Mike Kalmbach

The Caldarian Conflict Mike Kalmbach

Award: Reviewer's choice, Digital Book Today
Special honor: Featured book in over 60 Dunn Bros Coffee stores for the summer of 2013

Will appeal to fans of Brandon Sanderson, George RR Martin, and R A Salvatore.

A corrupt government. Enraged pirates.
One monk caught in the middle of The Caldarian Conflict.

Admiral Cain finds an elegant solution to Caldaria's piracy problem: lure pirate ships
to decoy merchant vessels stuffed with explosives instead of treasure. The suicidal
captains are military men with fatal illnesses. The unsuspecting crews are poor men
enticed from the gutters of Caldaria with the promise of handsome wages and free
meals. Cain considers it a dual service--after all, he's protecting the merchants and
sweeping the streets clean of vagrants.

There are only two problems: if the peasants find out, they'll revolt. If the King
finds out, he'll have Cain's head. Accordingly, anyone with too much knowledge
must die.

Brother Mendell, a devout follower of Lord Justice, is caught in the crossfire when
he seeks retribution for an unfairly executed prisoner. After discovering the first
few layers of Admiral Cain's plan, Mendell realizes that even a monk must carefully
navigate through these dangerous waters. Mendell soon finds himself pursued by
Admiral Cain's merciless assistant, Krell, who suspects that the monk might ruin
their ambitious plan and uncover their mysterious backer--and will gladly
kill the monk to keep him silent.

Mendell must unravel the mystery before he, too, becomes a casualty of The Caldarian Conflict.