcalion, the son of the titan Prometheus and cousin to Zeus. With that pedigree, one would expect Devcalion to be very powerful, but for some reason, the only power he seems to possess is the sword, Betrayer, that he carries. Betrayer is sentient and female. She was gifted to Devcalion when he was a boy by Prometheus. Betrayer starts off looking like a knife, but she can morph into other edged weapons. To take advantage of this, the author suggests Devcalion as having had extensive sword fighting training. My only question is why name the weapon Betrayer. It's not exactly a name that would make me trust a sentient weapon to save my life.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus felt sorry for man's weak state. As a race, human beings, were still running around naked and struggling every day just for survival. At that time, humans were barely on par with some of the lowlier beasts of the world. Prometheus raided the workshop of Hephaistos and Athena on Mt. Olympus and stole fire by hiding it in a hollow fennel-stalk. Prometheus not only gifted fire to man, but he also taught man how to use the gift. It would not be long after that man developed the skill of metalwork and science while also developing culture. These things, of course, helped mankind rise above its circumstances. Prometheus' actions didn't go over well with Zeus. As punishment, the outraged Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock and sent an eagle to eat his liver. The liver would then regenerate and the next day the eagle would return and eat the liver again. This torture would go on for ages until one day the demi-god Hercules happened by and killed the eagle with his bow and arrow.

It is now present day, but that that gift of fire and the bad blood that resulted between Prometheus and Zeus as well as the estranged upbringing of Devcalion from his father and the other Olympians is the foundation for this story. Overall, I found "It's In The Blood" to be a very good story. The author, Michael Lynes, did a great job of establishing the character of Devcalion and the world he operates in while still telling an interesting story. David Bosco also did an excellent job bringing Michael Lynes words to life with his narration. After having read/listened to this short story, I am looking forward to starting the first full-length novel in the series.

Finally, this free, review copy audiobook was given to me at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.

Sounds like a great start to a modern mythology.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Seems like a good series If you like stories about Greek gods and Titans, it's only a short taste so I can't wait to get to the full book and find out more!

Thumb your nose at the gods

Here’s a fresh and fun twist on the usual suspects of Olympus from the perspective of a black sheep.

Devcalion never did fit in with those Olympic snobs. He couldn’t have cared less, though.

He preferred to spend his immortal lifetime studying the ways of the samurai and living by his sarcastic wit along with the help of his sentient blade Betrayer. (She steals the show)

Dev had been on the outside forever, so why are the Olympic elite out to enlist HIM on a quest to save the world?
What are they really up to?

This story stands on its own or serves as the prequel to The Blood Series trilogy:
Destroyer’s Blood, First Blood, Time For Blood

Great fun, you’ll enjoy thumbing your nose at the gods with Dev and Tray