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David’s Top Reads of 2018
While I wish I could populate this list with books published solely in 2018, I have entirely too much catching up to do in the fantasy genre to ever limit myself like that. Thus, you will find here a mixture of books published this year, as well as books published traditionally and self-published. Being a part of the SPFBO in 2018 has been an extraordinary opportunity for me because it has opened me up to an entirely new realm of possible reads and some authors I would have tragically never stumbled upon in my pursuit of literary excellence. This is a double edged blade because as I mentioned, I am way behind on reading many of the fantasy greats, and so adding more to the ever growing TBR pile is a bit anxiety inducing, but in the end it is a good problem to have.
Top Ten Titles:
While I wish I could populate this list with books published solely in 2018, I have entirely too much catching up to do in the fantasy genre to ever limit myself like that. Thus, you will find here a mixture of books published this year, as well as books published traditionally and self-published. Being a part of the SPFBO in 2018 has been an extraordinary opportunity for me because it has opened me up to an entirely new realm of possible reads and some authors I would have tragically never stumbled upon in my pursuit of literary excellence. This is a double edged blade because as I mentioned, I am way behind on reading many of the fantasy greats, and so adding more to the ever growing TBR pile is a bit anxiety inducing, but in the end it is a good problem to have.
Top Ten Titles:
1. Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb - I am so late to the Realms of the Elderlings series that I am shouting into the wind when I sing its praises, but sing them I will. I only ventured into Robin Hobb’s world for the first time last year, and not only did she completely hook me, but I think she might be my favorite fantasy author. Assassin’s Quest wraps up her Farseer Trilogy, starring the ever-damaged Fitz Farseer, and it is so beautiful and so heart-wrenching that I have had to take an extended break simply to recover from what Robin has done to me. This is one of my favorite books of all time.
2. The Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft - Finishing The Arm of the Sphinx was such a relief because it cemented Bancroft as more than a one-hit wonder. The second novel in his Babel series is as good as the first and only feels slightly diminished in its familiarity. The Arm of the Sphynx, as sequels generally do, shows Senlin and his motley crew in the fallout of the first novel, still struggling to work their way up the tower and find Senlin’s long-lost wife. What I loved about The Arm of the Sphinx is how it slowly unfolds everything within the tower, casting it all in shades of grey so that friends and foes outside of the immediate crew are constantly in doubt. I am soon to devour The Hod King and see this masterpiece to its conclusion.
3. A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood - Like many readers in these ridiculous and troubling times, I found myself drawn to Margaret Atwood’s classic tale of feminine oppression. That this is considered fantasy is something that becomes more clouded with each passing year in this political climate, but thankfully we are yet a stone’s throw from this horrific future. I can say that Atwood’s classic lives up to the hype, and her ability to tell speculative fiction with such human themes is second to none.
4. Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames - I do not think I am alone in loving Bloody Rose even more than I did Kings of the Wyld. Eames tops himself with this sequel, drawing an entirely new cast while maintaining the same consistent world-building and quality action that so drew readers to his first installment in The Band series. Bloody Rose is like Led Zeppelin IV - I can still enjoy the prior albums, but damn does this one have some epic tracks. Impressive is Eames’ ability to continue writing after his schtick, that mercenary bands are the rock-stars of his world, is seemingly spent. It turns out, he has much more to say on the topic, and that there are many many more Final Fantasy references yet to sneak into his writing.
5. The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley - I did not think one could tell the story of Beowulf yet again and find such success in doing so. The Mere Wife takes the ancient saga and sticks it in the suburbs where the rich and famous must contend with a monster in the mountains who comes down to befriend their children. Headley tells the tale from the monsters’ point of view, more often than not, and reveals that there are horrors on both sides of that white picket fence - and it isn’t always their appearance that unmasks them.
6. Death March by Phil Tucker - Oh boy do I like video games and table-top RPGs. Phil Tucker likes these things too, and so he did what any sane person would do and wrote a book that merges the two in virtual reality and gives a reader like me exactly what they want. Death March is one of the first LitRPG books I’ve read, and now I know what has ben missing in my life. It does precisely what it sets out to do, and I can’t wait to see where the series heads. If I had one complaint, it would be that the protagonist is a little too everyman for me, but in a way this compliments the genre perfectly due to the cipher-based nature of MMORPG protagonists.
7. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - Have you ever wanted to read a book and be unable to pronounce a single name within in? Me too! If you’re like me, then Katherine Addison’s foray into the political machinations of a goblin kingdom is a perfect fit. Jests aside, The Goblin Emperor is what is often referred to as hopeful fantasy in that it creates conflict within a fairly well-lit world. Yes, the political intrigue is Machiavellian in its complication, but the characters in Addison’s vision can be good and kind, especially protagonist Maia, and it was lovely to read of such a hauntingly beautiful place amidst a year full of so many dark ones.
8. Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky - Speaking of dark worlds and table-top adventures, along comes a Spiderlight. Tchaikovsky takes a familiar adventure with characters that practically jump off the character sheet and completely and unexpectedly turns it on its head. The amazing thing about Spiderlight is that it would have been a completely acceptable, if not remarkable, novel without doing any of that - such is Tchaikovsky’s writing. What he does with the tale blows the mind and makes this one to remember.
9. The Firebird by Nerine Dorman - I honestly think that The Firebird could have been a serious contender to win the SPFBO had it been more than a novella. Dorman’s prose is so beautiful and the world she creates so evocative that my only complaint is that she didn’t allow me more time in it. The story is meaningful, replete with familial strife, and every page makes the most of its space. I hope that Dorman is not finished with this world because I want to see more of it.
10. Foundryside by Robert Bennett Jackson - I never expect to open a fantasy book and find myself face to face with a new genre, but Jackson seems to have done exactly that. Foundryside can best be described as some kind of steampunk mytho fantasy, with a dark and gritty edge and a protagonist that is hard to love. I eventually did, but she makes it difficult! I hadn’t read any Robert Bennett Jackson up to this point, but he has planted himself on my TBR pile, and the sequel to Foundryside is something I think about even months later. He left me so full of questions.
Top Ten Debuts:
2. The Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft - Finishing The Arm of the Sphinx was such a relief because it cemented Bancroft as more than a one-hit wonder. The second novel in his Babel series is as good as the first and only feels slightly diminished in its familiarity. The Arm of the Sphynx, as sequels generally do, shows Senlin and his motley crew in the fallout of the first novel, still struggling to work their way up the tower and find Senlin’s long-lost wife. What I loved about The Arm of the Sphinx is how it slowly unfolds everything within the tower, casting it all in shades of grey so that friends and foes outside of the immediate crew are constantly in doubt. I am soon to devour The Hod King and see this masterpiece to its conclusion.
3. A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood - Like many readers in these ridiculous and troubling times, I found myself drawn to Margaret Atwood’s classic tale of feminine oppression. That this is considered fantasy is something that becomes more clouded with each passing year in this political climate, but thankfully we are yet a stone’s throw from this horrific future. I can say that Atwood’s classic lives up to the hype, and her ability to tell speculative fiction with such human themes is second to none.
4. Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames - I do not think I am alone in loving Bloody Rose even more than I did Kings of the Wyld. Eames tops himself with this sequel, drawing an entirely new cast while maintaining the same consistent world-building and quality action that so drew readers to his first installment in The Band series. Bloody Rose is like Led Zeppelin IV - I can still enjoy the prior albums, but damn does this one have some epic tracks. Impressive is Eames’ ability to continue writing after his schtick, that mercenary bands are the rock-stars of his world, is seemingly spent. It turns out, he has much more to say on the topic, and that there are many many more Final Fantasy references yet to sneak into his writing.
5. The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley - I did not think one could tell the story of Beowulf yet again and find such success in doing so. The Mere Wife takes the ancient saga and sticks it in the suburbs where the rich and famous must contend with a monster in the mountains who comes down to befriend their children. Headley tells the tale from the monsters’ point of view, more often than not, and reveals that there are horrors on both sides of that white picket fence - and it isn’t always their appearance that unmasks them.
6. Death March by Phil Tucker - Oh boy do I like video games and table-top RPGs. Phil Tucker likes these things too, and so he did what any sane person would do and wrote a book that merges the two in virtual reality and gives a reader like me exactly what they want. Death March is one of the first LitRPG books I’ve read, and now I know what has ben missing in my life. It does precisely what it sets out to do, and I can’t wait to see where the series heads. If I had one complaint, it would be that the protagonist is a little too everyman for me, but in a way this compliments the genre perfectly due to the cipher-based nature of MMORPG protagonists.
7. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - Have you ever wanted to read a book and be unable to pronounce a single name within in? Me too! If you’re like me, then Katherine Addison’s foray into the political machinations of a goblin kingdom is a perfect fit. Jests aside, The Goblin Emperor is what is often referred to as hopeful fantasy in that it creates conflict within a fairly well-lit world. Yes, the political intrigue is Machiavellian in its complication, but the characters in Addison’s vision can be good and kind, especially protagonist Maia, and it was lovely to read of such a hauntingly beautiful place amidst a year full of so many dark ones.
8. Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky - Speaking of dark worlds and table-top adventures, along comes a Spiderlight. Tchaikovsky takes a familiar adventure with characters that practically jump off the character sheet and completely and unexpectedly turns it on its head. The amazing thing about Spiderlight is that it would have been a completely acceptable, if not remarkable, novel without doing any of that - such is Tchaikovsky’s writing. What he does with the tale blows the mind and makes this one to remember.
9. The Firebird by Nerine Dorman - I honestly think that The Firebird could have been a serious contender to win the SPFBO had it been more than a novella. Dorman’s prose is so beautiful and the world she creates so evocative that my only complaint is that she didn’t allow me more time in it. The story is meaningful, replete with familial strife, and every page makes the most of its space. I hope that Dorman is not finished with this world because I want to see more of it.
10. Foundryside by Robert Bennett Jackson - I never expect to open a fantasy book and find myself face to face with a new genre, but Jackson seems to have done exactly that. Foundryside can best be described as some kind of steampunk mytho fantasy, with a dark and gritty edge and a protagonist that is hard to love. I eventually did, but she makes it difficult! I hadn’t read any Robert Bennett Jackson up to this point, but he has planted himself on my TBR pile, and the sequel to Foundryside is something I think about even months later. He left me so full of questions.
Top Ten Debuts:
1. Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft - I say in my review that Senlin Ascends is probably the best fantasy book published in the last decade, and I stand by that bold claim. I loved this book from page one to the back cover. The characters in Josiah Bancroft’s vision are vivid and lovely and will carve themselves into a willing heart. He has built a world of unique vision and populated it like an architect envisioning arches and domes on a cathedral. It is truly magnificent.
2. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - I never knew how much I needed Russian folklore in my life until I came across Arden’s beautiful prose and haunting, snow-filled world. Arden’s debut captures both the mystical, haunting nature of the Russian winterscape, as well as the hardships faced by an early Rus culture. That she manages to craft a remarkable, strong female character amidst a landscape that does not welcome such a thing is even more stunning.
3. The Boy Who Walked Too Far by Dom Watson - Having Dom’s book in my pile of SPFBO reads has been the best literary gift of 2018 for me. The Boy, despite its flaws, has the kind of imagination and whimsy that most writers will struggle their whole lives to find. It’s future fantasy and Sherlockian and much of it might not even make sense to a casual reader, but for those willing to brave its depths, this is a book with the potential to leave one changed. Pay attention to Dom Watson!
4. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - It’s hard for me not to talk about City of Brass without mentioning The Bear and the Nightingale. Their parallels are unavoidable, and while their styles are definitely unique, one only has to flip their coin from the Russian side to the Arabic to find a very similar tale. I say in my review that City of Brass is rich, sumptuous even, and if the Arabian Nights or the tale of Aladdin has ever interested you, this is a no-brainer.
5. Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer - Whitefire Crossing is actually the first e-book that I have read from end to end, and my fear from the beginning was that said format would somehow taint my experience. Thankfully, Schafer creates a world and characters that rise above even my biases, and I even now find myself thinking about Dev and Kiran and the magic-infused world that she has built with Whitefire. Schafer also manages to craft believable and engaging narrative about a trip over a mountain pass, which I thought only Janny Wurts could do.
6. Here Be Dragons by David Macpherson - I struck gold a second time in my SPFBO pile with Here Be Dragons. Not only did this have the best cover, in my opinion, of our bunch, but this book is legitimately funny from end to end. Not often do we see our heroes past their prime, reliving their glory days and pining for more. Macpherson gives us that and manages to write a fantasy novel that goes out of its way to avoid violence as an answer. That is a worthy goal.
7. Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell - What Castell does with his Greatcoats series is fairly simple - he is telling the fantasy version of The Three Musketeers. We might guess that this has been done already, but unless I’m unaware of a treatment, it has not. One could argue that The Three Musketeers is fantasy enough on its own, but de Castell proves that throwing in some magic and offering up some small twists more than meets the requirements for telling this tale. Traitor’s Blade is a flawed book, certainly, but it is one with so much heart that I am willing to forgive its faults.
8. Blackwing by Ed McDonald - Blackwing has the Dark Souls that I need in my dark fantasy. His is an ancient world, full of ruin and elder magic, and his protagonist is simply a man struggling to eke out his way amidst these towering powers and horrid landscapes. I love the world that McDonald has built. It has more potential than almost any I’ve read about this year. This is grimdark of the grimiest nature, with a section of the world darker than anything in fantasy, but it is good and its characters are solid and there is a great deal of potential in that mixture.
9. The Blood Tartan by Raymond St. Elmo - I don’t know whether or not I was experiencing some kind of fever dream while reading The Blood Tartan, but that is what my memory of it feels like. This is a book that carries its reader along on a mad fantasy that probably will not make sense throughout the meat of it. Elmo’s prose is so good as to be criminal, and there is something so captivating and resonant about his English-Scottish world that it drew me in whole-hog.
10. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi - I was fairly critical of Adeyemi’s debut in my review of Children of Blood and Bone. It’s difficult to review a book that has been so hyped by its publishers and the various market-pushers out there. I do not feel that the book lived up to that hype, but I did enjoy it and feel it worthy of a read. Adeyemi creates a familiar world, but one full of magic and strong female characters who both struggle and emerge changed. It may not have been the second coming of Harry Potter that was promised, but Children of Blood and Bone carves out a place for itself in the deluge of young adult fantasy out there.
Lukasz’s Top Reads of 2018:
I tried to limit myself to books published in 2018, but failed miserably.
As most readers, I have a lot of catching up to do. My Goodreads counter claims I read 226 units in 2018 (I use this word for GR short story, DNF or epic Fantasy Behemoth count as one read position). With an average rating of 3.4 most of the books I read were entertaining, and pleasurable.
Here, though, I’d like to highlight the books I consider exceptional. I limited myself to ten titles, without dividing them into best title / best debut / best self-published/independent categories. Those are my ten favorite books of 2018. Period.
2. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden - I never knew how much I needed Russian folklore in my life until I came across Arden’s beautiful prose and haunting, snow-filled world. Arden’s debut captures both the mystical, haunting nature of the Russian winterscape, as well as the hardships faced by an early Rus culture. That she manages to craft a remarkable, strong female character amidst a landscape that does not welcome such a thing is even more stunning.
3. The Boy Who Walked Too Far by Dom Watson - Having Dom’s book in my pile of SPFBO reads has been the best literary gift of 2018 for me. The Boy, despite its flaws, has the kind of imagination and whimsy that most writers will struggle their whole lives to find. It’s future fantasy and Sherlockian and much of it might not even make sense to a casual reader, but for those willing to brave its depths, this is a book with the potential to leave one changed. Pay attention to Dom Watson!
4. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - It’s hard for me not to talk about City of Brass without mentioning The Bear and the Nightingale. Their parallels are unavoidable, and while their styles are definitely unique, one only has to flip their coin from the Russian side to the Arabic to find a very similar tale. I say in my review that City of Brass is rich, sumptuous even, and if the Arabian Nights or the tale of Aladdin has ever interested you, this is a no-brainer.
5. Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer - Whitefire Crossing is actually the first e-book that I have read from end to end, and my fear from the beginning was that said format would somehow taint my experience. Thankfully, Schafer creates a world and characters that rise above even my biases, and I even now find myself thinking about Dev and Kiran and the magic-infused world that she has built with Whitefire. Schafer also manages to craft believable and engaging narrative about a trip over a mountain pass, which I thought only Janny Wurts could do.
6. Here Be Dragons by David Macpherson - I struck gold a second time in my SPFBO pile with Here Be Dragons. Not only did this have the best cover, in my opinion, of our bunch, but this book is legitimately funny from end to end. Not often do we see our heroes past their prime, reliving their glory days and pining for more. Macpherson gives us that and manages to write a fantasy novel that goes out of its way to avoid violence as an answer. That is a worthy goal.
7. Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell - What Castell does with his Greatcoats series is fairly simple - he is telling the fantasy version of The Three Musketeers. We might guess that this has been done already, but unless I’m unaware of a treatment, it has not. One could argue that The Three Musketeers is fantasy enough on its own, but de Castell proves that throwing in some magic and offering up some small twists more than meets the requirements for telling this tale. Traitor’s Blade is a flawed book, certainly, but it is one with so much heart that I am willing to forgive its faults.
8. Blackwing by Ed McDonald - Blackwing has the Dark Souls that I need in my dark fantasy. His is an ancient world, full of ruin and elder magic, and his protagonist is simply a man struggling to eke out his way amidst these towering powers and horrid landscapes. I love the world that McDonald has built. It has more potential than almost any I’ve read about this year. This is grimdark of the grimiest nature, with a section of the world darker than anything in fantasy, but it is good and its characters are solid and there is a great deal of potential in that mixture.
9. The Blood Tartan by Raymond St. Elmo - I don’t know whether or not I was experiencing some kind of fever dream while reading The Blood Tartan, but that is what my memory of it feels like. This is a book that carries its reader along on a mad fantasy that probably will not make sense throughout the meat of it. Elmo’s prose is so good as to be criminal, and there is something so captivating and resonant about his English-Scottish world that it drew me in whole-hog.
10. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi - I was fairly critical of Adeyemi’s debut in my review of Children of Blood and Bone. It’s difficult to review a book that has been so hyped by its publishers and the various market-pushers out there. I do not feel that the book lived up to that hype, but I did enjoy it and feel it worthy of a read. Adeyemi creates a familiar world, but one full of magic and strong female characters who both struggle and emerge changed. It may not have been the second coming of Harry Potter that was promised, but Children of Blood and Bone carves out a place for itself in the deluge of young adult fantasy out there.
Lukasz’s Top Reads of 2018:
I tried to limit myself to books published in 2018, but failed miserably.
As most readers, I have a lot of catching up to do. My Goodreads counter claims I read 226 units in 2018 (I use this word for GR short story, DNF or epic Fantasy Behemoth count as one read position). With an average rating of 3.4 most of the books I read were entertaining, and pleasurable.
Here, though, I’d like to highlight the books I consider exceptional. I limited myself to ten titles, without dividing them into best title / best debut / best self-published/independent categories. Those are my ten favorite books of 2018. Period.
1. Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko - This book crafts new vision of the world and the laws that govern it. As the story progresses, Dyachenko’s share insights into the world‘s metaphysics and if you’ve ever been fascinated with the language and power of the words, you’ll be satisfied with some of the discoveries.
I could go on, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll tell you this - it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. It combines fascinating adventure with philosophical depth, impossible metamorphosis with profound psychological insights. It’s strange, amazing, and brilliant.
2. Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence - I always liked Lawrence‘s Writing and his characters. Jorg and Jalan are great and memorable, but, unexpectedly, it‘s Nona I really care for. The Books of Ancestor series speaks to me on a personal level and it provides a genuine emotional experience I seek.
3. The Wisdom‘s Grave trilogy by Craig Schaefer - I religiously follow Schaefer’s books and Wisdom’s Grave is a treat. It connects and resolves important character arcs and plotlines. Plus, it describes Nessa. And she is, for me, Schaefer’s greatest creation.
4. Endsville by Clay Sanger - I never expected to fall in love with bad guys with no redeeming qualities, but I did. Sanger’s world is terrifying and brutal, but also complex and fascinating. It convincingly portrays flawed individuals who struggle with substance abuse, occult addiction, toxic and abusive family relationships and living a life of crime. An excellent book, but approach it with caution. It contains lots and lots of violence (including mentions of rape), sex and bad language.
5. Kings of Paradise by Richard Nell - I loved the hell out of Kings of Paradise. It’s not a joyous book - at times it’s tragic, and Ruka’s story alone can make you reach for Prozac. It is, however, intelligently written and powerful book with a stellar world-building and a fantastic cast of characters. I consider Ruka one of the most fascinating fantasy characters ever written.
6. Those Brave, Foolish Souls from the CIty of Swords by Benedict Patrick - Long story short - it’s Patrick’s best book. It’s also one of the best indie books I’ve ever read. It does everything I like in fantasy well - it combines myths, quest-like adventure, and redemption of flawed heroes and tales within the tales. Those Brave, Foolish Souls from the City of Swords is engaging, immersive and touching. It’s a book I’ll re-read with pleasure and it’s not something I say often. I crave more Yarnsworld stories.
7. Djinn-son duology by Sami Shah - Shah’s Fire Boy and Earth Boy duology (in some regions published as a single volume called Boy of Fire and Earth) blew my mind. I loved this book. It’s a dark, funny, and compelling urban fantasy tale based in Pakistan’s biggest city - Karachi. A young boy, Wahid, comes to terms with his unique abilities and sets out on an adventure to recover the soul of the girl he loves from vengeful djinns.
8. Ghosts of Tomorrow by Michael R. Fletcher - Set in 2046, Ghosts of Tomorrow is a disturbing and fast-paced cyberpunk novel I just couldn‘t put down. It got under my skin and stayed with me.
9. The Liminal People by Ayize Jama-Everett - The Liminal People is a fantastic novel about superheroes that touches many vital subjects (family, race, faith) in an entertaining and moving way. The prose is very vivid and, for me, it made this tale. The strength isn’t in the plot that’s relatively easy to predict but in the voice of the narrator with all his emotions and phobias present in the language. The book is violent, and some of the body’s transformations performed by Taggert may hunt you for a long time. I highly recommend it to all X-Men aspirants.
10. The Necromancer’s House by Christopher Buehlman - The Necromancer’s House is unlike any urban fantasy novel I read. I'm not even sure if I should call it this way. It contains horror elements and reads like a literary fiction with strong prose. While I can't say it was always a comfortable book, it is impressive with its multiple viewpoints, unexpected reveals, well-crafted sentences and exciting twists.
I could go on, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll tell you this - it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. It combines fascinating adventure with philosophical depth, impossible metamorphosis with profound psychological insights. It’s strange, amazing, and brilliant.
2. Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence - I always liked Lawrence‘s Writing and his characters. Jorg and Jalan are great and memorable, but, unexpectedly, it‘s Nona I really care for. The Books of Ancestor series speaks to me on a personal level and it provides a genuine emotional experience I seek.
3. The Wisdom‘s Grave trilogy by Craig Schaefer - I religiously follow Schaefer’s books and Wisdom’s Grave is a treat. It connects and resolves important character arcs and plotlines. Plus, it describes Nessa. And she is, for me, Schaefer’s greatest creation.
4. Endsville by Clay Sanger - I never expected to fall in love with bad guys with no redeeming qualities, but I did. Sanger’s world is terrifying and brutal, but also complex and fascinating. It convincingly portrays flawed individuals who struggle with substance abuse, occult addiction, toxic and abusive family relationships and living a life of crime. An excellent book, but approach it with caution. It contains lots and lots of violence (including mentions of rape), sex and bad language.
5. Kings of Paradise by Richard Nell - I loved the hell out of Kings of Paradise. It’s not a joyous book - at times it’s tragic, and Ruka’s story alone can make you reach for Prozac. It is, however, intelligently written and powerful book with a stellar world-building and a fantastic cast of characters. I consider Ruka one of the most fascinating fantasy characters ever written.
6. Those Brave, Foolish Souls from the CIty of Swords by Benedict Patrick - Long story short - it’s Patrick’s best book. It’s also one of the best indie books I’ve ever read. It does everything I like in fantasy well - it combines myths, quest-like adventure, and redemption of flawed heroes and tales within the tales. Those Brave, Foolish Souls from the City of Swords is engaging, immersive and touching. It’s a book I’ll re-read with pleasure and it’s not something I say often. I crave more Yarnsworld stories.
7. Djinn-son duology by Sami Shah - Shah’s Fire Boy and Earth Boy duology (in some regions published as a single volume called Boy of Fire and Earth) blew my mind. I loved this book. It’s a dark, funny, and compelling urban fantasy tale based in Pakistan’s biggest city - Karachi. A young boy, Wahid, comes to terms with his unique abilities and sets out on an adventure to recover the soul of the girl he loves from vengeful djinns.
8. Ghosts of Tomorrow by Michael R. Fletcher - Set in 2046, Ghosts of Tomorrow is a disturbing and fast-paced cyberpunk novel I just couldn‘t put down. It got under my skin and stayed with me.
9. The Liminal People by Ayize Jama-Everett - The Liminal People is a fantastic novel about superheroes that touches many vital subjects (family, race, faith) in an entertaining and moving way. The prose is very vivid and, for me, it made this tale. The strength isn’t in the plot that’s relatively easy to predict but in the voice of the narrator with all his emotions and phobias present in the language. The book is violent, and some of the body’s transformations performed by Taggert may hunt you for a long time. I highly recommend it to all X-Men aspirants.
10. The Necromancer’s House by Christopher Buehlman - The Necromancer’s House is unlike any urban fantasy novel I read. I'm not even sure if I should call it this way. It contains horror elements and reads like a literary fiction with strong prose. While I can't say it was always a comfortable book, it is impressive with its multiple viewpoints, unexpected reveals, well-crafted sentences and exciting twists.
12:00 AM | 
Posted by
The Reader |
Official Author Website
Order Kings Of Paradise over HERE
Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic. For starters, could you please introduce yourself, tell us what inspired you to write in the first place, and describe your journey in becoming a self-published author.
RN: Well, that could be quite a long answer! Let's try reasonable brevity: my name is Richard Nell, and I'm a Canadian prairie kid who left the farm, went around the world and did a lot of (questionable) things, and finally came home. I always knew I wanted to write, but knew too I needed the discipline, experience, and let's say...enough wisdom, for my work to be worth a damn. So, I tried with varying degrees of success to obtain those things. At some point I knew it was now or never, and took the plunge. I've never liked waiting for approval so I never asked for it and went straight to self-publishing. Haven't sent a query letter in my life.
Q] Please elaborate how the genesis of the Ash and Sand trilogy occurred. How long have you been working on it? Has it evolved from its original idea (if any)?
RN: The series itself really didn't crystallize until I sat down to write it. I had plenty of themes I wanted to explore, questions I'd like to ask, but the story-details were vague. It evolved a great deal from the original plan of 'two very different cultures, one rich and one poor, coming together'. In fact it probably became less about that and far more personal to individual characters in a complex world, but I'm pretty happy where it ended up.
Q] Your debut novel is the first volume in a trilogy. Could you give us a progress report on the third book, and offer any details about the sequel “Kings Of Ash”?
RN: The third book (Kings Of Heaven) is being drafted now. I have a very good sense of how the main plot will finish, so I don't anticipate any major roadblocks. But these are big books, so, I expect it will be out 2020.
In Kings Of Ash you can be assured of a couple things:
1) to catch up on the lost time of Ruka in Pyu; and
2) to see the coming together of Kale and Ruka, and all the fall-out that entails...
Q] For some authors it’s easier writing their second novel, while for others it’s more difficult. How was your experience with Kings Of Ash and did you learn anything when writing “Kings Of Paradise” that helped prepare you for the new book? Also the books of Ash and Sand are a trilogy so how did you prevent Kings Of Ash from suffering from any ‘middle volume’ tendencies?
RN: I certainly learned a lot, but the short answer is that it was mostly easier. I'd actually been almost finished drafting book 2 before I released book 1, and in many ways they are a 'single' story in my mind, very much dependent on each other. I actually expect (hope?) lots of readers will think book 2 is a 'stronger' book, or at least more satisfying, in that it expands and 'finishes' lots of the things set up in book 1. But I guess we'll see.
Q] For someone who hasn't read any of your novels, how would you describe the type of stories that you write? What would be your elevator pitch for the Ash and Sand trilogy?
RN: This is a big, dark, engrossing book with a lot of detail in the writing, but very personal in the telling. It's not a light read. It's for people who like to think, who like to be challenged, who don't need trigger warnings or hand-holding and want to look at the world in different ways. If you're a fan of books like Dune, Game of Thrones, or even historical fiction like Shogun, this book is written for you, and I'm most pleased to make your acquaintance.
Q] Your book has a multifocal POV approach. However only one of the POV characters is a female, and she has a supporting role until the last one-fifths of the story. I’m curious as to why you chose Dala to have a minor role. Will the sequels enhance her standing in the story?
RN: As to why - I'm not sure there's an answer, except Kale and Ruka were always the main characters of this trilogy. But that damn Dala, her story just kept getting bigger. As to how/if her role enhances, well, most signs point to yes. And that's all I have to say about that.
Q] Like many readers I was deeply fascinated by Ruka. His eidetic memory, his brilliance and his cannibalism. They reminded me of another brilliant character called Hannibal Lecter. What would you think of this comparison as both of them have faced horrible childhoods and have very deep connections with a female family member (mother for Ruka, sister for Hannibal).
RN: You might be only the second person to mention this (the first called Ruka 'Hannibal meets Conan')! I'm without a doubt a Thomas Harris fan, and Ruka is unquestionably influenced by Hannibal Lecter. No doubt you could even compare his 'Grove' to a 'Memory Palace'. You'll be getting a great deal of Ruka in Kings Of Ash.
Q] Also Ruka’s facial deformities aren’t never quite properly detailed besides his eyes and that those deformities are thought to be evil. What exactly was he born with and why did the Ascomanni tribesman think them to be evil?
RN: It's fair to say I keep it a little intentionally vague for imagination's sake. I'm not generally a fan of endless physical details in fiction, partially because it's often tedious, and partially because I enjoy letting my mind wander and come up with that detail on my own. I trust my readers to do the same, and no doubt these things are better in images than in words.
Q] Tell us a little bit about the research you undertook (SE Asian societies and names, cannibalism, psychopathy) before attempting to write this series. What were the things you focused upon? Were there any fascinating things that you found amidst your research?
RN: I love history and science and this stuff can suck me in for days and weeks while almost nothing gets written. Most things don't make it to the book because while I find the materials used in ship-making fascinating, most people...don't want to read about it. I can say almost all of the cultures in the book are based on something, mixed and mashed from real cultures in history. For book two I deep dived into metallurgy, astronomy, which are particularly relevant, and a few other technological things. The great part about writing fantasy is at the end of the day you can say 'ah to hell with it, close enough'.
Q] There have been reddit rumours of you also being a romance writer and having written something in that lucrative genre. Please tell us more about these lurid rumors?
RN: Hahaha. Well, once upon a time, rumors had a way of often being true. In 2018 I'm not so sure that's accurate. There are a couple of pretty detailed sex scenes in Kings Of Paradise, however. I leave it to the readers to decide if they could belong in a proper romance, and if so, well, nevermind fantasy I think I'll go make some real money.
Q] After publishing your debut doorstopper, you have also published two flintlock fantasy novellas that are part of the God-King Chronicles saga. Please tell us more about these and the world that they are set in?
RN: These started as almost therapy writing. I needed a break from giant, epic fantasy, and I thought 'this will just be some fun adventure story without any context or giant plot to worry about!' Oh, Richard of the Past, so naive, so full of hope. Now there is a rather complex world built, and at least another trilogy envisioned with an' immortal' (but dying), demon-infused God-King who is looking desperately for someone to hold the ancient creature inside him before he expires and looses it on the world.
The novellas are sort of 'intros' or snapshots into that world, and the characters will all certainly feature later in the novels. I hope to put out another one in 2019, this one a female protagonist involving pirates, amnesia, and, of course, another demon...
RN: As to why - I'm not sure there's an answer, except Kale and Ruka were always the main characters of this trilogy. But that damn Dala, her story just kept getting bigger. As to how/if her role enhances, well, most signs point to yes. And that's all I have to say about that.
Q] Like many readers I was deeply fascinated by Ruka. His eidetic memory, his brilliance and his cannibalism. They reminded me of another brilliant character called Hannibal Lecter. What would you think of this comparison as both of them have faced horrible childhoods and have very deep connections with a female family member (mother for Ruka, sister for Hannibal).
RN: You might be only the second person to mention this (the first called Ruka 'Hannibal meets Conan')! I'm without a doubt a Thomas Harris fan, and Ruka is unquestionably influenced by Hannibal Lecter. No doubt you could even compare his 'Grove' to a 'Memory Palace'. You'll be getting a great deal of Ruka in Kings Of Ash.
Q] Also Ruka’s facial deformities aren’t never quite properly detailed besides his eyes and that those deformities are thought to be evil. What exactly was he born with and why did the Ascomanni tribesman think them to be evil?
RN: It's fair to say I keep it a little intentionally vague for imagination's sake. I'm not generally a fan of endless physical details in fiction, partially because it's often tedious, and partially because I enjoy letting my mind wander and come up with that detail on my own. I trust my readers to do the same, and no doubt these things are better in images than in words.
Q] Tell us a little bit about the research you undertook (SE Asian societies and names, cannibalism, psychopathy) before attempting to write this series. What were the things you focused upon? Were there any fascinating things that you found amidst your research?
RN: I love history and science and this stuff can suck me in for days and weeks while almost nothing gets written. Most things don't make it to the book because while I find the materials used in ship-making fascinating, most people...don't want to read about it. I can say almost all of the cultures in the book are based on something, mixed and mashed from real cultures in history. For book two I deep dived into metallurgy, astronomy, which are particularly relevant, and a few other technological things. The great part about writing fantasy is at the end of the day you can say 'ah to hell with it, close enough'.
Q] There have been reddit rumours of you also being a romance writer and having written something in that lucrative genre. Please tell us more about these lurid rumors?
RN: Hahaha. Well, once upon a time, rumors had a way of often being true. In 2018 I'm not so sure that's accurate. There are a couple of pretty detailed sex scenes in Kings Of Paradise, however. I leave it to the readers to decide if they could belong in a proper romance, and if so, well, nevermind fantasy I think I'll go make some real money.
Q] After publishing your debut doorstopper, you have also published two flintlock fantasy novellas that are part of the God-King Chronicles saga. Please tell us more about these and the world that they are set in?
RN: These started as almost therapy writing. I needed a break from giant, epic fantasy, and I thought 'this will just be some fun adventure story without any context or giant plot to worry about!' Oh, Richard of the Past, so naive, so full of hope. Now there is a rather complex world built, and at least another trilogy envisioned with an' immortal' (but dying), demon-infused God-King who is looking desperately for someone to hold the ancient creature inside him before he expires and looses it on the world.
The novellas are sort of 'intros' or snapshots into that world, and the characters will all certainly feature later in the novels. I hope to put out another one in 2019, this one a female protagonist involving pirates, amnesia, and, of course, another demon...
Q] Can you tell us more about the world that the Ash and Sand trilogy is set in and some of the series’ major characters? What are curiosities (geographical, mystical, etc.) of this world?
RN: So the Ash and Sand world is really quite similar to our own. I really won't say anything about the magic except it exists, and will be discovered, but is not understood or really believed by normal people. There's a yellow sun about as far away as you'd expect, one moon, the land and sea filled by flora and fauna everyone would recognize, human beings acting as you'd expect them to.
One of the major plot details is that people haven't really explored this world. Most of the cultures live on one continent and think all around them is endless sea. Except, so do the people on another continent the first people don't know exist. You might think of the 'main 'continent in the book as Asiatic, and the other as a sort of Antarctica that's bigger, slightly further North, and therefore vaguely inhabitable.
The two main characters are from these two different lands, and neither knows anything about the other. Kale is an island prince from just South of the main continent who lives a rather meaningless life of luxury. Ruka is a disfigured outcast from the Antarctic continent, fighting just to survive in a harsh, brutal place.
Q] Themes of identity, ethnic diversity, tribalism & cultural disparities seem to play an important role throughout Kings Of Paradise. How much of this did you draw from your own readings and experiences? And how much of it was gleaned from history?
RN: It would be hard to say! I am fascinated by the interaction of culture and evolution, but also by the individual experience. I think with human beings as social as they are, one can hardly exist without the other. But what is useful? What is vestigial? Will what guided us in the past help us in the future? What are the consequences and benefits of history? I find these sorts of questions absolutely enthralling, and the different ways we unite or separate ourselves and all the pros and cons of that. I'm not sure I have any answers.
Q] In today’s fantasy genre, there seems to be a number of authors out there who are writing grittier, darker, more realistic fantasy books or are attempting to defy traditional tropes in both the self-published and traditionally published worlds. What are your thoughts on this movement, the audience’s response to such books, and fantasy tropes in general?
RN: I'm not sure who coined it (I think Picasso), but there's really no improving on the old line that artists tell lies to tell the truth. What those lies are, of course, depend on the culture. I'm not sure I can speak to the trend, but I can speak for myself: I suppose I'm trying to remind myself where humanity comes from. We're so rich and safe compared to any other time in history it's easy to forget, and take it for granted. We are, after all, only the stewards of a civilization built by our ancestors, and it required a great deal of mistakes, blood and sacrifice to get us here. We are only ever a single generation from disaster.
Ultimately, I think the darkness of many modern stories is a reminder to be thankful for what we have, and how hard-won it has been. There is however also a more nihilistic trend, which I don't write, endorse, or enjoy, but is perhaps another marker of an unfortunate modern cultural truth.
Q] You have previously mentioned about a serious eye injury due to pellets. Does that in any way hamper your writing or day to day activities? Do you have a favorite eye-patch?
RN: I took a shot to the face when I was seven. Alas, I can't recommend it. On the positive side I've been leaving a fake eye in the soup of friends and relatives for decades with consistently predictable results. It can also be fun at parties. Fortunately it doesn't hold back my writing, though I'm almost positive I would have been a pro baseball player without it. My wife, brother, father, mother, and all applicable childhood friends don't agree. But, we'll never know for sure.
Q] Please tell us about the books and authors who have captured your imagination and inspired you to become a wordsmith in your own right. Similarly, are there any current authors you would like to give a shout out to?
RN: The dreaded question. The authors are legion. My very first love was Samuel Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and I still hate poetry that doesn't rhyme. I was a voracious reader pretty early, from Dixon's Hardy Boys straight to fantasy like the Dragonlance books or RA Salvatore, or David Gemmell. I'm sure I read some more YA stuff but I don't remember it very well, and certainly less existed when I was a kid. I moved to historical fiction, Forester's Horatio Hornblower, James Clavell's Asian Saga, Steven Pressfield's Greek stories, Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series. I suppose in the end it was only natural for me to combine a more historical feel with fantasy, and I'd say George R. R. Martin led the way. We would all be mute without the greats of the past.
Q] In closing, thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions. Do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?
RN: My pleasure - fantastic questions, I must say. In parting with any fantasy fan I'm very pleased to say precisely how I feel, and in solidarity: what a privilege to be part of this sacred group we've all chosen - this great tribe of the mind. May it last forever. And until next time, my friends.
RN: So the Ash and Sand world is really quite similar to our own. I really won't say anything about the magic except it exists, and will be discovered, but is not understood or really believed by normal people. There's a yellow sun about as far away as you'd expect, one moon, the land and sea filled by flora and fauna everyone would recognize, human beings acting as you'd expect them to.
One of the major plot details is that people haven't really explored this world. Most of the cultures live on one continent and think all around them is endless sea. Except, so do the people on another continent the first people don't know exist. You might think of the 'main 'continent in the book as Asiatic, and the other as a sort of Antarctica that's bigger, slightly further North, and therefore vaguely inhabitable.
The two main characters are from these two different lands, and neither knows anything about the other. Kale is an island prince from just South of the main continent who lives a rather meaningless life of luxury. Ruka is a disfigured outcast from the Antarctic continent, fighting just to survive in a harsh, brutal place.
Q] Themes of identity, ethnic diversity, tribalism & cultural disparities seem to play an important role throughout Kings Of Paradise. How much of this did you draw from your own readings and experiences? And how much of it was gleaned from history?
RN: It would be hard to say! I am fascinated by the interaction of culture and evolution, but also by the individual experience. I think with human beings as social as they are, one can hardly exist without the other. But what is useful? What is vestigial? Will what guided us in the past help us in the future? What are the consequences and benefits of history? I find these sorts of questions absolutely enthralling, and the different ways we unite or separate ourselves and all the pros and cons of that. I'm not sure I have any answers.
Q] In today’s fantasy genre, there seems to be a number of authors out there who are writing grittier, darker, more realistic fantasy books or are attempting to defy traditional tropes in both the self-published and traditionally published worlds. What are your thoughts on this movement, the audience’s response to such books, and fantasy tropes in general?
RN: I'm not sure who coined it (I think Picasso), but there's really no improving on the old line that artists tell lies to tell the truth. What those lies are, of course, depend on the culture. I'm not sure I can speak to the trend, but I can speak for myself: I suppose I'm trying to remind myself where humanity comes from. We're so rich and safe compared to any other time in history it's easy to forget, and take it for granted. We are, after all, only the stewards of a civilization built by our ancestors, and it required a great deal of mistakes, blood and sacrifice to get us here. We are only ever a single generation from disaster.
Ultimately, I think the darkness of many modern stories is a reminder to be thankful for what we have, and how hard-won it has been. There is however also a more nihilistic trend, which I don't write, endorse, or enjoy, but is perhaps another marker of an unfortunate modern cultural truth.
Q] You have previously mentioned about a serious eye injury due to pellets. Does that in any way hamper your writing or day to day activities? Do you have a favorite eye-patch?
RN: I took a shot to the face when I was seven. Alas, I can't recommend it. On the positive side I've been leaving a fake eye in the soup of friends and relatives for decades with consistently predictable results. It can also be fun at parties. Fortunately it doesn't hold back my writing, though I'm almost positive I would have been a pro baseball player without it. My wife, brother, father, mother, and all applicable childhood friends don't agree. But, we'll never know for sure.
Q] Please tell us about the books and authors who have captured your imagination and inspired you to become a wordsmith in your own right. Similarly, are there any current authors you would like to give a shout out to?
RN: The dreaded question. The authors are legion. My very first love was Samuel Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and I still hate poetry that doesn't rhyme. I was a voracious reader pretty early, from Dixon's Hardy Boys straight to fantasy like the Dragonlance books or RA Salvatore, or David Gemmell. I'm sure I read some more YA stuff but I don't remember it very well, and certainly less existed when I was a kid. I moved to historical fiction, Forester's Horatio Hornblower, James Clavell's Asian Saga, Steven Pressfield's Greek stories, Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series. I suppose in the end it was only natural for me to combine a more historical feel with fantasy, and I'd say George R. R. Martin led the way. We would all be mute without the greats of the past.
Q] In closing, thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions. Do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?
RN: My pleasure - fantastic questions, I must say. In parting with any fantasy fan I'm very pleased to say precisely how I feel, and in solidarity: what a privilege to be part of this sacred group we've all chosen - this great tribe of the mind. May it last forever. And until next time, my friends.
As has been the pattern with these lists of mine, January seems to be the best time for posting these. I hope our readers will forgive this idiosyncrasy of mine. The main reasoning for choosing these titles is the varied milieu of the plots, excellence in prose, characterization and the overall enjoyment they provided. This year was the least amount of books that I’ve ever read since I started blogging but I try to up my ante for 2019. So here we go for 2018 ...
Top Ten Titles:
1) The Wisdom’s Grave trilogy by Craig Schaefer – What can I say about this trilogy comprising of Sworn To The Night, Detonation Boulevard, & Bring The Fire, that I haven’t already gushed about the books in the reviews. Craig Schaefer’s trilogy was the epic culmination of plots that have been in the works over three different series and nearly 16 titles. Featuring a love story between a witch and her knight, the story has epic battles, inter-dimensional escapades and everything in between. The revelations provided in these titles went a long way in explaining the crazy amount of planning that must have gone with this trilogy. Craig Schaefer now is solidly among my alltime favorite writers.
2) Paternus: Wrath Of The Gods by Dyrk Ashton – Dyrk Ashton marked himself as a special talent with his debut. With this sequel, Dyrk basically made sure that he marks his books out as a genre within their own. Mixing several mythologies (coherently), epic battles and a huge cast of inhuman characters, Wrath Of The Gods was The Dark Knight to Paternus: Rise Of The Gods. Excellent in every which way, Dyrk Ashton made this sequel a glorious reading experience.
2) Circe by Madeline Miller – Circe is a hard book to describe, it basically is the humanistic retelling of perhaps the most understood persona in Greek mythology. Historians haven't been kind to Circe but via Madeline Miller, we get an in-depth, nuanced portrayal that is astounding to say the least. In part magical and in parts literary, Madeline Miller's Circe is possibly one of the best books of the decade.
3) Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence – Mark Lawrence is an anomaly, he writes books that combine beautiful prose, tremendous action and characters that stay with you even after the books are done. Grey Sister builds up on the epic finale of Red Sister and sets up the world conflict spectacularly. Mark Lawrence has shaped the story brilliantly and now we only have to wait to see how it all ends in Holy Sister.
4) Age Of Assassins by R. J. Barker – R. J Barker is a tremendous find for orbit books, his Wounded Kingdom trilogy is complete and Age Of Assassins is an epic conclusion to the tale of Girton Clubfoot. Brilliantly mixing action, intrigue and vulnerable characters, R. J Barker marks himself to be a writer to watch out for. I also hope he branches out to write crime thrillers just based on the empathetic scope of this trilogy.
5) Fire Dance by Ilana C. Myer – Ilana Myer’s sequel explores a different part of her world. Again we are drawn in by the beautiful prose, intriguing characters alongside magic as well as political revolution. Fire Dance showcases exactly why I love Ilana Myer’s work and why her books need to be read more widely.
6) City Of Kings by Rob J. Hayes – Rob J. Hayes is another favorite of mine and this standalone title after last year’s pirate duology proves his acumen at writing conflicted characters, grey situations and action sequences to blow your mind. Mixing a pregnancy with a bloody siege and with a lot of character conflict, Rob Hayes writes a spectacular story of the fall of a regime while making you cry all the same. City o]Of Kings is an excellent introduction to the First Earth saga but it will also implore you to read the earlier books strongly.
7) The Empire Of Ashes by Anthony Ryan – Anthony Ryan is a storyteller who impressed us mightily with his debut Blood Song. The Draconis Memoria trilogy is his sophomore effort and arguably his better work. The Empire Of Ashes is an epic conclusion that gave the readers their fill of action, magical battles and most of all an ending that leaves you with a gut punch but mentally satisfied as well.
8) We Ride The Storm by Devin Madson – Devin’s book was one out of the left field. It’s the first book in a new series but set in the same world as her debut trilogy. Dark, brutal and with lots of chopped heads, it left me in awe of her sparse writing style. With a very streamlined plot and an in-depth focus on characters, We Ride The Storm became our SPFBO pick for the finals and a series that I’ll continue to read as soon as the next title releases.
9) The Silver Sorceress by Alec Hutson – Continuing from his magnificent debut Alec Hutson showed no sophomore slump and with The Silver Sorceress gave us more of the epic goodness that was so solidly reflected in The Crimson Queen. This book neatly avoided the middle book trap and sets up an intriguing geo-magical conflict that is sure to explode in the next volume.
10) Master Assassins by Robert V. S. Redick – Master Assassins is a welcome return by Robert V. S. Redick. Set in a brand new world and focusing on a plot about brotherly love. Robert brilliantly showcases various themes afflicting mankind and provides us with a cracking story that left me wanting to read more about this world.
Honorable mentions to the following titles that narrowly missed out on this list:
– Forever Fantasy Online by Rachel Aaron & Travis Bach
– The Neon Boneyard by Craig Schaefer
– Starless by Jacqueline Carey
– Those Brave Foolish Souls From The City Of Swords by Benedict Patrick
1) The Wisdom’s Grave trilogy by Craig Schaefer – What can I say about this trilogy comprising of Sworn To The Night, Detonation Boulevard, & Bring The Fire, that I haven’t already gushed about the books in the reviews. Craig Schaefer’s trilogy was the epic culmination of plots that have been in the works over three different series and nearly 16 titles. Featuring a love story between a witch and her knight, the story has epic battles, inter-dimensional escapades and everything in between. The revelations provided in these titles went a long way in explaining the crazy amount of planning that must have gone with this trilogy. Craig Schaefer now is solidly among my alltime favorite writers.
2) Paternus: Wrath Of The Gods by Dyrk Ashton – Dyrk Ashton marked himself as a special talent with his debut. With this sequel, Dyrk basically made sure that he marks his books out as a genre within their own. Mixing several mythologies (coherently), epic battles and a huge cast of inhuman characters, Wrath Of The Gods was The Dark Knight to Paternus: Rise Of The Gods. Excellent in every which way, Dyrk Ashton made this sequel a glorious reading experience.
2) Circe by Madeline Miller – Circe is a hard book to describe, it basically is the humanistic retelling of perhaps the most understood persona in Greek mythology. Historians haven't been kind to Circe but via Madeline Miller, we get an in-depth, nuanced portrayal that is astounding to say the least. In part magical and in parts literary, Madeline Miller's Circe is possibly one of the best books of the decade.
3) Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence – Mark Lawrence is an anomaly, he writes books that combine beautiful prose, tremendous action and characters that stay with you even after the books are done. Grey Sister builds up on the epic finale of Red Sister and sets up the world conflict spectacularly. Mark Lawrence has shaped the story brilliantly and now we only have to wait to see how it all ends in Holy Sister.
4) Age Of Assassins by R. J. Barker – R. J Barker is a tremendous find for orbit books, his Wounded Kingdom trilogy is complete and Age Of Assassins is an epic conclusion to the tale of Girton Clubfoot. Brilliantly mixing action, intrigue and vulnerable characters, R. J Barker marks himself to be a writer to watch out for. I also hope he branches out to write crime thrillers just based on the empathetic scope of this trilogy.
5) Fire Dance by Ilana C. Myer – Ilana Myer’s sequel explores a different part of her world. Again we are drawn in by the beautiful prose, intriguing characters alongside magic as well as political revolution. Fire Dance showcases exactly why I love Ilana Myer’s work and why her books need to be read more widely.
6) City Of Kings by Rob J. Hayes – Rob J. Hayes is another favorite of mine and this standalone title after last year’s pirate duology proves his acumen at writing conflicted characters, grey situations and action sequences to blow your mind. Mixing a pregnancy with a bloody siege and with a lot of character conflict, Rob Hayes writes a spectacular story of the fall of a regime while making you cry all the same. City o]Of Kings is an excellent introduction to the First Earth saga but it will also implore you to read the earlier books strongly.
7) The Empire Of Ashes by Anthony Ryan – Anthony Ryan is a storyteller who impressed us mightily with his debut Blood Song. The Draconis Memoria trilogy is his sophomore effort and arguably his better work. The Empire Of Ashes is an epic conclusion that gave the readers their fill of action, magical battles and most of all an ending that leaves you with a gut punch but mentally satisfied as well.
8) We Ride The Storm by Devin Madson – Devin’s book was one out of the left field. It’s the first book in a new series but set in the same world as her debut trilogy. Dark, brutal and with lots of chopped heads, it left me in awe of her sparse writing style. With a very streamlined plot and an in-depth focus on characters, We Ride The Storm became our SPFBO pick for the finals and a series that I’ll continue to read as soon as the next title releases.
9) The Silver Sorceress by Alec Hutson – Continuing from his magnificent debut Alec Hutson showed no sophomore slump and with The Silver Sorceress gave us more of the epic goodness that was so solidly reflected in The Crimson Queen. This book neatly avoided the middle book trap and sets up an intriguing geo-magical conflict that is sure to explode in the next volume.
10) Master Assassins by Robert V. S. Redick – Master Assassins is a welcome return by Robert V. S. Redick. Set in a brand new world and focusing on a plot about brotherly love. Robert brilliantly showcases various themes afflicting mankind and provides us with a cracking story that left me wanting to read more about this world.
Honorable mentions to the following titles that narrowly missed out on this list:
– Forever Fantasy Online by Rachel Aaron & Travis Bach
– The Neon Boneyard by Craig Schaefer
– Starless by Jacqueline Carey
– Those Brave Foolish Souls From The City Of Swords by Benedict Patrick
Top Ten Debuts:
1) The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang – Rebecca Kuang’s debut title mixing epic fantasy and Chinese history, showcased that women can write grimdark fantasy magnificently and do it better than most. The Poppy War is a book that outshines most military fantasy titles by showing the brutality of war and the sacrifices it asks of mankind. Absolutely horrific in its brutality and terrific in its scope, The Poppy War is an unforgettable debut marking Rebecca Kuang as an author who will only get better.
Kings Of Paradise by Richard Nell – Richard Nell just snuck up on most of the fantasy readers as his debut Kings Of Paradise was the textbook sleeper hit. Opening with a cannibal protagonist and making him relatable is just the start of this epic fantasy story. Richard Nell’s prose and characterization are what made this debut such a standout one. Think Hannibal meets Deadwood meets epic fantasy, Kings Of Paradise is epic in every sense of the word and shares the top spot.
2) The Great Hearts by David A. Oliver – The Great Hearts was another surprising find for me, combining the amazing characterization of Blood Song within a grimdark frame and topping it off with action-adventure a La Indiana Jones. David A. Oliver marked himself out in my eyes with his splendid mix of genres and I can’t wait to read the sequel.
3) Endsville by Clay Sanger – Endsville is a debut that feels like it’s specifically written to counter most of the urban fantasy genre. Endsville is dark, hell it’s about a family who presides over a biker clan and certainly draws some glorious comparisons with Sons Of Anarchy. This story very epic in scope and major props to Clay Sanger for his glorious descriptions of gang heraldry and culture. Exciting characterization, epic plot scope and a unique story made this debut land a special place in my heart.
4) City Of Lies by Sam Hawke – City Of Lies was an epic fantasy debut that had an interesting take on a brother sister duo. Their familial bond and their shared passion with poisons was what made this debut such an exciting read for me. Sam Hawke injects her story with charismatic prose, characters with flair and also has one of the best opening lines that I’ve ever read in speculative fiction.
5) Orconomics by J. Zach Pike – Orconomics is a comedic fantasy with a very striking cover that makes no bones about what the reader can anticipate. This book has its mix of comedic turns, action sequences, and heart-breaking moments that highlight the characters within. A debut that will be in the running for the 2018 SPFBO finals and a solid contender at that. I can’t wait to start Son Of A Liche after reading Orconomics.
6) Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri – I was really excited for Empire Of Sand as it was supposed to combine elements of Hindu mythology with those of the Mughal empire. Empire Of Sand did all of that while also giving us a tender love story and setting up an epic conflict. Tasha Suri’s prose and style was solid and I’ve high expectations from her forthcoming sequels.
7) The Boy Who Walked Too Far by Dom Watson – Dom Watson has written one of the most distinctive books that I’ve ever read. It was definitely the most unique across all four editions of SPFBO and one that’s very, very hard to classify. Mixing every sort of genre and ideas, TBWWTF is a unique reading experience and I can’t wait for Dom to write more of the Xindii Chronicles.
8) Kingshold by D. P. Woolliscroft – Elections can be pretty boring to write and read about. But Kingshold proves to be the exception to that maxim. D. P. Woolliscroft’s debut manages to catch a kingdom in upheaval and with an election upcoming. A myriad host of characters are thrown into the mix as they all try to do the various things. Funny, laidback and with some intriguing characters, Kingshold is a book that you will want to read and watch out for the sequels to come.
9) Banebringer by Carol Park – Banebringer is one of those titles that slipped by in the 2018 edition of SPFBO but it deserves more praise and reader spotlight. Combining a complex world, unique magic system and a dark world scenario, Carol Park has written a hefty book that has a bit of everything for most fantasy readers. I’m going to follow this series and can’t wait for the next book Sweetblade.
10) City Of Shards by Steve Rodgers – Steve Rodgers has written a very, very cool high fantasy book that speaks to his imagination. Mixing some very cool concepts and a myriad plot with engaging characters, City Of Shards is a perfect debut for those readers who love high fantasy and are looking for the next Brandon Sanderson. Steve Rodgers might very well be the next in line to his throne.
NOTE:
1) Not all linked reviews are from FBC but are either from FBC contributors and other fellow sites whose opinions I trust. Since I wasn't able to review every book that I read, I felt this was a good alternative option.
2) Two notable exceptions from this are Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames and Arm Of The Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft as I wasn't able to read them in the past year. However they easily would have graced this list, if I had read them in time.
1) The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang – Rebecca Kuang’s debut title mixing epic fantasy and Chinese history, showcased that women can write grimdark fantasy magnificently and do it better than most. The Poppy War is a book that outshines most military fantasy titles by showing the brutality of war and the sacrifices it asks of mankind. Absolutely horrific in its brutality and terrific in its scope, The Poppy War is an unforgettable debut marking Rebecca Kuang as an author who will only get better.
Kings Of Paradise by Richard Nell – Richard Nell just snuck up on most of the fantasy readers as his debut Kings Of Paradise was the textbook sleeper hit. Opening with a cannibal protagonist and making him relatable is just the start of this epic fantasy story. Richard Nell’s prose and characterization are what made this debut such a standout one. Think Hannibal meets Deadwood meets epic fantasy, Kings Of Paradise is epic in every sense of the word and shares the top spot.
2) The Great Hearts by David A. Oliver – The Great Hearts was another surprising find for me, combining the amazing characterization of Blood Song within a grimdark frame and topping it off with action-adventure a La Indiana Jones. David A. Oliver marked himself out in my eyes with his splendid mix of genres and I can’t wait to read the sequel.
3) Endsville by Clay Sanger – Endsville is a debut that feels like it’s specifically written to counter most of the urban fantasy genre. Endsville is dark, hell it’s about a family who presides over a biker clan and certainly draws some glorious comparisons with Sons Of Anarchy. This story very epic in scope and major props to Clay Sanger for his glorious descriptions of gang heraldry and culture. Exciting characterization, epic plot scope and a unique story made this debut land a special place in my heart.
4) City Of Lies by Sam Hawke – City Of Lies was an epic fantasy debut that had an interesting take on a brother sister duo. Their familial bond and their shared passion with poisons was what made this debut such an exciting read for me. Sam Hawke injects her story with charismatic prose, characters with flair and also has one of the best opening lines that I’ve ever read in speculative fiction.
5) Orconomics by J. Zach Pike – Orconomics is a comedic fantasy with a very striking cover that makes no bones about what the reader can anticipate. This book has its mix of comedic turns, action sequences, and heart-breaking moments that highlight the characters within. A debut that will be in the running for the 2018 SPFBO finals and a solid contender at that. I can’t wait to start Son Of A Liche after reading Orconomics.
6) Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri – I was really excited for Empire Of Sand as it was supposed to combine elements of Hindu mythology with those of the Mughal empire. Empire Of Sand did all of that while also giving us a tender love story and setting up an epic conflict. Tasha Suri’s prose and style was solid and I’ve high expectations from her forthcoming sequels.
7) The Boy Who Walked Too Far by Dom Watson – Dom Watson has written one of the most distinctive books that I’ve ever read. It was definitely the most unique across all four editions of SPFBO and one that’s very, very hard to classify. Mixing every sort of genre and ideas, TBWWTF is a unique reading experience and I can’t wait for Dom to write more of the Xindii Chronicles.
8) Kingshold by D. P. Woolliscroft – Elections can be pretty boring to write and read about. But Kingshold proves to be the exception to that maxim. D. P. Woolliscroft’s debut manages to catch a kingdom in upheaval and with an election upcoming. A myriad host of characters are thrown into the mix as they all try to do the various things. Funny, laidback and with some intriguing characters, Kingshold is a book that you will want to read and watch out for the sequels to come.
9) Banebringer by Carol Park – Banebringer is one of those titles that slipped by in the 2018 edition of SPFBO but it deserves more praise and reader spotlight. Combining a complex world, unique magic system and a dark world scenario, Carol Park has written a hefty book that has a bit of everything for most fantasy readers. I’m going to follow this series and can’t wait for the next book Sweetblade.
10) City Of Shards by Steve Rodgers – Steve Rodgers has written a very, very cool high fantasy book that speaks to his imagination. Mixing some very cool concepts and a myriad plot with engaging characters, City Of Shards is a perfect debut for those readers who love high fantasy and are looking for the next Brandon Sanderson. Steve Rodgers might very well be the next in line to his throne.
NOTE:
1) Not all linked reviews are from FBC but are either from FBC contributors and other fellow sites whose opinions I trust. Since I wasn't able to review every book that I read, I felt this was a good alternative option.
2) Two notable exceptions from this are Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames and Arm Of The Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft as I wasn't able to read them in the past year. However they easily would have graced this list, if I had read them in time.
Official Author Website
Order The Gutter Prayer over HERE
OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFORMATION: Gareth Hanrahan is a writer & game designer. Everything else, by induction. On twitter (and everywhere else) as @mytholder.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: A group of three young thieves are pulled into a centuries old magical war between ancient beings, mages, and humanity in this wildly original debut epic fantasy.
The city has always been. The city must finally end.
When three thieves - an orphan, a ghoul, and a cursed man - are betrayed by the master of the thieves guild, their quest for revenge uncovers dark truths about their city and exposes a dangerous conspiracy, the seeds of which were sown long before they were born.Cari is a drifter whose past and future are darker than she can know.
Rat is a Ghoul, whose people haunt the city's underworld.
Spar is a Stone Man, subject to a terrible disease that is slowly petrifying his flesh.
Chance has brought them together, but their friendship could be all that stands in the way of total Armageddon
FORMAT/INFO: The Gutter Prayer is 544 pages long. This is the first volume of The Black Iron Legacy series. .The book will be published on January 17th 2019 by Orbit. Cover illustration is by Richard Anderson and cover design is done by Steve Panton.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: How do I even describe it? Was it just insane or insanely good?
Enter Guerdon. Mad deities and divinely powered saints fight, Lovecraftian horrors awake and crawl out from below. Shape-shifting Ravellers, servants of the ancient and evil Black Iron Gods, bring mayhem to the streets for the first time in decades and it can only mean one thing - Doomsday approaches.
Meanwhile, a new member of the Thieves’ Brotherhood, Carillon Thay, experiences unnerving visions that place her in the centre of the conflict between mad deities. She navigates the city in the company of Rat, a corpse-eating ghoul, and Spar, a Stoneman, whose flesh is slowly calcifying into rock.
Rules mean nothing to Hanrahan - he plays with the language, world-building, and usual genre’s tropes. He twists them and offers something fresh and new. Examples? Gutter Prayer opens with a prologue written in the second person pro-noun, a thing considered a huge no-no. And yet, it works. Hanrahan’s lyrical prose contains a lot of archaisms and rare words, it yells for a reader's attention and yet it only makes the experience more immersive. His visual and visceral style blew my mind. I usually dislike detailed world-building, but his world, with all its minutiae, immersed me.
A note to aspiring writers - don’t read this book; it‘ll make you loathe your unimaginative, bland phrases.
The setting lives from the very first pages. It feels real, and dynamic. It changes and affects the characters in the story. It‘s a prime example of a powerfully portrayed city that seems to have a life of its own. I sincerely hope I’ll never visit Guerdom, though. I still have a long TBR list and things to do in life and I wouldn’t last five minutes there. Check this description of one of the city’s hidden places (it gives a good example of the setting and Hanrahan’s prose):
All characters feel realized and three dimensional. Carillon is impulsive, and she acts too fast regularly getting into trouble. Her emotionally charged chapters contrast slightly with other POV’s. although each POV character faces traumatic situations. Take Spar, a Stoneman. He’s dying. His disease will win in the end - there’s no cure. He’ll turn into a stone, but not before he experiences all his joints and organs calcify slowly and painfully. Then we have Rat - a young ghoul who experiences extreme, nauseating transformation.
Secondary characters shine as well. A lovely mentor who’s secretly a manipulative monster, a teleporting boy with insane speed and agility, tallowmen whose minds are a flickering candle flames, burning within the waxy hollow of their skulls captured my imagination. That said, the character I liked most was Aleena - a brutally honest saint who swears like a trooper in an angelic voice (literally - angels speak through her). Hanrahan’s saints don’t resemble our saints in the least. They’re deeply traumatized embodiments of divine madness.
CONCLUSION: I’m sure people will speak about The Gutter Prayer in the years to come. I suspect it’ll divide the audience a bit. A casual fantasy reader may feel lost in the plot for a significant part of the book. Hanrahan’s distinct, rich writing style won’t appeal to everyone. But it did work for me. A brilliant, imaginative debut. Absolutely worth the read and insanely, uniquely rich in every way.
Order The Gutter Prayer over HERE
OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFORMATION: Gareth Hanrahan is a writer & game designer. Everything else, by induction. On twitter (and everywhere else) as @mytholder.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: A group of three young thieves are pulled into a centuries old magical war between ancient beings, mages, and humanity in this wildly original debut epic fantasy.
The city has always been. The city must finally end.
When three thieves - an orphan, a ghoul, and a cursed man - are betrayed by the master of the thieves guild, their quest for revenge uncovers dark truths about their city and exposes a dangerous conspiracy, the seeds of which were sown long before they were born.Cari is a drifter whose past and future are darker than she can know.
Rat is a Ghoul, whose people haunt the city's underworld.
Spar is a Stone Man, subject to a terrible disease that is slowly petrifying his flesh.
Chance has brought them together, but their friendship could be all that stands in the way of total Armageddon
FORMAT/INFO: The Gutter Prayer is 544 pages long. This is the first volume of The Black Iron Legacy series. .The book will be published on January 17th 2019 by Orbit. Cover illustration is by Richard Anderson and cover design is done by Steve Panton.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: How do I even describe it? Was it just insane or insanely good?
Enter Guerdon. Mad deities and divinely powered saints fight, Lovecraftian horrors awake and crawl out from below. Shape-shifting Ravellers, servants of the ancient and evil Black Iron Gods, bring mayhem to the streets for the first time in decades and it can only mean one thing - Doomsday approaches.
Meanwhile, a new member of the Thieves’ Brotherhood, Carillon Thay, experiences unnerving visions that place her in the centre of the conflict between mad deities. She navigates the city in the company of Rat, a corpse-eating ghoul, and Spar, a Stoneman, whose flesh is slowly calcifying into rock.
Rules mean nothing to Hanrahan - he plays with the language, world-building, and usual genre’s tropes. He twists them and offers something fresh and new. Examples? Gutter Prayer opens with a prologue written in the second person pro-noun, a thing considered a huge no-no. And yet, it works. Hanrahan’s lyrical prose contains a lot of archaisms and rare words, it yells for a reader's attention and yet it only makes the experience more immersive. His visual and visceral style blew my mind. I usually dislike detailed world-building, but his world, with all its minutiae, immersed me.
A note to aspiring writers - don’t read this book; it‘ll make you loathe your unimaginative, bland phrases.
The setting lives from the very first pages. It feels real, and dynamic. It changes and affects the characters in the story. It‘s a prime example of a powerfully portrayed city that seems to have a life of its own. I sincerely hope I’ll never visit Guerdom, though. I still have a long TBR list and things to do in life and I wouldn’t last five minutes there. Check this description of one of the city’s hidden places (it gives a good example of the setting and Hanrahan’s prose):
Pipes hiss and gurgle like the intestines of a flayed man. The air is hot and thick with fumes. Through portholes lined with green-tinted glass, she can spy on the things growing inside the vats - embryonic Gullheads, raptequines, disembodied organs. A thing that might be the heart and circulatory system of a man swims past one viewport, like a ghastly jellyfish that squirts blood with every spasm of its artery limbs.
All characters feel realized and three dimensional. Carillon is impulsive, and she acts too fast regularly getting into trouble. Her emotionally charged chapters contrast slightly with other POV’s. although each POV character faces traumatic situations. Take Spar, a Stoneman. He’s dying. His disease will win in the end - there’s no cure. He’ll turn into a stone, but not before he experiences all his joints and organs calcify slowly and painfully. Then we have Rat - a young ghoul who experiences extreme, nauseating transformation.
Secondary characters shine as well. A lovely mentor who’s secretly a manipulative monster, a teleporting boy with insane speed and agility, tallowmen whose minds are a flickering candle flames, burning within the waxy hollow of their skulls captured my imagination. That said, the character I liked most was Aleena - a brutally honest saint who swears like a trooper in an angelic voice (literally - angels speak through her). Hanrahan’s saints don’t resemble our saints in the least. They’re deeply traumatized embodiments of divine madness.
CONCLUSION: I’m sure people will speak about The Gutter Prayer in the years to come. I suspect it’ll divide the audience a bit. A casual fantasy reader may feel lost in the plot for a significant part of the book. Hanrahan’s distinct, rich writing style won’t appeal to everyone. But it did work for me. A brilliant, imaginative debut. Absolutely worth the read and insanely, uniquely rich in every way.
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
SPFBO FINALIST: Sworn To The Night by Craig Schaefer (Reviewed by Lukasz Przywoski & Mihir Wanchoo)
Order Sworn To The Night HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Long Way Down
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The White Gold Score
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Redemption Song
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Living End
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of A Plain-Dealing Villain
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Killing Floor Blues
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Castle Doctrine
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Double Or NothingRead Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Castle Doctrine
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Winter's Reach
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Instruments Of Control
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Harmony Black
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Red Knight Falling
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Glass Predator
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Cold Spectrum
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Cold Spectrum
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Harmony Black Series Interview with Craig Schaefer
Read Double Or Nothing Cover Reveal Mini-Interview with Craig Schaefer
Read Part I of Fantasy Book Critic's In-depth Interview with Craig Schaefer
Read Part II of Fantasy Book Critic's In-depth Interview with Craig Schaefer
Read My Sworn To The Night Cover Reveal Q&A with Craig Schaefer
Read Part I of Fantasy Book Critic's In-depth Interview with Craig Schaefer
Read Part II of Fantasy Book Critic's In-depth Interview with Craig Schaefer
Read My Sworn To The Night Cover Reveal Q&A with Craig Schaefer
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Craig Schaefer was born in Chicago and wanted to be a writer since a very young age. His writing was inspired by Elmore Leonard, Richard Stark, Clive Barker & H. P. Lovecraft. After reaching his 40th birthday he decided to give in to his passion and since then has released twelve novels in the last three years. He currently lives in North Carolina and loves visiting museums and libraries for inspiration.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Marie Reinhart is an NYPD detective on the trail of a serial killer. When she sleeps, though, she dreams of other lives; she dreams of being a knight, in strange wars and strange worlds. On the other side of the city, Nessa Roth is a college professor trapped in a loveless marriage, an unwilling prop in a political dynasty. She's also a fledgling witch, weaving poppets and tiny spells behind closed doors.
When Marie's case draws her into Nessa's path, sparks fly. What comes next is more than a furtive whirlwind affair; it's the first pebbles of an avalanche. Nessa and Marie are the victims of a curse that has pursued them across countless lifetimes; a doom designed to trap them in a twisted living fairy tale, with their romance fated to end in misery and death.
They aren't going out without a fight. As they race to uncover the truth, forces are in motion across the country. In Las Vegas, a professional thief is sent on a deadly heist. In a Detroit back alley, witches gather under the guidance of a mysterious woman in red. Just outside New York, an abandoned zoo becomes the hunting-ground for servants of a savage and alien king. The occult underground is taking sides and forming lines of battle. Time is running out, and Nessa and Marie have one chance to save themselves, break the curse, and demand justice.
This time, they're writing their own ending.
FORMAT/INFO: Sworn To The Night is 428 pages long divided over sixty-four chapters with a prologue, three interludes. Narration is in the third-person, via Nessa Roth, Marie Reinhart, Carolyn Saunders, Daniel Faust, Harmony Black, Mourner Of the Red Rocks, Dora, Richard Roth, Alton Roth, Calypso, and a few others . This is the first volume of the Wisdom's Grave trilogy.
January 2, 2018 marks the North American e-book publication of Sworn To The Night and it was self-published by the author. Cover art and design is by James T. Egan of Bookfly Design.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS (LUKASZ):
Nessa and Mari were my favorite characters in Schaefer‘s Revanche Cycle. Queen Of The Night’s brutal ending devastated me. When I learned that this unlikely couple would reappear in his future books, I felt relieved. I religiously follow the Daniel Faust and Harmony Black series, but I think Nessa is Craig Schaefer’s greatest character. Prove me wrong. I dare you. But before you say or write something you’ll regret remember this:
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Marie Reinhart is an NYPD detective on the trail of a serial killer. When she sleeps, though, she dreams of other lives; she dreams of being a knight, in strange wars and strange worlds. On the other side of the city, Nessa Roth is a college professor trapped in a loveless marriage, an unwilling prop in a political dynasty. She's also a fledgling witch, weaving poppets and tiny spells behind closed doors.
When Marie's case draws her into Nessa's path, sparks fly. What comes next is more than a furtive whirlwind affair; it's the first pebbles of an avalanche. Nessa and Marie are the victims of a curse that has pursued them across countless lifetimes; a doom designed to trap them in a twisted living fairy tale, with their romance fated to end in misery and death.
They aren't going out without a fight. As they race to uncover the truth, forces are in motion across the country. In Las Vegas, a professional thief is sent on a deadly heist. In a Detroit back alley, witches gather under the guidance of a mysterious woman in red. Just outside New York, an abandoned zoo becomes the hunting-ground for servants of a savage and alien king. The occult underground is taking sides and forming lines of battle. Time is running out, and Nessa and Marie have one chance to save themselves, break the curse, and demand justice.
This time, they're writing their own ending.
FORMAT/INFO: Sworn To The Night is 428 pages long divided over sixty-four chapters with a prologue, three interludes. Narration is in the third-person, via Nessa Roth, Marie Reinhart, Carolyn Saunders, Daniel Faust, Harmony Black, Mourner Of the Red Rocks, Dora, Richard Roth, Alton Roth, Calypso, and a few others . This is the first volume of the Wisdom's Grave trilogy.
January 2, 2018 marks the North American e-book publication of Sworn To The Night and it was self-published by the author. Cover art and design is by James T. Egan of Bookfly Design.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS (LUKASZ):
"This isn’t some sweet Disney bedtime story. This is a real fairy tale. With death, and blood, and suffering. And I never promise a happy ending."
Nessa and Mari were my favorite characters in Schaefer‘s Revanche Cycle. Queen Of The Night’s brutal ending devastated me. When I learned that this unlikely couple would reappear in his future books, I felt relieved. I religiously follow the Daniel Faust and Harmony Black series, but I think Nessa is Craig Schaefer’s greatest character. Prove me wrong. I dare you. But before you say or write something you’ll regret remember this:
THE OWL IS BACK
Sworn To The Night is the first book of the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy. It works as a standalone but you can also approach it as a culmination of Schaefer’s work. Both Daniel Faust and Harmony Black and their supporting casts appear on the pages of STTN, but Schaefer introduces them in a way that doesn't require any additional reading.
The story focuses on two characters:
Marie Reinhart, an NYPD detective is on a hunt, looking for a missing prostitute called “Baby Blue”. Marie cares about her work and her friends. She also loves stories about knights and their quests.
Vanessa Fieri-Roth, a mentally troubled professor of anthropology diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, looks for a purpose in her unhappy life. Not an easy task when you’re on tranquilizers. Her marriage with wealthy Richard Roth (senator Alton Roth’s son) lost appeal a long time ago.
When their paths cross magic happens. Black magic. Blood magic. Destruction and mayhem ensue. They have to fight to survive and break the Wheel of Time. What makes this new series so strong are characters. Marie becomes the Knight. Nessa slowly transforms into terrifying Owl we’ve seen in the Revanche Cycle books. She’s not a nice person. She can be cruel and sadistic and yet I can’t help it–I adore her. Marie remains an endearing character–she’s determined and driven to incarnate law / police ideals. She cares about victims no one cares about. She’s good people. Sadly, her fate in the Cosmic Story sucks.
Daniel Faust, Harmony Black and some other characters appear. I knew about them before reading STTN but for newer readers, their glimpses and actions might encourage them to invest some time in Schaefer’s other works. I’ve read all his books and can vouch for them. When a single book makes you read whole bibliography of its author, it’s usually a good sign.
STTN, told by an unreliable narrator, a fantasy hack Carolyn Saunders, contains stories within stories and plays with a reader and their expectations. While it clearly setups the stage for Detonation Boulevard and Bring The Fire and finishes on a high emotional note, it also gives some answers. That said, I can’t imagine reading it as a standalone, especially that the series is already finished and you can discover all the answers.
It’s an amazing, dark and twisted story about love. I’m first to admit I’m biased - this book (and series) made me read the rest of Schaefer‘s books in less than two months. Try it.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS (MIHIR): Sworn To The Night (STTN) is the culmination of a lot of threads and characters, chief among them are two whom we previously meet in The Revanche Cycle books by the author. The true inclinations about this whole "story" were first mentioned in the Revanche Cycle (book III) and then later gloriously expanded in The Castle Doctrine (Daniel Faust book 6). If that might seem confusing, then dear reader then welcome to the universe(s) of Craig Schaefer wherein everything is connected and only now (after 15 books, 1 novella & 3 short stories) are we getting to see where the connecting threads lie.
STTN is the first book of the Wisdom's Grave trilogy but it is a book in the making from 2014 (wherein Craig first wrote the Revanche Cycle). It is a book that can be read as a standalone story but for readers who have read and enjoyed any or all of the author's previous works (the Daniel Faust books, the Harmony Black volumes, & The Revanche Cycle) will love it the most. The story begins in the future or present (depending on how you want to look at it) wherein we encounter famed fantasy writer Carolyn Saunders (first introduced in The Castle Doctrine) who gets picked up by an unknown group and is forced to recant the story of "the Witch & the Knight". Carolyn mentions that it's a fairy tale and a fairly grim one at that but nevertheless accedes to her captor's wishes.
We are then brought back to the past or present (depending on your perspective again) wherein we meet Marie Reinhart, an NYPD detective currently hunting a missing prostitute called "Baby blue". Eagle eyed readers might remember that we first have encountered Marie and her partner Tony in Glass Predator (Harmony Black #3) but that was only a small taste. Within this book we get to meet her fully, a determined cop who's haunted by her very tragic past (Revanche Cycle readers might have a solid inkling about this) who looks out for the small guy with an obsession. Teased by her roommate and her partner for her love of the simplistic fantasy stories (by Carolyn Saunders) that she has devoured from her teenage years. Marie is nevertheless no less focused on her job but some in her department don't look at it the same way. We are also introduced to Nessa (Vanessa) Fieri-Roth, the timid & mentally troubled professor and wife of Richard Roth (son of senator Alton Roth who has been in the background of both Harmony Black & Daniel Faust books). Nessa has been trying to figure out her life's purpose and her skills but is stymied within her personal and professional lives by a variety of agents.
Things take an interesting turn wherein Marie makes her way to Vanessa's home and the two characters meet each other for the first time in this lifetime. This is where the metaphorical sparks begin, of course this isn't your typical love story. Hell I'm not even sure that we can it a love story, is it love if two characters are fated to be together even if for a short time? That's a fundamental question posed in this story, are these characters truly their own or are they marionettes dancing to the tune of the "Cosmic Story". As far as I can, the answer to the former part is a resounding yes, they are their own people and their love is something that neither of them can explain but they feel just right for each other.
This book is solidly about characters and none shine brighter than Nessa and Marie. Infact it's Nessa who truly gets to shine as we get to see her transformation from a meek mouse into the terrifying Owl we have seen and met before. Previously when we meet Nessa in the Revanche Cycle, she seemed like a one-note villain and it's to Craig's credit that she becomes a terrifying person but one that readers get attached to. In this book as well, we get to see her descent into the Owl and it's a terrifying one. Make no mistake, Nessa is no hero and she makes no qualms about it. She and Marie have been brought together and taken apart violently over and ad infinitum. We even get to see a scene play out that was previously featured in the Revanche Cycle and it was a delight to read. For newer readers it will give them a background as to what happened before and give seasoned readers a clue as to what comes next.
Marie also takes center stage in this story and she's as terrifying as ever. Mari Renault was her previous reincarnation and as the warrior suffering from PTSD and yet striving to achieve an ideal, she stole reader's hearts (including mine). She was the hero that the world didn't deserve but yet needed. The characters who met her were bemused but no less inspired. Marie is very much in Mari's mould as the "Cosmic Story" dictates but is still an endearing character. When we meet her, we get to see her determination, her hard-edged obsession with the law (whom she sees as her liege) and possibly her transformation. There are other characters in the play and I won't reveal them but safe to say that there are other witches in the fray and I can't wait to read more on the main one. There are also some memorable cameo appearances from Daniel Faust, Harmony Black and a couple of other minor but important characters from the other series. Lastly as is the case with other Craig Schaefer books, characterization remains a solid point and readers will have their favorites namely a NYC librarian who's funny and badass all the same.
This book doesn't feature all out action sequences like the Harmony Black series or the noir plot twists of the Daniel Faust ones. But make no mistake, this volume is no less effective than either one of them. This book is a slow burn and one wherein the consequences are the same if not worse. I loved how the author set up the story and then let it unspool and unspool it does (in quite a horrific way). As mentioned in the blurb, there's a potential serial killer hunting prostitutes but the truth is much worse. I loved how the author explored this angle and then tied it to the Network and also to elements that have bubbled up to the surface in the recent Harmony Black books. We also get a clearer look into the production of "Ink" the designer drug that has been mentioned extensively in the Daniel Faust volumes. Especially we get a solid idea about how it's tied into the mythology of the series. What I was looking for was an explanation about the phenomenon of "The Owl Lives", which isn't quite explained but this is the first volume only and there are two more to go.
This book in my view is a like an atmospheric thriller which builds up on tension, characters and plot elements which bring it to a resounding climax. This I believe is the highlight of the book and featured the author's version of a magic vs science fight. You have to read it to be enthralled and I certainly was. Lastly remember the dual timeline I mentioned in the start with Carolyn Saunders, we get a solid twist to that plotline as well.
Since I've gushing so much about this book, one might wonder what are the drawbacks to this book and yes there are a couple (YMMV with them though). Primarily the book's pace in the start is on the slow side and slowly builds up as the chapters go along. For readers of the Faust & Black books, this might be perhaps a different experience which they might not enjoy all too well. For newer readers, this will a very personal thing, some might like it some might not. The second and last thing which stuck a craw in my mind was that the final twist on the villains is very much the same with regards to what happened in the Cold Spectrum book (Harmony Black #4). Craig Schaefer is too talented an author to be repeating this twist and I feel that there will other readers for whom this might seem the same.
CONCLUSION: Sworn To The Night is a book that leaves a mark perhaps in the same way as the Owl intends to leave one on this world. STTN is a book that akin to a nine course meal, takes its time to get to the final course but leaves you sated completely and wanting more. I loved this book from cover to cover and can't wait to read the sequel tentatively titled "Detonation Boulevard".
Marie Reinhart, an NYPD detective is on a hunt, looking for a missing prostitute called “Baby Blue”. Marie cares about her work and her friends. She also loves stories about knights and their quests.
Vanessa Fieri-Roth, a mentally troubled professor of anthropology diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, looks for a purpose in her unhappy life. Not an easy task when you’re on tranquilizers. Her marriage with wealthy Richard Roth (senator Alton Roth’s son) lost appeal a long time ago.
When their paths cross magic happens. Black magic. Blood magic. Destruction and mayhem ensue. They have to fight to survive and break the Wheel of Time. What makes this new series so strong are characters. Marie becomes the Knight. Nessa slowly transforms into terrifying Owl we’ve seen in the Revanche Cycle books. She’s not a nice person. She can be cruel and sadistic and yet I can’t help it–I adore her. Marie remains an endearing character–she’s determined and driven to incarnate law / police ideals. She cares about victims no one cares about. She’s good people. Sadly, her fate in the Cosmic Story sucks.
Daniel Faust, Harmony Black and some other characters appear. I knew about them before reading STTN but for newer readers, their glimpses and actions might encourage them to invest some time in Schaefer’s other works. I’ve read all his books and can vouch for them. When a single book makes you read whole bibliography of its author, it’s usually a good sign.
STTN, told by an unreliable narrator, a fantasy hack Carolyn Saunders, contains stories within stories and plays with a reader and their expectations. While it clearly setups the stage for Detonation Boulevard and Bring The Fire and finishes on a high emotional note, it also gives some answers. That said, I can’t imagine reading it as a standalone, especially that the series is already finished and you can discover all the answers.
It’s an amazing, dark and twisted story about love. I’m first to admit I’m biased - this book (and series) made me read the rest of Schaefer‘s books in less than two months. Try it.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS (MIHIR): Sworn To The Night (STTN) is the culmination of a lot of threads and characters, chief among them are two whom we previously meet in The Revanche Cycle books by the author. The true inclinations about this whole "story" were first mentioned in the Revanche Cycle (book III) and then later gloriously expanded in The Castle Doctrine (Daniel Faust book 6). If that might seem confusing, then dear reader then welcome to the universe(s) of Craig Schaefer wherein everything is connected and only now (after 15 books, 1 novella & 3 short stories) are we getting to see where the connecting threads lie.
STTN is the first book of the Wisdom's Grave trilogy but it is a book in the making from 2014 (wherein Craig first wrote the Revanche Cycle). It is a book that can be read as a standalone story but for readers who have read and enjoyed any or all of the author's previous works (the Daniel Faust books, the Harmony Black volumes, & The Revanche Cycle) will love it the most. The story begins in the future or present (depending on how you want to look at it) wherein we encounter famed fantasy writer Carolyn Saunders (first introduced in The Castle Doctrine) who gets picked up by an unknown group and is forced to recant the story of "the Witch & the Knight". Carolyn mentions that it's a fairy tale and a fairly grim one at that but nevertheless accedes to her captor's wishes.
We are then brought back to the past or present (depending on your perspective again) wherein we meet Marie Reinhart, an NYPD detective currently hunting a missing prostitute called "Baby blue". Eagle eyed readers might remember that we first have encountered Marie and her partner Tony in Glass Predator (Harmony Black #3) but that was only a small taste. Within this book we get to meet her fully, a determined cop who's haunted by her very tragic past (Revanche Cycle readers might have a solid inkling about this) who looks out for the small guy with an obsession. Teased by her roommate and her partner for her love of the simplistic fantasy stories (by Carolyn Saunders) that she has devoured from her teenage years. Marie is nevertheless no less focused on her job but some in her department don't look at it the same way. We are also introduced to Nessa (Vanessa) Fieri-Roth, the timid & mentally troubled professor and wife of Richard Roth (son of senator Alton Roth who has been in the background of both Harmony Black & Daniel Faust books). Nessa has been trying to figure out her life's purpose and her skills but is stymied within her personal and professional lives by a variety of agents.
Things take an interesting turn wherein Marie makes her way to Vanessa's home and the two characters meet each other for the first time in this lifetime. This is where the metaphorical sparks begin, of course this isn't your typical love story. Hell I'm not even sure that we can it a love story, is it love if two characters are fated to be together even if for a short time? That's a fundamental question posed in this story, are these characters truly their own or are they marionettes dancing to the tune of the "Cosmic Story". As far as I can, the answer to the former part is a resounding yes, they are their own people and their love is something that neither of them can explain but they feel just right for each other.
This book is solidly about characters and none shine brighter than Nessa and Marie. Infact it's Nessa who truly gets to shine as we get to see her transformation from a meek mouse into the terrifying Owl we have seen and met before. Previously when we meet Nessa in the Revanche Cycle, she seemed like a one-note villain and it's to Craig's credit that she becomes a terrifying person but one that readers get attached to. In this book as well, we get to see her descent into the Owl and it's a terrifying one. Make no mistake, Nessa is no hero and she makes no qualms about it. She and Marie have been brought together and taken apart violently over and ad infinitum. We even get to see a scene play out that was previously featured in the Revanche Cycle and it was a delight to read. For newer readers it will give them a background as to what happened before and give seasoned readers a clue as to what comes next.
Marie also takes center stage in this story and she's as terrifying as ever. Mari Renault was her previous reincarnation and as the warrior suffering from PTSD and yet striving to achieve an ideal, she stole reader's hearts (including mine). She was the hero that the world didn't deserve but yet needed. The characters who met her were bemused but no less inspired. Marie is very much in Mari's mould as the "Cosmic Story" dictates but is still an endearing character. When we meet her, we get to see her determination, her hard-edged obsession with the law (whom she sees as her liege) and possibly her transformation. There are other characters in the play and I won't reveal them but safe to say that there are other witches in the fray and I can't wait to read more on the main one. There are also some memorable cameo appearances from Daniel Faust, Harmony Black and a couple of other minor but important characters from the other series. Lastly as is the case with other Craig Schaefer books, characterization remains a solid point and readers will have their favorites namely a NYC librarian who's funny and badass all the same.
This book doesn't feature all out action sequences like the Harmony Black series or the noir plot twists of the Daniel Faust ones. But make no mistake, this volume is no less effective than either one of them. This book is a slow burn and one wherein the consequences are the same if not worse. I loved how the author set up the story and then let it unspool and unspool it does (in quite a horrific way). As mentioned in the blurb, there's a potential serial killer hunting prostitutes but the truth is much worse. I loved how the author explored this angle and then tied it to the Network and also to elements that have bubbled up to the surface in the recent Harmony Black books. We also get a clearer look into the production of "Ink" the designer drug that has been mentioned extensively in the Daniel Faust volumes. Especially we get a solid idea about how it's tied into the mythology of the series. What I was looking for was an explanation about the phenomenon of "The Owl Lives", which isn't quite explained but this is the first volume only and there are two more to go.
This book in my view is a like an atmospheric thriller which builds up on tension, characters and plot elements which bring it to a resounding climax. This I believe is the highlight of the book and featured the author's version of a magic vs science fight. You have to read it to be enthralled and I certainly was. Lastly remember the dual timeline I mentioned in the start with Carolyn Saunders, we get a solid twist to that plotline as well.
Since I've gushing so much about this book, one might wonder what are the drawbacks to this book and yes there are a couple (YMMV with them though). Primarily the book's pace in the start is on the slow side and slowly builds up as the chapters go along. For readers of the Faust & Black books, this might be perhaps a different experience which they might not enjoy all too well. For newer readers, this will a very personal thing, some might like it some might not. The second and last thing which stuck a craw in my mind was that the final twist on the villains is very much the same with regards to what happened in the Cold Spectrum book (Harmony Black #4). Craig Schaefer is too talented an author to be repeating this twist and I feel that there will other readers for whom this might seem the same.
CONCLUSION: Sworn To The Night is a book that leaves a mark perhaps in the same way as the Owl intends to leave one on this world. STTN is a book that akin to a nine course meal, takes its time to get to the final course but leaves you sated completely and wanting more. I loved this book from cover to cover and can't wait to read the sequel tentatively titled "Detonation Boulevard".
The Little Red Reviewer Blog
Back the Official Kickstarter over HERE
So, is The Best of Little Red Reviewer just a list of my favorite books?
Short answer? Not exactly.
Long answer: Sure, reviews of some of my favorite will make an appearance in the book, but The Best of Little Red Reviewer showcases the book reviews I'm most proud of. I can write a “book review” of any old book. I can tell you about the plot, and if it is fast paced or slow, I can tell you about the characters and if they grow and learn or go on a journey or not, I can tell you if there is a love triangle or humor or cinematic scenes or political intrigue.
But, as we all know, sometimes books are more than books. Sometimes they transport you, or they flip your perceptions upside down, or the character does something absolutely genius, or the writing is so poetically compelling that you struggle to find the words to describe it, or the book feels like a sanctuary, or you have to take an hour or so to come back to yourself after reading it. Sometimes it's a combination of what I happen to be experiencing in my life when I read that particular book that does something, maybe I relate to something character is going through, maybe something hits me way harder than it would hit someone else. Sometimes it's just a damn good book.
Ideally, I'm taking notes for the review while I'm reading. I'm jotting down how I feel in live time, when characters are in mortal danger, or are thrown out an airlock, or something funny happens, or people finally (omg, FINALLY) kiss each other. I always get a kick out of reading these notes later, because maybe I've written down “that person is a jerk!” and five chapters later I realize I'm sympathizing with them and I should have waiting to get to know them a little better before being so judgy. I do that a lot – react to characters in books as if they are real people who are nervous, or shy, or aren't sure if they can trust me or not.
I have favorite books whose reviews didn't make it into this book. They are still my favorite books. But the review I wrote of the book? It might have been a decently written review, but it wasn't good enough to be called my best. It takes a lot of mental energy to write these reviews, more than you'd think. Sometimes I can whip out an amazing review in two hours. Sometimes it takes a week. Sometimes I just want to get a review up so I can move on with my life, so whatever I happen to type up in a few hours, that's what gets posted. As a blogger, I am the most spoiled content creator on Earth, my work never gets rejected!
So no, The Best of Little Red Reviewer is not just a list of my favorite books. It is a showcase for the book reviews I am most proud of. I hope you like them. I hope you use this book to find new-to-you authors because I've made their work look intriguing. No authors or publishers are getting a kickback from this book, the majority of authors featured in the book have no idea who I am, that the book exists, or that they are in it. This book is exactly what my blog is: it is a labor of love. And if you like the reviews? That's a nice bonus too.
Click here to learn more about this project, and follow me on twitter for daily updates through the month of January.
About The Author: Andrea, Johnson is the owner and chief reviewer of The Little Red Reviewer blog. She lives in Michigan with her husband surrounded by too many books. She's been actively blogging about speculative fiction since 2010. Her favorite genres include space opera, new weird, low fantasy, and that gorgeous poetic stuff that C.S.E Cooney and Catherynne Valente write (which she finds incredibly hard to categorize). She reads a lot of new stuff, but also gives an extra focus to a lot of older titles too.
She also interviews authors for Apex magazine and runs #VintageSciFiMonth every year. Some of her favorite authors includes Steven Brust, N.K. Jemisin, Scott Lynch, Jeff Vandermeer, Iain M. Banks, Robert Jackson Bennett, Yoon Ha Lee, Will McIntosh, Cordwainer Smith, Frank Herbert, Catherynne Valente and Claire Cooney.
Read more about her kickstarter and other amazing things over at the various stops of her TBOLRR blog tour:
Dec 3 – Interviewed by Lucy Snyder
Dec 5 – Interviewed at The Skiffy and Fanty Show
Dec 12 – A Book is a Door, a Book is a Sanctuary (guest post) at Books Bones, and Buffy
Dec 15 – The Biggest Challenge my Blog Ever Faced (Guest post) at Books Without Any Pictures
Dec 26 – Discussion at Jorie Loves a Story
Dec 27 – Interviewed by author Asakiyume/Francesca Forrest
Dec 27 – Why I Read Older Books (guest post) at There’s Always Room for One More
Dec 28 – How to Review Anthologies & Collections (guest post) at Author/Editor Alex Shvartzman’s site
Dec 30 – I’m Not a Publicist (guest post) at Dab of Darkness
Dec 30 – Surviving Book Blogger Burnout (guest post) at Book Forager
Jan 2 – E-Books and the Blogosphere (guest post) at Dear Geek Place
Jan 2 – Who Are Book Reviews For? (guest post) at Skiffy and Fanty Show
Jan 4 – Why Kickstarter? (guest post) at The Earthian Hivemind
Jan 4 – Running a Book Review BloG (guest post) over at Jim C. Hines' blog
She also interviews authors for Apex magazine and runs #VintageSciFiMonth every year. Some of her favorite authors includes Steven Brust, N.K. Jemisin, Scott Lynch, Jeff Vandermeer, Iain M. Banks, Robert Jackson Bennett, Yoon Ha Lee, Will McIntosh, Cordwainer Smith, Frank Herbert, Catherynne Valente and Claire Cooney.
Read more about her kickstarter and other amazing things over at the various stops of her TBOLRR blog tour:
Dec 3 – Interviewed by Lucy Snyder
Dec 5 – Interviewed at The Skiffy and Fanty Show
Dec 12 – A Book is a Door, a Book is a Sanctuary (guest post) at Books Bones, and Buffy
Dec 15 – The Biggest Challenge my Blog Ever Faced (Guest post) at Books Without Any Pictures
Dec 26 – Discussion at Jorie Loves a Story
Dec 27 – Interviewed by author Asakiyume/Francesca Forrest
Dec 27 – Why I Read Older Books (guest post) at There’s Always Room for One More
Dec 28 – How to Review Anthologies & Collections (guest post) at Author/Editor Alex Shvartzman’s site
Dec 30 – I’m Not a Publicist (guest post) at Dab of Darkness
Dec 30 – Surviving Book Blogger Burnout (guest post) at Book Forager
Jan 2 – E-Books and the Blogosphere (guest post) at Dear Geek Place
Jan 2 – Who Are Book Reviews For? (guest post) at Skiffy and Fanty Show
Jan 4 – Why Kickstarter? (guest post) at The Earthian Hivemind
Jan 4 – Running a Book Review BloG (guest post) over at Jim C. Hines' blog
Official Author Website
Read FROM THE ASHES for FREE over HERE (US) & HERE (UK)
Today we are glad to have debutant author Christopher Mitchell over as he showcases the amazing cover for his prequel novella, sheds light about the world and the titles of his MAGELANDS SAGA as well as the experience of writing over three-quarters of a million words before releasing any of his books.
Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic. To start with, could you tell us what inspired you to be a writer in the first place, and anything else you’d like to share about yourself and your past?
CM: Writing goes back a long way. With a group of friends I used to write comic strips and magazines when I was in Primary School (about US Grade 6 or 7), then throughout High School I plotted and planned in minute detail a series of novels that I never actually got round to starting. I also wrote a handful of Dungeons & Dragons-style adventures that my little sister and a few friends used to play a lot (I still have them in a box somewhere, I think…).
I wrote my first novel when I was eighteen, followed by another when I was twenty. I remember being downhearted at receiving a rejection from the only publisher to whom I submitted my second novel (I hadn’t bothered with the first). Seems silly now, to have been put off by the opinion of a single person, but my writer’s ego was highly fragile at that stage. I planned a third novel, based on a large number of POV characters, swearing, fighting and taking drugs, all in a Scottish accent, but then Irvine Welsh’s magnificent Trainspotting came out I was utterly deflated. It was so good, and my efforts seemed so paltry in comparison, that this combined with the solitary rejection was enough to put an end to my hopes of becoming a writer.
I got on with reading instead, then studying part-time for a Masters Degree in Greek Tragedy. I travelled and lived abroad for a few years, then came home, got married, had four children, and stayed well clear of creative writing for many years. My interest in writing was re-ignited when, with a friend, I co-wrote the background story for a science fiction computer game. The game didn’t end up being released, but I had a lot of fun with the world-building.
Q] I loved the cover for FROM THE ASHES. What were your main pointers for your cover artist & designer as you all went through the process of finalizing it? What were the main things that you wished to focus on in it?
CM: I’m so pleased that you liked the cover. My reaction to seeing it for the first time was to basically sit staring at it with my mouth open like an idiot. Ironically, when we first commissioned Irina French, it was due to her awesome skills in map-making and graphic design, rather than as a figure-artist. I wrote FROM THE ASHES last, after I’d finished the series, and asked Irina for a portrait of Keira the Fire Mage for the cover, and took a photo of my wife posing to represent the stance I was thinking about, so that the fire would be the central focus, followed by Keira’s expression as she gazed at the flames.
Read FROM THE ASHES for FREE over HERE (US) & HERE (UK)
Today we are glad to have debutant author Christopher Mitchell over as he showcases the amazing cover for his prequel novella, sheds light about the world and the titles of his MAGELANDS SAGA as well as the experience of writing over three-quarters of a million words before releasing any of his books.
Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic. To start with, could you tell us what inspired you to be a writer in the first place, and anything else you’d like to share about yourself and your past?
CM: Writing goes back a long way. With a group of friends I used to write comic strips and magazines when I was in Primary School (about US Grade 6 or 7), then throughout High School I plotted and planned in minute detail a series of novels that I never actually got round to starting. I also wrote a handful of Dungeons & Dragons-style adventures that my little sister and a few friends used to play a lot (I still have them in a box somewhere, I think…).
I wrote my first novel when I was eighteen, followed by another when I was twenty. I remember being downhearted at receiving a rejection from the only publisher to whom I submitted my second novel (I hadn’t bothered with the first). Seems silly now, to have been put off by the opinion of a single person, but my writer’s ego was highly fragile at that stage. I planned a third novel, based on a large number of POV characters, swearing, fighting and taking drugs, all in a Scottish accent, but then Irvine Welsh’s magnificent Trainspotting came out I was utterly deflated. It was so good, and my efforts seemed so paltry in comparison, that this combined with the solitary rejection was enough to put an end to my hopes of becoming a writer.
I got on with reading instead, then studying part-time for a Masters Degree in Greek Tragedy. I travelled and lived abroad for a few years, then came home, got married, had four children, and stayed well clear of creative writing for many years. My interest in writing was re-ignited when, with a friend, I co-wrote the background story for a science fiction computer game. The game didn’t end up being released, but I had a lot of fun with the world-building.
Q] I loved the cover for FROM THE ASHES. What were your main pointers for your cover artist & designer as you all went through the process of finalizing it? What were the main things that you wished to focus on in it?
CM: I’m so pleased that you liked the cover. My reaction to seeing it for the first time was to basically sit staring at it with my mouth open like an idiot. Ironically, when we first commissioned Irina French, it was due to her awesome skills in map-making and graphic design, rather than as a figure-artist. I wrote FROM THE ASHES last, after I’d finished the series, and asked Irina for a portrait of Keira the Fire Mage for the cover, and took a photo of my wife posing to represent the stance I was thinking about, so that the fire would be the central focus, followed by Keira’s expression as she gazed at the flames.
For Keira’s character, I sent Irina the opening couple of pages of FROM THE ASHES, and the rest was up to her. Oh, I also asked for a star in the background, which will be a recurring theme for all of the covers. For the typography, Deranged Doctor Design was a great fit – they have tonnes of experience in working on Fantasy covers and we liked what they had previously done.
Q] Many congratulations on the bronze medal for the cover art of FROM THE ASHES in the inaugural Cover design awards. I feel you were against some tough competition but Irina French & the Deranged Doctor Design folks combination nabbed you the pedestal. What were your thoughts when you entered the contest versus when it ended?
CM: My wife mentioned to me that she had heard of the competition, run by Stuart Bache of Books Covered and we thought it was worth a try, but then I pretty much forgot about it. It was only when it had been shortlisted that I started to get excited. I mean, I knew it was a great cover, and I was so pleased for Irina, but it still felt a little overwhelming, to have nothing out and published, and already the cover was attracting attention. Then, when it came third it was the most amazing feeling. I’d been watching out for the results on Twitter, and saw them before my wife did. Scrolling down the webpage on my phone, seeing first the winner, then second prize, and finally FROM THE ASHES was almost an out-of-body experience!
Q] Could you tell us about the inception of The Magelands Series and what was/were your main inspiration(s) for this saga?
CM: My wife was the main reason I began the Magelands. For years she had been asking me when I was going to write a book, and I kept putting her off. In my thirties I would say ‘I’ll start when I’m forty’, but quite clearly this approach wasn’t going to last forever, and so I eventually began to note down a few ideas. In October 2015, I thought up the overall story arc for the series in a couple of nights, then spent the next three months intensively world-building and planning, writing notebooks filled with the background to the peoples and places of the Magelands.
Q] Many congratulations on the bronze medal for the cover art of FROM THE ASHES in the inaugural Cover design awards. I feel you were against some tough competition but Irina French & the Deranged Doctor Design folks combination nabbed you the pedestal. What were your thoughts when you entered the contest versus when it ended?
CM: My wife mentioned to me that she had heard of the competition, run by Stuart Bache of Books Covered and we thought it was worth a try, but then I pretty much forgot about it. It was only when it had been shortlisted that I started to get excited. I mean, I knew it was a great cover, and I was so pleased for Irina, but it still felt a little overwhelming, to have nothing out and published, and already the cover was attracting attention. Then, when it came third it was the most amazing feeling. I’d been watching out for the results on Twitter, and saw them before my wife did. Scrolling down the webpage on my phone, seeing first the winner, then second prize, and finally FROM THE ASHES was almost an out-of-body experience!
Q] Could you tell us about the inception of The Magelands Series and what was/were your main inspiration(s) for this saga?
CM: My wife was the main reason I began the Magelands. For years she had been asking me when I was going to write a book, and I kept putting her off. In my thirties I would say ‘I’ll start when I’m forty’, but quite clearly this approach wasn’t going to last forever, and so I eventually began to note down a few ideas. In October 2015, I thought up the overall story arc for the series in a couple of nights, then spent the next three months intensively world-building and planning, writing notebooks filled with the background to the peoples and places of the Magelands.
Q] Can you tell us more about the world that The Magelands Series is set in and some of the series’ major characters? What are the curiosities (geographical, mystical, etc.) of this world?
CM: For the Magelands, once I had the story arc fixed in my head, I decided on a random approach to world-building. I knew that I needed five peoples, each inhabiting the point of a star, and distributed attributes to each in a random manner: geography, climate, origin of people, mage powers, political systems, almost like creating characters in a role-playing game – rolling the dice and watching what came out the other end. In this way, complex cultures and societies began to arise naturally.
I also knew I needed six major point-of-view characters; one from each star-point, except Kellach Brigdomin, which got two. Keira, the main character in FROM THE ASHES, is from there. She is a point-of-view character in Books 2 and 4, and is present through a major portion of Book 3. In Book 1, although her character plays a major role in events, Keira only makes a couple of small (you could say guest) appearances.
The fantasy of the series comes from the mage-powers possessed by each of the five peoples:
– Fire,
– Vision,
– Life,
– Flow,
– Stone.
For example, Kellach Brigdomin mages have power over fire. They believe it comes from Pyre, their god who resides in the slumbering volcano at the far end of the peninsula. Keira is a thrower, meaning she can control fire through her will, but there are also sparkers, who can ignite fire from nothing. Mages are pretty rare in the Magelands though, with only a small fraction of the populations lucky (or cursed) enough to have these powers.
Q] So for someone who hasn't read any of your novels, how would you describe the type of stories that you write, what would be your pitch for the The Magelands Series and the Tales from the Magelands prequels?
CM: I write adventure stories, taking the reader out of the world they know and placing them somewhere extraordinary, though with feelings and motivations that they will hopefully connect with. I think one of the main reasons stories exist is so that people can imagine themselves in all kinds of wonderful, or scary, situations, and due to that belief, my books are centred on the characters. World-changing events may be occurring, but the focus stays on the characters at all times; their relationships and desires, and their strengths and flaws.
As far as I know, many writers hate writing the copy or blurb for their own work, and I admit that I’m no exception. Since my overall story arc contains a massive spoiler for the series, I have had to be careful not to give anything away, but still try to create a pitch that will pull people in. A hair-pulling experience.
So here goes: "Read the Magelands! Epic Fantasy Adventure! Sex (ok, it’s off-page and quite romantic but that doesn’t sound so good!), drugs, violence and mages! Caution – Strong Language, wielded by Strong Women."
Q] You have released the prequel novella FROM THE ASHES recently. Could you give us a progress report on THE QUEEN'S EXECUTIONER (The Mageland series #1), book 2 and outline your plans for the series as a whole?
CM: The text of the entire series is complete and ready to go. It will be released in early summer 2019 in a rapid-release cycle, at least for the four main books of the series. As a fantasy fan myself, I always like a whole series to be out, and decided not to delay in between releases. The four main books of the series are:
Book 1 – THE QUEEN'S EXECUTIONER,
Book 2 – THE SEVERED CITY,
Book 3 – NEEDS OF THE EMPIRE,
Book 4 – SACRIFICE.
After they’re out, the two other prequels (or ‘origin stories’) will be released. Drafting on the last book in the series finished in May 2018, and since then the series has undergone editing and proofing.
I can also reveal that Irina French has delivered the cover for THE QUEEN'S EXECUTIONER, and it’s insanely beautiful, and even better than FROM THE ASHES. Currently, she is working on the cover for THE SEVERED CITY, which I can’t wait to see!
Q] Many writers have a muse, who directs their writing, and others do not seem to be affected the same way. Which group do you fall into? What is your main motivation and source of inspiration?
CM: As far as my characters go, I think I’m inspired by daily life, like snatches of conversation overheard on the bus to work each morning, and the experience of travelling and working abroad, and then bringing up four small children. My wife kept me on track, gently pointing out whenever a character was behaving or speaking in a way that didn’t feel right.
Q] So what can readers expect from your debut book/series and what should they be looking forward to according to you?
CM: If you like Keira, then expect plenty more of her! But not in Book 1 – THE QUEEN'S EXECUTIONER, which introduces a new set of situations and characters, and is based mostly in the Rahain Republic, the nation that has invaded her country in FROM THE ASHES. There will be enslaved Kellach Brigdomin, a renegade Holdings Vision Mage, political rivalries and in-fighting among the Rahain, and a great migration of the Rakanese people, which upsets the balance of power in the Magelands, and sets off the events of the rest of the series.
Q] In closing, do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?
CM: The whole experience of writing the 800,000 words of the Magelands series is up there with the other best times of my life: getting married, witnessing the birth of our children, and going on a whisky pilgrimage to the Isle of Islay. Now that it’s done, I’m actively planning my next series, which I hope to start drafting in the New Year. While I’m doing that, I’ll also be preparing for the release of the Magelands, when my words will be exposed for all to see – an exhilarating, but also terrifying thought. Characters such as Keira feel almost like children to me now, be kind to them out there!
CM: For the Magelands, once I had the story arc fixed in my head, I decided on a random approach to world-building. I knew that I needed five peoples, each inhabiting the point of a star, and distributed attributes to each in a random manner: geography, climate, origin of people, mage powers, political systems, almost like creating characters in a role-playing game – rolling the dice and watching what came out the other end. In this way, complex cultures and societies began to arise naturally.
I also knew I needed six major point-of-view characters; one from each star-point, except Kellach Brigdomin, which got two. Keira, the main character in FROM THE ASHES, is from there. She is a point-of-view character in Books 2 and 4, and is present through a major portion of Book 3. In Book 1, although her character plays a major role in events, Keira only makes a couple of small (you could say guest) appearances.
The fantasy of the series comes from the mage-powers possessed by each of the five peoples:
– Fire,
– Vision,
– Life,
– Flow,
– Stone.
For example, Kellach Brigdomin mages have power over fire. They believe it comes from Pyre, their god who resides in the slumbering volcano at the far end of the peninsula. Keira is a thrower, meaning she can control fire through her will, but there are also sparkers, who can ignite fire from nothing. Mages are pretty rare in the Magelands though, with only a small fraction of the populations lucky (or cursed) enough to have these powers.
Q] So for someone who hasn't read any of your novels, how would you describe the type of stories that you write, what would be your pitch for the The Magelands Series and the Tales from the Magelands prequels?
CM: I write adventure stories, taking the reader out of the world they know and placing them somewhere extraordinary, though with feelings and motivations that they will hopefully connect with. I think one of the main reasons stories exist is so that people can imagine themselves in all kinds of wonderful, or scary, situations, and due to that belief, my books are centred on the characters. World-changing events may be occurring, but the focus stays on the characters at all times; their relationships and desires, and their strengths and flaws.
As far as I know, many writers hate writing the copy or blurb for their own work, and I admit that I’m no exception. Since my overall story arc contains a massive spoiler for the series, I have had to be careful not to give anything away, but still try to create a pitch that will pull people in. A hair-pulling experience.
So here goes: "Read the Magelands! Epic Fantasy Adventure! Sex (ok, it’s off-page and quite romantic but that doesn’t sound so good!), drugs, violence and mages! Caution – Strong Language, wielded by Strong Women."
Q] You have released the prequel novella FROM THE ASHES recently. Could you give us a progress report on THE QUEEN'S EXECUTIONER (The Mageland series #1), book 2 and outline your plans for the series as a whole?
CM: The text of the entire series is complete and ready to go. It will be released in early summer 2019 in a rapid-release cycle, at least for the four main books of the series. As a fantasy fan myself, I always like a whole series to be out, and decided not to delay in between releases. The four main books of the series are:
Book 1 – THE QUEEN'S EXECUTIONER,
Book 2 – THE SEVERED CITY,
Book 3 – NEEDS OF THE EMPIRE,
Book 4 – SACRIFICE.
After they’re out, the two other prequels (or ‘origin stories’) will be released. Drafting on the last book in the series finished in May 2018, and since then the series has undergone editing and proofing.
I can also reveal that Irina French has delivered the cover for THE QUEEN'S EXECUTIONER, and it’s insanely beautiful, and even better than FROM THE ASHES. Currently, she is working on the cover for THE SEVERED CITY, which I can’t wait to see!
Q] Many writers have a muse, who directs their writing, and others do not seem to be affected the same way. Which group do you fall into? What is your main motivation and source of inspiration?
CM: As far as my characters go, I think I’m inspired by daily life, like snatches of conversation overheard on the bus to work each morning, and the experience of travelling and working abroad, and then bringing up four small children. My wife kept me on track, gently pointing out whenever a character was behaving or speaking in a way that didn’t feel right.
Q] So what can readers expect from your debut book/series and what should they be looking forward to according to you?
CM: If you like Keira, then expect plenty more of her! But not in Book 1 – THE QUEEN'S EXECUTIONER, which introduces a new set of situations and characters, and is based mostly in the Rahain Republic, the nation that has invaded her country in FROM THE ASHES. There will be enslaved Kellach Brigdomin, a renegade Holdings Vision Mage, political rivalries and in-fighting among the Rahain, and a great migration of the Rakanese people, which upsets the balance of power in the Magelands, and sets off the events of the rest of the series.
Q] In closing, do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?
CM: The whole experience of writing the 800,000 words of the Magelands series is up there with the other best times of my life: getting married, witnessing the birth of our children, and going on a whisky pilgrimage to the Isle of Islay. Now that it’s done, I’m actively planning my next series, which I hope to start drafting in the New Year. While I’m doing that, I’ll also be preparing for the release of the Magelands, when my words will be exposed for all to see – an exhilarating, but also terrifying thought. Characters such as Keira feel almost like children to me now, be kind to them out there!
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