Lux by MJ Vieira: a Review by E.G. Stone

Posted on February 13, 2020 by Fantasy Focus

There are some books out there where you read part of it, go “WHAT IS GOING ON?!!” and then toss it aside in frustration. Then, there are books where you read part of it, go “WHAT IS GOING ON?!!!” and can’t stop reading because you have to know all the things. MJ Vieira’s Lux is like that.

Lux is the first book in the Veritas series, a paranormal/fantasy/dystopian piece set in a time where the world seems to be a highly dangerous place. This book starts with a dream sequence that our main character Jade seems to be having. (I say seems because there are other extenuating circumstances that we learn about later on in the novel that are quite dramatic. Sorry, no explanations here, because spoilers.) Jade is the Captain for the King of demons/new King of the world, Malum, who is ruler of the people who worship Lux (light). Malum is a rather dangerous sort with a wicked personality and he is doing his very best to woo our dear Jade. Malum wants her to be his Queen, thus taking on certain, ah, magical properties to make her his equal. All that seems well and good, except, well, it isn’t. Unfortunately, Jade’s memories are rather all over the place. It isn’t that she doesn’t remember her life, it’s that she doesn’t remember her life well. Ultimately, Jade must determine what is really going on and who she really is, or things are going to get much, much worse.

This book is definitely fascinating. It explores a lot of psychological phenomena that one does not normally see in paranormal/dystopian fiction. The primary means of doing this is through Jade and her unfortunate memory problems. However, there are many other elements woven in that make the questions and the exploration very much impossible to put down. Jade is one of the more interesting characters to follow through this psychological journey because she is obviously very flawed. The readers know she is flawed, she knows she is flawed, and there are so many pieces of the puzzle that she is missing. It was quite fun to piece the world together right along with Jade.

As far as characters go, Jade is definitely a really good main character. Okay, yes, part of the reason she does so well in the role of main character is that she has all of these problems. But she is also dangerous, entertaining, and not really afraid to go after what she wants. Which, oopsie, puts other people in harm’s way. Also, the romance that is woven through this book as a sub-plot serves to emphasise and undermine Jade’s problems and abilities. I really liked being able to read this story from her perspective because she had no idea what was going on or what to think about it a good deal of the time. What fun is having all the answers when you can fight the questions to tiny pieces?

And our love interest, Malum, is a great character. He is snarky, arrogant, and huge amounts of trouble. Not to mention possessive about Jade. But he is just as mysterious as the rest of the things in Jade’s life, so we’re never quite certain how to feel about him. Honestly, though, I found him highly entertaining. (Even more so after the big reveal closer to the end, but again, spoilers. Sorry.)

That brings me to the ending. Lux is book one of a multi-book series, so obviously there are going to be things left unanswered and situations started that are left unresolved. That being said, I did find the ending to be a bit rushed. There was a lot of information given to the readers almost at the same time. All that information was critical for the story, and absolutely really interesting, but there was little time to process it before the book actually ended. Great set up for book two, a little too much all at once for book one. One of the characters who dies at the end could, perhaps, have had a larger role and made things a little more difficult for our main character. That is a little irrelevant, though, because the answers that this character gave brought up more questions.

Given my critique regarding the ending, I have to say that it is a spectacular one. The situation has changed so much from the beginning of the book that I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen next. The world is different, our MC is different, and situations have been set into motion that I have a feeling are going to be hugely interesting. So. Many. New. Questions.

(As a reader, I cry out in desperation for the next book so I can have the questions answered. As a writer, I laugh maniacally. Well done, MJ, well done.)

Lux is a book that defies the expectations of readers. It poses questions rarely asked and answers questions that you weren’t sure had been asked at all. The characters are dynamic and great to read. The ending had me gaping like a dead fish. All in all, a great read.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I4LXUXK

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Broken Throne Series by Jamie Davis: a Review by E.G. Stone

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Fantasy Focus

For people who like to see what the world would be like if it had magic in it, then the world of urban fantasy is like candy or chocolate or socks (with Star Trek patterns, of course). Within the world of urban fantasy, there are always those few stand out series that catch your attention and become the measurement against which all the others stack up. For me, one of those series is the Broken Throne series by Jamie Davis.

The world is thus: there are magic users called Chanters living amongst us. They make charmed objects such as the hammer that never misses, the blender that makes perfect cake batter. Then there are those that work in the Sable trade, magic that directly affects humans. No matter what type of Chanter a person is, though, things are about to get difficult. New laws are being passed to control Chanters and—hopefully—prevent another ecological disaster like what was left of Europe. Enter Winnie Durham, a seemingly average Chanter who gets mixed up in black market charm running to make ends meet. She and her friends start working for Artos Merrilyn, a Sable boss in Baltimore. Only, things are always more complicated than they appear. The past is about to get mixed up with the present. Because magic wasn’t always what it is now. And legends aren’t quite as dead as we might think.

This series has adventure, magic, prohibition-style bootleg charm running, a few near-death experiences, black magic, swords, monsters and huge amounts of trouble. There are parallels with early legends and characters I find hugely entertaining. Basically, pretty much what I’ve come to expect from Jamie Davis.

The five books in the series do a good job of escalating things in a natural way. Each book, the stakes get a little bit impossibly higher, until eventually the fate of the world is at hand. I think this is done very well, in a natural way that doesn’t feel as if we were just trying to get to the whole end-of-the-world piece, but just sort of stumbled there through all the other slightly-crazy adventures. The world building is very well done. There is enough connection to reality that most of the technology is familiar and the people are, too. But there is also the added element of magic, which expands and enhances the world in a believable but also rather awesome manner. There are no gaps that draw you out of the story with a “huh” as you try to figure it out. Everything works smoothly and well. Basically, I really liked the world building.

I think it was the characters, though, that really got me. Okay, yes, I liked the main character Winnie Durham a lot. She was pretty awesome and difficult not to like. But… the Sable bosses were definitely higher on my list of characters to like. There was snark, sarcasm, ultimatums, and eventual capitulation to Winnie (because, again, awesome). But that snark and sarcasm remained. Cricket is probably my favourite, simply because he always seems to be rather cheerful despite annoying circumstances. All the characters, though, are well-rounded, possessing of distinct voices, and have their own places in the world. They fit in quite well with the world building.

There were a few points that felt a little strange. Or, rather, they felt a little disjointed in the flow of the series. One was with Winnie and the Sable issue that arose from, well, events involving Danny Barber that I can expound upon no more because of spoilers. For those of you who know, you know what I mean. The Sable issue did not feel like it really resolved itself. Instead, Winnie’s problem simply vanished and she went on being fine. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a minor issue, but one of those minor issues that niggles just a touch. The other issue was the escalation between book four and book five; things went from really bad to well, we’re snookered bad and the world was pretty badly destroyed as a result. (Not the world building, I mean the actual world of the novel.) The escalation makes sense from a storytelling point of view, but I think the in between could have been focused on a little more.

But, really, those are fairly minor issues and don’t actually detract from the story all that much. No, the real issue is that our author did exactly what he always does and made the ending very, very… I think dramatic is the safest word. Well, yes, the series couldn’t really have ended any other way. And, no, I actually really liked the ending. But why?! There is one thing to have cliffhangers. I expect cliffhangers. I get extremely invested into characters and stories and so have come to look upon cliffhangers with equal dread and cheer. Naturally, all of the individual books in the series had cliffhangers and I curse and praise Jamie Davis for them. This, though, was something entirely different.

It was the perfect ending to the series. And it was so frustrating.

Figures.

Anyways, if you are in for some highly-entertaining, well-written and thought-out books in the urban fantasy vein, then this is a series I would highly recommend. (Oh, and by the way, the audiobooks are stunning.)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Throne-5-Book/dp/B07ZFW29Z4

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Ancient Enemies by Tora Moon: a Review by E.G. Stone

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Fantasy Focus

One of the most entertaining pieces about fantasy is that it can involve—actually, it must involve—elements of a world not our own. Whether this be in the form of magical creatures, a means for humans to use magic, a world entirely unlike our own, there is something that we do not encounter in our own reality. (I will not vouch for other realities. Sorry.) Many fantasy worlds draw on similar elements, like dragons or elves or what-not, that a reader may be at least somewhat familiar with. Others, though, like the world found in Tora Moon’s Ancient Enemies, are elaborate and built up from the ground up in such a way that is completely unique and absolutely amazing.

I am getting ahead of myself, though.

Ancient Enemies follows a society as they battle against monsters. Rizelya is a Red, a fire-user, who leads an attack group against these monsters. The males of their society shift into wolves and a warrior form. (Think big, snarly werewolf with extra muscle and fang.) The females have magic associated with different elements and colours: red for fire, blue for water, brown for earth, etc. Together, they engage in a generations-old fight against monsters that, if let to escape their nests, could destroy all living things. Only problem is, the monsters aren’t acting normally. Now, Rizelya is faced with a collection of extra-bad monsters and has to figure out a way to kill them. She leads a squad pack across the land to learn the extent of these new monsters’ reach. On the way, she learns more about her own people, and a forgotten past.

On the surface, this story is a fairly familiar one in my favourite way. Hero is faced with a challenge and must go on a quest—with companions—to defeat this challenge. Along the way, our hero learns how better to fight, how better to face these monsters, and also learns that things are not exactly what they seem and life is about to get a whole lot worse. It’s one of the more commonly used storylines in fantasy and for good reason. It’s very entertaining. Who doesn’t love a journey to fight the proverbial big bad? And in the case of Ancient Enemies, Tora Moon takes this familiar story line, enhances it, and also manages to turn it on its head.

This is where the world building comes in. Stars, this is some of the most elaborate world building that I have seen in a very long time. The magic system is fully thought out. The monsters are well described. But even more than that, the entire world in which these people exist is built on details that most people take for granted. There are different means of measuring time. The society’s structure is unique and makes perfect sense. The horses are not quite horses. Everything, down to the last detail, is noticed and dealt with. At first, this sort of hugely-elaborate world building can be a bit difficult. You have to adjust to a new way of thinking about things. The tiny pieces that you take for granted are somehow different. But after a while, it is the reverse that’s true. Oh, yes, you want to meet me in an octar? What do you mean, ‘hour’? What is this ‘hour’ concept of which you speak?

Any book that manages to do that is one that is quite capable, I would say.

Now, let’s talk about the characters. This book has a wide range of characters. Our questers are going off across the land, to talk with people, spread knowledge and to learn themselves. Therefore, there is going to be a fairly large cast. Somehow, the characters all manage to be distinct and well described, with their own personalities that make the book worth the reading. The main character, Rizelya, displays traits typical of the Hero. But she is also feisty, capable, and not perfect. In fact, there are a couple of times where she was injured and had to rely on others for a goodly portion of the daily life. It was lovely not to be certain that the main character wasn’t going to die halfway through. (In a good way!)

Then there was our antagonist. I won’t say villain, because the villain was reserved for the creature of nightmares that laughed in Rizelya’s dreams. I will say antagonist because he was directly antagonistic to our main character. I normally have a soft spot for antagonists. They’re just misunderstood monsters with hugely problematic means of causing problems. What’s not to like? But this antagonist was actually disliked. I didn’t like him for very good reason and it was absolutely stunning. To have characters that surprise you like that and yet are still well-developed and well-written is a real treat.

My only real critique for this book is that certain events happened at the end of the book that seemed a little too much like setting up book two. I understand that with a series, it is important to set up events for the next book. But these events all happened too quickly and were a little dramatic to be just the usual ending to a book. Yes, I desperately want to read book two, but I also feel like it’s been set up a little too early. That did not quite jive with the style of the rest of the book.

Overall, Ancient Enemies has immensely impressive world building, characters that I really enjoyed and a story arc that is one of my favourites to read. Plus, there are monsters. You can hardly go wrong with monsters.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Enemies-Legends-Lairheim-Book-ebook/dp/B01M6XHXLN/

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A Ritual of Bone by Lee C Conley: a Review by E.G. Stone

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Fantasy Focus

In recent years, it seems as though the idea of the zombie apocalypse has become rather prevalent in popular media. People tell me that this is because of the television series, The Walking Dead, but as I haven’t actually seen The Walking Dead, I couldn’t tell you how accurate that is. Given this proclivity, though, it seems inevitable that I would come across a zombie apocalypse type book. Luckily for me (and all you other readers out there), this book happened to be A Ritual of Bone by Lee C Conley. This book managed to turn a popular trope on its head by making it interesting, mysterious, dangerous, and still appropriately littered with “the dead”. Spoilers: this book is one of my best reads of the year.

A Ritual of Bone begins with a group of academics from The College who are out in the dark, in the wilderness, performing a questionable ritual. We are never quite certain why this ritual is being performed—are they trying to disprove sorcery? trying to prove sorcery? trying to explore history? unknown—but it seems to be of vital importance to them. Unfortunately, the result is that they raise the dead in a rather major way. Don’t worry! The academics aren’t entirely at fault (I think). There are also cannibals on the lose. They are hunting, or being hunted by, Bjorn, who is trying to figure out what is going on out in the wilds. Then, there is a port city where a mysterious disease is rife; and the symptoms look suspiciously like those resulting from the bite of the dead. Humanity is in danger of becoming something else, and there are a few too many questions to ponder while also fighting for your life. In short, carry a big axe or you’re snookered.

This story is set in an age that is the equivalent of the Viking age and it shows up quite well. The narrative description is very well written; it manages to give a good sense of what is going on and where without providing an information dump that confuses readers. The description is well done and the dead are appropriately terrifying. For me, language nerd that I am, I was particularly impressed with the way that the language manages to convey the culture and time being portrayed. The language is consistent and appropriate to the time, even when disease-ridden not-quite-dead people are bearing down on the characters. This can be a point of difficulty for some writers, as they are apt to slip into slightly more modern language during emotionally charged scenes. However, Lee Conley manages to be consistent and still demonstrate that yes, you really are about to die, without ruining the language.

Be forewarned, though. This book brings up a lot of questions. And not very many of them are answered. Okay, yes, this is the first book in a series. And, yes, you have to still have some questions to be answered in subsequent books. But come on! The cliffhanger?! Ugh. (I was practically demanding the sequel. All I got in return was a snicker and a consistent response that, yes, he does know the name of one of the significant characters, but he wasn’t going to tell me. Pfff.)

There were many questions that weren’t answered, but I think it was done in a way that made all of the questing worthwhile. There were a significant number of elements woven together in this story. Truth be told, it felt more like a mystery novel than a true dark fantasy zombie apocalypse book. Which is, probably, why I found this to be such a good book. I like the fact that there was information out there still to be sought out. I like that the significant elements are presented to you without all of the answers. In fact, my favourite character—Bjorn—is my favourite for that very reason. He has a definitive purpose, but I do not know why he has that purpose, or what his motivation is. I only know that Bjorn is a character worth paying attention to, and I’m not quite certain why.

Basically, it’s like the author promised me chocolate, as long as I could find it. Offering tidbits of information as clues and then pointing me in the wrong direction, just to see what will happen. It’s intriguing. It’s challenging. It’s fun. Well, except for the whole dead aren’t dead and what-not. Though, that has its appeal, too.

My main critique for this novel is actually related to the reason why I like it so much. For as much as I like a mystery, the one surrounding The College is a bit much. They play a rather significant role, considering it is their fault that things are going sideways. But the motivations are completely unclear. I am not sure of their role in the world at large, either. I know it must be significant, or they would not hold as much power as they do, but I do not actually have the answer. Also, the Apprentice, who bears witness to the ritual and subsequent events, needs a name. (I know, I know, I said that already, but really. I want to know!)

Overall, I would say that this story is extremely well written. It provides you with a sense of the culture and its people. It has thrills and the shouldn’t-you-be-dead. And, most of all, it has questions that remain unanswered for very good reason. I’m not quite sure what those reasons are, but I am assured that the reasons are very good. Given the quality of the book, I shall take it and wait eagerly for the next book.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ritual-Bone-Dead-Sagas-Book-ebook/dp/B07RY1DYBK

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Nightblade by Ryan Kirk: a Review by E.G. Stone

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Fantasy Focus

If you haven’t yet heard of Nightblade by Ryan Kirk, then you are in for quite the treat. This book not only has over seven-hundred reviews on Amazon, with an overall rating of 4.5, but is also one of the best books I’ve read this year. This book is a thrilling combination of fantasy and historical adventure, with characters who are flawed, relatable, as well as supremely capable; and a story that draws you in from start to finish.

Nightblade follows Ryuu, starting with his life at the age of five. Struck by tragedy, Ryuu finds himself in the care of Shigeru, a man who lives by the sword and by the sense—a mystical power that allows a person to sense all living things and their connections—and is almost forgotten by the world. It turns out that Shigeru is one of the mystical nightblades, a warrior lost to the mists of a history that reviles them. He trains Ryuu in the ways of the nightblade, teaching him combat skills, mental control and the rules by which to live. Only Ryuu, being as much young boy and impressionable teen, gets into trouble.

This story also follows two other characters whose fates are intertwined with Ryuu: Mariko and Takako. Mariko is a girl who also possesses the sense; only, she is not quite so fortunate as to end up with a master like Shigeru. Instead, she is taken by the monasteries, a collection of people with the sense who do their best to control it, not use it. Mariko must remember her love of the forest in order to survive, but there are going to be many obstacles standing in her way. Takako is a young, beautiful girl who is sold to pay her father’s debts. She finds herself wrapped up in the world of politics and war when a chance meeting with Ryuu shapes the path her life will take. Ever the optimist, Takako must remember the good if she is to come to terms with her new life.

The three of them come together and must determine which way their future lies. The fate of the Kingdom could depend on it.

This book features characters who are quite intriguing. It is always interesting to see stories start with a child thrust into unfortunate or unavoidable circumstances, and watch them grow. Many of these sorts of stories can take an indefinable amount of time to show change, or the character may grow physically but doesn’t really mature. Nightblade, though, manages to create characters who grow and mature wonderfully into their roles. I enjoyed watching each of the characters grow and face the circumstances put to them. The characters felt realistic and definitely entertaining to follow. (Mariko is perhaps my favourite, but I do like Ryuu rather a lot, too. Mariko wins, though.)

As far as the writing style of this book goes, I found it very well done. The language was the expected style for books of a historical nature. That is, it used the more formal register throughout. It managed to make that both interesting and dynamic, though, all the while remaining clear and easy to follow. It is quite clear that the author does not doubt the intelligence of his readers, which is a definite plus. There were a few occasions where one character spoke much like another, but those were focused more in training situations and were few enough that it matters little.

My favourite part of this story (besides Mariko) is probably the epilogue. The epilogue set up book two perfectly, while still managing to acknowledge previous events. Ryuu was, I think, finding his stance as a full nightblade and his words displayed that clearly. There was just enough humour to make the reader breathe a little easier after the drama of the final chapters. (May I just say, oh my!) And it left the reader wanting more without the desperate need to demand answers in book two (I’m looking at you, Lee Conley. Still waiting for book two, thank you!) that can come with the more dramatic cliffhangers.

I do have one critique for this book. The description of time is a little bit wonky. The book alternates between characters about every couple of chapters. As such, time passes for each character. But it almost appears that characters age at different rates because the time mentioned in each new character section is not consistent. This problem goes away near the end of the book, as the characters meet up and start interacting with one another. However, it is a little bit confusing up until that point. If you don’t particularly care about the ageing of characters and can live with the idea that “they’ll get there when they get there” then don’t worry about this. It is a fairly minor issue and, like I said, becomes irrelevant at the end of the book.

On the whole, Nightblade is a stunning display of command of language, fleshed-out characters and a story that is highly entertaining to explore. I found it to be one of the best books I’ve read this year. I now need to go read book two, so that I can continue to follow these characters on their journey. Because, honestly, I have a feeling that Mariko is going to have some lovely snark to share.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nightblade-Ryan-Kirk-ebook/dp/B013D0H2GS

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By the Hand of Dragons: AlinGuard by Alexzander Christion: a Review by E.G. Stone

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Fantasy Focus

This week’s book review is of Alexzander Christion’s book By The Hand of Dragons: AlinGuard. This book is an unexpected and impressive fantasy novel, that a reader of the classics as well as modern interpretations of fantasy would enjoy thoroughly. This book is, I think, the first in the By the Hand of Dragons series, but I am not entirely sure about that because the order of the series is a little bit variable. However, even going into this without knowing anything about the rest of the series, you are taken on an adventure that is intriguing and draws you in, and is a little bit absurd.

This book follows a character named Shefa who is a being that was created by dragons to rule the world. Or so he said. He is exploring his kingdom — the entire world — to better know his subjects, and comes upon a kingdom up in the far north that is having problems with a prisoner under their command: AlinGuard. After being insulted, attacked, and all around annoyed, Shefa agrees to take care of their little problem. Of course, there are going to be some obstacles to face whilst trying to retake the prison from its prisoners. And then there’s the little question of who organised this coup.

This story was very entertaining. It manages to combine humor with one of the more serious storylines I have seen in fantasy, disregarding the dark fantasy subgenre. The characters managed to take themselves seriously whilst also saying things that are absolutely riotous and hugely entertaining. They are quirky in ways that entirely believable and yet still completely fantastical. There was, though, enough seriousness to the story that you could take it seriously while still having a good time. Shefa himself is a being of impressive strength, who is still flawed, but it absolutely perfect for being the “ruler of the world”. He is arrogant and entitled and has absolute reason to be, because he can probably kill everybody in the prison without too much thought. Well, most everybody. He has a couple of cohorts who are also quite fascinating, and the situations they managed to get themselves in are quite dangerous but somehow still not quite the end of the world. Yet.

The characters managed to unfold throughout the story, exposing more traits than you would have thought possible and managing to endear themselves to you, even despite some of the rather loud character flaws.

The story itself is sort of exactly what you would expect from a high fantasy. There is a hero who has a battle to fight against possibly overwhelming odds, he has companions who stand by his side, and a world to save. Taking all this into account, this is not it at all what you would expect from a high fantasy. Yes, I note the irony. The reason that this contradiction manages to work so well is that the main character is as much the problem as he is the solution. This is what manages to make the story a good deal of fun whilst still being serious. But then, I am rather fond of things that are perhaps more problematic than they are useful. Shefa and his companions of the dragon-made sort are doing this because it is a fight against impossible odds, and they think that is super fun. Their human companions, meant to supervise them and make sure that the human king’s ideals are being upheld, do not think this is fun at all.

This story starts off right in the middle of the action, which means that as readers, we have absolutely no idea what is going on, who these people are, and why we should take them seriously. There are a lot of stories out there that utilize this technique to draw readers in and to the start of the interesting action off right away. It is a useful world building technique because it can allow a writer to explore the world as the reader explores the world, explaining important concepts as you go. I have seen this end badly for a number of reasons, one of which is that the world building becomes more important than the action, or the characters never get a chance to develop because things are happening too quickly. This story does not do either of those things. It is one of the better examples of this technique that I have seen in a while, and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this world via arrogant chimeras and almost-ridiculous battles.

One problem that this presents is that there are a number of questions that I have regarding what happened before this story that were not answered in this book. I believe that they are explained in other books in this series, but I haven’t read them yet and need to do so. Even with the questions that remain, I think this story is very well-developed and very well written and does not require answers for the reading.

Overall, this is one of the most entertaining fantasy books I have read in a good long while. I think this book explores a fascinating concept that I have not seen before, with characters who are flawed and highly suspect, but endearing and amusing all the same. The battles are definitely bloodied. The language is a bit over the top in spots. And it all works together to create one absolutely wonderful book.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hand-Dragons-AlinGuard-Alexzander-Christion-ebook/dp/B07KGGC46B

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The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon: a Review by E.G. Stone

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Fantasy Focus

The good thing about fantasy is that it is a genre that can be incredibly broad. For example, Amy Harmon’s First Girl Child is a book that perhaps deals more with mythology than it does true magic. This book explores the realm of Norse mythology and rune magic, as well as human nature and what it means to have hope.

This book follows Bayr of Saylok, who is the unacknowledged son of a powerful chieftain of one of these six clans. His mother cursed the land at his birth to have no more daughters, and Bayr was meant to be the hope of Saylok, blessed with strength. Then, a supposed miracle: a girl child is born. Bayr becomes Alba’s watcher, her guardian against a world that would seek to manipulate and use the first girl child born in nearly twenty years. But Bayr belongs to the Temple, not to the clans, and his first priority is to protect Alba. This story follows Bayr’s journey from infant to grown man ready to take on Saylok for the sake of one beloved person. He may end up saving them all.

First Girl Child is an impressive display of culture woven into a story. This book is heavily built upon Norse society, during the times of the vikings when raiding and battle were foremost in their culture. The people of Saylok worship the Norse gods as well, following Thor and Freya, Odin and Loki and seeking their hope from rune magic drawn from the blood. However, there is also a measure of realism in this alternate location in history, as this book draws on historical detail and cultural reality to create this mythical world. As a fantasy novel, there is a distinct lack of magical creatures such as dragons or elves, but there is also a measure of magic in the runes. The fact that this book is more mythological and historical, though, does not lessen its impact and make the fantastical elements any lesser.

I found the characters of this book to be incredibly realistic. There were character traits displayed by many of the main characters that one finds in reality, often in such extreme forms: anger, desire for revenge, fear, uncertainty, love, compassion, dispassion and more. Where sometimes you can find caricatures of personality traits in order to emphasise the balance between good and evil, I think this book does a grand job of weaving both admirable and questionable traits into each character. The “good guys” are sympathetic, not because they are inherently good, but because they are flawed. The “villains” are trying to do their best in a world that is both dangerous and uncertain. Oh, and yes, they are villanous also.

I also liked the fact that Bayr was meant to be blessed with this incredible strength, and to be the hope of Saylok, but that he preferred much of the time to be on his own or with Alba. He was tongue-tied and slow of speech, so he did not talk. He knew his strength, but couldn’t argue back, so he didn’t. I think that was quite endearing and made Bayr a more likeable character than some of the strongmen types who occasionally serve as the chosen heros of a people. This changed a little as the end of the novel grew closer, since circumstance required that Bayr take a slightly different role. I think the fact that he took that role made sense but made Bayr a little less likeable and a little more stereotypical hero. Though, there were definitely other redeemable character traits that kept Bayr as one of my favourites.

Sometimes, stories that span a good twenty or more years can be a bit slow. There is a good deal of growing to do, after all. This story managed to avoid feeling like it was too slow by involving a range of characters into the situation. There were the priests at the temple, there were the various chieftains of the six clans, there were other women caught in difficult situations due to the lack of daughters being born. When the story wasn’t following the immediate struggles of Bayr, it was exploring these different angles and doing it well. This allowed the story to expand beyond a normal chosen-hero story and examine such things as religious belief, politics in difficult times, even the occasional tending of sheep. Again, all of this did not make the story feel as though it was dragging; instead, everything felt more real, more difficult, even more important.

My main critique for this story is that the ending is rather obvious. As a reader, you know precisely what is going to happen at the end of the book by the end of chapter one. Once you get to the ending, you nod and say, “yes, I knew this was going to happen.” This is a little annoying, since I think there was a bit of room to manoeuvre the story so that it wouldn’t be quite so obvious. However, I still think that the ending was a good one, if predictable. The more entertaining part was definitely reading up to the ending and learning all of the pieces that went into the final struggle. It was almost like appreciating the journey more than the destination.

First Girl Child is a fascinating exploration of what it means to be human during difficult times. It does this by means of a boy named Bayr who is the source of his mother’s curse and also its end. This is a very good exploration of Norse mythology and a very realistic depiction of history within the context of fantasy. In short, this novel is a grand time and I would say to anyone interested in history or mythology or even just people: give it a read.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/First-Girl-Child-Amy-Harmon-ebook/dp/B07KPD6NHN/

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The Ashen Levels by CF Welburn: a Review by E.G. Stone

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Fantasy Focus

The Ashen Levels by CF Welburn is a gamelit progressive fantasy novel which is both massive in scope and definitely on my best books list for this year. I think this book probably is one of the more impressive in terms of weaving details together and giving me an ending that was rather surprising.

This book follows the adventures of one Balagir, a man who wakes up at a fire where a mysterious piper collected smoke from other people like himself. Only, Balagir is not-quite human. Perhaps he never has been. He has no memory, no idea of a past, no idea of his purpose in life, no idea of who this piper is and no idea what this smoke is. Balagir is an ashen.

This is where the gamelit aspect of the story comes into play. The ashen, like the players, collect smoke as rewards for fulfilling oaths and completing tasks or challenges. They earn smoke and pay the piper in exchange for power. The most power, the stronger the ashen can be, and the more enchanted items an ashen can use. Unfortunately, not all the oaths are things that Balagir really wants to do. Actually, most of them are things that Balagir doesn’t want to do.

Balagir sets off on an adventure in order to search for the truth. He wants to learn just what the ashen are, where the piper comes from and what in the world is going on. Of course, this means facing a number of unfortunate tasks, a slew of unknown lands —these are the times when people like me, that is the directionally challenged people, need a map. CF Welburn just laughed in amusement at my request—mysterious people, war, and even some monsters. Frankly, I liked the monsters.

This book is one of the most fascinating adventure stories I have read in a good long while. The situations are numerous and detailed to the point of being probably woven together by a tapestry-maker. All of the interactions that Balagir has with people are somehow significant. Some of these interactions show up pages later and turn the story on its head. Knowing which of these interactions are the most important is quite difficult, though, so do pay attention. The cast of characters travels through perilous situations, doing their best to survive all the while searching for answers. Or, well, Balagir is searching for answers. We’re not quite sure about the others.

As far as the characters go, this cast is quite large. If you asked me to name all of the characters, I could not. However, having the large number of characters is actually a nice thing. Balagir’s interactions feel a little more natural than the fantasy novels that have one band of characters throughout. The Ashen Levels involves people specific to certain places, as well as people who move all over. There are other ashen, there are monsters, there are humans. And somehow, all of it manages to stay perfectly straight within the story, to the point where you don’t get confused at all. Well, unless you try to remember everyone’s names.

Now, I’m going to be a bit of a word nerd for a moment. The language in this book is very impressive. Many “period” fantasy novels (and novels in other genres) try to maintain a consistent language that would be associated with a certain period. Many authors fail. CF Welburn did not fail. He manages to write in a consistently formal register, even when people are dying or fighting, that is reminiscent of the late seventeenth century, eighteenth century, and early nineteenth century. That is not to say that the language is necessarily convoluted and talks around issues, as one does often find with novels written during those times, but the register is formal and precise. And as a linguist, I am quite impressed by it.

As for the ending, I’m sure by now you are familiar with my fondness for being surprised by the endings. This one definitely did that. I would not say it is a cliffhanger (unless you are reading this book as individual volumes, in which case, all but the end of the series are cliffhangers of the cruellest sort) but more of a… MY GOODNESS WHAT JUST HAPPENED sort of reaction. I can tell you very little, excepting that a character was not what they seemed and caused trouble and the answers were very well hidden. Basically, chaos as expected in unexpected ways. Yes, that is vague. I make no apologies. It was a very good ending.

Do be aware that this book is not something to sneeze at. It took me five days to read it. (For those of you who don’t know, I read very quickly. So when I say it took five days to read, know that this is a long book.) Now, I could have broken it into the five volumes, but I read it all the way through. It was addicting, fascinating, pulled me through and had me asking so many questions I desperately needed answers to. This book is hugely fascinating and I would highly recommend it.

In a nutshell, The Ashen Levels is a well-woven story with a huge amount of details that may or may not be important, required several uninterrupted hours to read, a goodly amount of tea for processing power and then had me pacing afterwards because I was just flabbergasted. How many books can you say that about?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ashen-Levels-C-F-Welburn-ebook/dp/B07Q295MP1

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A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White: a Review by E.G. Stone

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Fantasy Focus

Time to foray into the world of traditional publishing. I read a book called A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White. This book is a combination of sci-fi in the most space opera terms, and fantasy put together on an epic scale. It isreminiscent of the television series Firefly with some elements of Formula One racing.

This book follows a couple of different characters. The first one is Nilah, a professional race car driver. She uses her magic glyph to better drive her car at breakneck speeds, with the singular aim of winning. She is, undoubtedly, one of the best drivers in the universe. Of course, in her last race, things went rather sideways and she ended up transporting out in a wave of magic that left her a victim of kidnapping and accused of murder. Enter Boots. Boots is a former pilot of a space flyer, on the wrong end of a civil war. After losing, she became a renowned treasure hunter, finding artefacts salvaged in space. Now, she is rather down on her luck, and looking for money that isn’t there. Her only companion is a military grade AI system, which is illegal to own. Her former crew comes after her for selling them bunk star charts, and Boots ends up on the run. She runs into Nilah, as well as her old crew, and the two get taken aboard and dragged into a rather dubious quest to go find the most renowned salvage ever. Naturally, there are other people trying to get there first. The salvage is the ancient warship Harrow, and it is entirely possible that the fate of the universe depends on their finding it.

This story, outwardly, looks like Firefly has been reincarnated in a race car movie. It is a fascinating combination of space opera and fantasy, two genres which rarely get spliced together. Actually, science fiction and fantasy rarely get put together at all, but when they do, seeing the magic that results from advanced technology is something spectacular to behold. Add in the Western elements of a space opera, and you’re in for a very good time. As it happens, this book is a very, very good time.

The characters are presented almost as caricatures of reality. Nilah is arrogant and naïve and a little bit prejudiced. I liked her a whole lot at the very beginning, when I knew very little about her, and I hated her a little bit for perhaps the next 15% of the story, and then I liked her a whole lot again. It was really interesting to see the character development grow in situations that are way beyond the realm of what one would normally experience, but which make perfect sense in context of the story. Once you got to know Nilah, she became less caricature and more real. The same can be said for Boots, who is almost the definition of washed up and lonely. Her golden days are long behind her, and you are well aware of this. But she is also endearing in her crankiness and once you learn more about her past, and see her in action, she also becomes a beloved character.

My favorite character, though, is the battle suit Ranger. If you have to ask, go read the book.

The world building in this story combines an artful mix of highly advanced technology that I do not understand and magic, which I also do not understand. The technology is feasible, based on current scientific models, but it is way beyond the realm of any theoretical physics or mechanics that I have ever played with. And the fact that it combines magic — which is something that is inherently not meant to be understood — with technology, makes everything all that little bit more fantastical and unattainable. However, in context with the characters and the situations in which they find themselves, the world comes alive. Everything has its place and works seamlessly with everything else. There are flaws in the system that the characters have to remedy, just like in any system. If something goes wrong, it is quite obvious. Frankly, this is one of the most complicated world building scenarios I have ever seen, and it is both terrifying and fascinating. In a nutshell, I like it a lot.

The storyline itself definitely follows the space opera/fantasy tropes and does it to such a degree that you almost don’t even notice they’re there. The storyline itself is relatively simple (except for the stunning revelation of the end), when combined with the spectacular world building and the characters, it takes on the nature of something rarely seen in books and more often seen in highly thought out television series. There is development, there are plot twists, and yet things move along at a nice steady pace.

My one critique for the story itself is that there were a few things that seemed a little bit too obvious or too easy for the characters. I can’t say a whole lot more than that without giving away serious spoilers for the story and for character development, but I will say that these events take place closer to the end when events are moving towards the climax. These events obviously needed to happen for the story to progress, but I think that they could’ve been done a little bit better. They are not hugely important though, so I would say on the whole it’s alright.

If you are in the mood for a stunning space opera/fantasy adventure story, I would highly recommend this book. It is one of the most intricate books I have read in a good long while and I liked it quite a lot. The characters are deep, the world is intense, and the story has just enough lightheartedness to keep you smiling. Then, I am inordinately fond of race cars and space cowboys, so anything that combines the two is pretty much going to be tickety-boo for me. Oh, and did I mention that there is sentient battle armour?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Edge-Universe-Salvagers-Book-ebook/dp/B0763KVBBH/

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Sour Fruit by Eli Allison: Review by E. G. Stone

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Fantasy Focus

Sour Fruit by Eli Allison is a dystopian speculative fiction novel that follows both the traditional sense of dystopian and modern sense dystopian whilst causing huge amounts of trouble. The traditional sense of dystopian novels involve a utopian society in which there is an unseen but fundamental flaw. Examples of these books include things like 1984 by George Orwell and We by Mikhail Bakhtin. The modern sense of dystopian is where the society functions overall as something that is in direct opposition to utopian ideas, excepting for the select few who had huge amount of power, money, and influence. Examples of this include The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and some of the pieces from The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.

Sour Fruit follows a girl named Onion who is not yet an official citizen of Britain but soon will be, provided she can keep her head down in her orphanage until she comes of age. However, she gets kidnapped and is slated to be sold to a skin trader. What makes it worse is that she is given into the care of a woman named Rhea, who is not only a Void (a non-citizen), but also in serious debt and an adult. For the next three days, Onion must stick with Rhea or be blown up. Then, she will be sold to the skin trader and life as she knows it will be over. Obviously, Onion needs to escape. But she must also learn to navigate the society of the Voids and figure out her way out of this armpit of the city, Kingston. Onion has nothing to help her except her wits, her very loud complaints, and whatever she can manipulate Rhea into doing. She tries to navigate this new world and returned the old one, but not before discovering that not everything is as it seems. Sometimes, you don’t get to choose your life and must make do with what you’ve got.

This story is narrated from a first person perspective, spoken in Onion’s voice, and it does take a minute or two to actually get into the rhythm of the story. The language itself is very much idiomatic and is also spoken from a teenager’s mouth to the readers at large. But once you get into the rhythm, it is extremely difficult to stop reading. Onion is an extraordinarily unreliable narrator. Most first-person narrations are unreliable, but I think this story manages to take that to a level that is not often seen. There is a whole heck of a lot more going on then what Onion tells you and you have to read between the lines very deeply to figure it out. This means that, for me at least, most of what is going on for the story is a complete mystery. This is perfectly alright though, because it is also a complete mystery to Onion. As she learns, we learn.

This narration style is a very good means of exploring Kingston and the society of the Voids without feeling like there was information that you were missing or not understanding, because the narrator also did not understand and did not have the information. This is a very good means of learning about the world, which was very well thought out, without that sometimes overbearing exposition that explains every little detail to an audience that probably already understands.

For being a book that is mostly focused on the story most of the time, there are a lots of deeper questions that are asked, which also fulfils the other part of the dystopian novel. This role is to question aspects of society, to discover flaws within the world, and to explore the consequences or solutions to those problems. This book largely questions perception of other people based on situations that are impossible for someone to change — or if not impossible then incredibly difficult. These things include social background and all of the aspects that are involved in social capital, such as education, the class in which you were born, as well as access to opportunity. This book manages to question all of that through Onion, who is perhaps one of the people furthering the problem. She is incredibly biased, forms opinions based on very little that is grounded in reality, and is more than happy to shoot her mouth off to anyone with ears. Onion is all-around offensive, and often ignorant. And yet, she is a very sympathetic character.

As far as characters go, Onion’s unfortunate companion, Rhea, is definitely my favorite. If Rhea were perhaps any different, she would be nothing more than a creature of circumstance. However, Rhea has managed to remain a surprisingly positive person given the fact that her life really, really, really sucks. She has certain, perhaps, old-fashioned sensibilities about the world that seem almost out of place in the society of the Voids. It is these sensibilities that make Rhea something more than a creature of circumstance. She fights circumstance. Sometimes she doesn’t do it very well, but she keeps fighting. And she’s also just quite entertaining.

The whole situation comes to a head in perhaps the last fifty pages of the story. The action definitely picks up in pace and things move almost too quickly for Onion — and the readers — to follow. This quick pace makes it a little bit difficult to visualize what’s going on, but part of that is okay. We have had a decent amount of time to process the situation before all of these events, so everything makes sense. The characters and the readers do not have much in a way of downtime to process what is going on and therefore the end feels very intense. The very last scene was a little bit confusing, until I realised that this book is book one of a trilogy. (Honestly, that makes me feel a whole lot better, because there were so many questions that I really wanted answered and had no idea when they would be.)

Be forewarned: this is a very dark book for its genre. A lot of speculative fiction/dystopian novels deal with the darker aspects of society, but rarely do they actually go into graphic detail like this one does. This reads almost like a dark fantasy, which describes the macabre thoroughly. If you are not keen on that sort of thing, give this book a miss. Also, there is rather a lot of cussing, so be aware of that. Both of these things work together, though, to create this flawed vision of the world that Onion has and to really press home the issues that are being discussed.

Overall, I think Sour Fruit is one of the best books I have read this year and I am eagerly awaiting book two. And by eagerly awaiting, I mean I may or may not be pestering the author ever so slightly. But she’s actually great fun to talk with, so I think it’s okay.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sour-Fruit-Eli-Allison-ebook/dp/B07XWF816B

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