Col Buchanan Books In Order

Publication Order of Heart of the World Books

Publication Order of The High Wild: Neverwar Graphic Novels

Col Buchanan is an Irish based writer who was born and raised in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in the year 1973. From a very tender age, to escape his troubles, Buchanan had to turn to reading and writing fantastical works. At school, Col Buchanan was an exceedingly quiet dreamer who always loved to sit at the back of classrooms. Later on in his life, while working as a copywriter, he became a copywriter who preferred sitting at the back of the office. Having worked for so many hours, Col Buchanan loved to head to the mountains of Mourne during retreats. At times he used to find himself homeless in Belfast, scratching graffiti of the local constabulary or lost in the Zen monastery.

Col Buchanan Books

Farlander is the first book Heart of the World book series by Col Buchanan. In this book, Buchanan introduces the reader to Nico, an exceedingly young lad, who is more than determined to find his way in Bar-Khos city. For the last decade, the city has been under constant siege, which is not a great thing for the city nor its people. Thus, the people inside the walls of the city are more than desperate. The people are more than willing to do anything so as to bring food to the table. Furthermore, the streets are littered with prostitutes and thieves as well. Nico is finally able to live the city of Bar-Khos. He heads out for the incredible city of Roshun, with Ash, his taciturn master.

Despite the fact that he is still vulnerable to his past, he eventually manages to find peace in his training. Due to the fact that he submerges in the art of meditating and practice, he eventually manages to forget what he had been training for. For all those years, Nico had been training to become an assassin. However, as time will show us, destiny did not have an exceedingly peaceful existence for our exceedingly young protagonist. It does not take long before Nico, and his master is out to ensure that they protect the credibility and honor of the order. With that said, this book begins quite interestingly. The author takes his time to set out the mood and using several storylines in the first chapters; he quickly manages to let the reader speed up with what was happening.

The reader also gets to meet the disciples of Mann, for whom the reader will quickly grow contempt of. An introduction that discusses the roles of Roshun will earn some respect for Ash. A gripping account of a father will get the reader involved in the incoming siege of Bar-Khos. Nico is pushed forward by the various events, which happen in the book, with most of them being beyond his reach or control. He is a person who is way over his head, and it is apparently clear, that Nico is not suited for this kind of life. However, he has already made a deal, and he is more than determined to see his end of the bargain through. While undergoing training, Nico bombards his master with all kind of questions while trying to understand everything that is going on. With that said, one of the biggest strengths of his novel lies in the world building.

The book offers an exceedingly large universe which features spaceships and gunpowder, but very little magic. The islands and countries of the Mideres Sea are not only intriguing but have also been well-defined. Nico’s story begins in the islands of Khos while the hinterlands are where Sasheen’s child commits murder. All these places are well-defined and distinct locales, which offers a great stage for the storyline. Furthermore, the hints of history are more promising including the various details about the origin of the Roshun cult and the empire, which was going to be detailed in the book later on. The world that the Buchanan has created is exceedingly fascinating. However, not all of the secrets and details have been fully explained in this book, which in turn compels the reader to look forward to the later books in the series.

Stands a Shadow is the second installment in the Heart of the World book series. In Stands a Shadow, the Holy Matriarch orders an exceedingly risky invasion of the town of Free Ports. The plans of the Matriarch is to conquer the city of Bar-Khos finally. However, the walls of Bar-Khos had managed to keep them at bay for an exceedingly long time. Ash is an assassin who is aging gracefully and a Roshun Assassin, who is more than determined to avenge the death of the victims who were killed by the Matriarch. Che the personal diplomat to the Matriarch and also an extremely dangerous killer is beginning to question his involvement in everything. With the war for the Free Ports continuing to intensify, more and more people are drawn into the conflict.

Some of those drawn into the war include Bahn, a barricade soldier who is about to lose his mind, Bull, an exceedingly dangerous killer and Curl a young prostitute who eventually finds herself making a stand for the empire. The outcome lies in one man, who is more than determined to find redemption. With that said, Stands a Shadow is full of adventure, action, and incident. The book is full of political intrigues, assassinations and an exciting shipwreck. The world that Buchanan has presented is one that is not only grimy, but disease and poverty struck. The world where scheming, corruption and plotting reign supreme. All of the characters are not only compelling but also highly believable as well. What makes this story exceedingly interesting is that it has been told from their exceedingly different perspectives.

One of the writer’s greatest strengths is that he has written this book with great empathy especially for his protagonists, who are usually three dimensional, fallible and multi-layered people. The protagonists are usually individuals who are suffering from uncertainty and hardships. The city siege, battlefield and the beachhead are all exciting and gripping as the fortunes of the two sides flow and ebb. With that said, this is a cleverly plotted story that makes it exceedingly clear that the our outcomes and lives are normally about the choices that we make in life.