Aah SPFBO, we are
back in a new time period for the start. I got my batch of six titles and I was
off. With all six books, I read 20% of them before deciding whether to read
each title in its entirety. For me, this time all six titles were very cool
looking. Mine is the third batch to be read and you can read what Lukasz and
Jack thought of their batches in the links above.
My thanks to all six authors for their submission and being brave to submit their babies for being reviewed by unknown people. It takes a special kind of mental fortitude to toil away in creating these stories and then setting them free into the world for being read and judged. I applaud you all.
So here are my
thoughts on all of them:
Chalmach Chronicles by Torbjørn Øverland Amundsen – I started my SPFBO read with this
book because I found the blurb to be very intriguing. In my previous years in
SPFBO, I read a book like this, and I had enjoyed it immensely. The Chalmach
Chronicles follows on in this manner, and I very much enjoyed it. Each story
was a different one and highlighted the magic present within the world as well
as the different aspects of the city. I really enjoyed how the author showcased
the city’s geographical aspects within each story as it added to the story’s depth.
The stories also reference characters from the other stories, and this adds to
the plot depth.
Overall I would
really recommend this book as I very much enjoyed it for its ingenuity, and I
will be buying the sequel as well.
Night of The Illumination by Jacob Montanez – Night Of The Illumination is an epic fantasy
that has dark edges and great prose. I enjoyed reading this book but had to DNF
it around the 50% mark as the book’s pace had slowed down significantly. This
book had a lot of epic feel to the main plot, it was also very dark. The world
settings are constantly hinted at but never properly revealed
I think I wasn’t
the right reader for this story. The writing style is very in-depth and while
it isn’t the purple kind, it has beauty to it. Overall, this would be great for
those who are looking for something different. Think along the lines of Mark
Lawrence, Michael R. Fletcher and Brian Staveley, Jacob Montanez is a writer
with a unique voice and style.
The Golden Scarab of Balihar by Michael Grayford – The Golden Scarab was a fun and fast read set in a world that’s reminiscent of South-West Asia. The writing was very succinct, and the pace of the story was smooth. Overall I enjoyed this story wherein the female MC uses her wits and the world has a very Arabian nights feel. This story flowed quickly and was a bit predictable but that’s not a knock on the book or the author. The humour quotient especially with the Jinn is a solid factor for the enjoyment of the story and alongside the brilliant and plucky protagonist is a plus for the story.
This is a good effort, and it's a fun twist on the Aladdin fable but it’s also geared for newer fantasy readers and older/experienced fantasy
readers might not find anything new within bar the settings. I would easily see this story be in much demand for younger (tween and teenage) readers and would make a great animated show or movie. This
The Dragon of the Dread Deep by C.D. McKenna – This was a book which I was most excited for as it
featured nautical fantasy and pirates. I finished this book as quickly as I
could as it featured dragon riders, action and magic. For me however, this book
had a very slow start but the characters, especially the main protagonist
Cassian was enticing enough for me to continue. As I read on, I realized this
book while a standalone is set in the world of the Vorelian Saga books. There
might have been nods to the main events but because I haven’t read those works,
I couldn’t tell.
The story kicks into
proper gear by the middle and from there it’s all about battles, treachery,
dragon magic and being decent in a cutthroat world. I wouldn’t call this world
grimdark but it occupies the space nicely between dark and grimdark fantasy.
There’s not a lot of good people, just folks with various plans and agendas and
some who are trying to do the decent thing. The world introduced within is a
complicated one and for fans of high fantasy, will be very pleased.
The Dragon of the
Dread Deep is a dark fantasy that explores how doing the right thing can lead
to more problems. Full of magic, action, betrayals, TDOTDD is a book for those
looking to get lost in a complex world.
The Sins of Steel and Shadow by Steve Pannett – The Sins of Steel & Shadow was another title
which beguiled me with its blurb. This is a world wherein humans and vampires co-exist
with simmering tensions and navigating these landmines is out protagonist Bail
Neren. He is deemed a Turned, not entirely Vampyr but far away from a human. Hated
by one and deemed lowly by other, Bail often stays in the shadows for his safety.
I had read the previous book by this author and while that was a western fantasy, this book was another different one. The mystery plot was nicely unveiled and the ending was a complete shocker for me. For readers who
enjoy character-driven stories, mixed in
moral ambiguity, socio-political intrigue, and low fantasy settings, this book
will be for you.
Throne of Darkness by Spencer Russell Smith – I’m going to say this right upfront this is one of
the wildest fantasy books I’ve read since I started reading fantasy in 1999-2000.
The prologue is like Wheel Of Time epic but juiced up with BSG SF richness.
There’s no way for
me to describe it but to implore readers to just read and decide for
themselves. This book is for lovers of Tolkien, Sanderson and Christopher Ruocchio,
those worldbuilding gods whose skills leave us readers wowed. Spencer Russell
Smith can easily labelled in their level as one can easily see in this book. Besides
the worldbuilding, this book has a lot of characters and it is action-packed to
its gills. The story while straightforward, does require a lot of attention as
the author drops us into the world of Efruumani and handholds us while giving
us all the details and intricacies of the system within (I very much was reminded
of my first read of R. Scott Bakker’s The Darkness That Came Before)
For me, this was
such a wild read, that I had no comparison for it. The writing does take a
while to adjust to and the prose is kept steady because of the way the main
story unfolds. I had to go with the flow a lot as I was trying to take in all
the world info and story details. This wasn’t the most enjoyable way, but this
story demanded as the main story occurs over the space of 4 days and some hours
and it ends with an explosive resolution that’s buttressed with two epilogues.
All I will say
about Throne Of Darkness is that this book is unlike any that you have read
before, and while it does have its shortcomings (prose, information overload),
the story pace, worldbuilding and magic system (gem, metal based, and light
enhanced) simply overpowers those flaws. This is one of those titles which will
have its fans and detractors in equal order but it is a hidden gem and Spencer
Russell Smith can be proud of what a unique story he has envisioned. Throne Of
Darkness is a unique science-apocalpytic epic fantasy in a league of its own.
Read it and find out where you stand in its wake.
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So after finishing
my lot, I had a very heavy choice to make. There were four obvious titles which
I read and while they challenged me, each of them was enjoyable in their own
special way. So I would like to highlight these four titles and implore SPFBO
readers to check them out as it’s only due to the nature of the competition
that I must select one among these four:
2) Throne of
Darkness
3) The Dragon of
the Dread Deep
4) The Sins of
Steel and Shadow
For choosing my
SPFBO semifinalist, it came down to my personal enjoyment as to which book
provided a full story and had the least flaws. I must apologize to all the
authors as I don’t mean to imply that there was anything wrong with their
stories. In choosing one among these four, the remaining three aren’t unworthy.
They would have been my top choice in any previous edition, and I hope readers do
check them out irrespective of my choice below….
So, without any further
waiting, my SPFBO semifinalist is
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The Sins of Steel
and Shadow by Steve Pannett was the one book which I enjoyed the most and will
be putting forward for my FBC co-judges to read in our quest to select a
finalist. Many congratulations to Steve Pannett and my commiserations to all
the authors in my lot of six. I want to thank you for allowing me to read your books
and giving me an opportunity to provide my thoughts on them.
3:00 PM | 
Posted by
The Reader |
Labels:
Buy This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
Read Mihir's Review!
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: While waiting long years for the third and final book to come out in her favorite dark fantasy series, Maggie has had plenty of time to obsessively read the first two books in the trilogy. Which is why when she wakes up in an unfamiliar city, it doesn't take her long to realize she's in the world of Kair Toren - and the events of book one are just beginning to happen. With no clues as to how to return to her own world, Maggie decides she might as well try to help Kair Toren out and prevent a deadly civil war that will destroy the city and many of her favorite characters. Of course, Maggie's knowledge only helps her figure out things written in the books...and as she quickly remembers, this is a series with an unwritten ending....
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is a smart and engaging portal fantasy that grounds the story by taking the stakes of its fantasy world seriously. When we meet Maggie, she's been in Kair Toren for a few days, and has already come to terms with the fact that somehow, some way, she's in a fantasy setting, one that is every bit as brutal as it is portrayed in the book. Maggie doesn't try to carelessly pull shenanigans or run off to romance a tall dark handsome hero. Instead, she decides that if she accepts that this world and these people are real, then she has to do everything in her power to stop the deadly future that will destroy countless lives.
One thing I really liked about the approach to this story is that Maggie doesn't set herself up in the castle in the middle of the limelight. She decides to work from the shadows, hoping to nudge events while staying unnoticed. She rallies a crew, establishes some connections, and tries to become a credible source of information without drawing too much interest. In this game of intrigue, Maggie knows all the story threads; it's just a matter of figuring out which ones to pull.
There were a few times I felt like Maggie's "trick" of knowing things about people or events was a little overdone, occasionally making her feel like a one-trick pony as she rattles off another monologue detailing intimate knowledge of a character's backstory. But there's enough other things going on that those were minor bumps in the road. There's still so much skullduggery, blackmail, and tense negotiations that I frequently found myself forgetting that Maggie was from our world, until an occasional throwaway line would reference Netflix. It does genuinely feel like another gripping dark fantasy novel, which is key to making this story work.
The other slight hiccup was the romance subplot. While there were many parts of the romance in this book that I liked, it also started to veer into a trope that isn't my favorite. Time will tell how things play out in the long run, but I definitely preferred some sections over others.
(For those curious, this is a no spice story, and the romance subplot IS a subplot. This is not a fantasy romance.)
For a story featuring a protagonist who should know how everything is supposed to go, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me had plenty of twists and turns. The more Maggie meddles, the more unexpected things become as events unfold differently. I have a feeling we'll be fairly off the rails when the second book comes around, and I am absolutely dying to see where things go.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Lawrence was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. After earning a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College London, he went back to the US to work on a variety of research projects, including the “Star Wars” missile-defense program. Since returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory. He never had any ambition to be a writer, so he was very surprised when a half-hearted attempt to find an agent turned into a global publishing deal overnight. His first trilogy, The Broken Empire, has been universally acclaimed as a groundbreaking work of fantasy, and both Emperor of Thorns and The Liar’s Key have won the David Gemmell Legend Award for best fantasy novel. Mark is married, with four children, and lives in Bristol.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his home town of Independence, Missouri.
Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.
All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.
Publisher: Ace (January 20, 2026) Page count: 463 p Formats: audiobook, ebook, hardcover
The competition continues! This is my first year as a judge and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.
A few notes on my review process: for a semifinalist, I wanted to find a book that I'd personally rate 3.5/5 or better. To me, that rating signifies a book which has some notable flaws, but whose flaws (for whatever reason) didn't stop me from enjoying the novel. In general, a novel isn't a 3.5/5 for me unless I'm actively interested in reading a sequel. If and when I bounced off a book in the opening pages, I typically put it down for a few days before giving it another try. I didn’t set any hard rules for myself about when or if I could drop a book, except that I wanted to give every book a fair shot on its merits.
