Reaper's Return (Chronicles of Aesirium, Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Ren Cummins (Author), Quiana Kirkland (Editor)

Book Description

What if Death wore a pretty black dress?

Everyone in Oldtown had heard talk of the Reapers. Even though nobody had seen one in years, everyone whispered the tales: flying from rooftop to rooftop, stealing the souls of the unwary, letting their undead beasts hunt through the streets for any member of the community too reckless or fearless to heed the nightly curfew ... mysterious and terrifying, most feared to even mention them by name, lest they appear and gather your spirit away.

For 11-year-old Romany, her greatest fears were less about the mythological Reapers and more about surviving a miserable life inside of Oldtown's solitary orphanage. Her stark white hair made her an obvious target for the bullies, and the cruel nickname of "Ratgirl" had followed her for years. But if Rom thought her troubles were behind her, being struck dead by a bolt of lightning would only open the door to an entire life of new ones.

First on the list? Finding out that she herself...is a Reaper.


"Reaper's Return" is book one of the Chronicles of Aesirium, a YA Steampunk fantasy adventure series.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in California, Ren Cummins lived in three more states and one other country before eventually settling down in Seattle, Washington. There with his wife and their daughter, their two dogs and one of the heaviest cats in existence, he juggles a love of writing, music, science fiction and the occasional desire to make an honest buck. He collaborates with other authors in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere, helping redefine and expand the opportunities available in the field of self-publication, e-publishing and social media, and has also written for other projects, steampunk-related and otherwise. His CD, "Obsidian Bridges", is also available through Amazon's MP3 Download department.

Product Details

• File Size: 360 KB
• Print Length: 325 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1460946685
• Publisher: RenWritings (February 16, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004OA618M
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,976 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great YA (young adult) read. October 20, 2011

By Marc C. Chavez

Format:Paperback

I just met Mr Cummins at Steamcon III, nice guy with a good head on his shoulders. I had no idea what was in the book, except that he had originally written the stories to entertain his daughter. And entertaining they are (at least this first Volume)!

The story centers around two young girls not quite to adolescence. The live in an orphanage outside a walled city. Magic and steam driven science surround them. Bullies, wild animals and magicians/wizards/incarnations of essential spirits (Passion, Reaper, Inertia, Memory etc.) push and pull our heroines this way and that. What will become of them? This first book does indeed, "set the stage" for more to follow.

Is it Great literature? No. It is truly a YA book. I'm not a speed reader and gulped it down in 2 days (one afternoon and 4 commutes to work and back.) But, your 10 year old daughter will Love it and yes, I'm going to buy, at least, the next in the series.

The central character of this first book, Rom, bloodies noses and "takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'! Her forthright manner and plucky attitude, presents us with a girl on the way to becoming a dynamic young woman.
I loved the book - the only drawback - yes the only one - was the prologue. It seemed oddly written and not at all in the spirit of the book or the rest of the writing - skim thru it, and then get ready for a great read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great start to an engrossing series September 12, 2011

By Airickuh

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I originally bought the hard copy of this book and liked it so much I also purchased a kindle copy so I could read it again on a cross country car ride.

I love the whole feel of this series. It is unlike anything else I have ever read. The world is so different and interesting and the tales of the characters are very vibrant. I felt blindsided by every twist and I could never predict what would happen next.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Death in a Black Dress, Indeed! April 5, 2012

By The Kindle Book Review

Format:Kindle Edition

I adored this book. I just need to put that out there. Now, onto WHY.

This is an excellent example of YA fiction: Interesting characters, strong young protagonist, circumstances that make you really root for said protagonist, engaging struggles, and an open ending to make the reader want more. No sexual situations and no twisted dark rituals or massive amounts wanton bloodshed, so I can give it to my "tween" without concerns or awkward conversations.

Mr. Cummins has a smooth writing style that flows well. This story is well organized and kept me interested the whole time. My only complaint is that it was shorter than I hoped for, but my last couple books were several hundred pages long, so maybe if I'd been reading shorter stories recently, I wouldn't have noticed.

I love the steampunk-ish-ness (Did I make up a word? I believe I did, but I haven't another descriptor for it) of Oldtown's technology, and the fantasy of the magic and the beasts. I connected with Romany and her friendship with Kari reminds me of my own childhood. I can't wait to hand this story to my daughter and see what she thinks, and I'd love to read more of this series and see where it goes!

--Katherine X, Kindle Book Review

More About the Author

Heroes are often marked by their modest beginnings. Explorers make their name by boldly going where no man has gone before. Adventurers define themselves by the tales they have to tell.

Now, I don't mean to imply I've held off a tribe of cannibals in the unexplored jungles of Borneo or happened upon the lost crown of Ramses while spelunking in abandoned Russian nuclear missile silos, but if you've heard those rumors, I'm not going to be the one who denies them.

Me, I'm a writer. I tell stories.

The adventure began around the time a few astronauts were nancing about on the moon. There may have been offroading, there may have been golf; but all I saw was one giant leap for mankind. I was reading comic books and dreaming of when I'd get to grow up to be Spiderman. The tales of heroes, old and new, infected my otherwise somber way of thinking, and what came out on the other side resolved itself into a love of adventure.

I wish I could tell you that it was a direct path from then until now, but I've embraced the tangents of my life as fodder for material, from such relatively mundane (and disassociated) occupational interruptions like working as a hotel manager, music studio engineer, Middle Eastern drummer for bellydancers, and a crisis response manager. I've even picked up a few foreign languages, which fed right back into my love of English.

One night, not too long ago, as I told my daughter a bedtime story - one she and I were making up - it just clicked for me. Her enthusiastic expression and engagement reminded me of the one commonality of all my experiences that had meant so much to me: storytelling. I returned to writing, to telling stories. The first well-formed endeavor to emerge was a six-volume young adult series collectively bound as the Chronicles of Aesirium, along with a smattering of other assorted projects.

What feats and adventures await me next? Whispers suggest a children's anthology, a contemporary paranormal horror series, a pair of follow-up additions to the Chronicles of Aesirium, and an assortment of stand-alone science fiction and fantasy novels. Astoundingly, with all that in motion, I still continue to play the piano and doumbek in my free time.

Rumors persist that I may have invented some sort of time machine. But... that's another story for another time.

* * * * *

Born in California, Ren Cummins lived in three more states and one other country before eventually settling down in Seattle, Washington. There with his wife and their daughter, their two dogs and one of the heaviest cats in existence, he juggles a love of writing, music, science fiction and the occasional desire to make an honest buck. He collaborates with other authors in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere, helping redefine and expand the opportunities available in the field of self-publication, e-publishing and social media, and has also written for other projects, steampunk-related and otherwise.

"The Morrow Stone" was nominated for 2010's Steampunk Book of the Year.

His CD, "Obsidian Bridges", is also available through Amazon's MP3 Download department.