After sitting out for a couple of years, I’m thrilled to be back judging SPFBO for the third time. Thanks to the amazing and talented team at Fantasy Book Critic for bringing me on board so I can sing the praises of this contest that has become more varied and competitive each year. I’m pleased to share that my initial batch of six was quite strong – there were several books that were fighting to be my semi-finalist, and the decision wasn’t an easy choice.

Below I have reviewed all six books in the order I read them. I’ll then share my pick as to which semi-finalist will move forward. Let’s jump in!

One of the main characters, the titular Rada, is only six years old. From the very first chapters, Rada is thrust into a nearly impossible situation in a time of crisis: her mother Jadzia is giving birth, but Jadzia’s husband – whom she was forced to marry for political reasons – is threatening to kill the newborn to secure a legacy for his chosen line of descendants. Jadzia is desperate for help, and she can only trust Rada to carry out a mission to deliver a message of salvation to the visiting Emperor. The author did an excellent job of writing Rada like a real six-year-old would react: stumbling over words, forgetting directions; as a father of two young girls, Rada’s mannerisms felt authentic.

Rada is easy to root for because of her determination and willpower. These traits help her mature and grow stronger through grimmer and grimmer situations throughout the entirety of the book. And this book gets quite grim, indeed. Trigger warnings abound, though many serious issues are handled with admirable care.

Another aspect of the story I enjoyed was how long the book waited before dipping into fantasy elements. It was close to halfway through the story before any supernatural events occurred, and the scarcity of such elements added to the frightening and threatening nature of each situation. Magical events were used sparingly, and they hit all the harder for it. This tactic reminded me of Guy Gavriel Kay’s historical fantasy novels, which is high praise.

As the book progressed, Rada’s youth became increasingly less of a stumbling block. Her speech and actions toward the end of the novel did not reflect who she was at the beginning. This is partly due to character growth, as running her through a gauntlet of terrifying experiences contributed to her growing up fast. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention her age felt less authentic as the story went on.

Overall, Rada is a well-plotted, enjoyable, and immersive standalone story, though I believe the author is working on a follow-up. It is an easy recommendation for anyone with a passing interest in a grim, unforgiving world of backstabbing politics and how a family’s bonds are constantly tested. An easy rec to put it on your TBR.

I was pleased to have another Todd Herzman book land in my initial group, as I have read a few of his books after being introduced to his work in a previous SPBFO. A Dark Inheritance was my semifinal choice a few years back, and Todd has been especially prolific in the intervening years. Would lightning strike twice?

Hack, Slash and Burn is book one of a LitRPG trilogy. I’ve read a few LitRPG stories that I’ve truly enjoyed – Phil Tucker’s Euphoria Online series, and pirateaba’s The Wandering Inn, amongst a few others – but unfortunately, I did not connect with Herzman’s story. It leaned into a number of traditional fantasy tropes: Calder, a grizzled ex-soldier in a small town, must defend it from an orc invasion, only to end up a Chosen One with RPG-like powers.  

The book focuses its early chapters on explaining how the leveling system works. The system felt like standard RPG/video game fare: kill monsters, earn points or items, level up, get new magic abilities, then repeat until you’re strong enough to go to a new area. Some of it was engaging, but I felt that the author spent too much time explaining the system at the cost of Calder’s character development. Calder’s companions felt a bit flat as well; there weren’t many defining character traits and it felt like this aspect of the story came a distant second behind the ever-present push to kill monsters and grow stronger.

Much of my decision to DNF this was due to personal preference. If you’re seeking a book that focuses on relentless action, leaning heavily into LitRPG elements, then you’ll find a lot to like about Hack, Slash, and Burn. It has a lean prose and moves at an extremely brisk pace. I especially enjoyed the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion feel to the story, with gates appearing around the world and monsters pouring through at any given moment. But the story felt more imbalanced than well-rounded, so I had to put it aside.

One issue that stood out was whether the reader was supposed to know about these relationships going into the story. That Good Mischief was submitted for this contest as a standalone, even though it is book #3 in its series. I have a basic, passing knowledge of Norse mythology, but I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to reference the known mythos, or if there were major events and interactions in the previous two books that I missed, and needed to catch up on. Did Loki and Odin’s relationship already exist in books one and two? It was difficult to tell, as conversations and revelations were cagey. I had a sense that I was missing out on important knowledge that would have filled in some gaps in the plot. I have a sense I would have enjoyed the story much more if I had read books one and two, since the plot was heavily reliant on what came before, and I’m not sure the author did a good enough job to establish this book as a standalone and provide the reader with everything they needed to get the full intended experience.

Although I had those questions in the back of my mind throughout the book, it didn’t take much away from my enjoyment of Wolf’s writing. The story is breezy and brisk, laden with humor and mystery. Some of it worked well, but I think each reader’s level of enjoyment will vary based on how well they relate to Norse mythology. There are some surprising tonal shifts and new character point-of-views as the story progressed, so the book stayed fresh and engaging. Anyone with a passing interest in this subject matter would do well to pick it up. 

Out of Shadows was both an excellent yet frustrating read. It kept me up late each night, and there were many aspects to the story where I felt the author excelled. However, the book in its current state was not ready for publishing. A couple of minor edits or misspellings throughout the story are forgivable, but I found problems every few pages for the duration of the entire story. It was as disappointing as it was surprising, as a simple spell-check could have highlighted a multitude of errors: wrong or missing punctuation, sentences with too many descriptors (as if the author had intended to eliminate one but never got around to it), run-on sentences, dialogue that stops mid-sentence, capitalization issues… this truly felt like a draft instead of a final copy. This book would be so much better off with one more round of careful editing, as its various errors pulled me out of the story time and time again.

However, if you can get past the lack of editing, the story was one of my favorites from the batch. It starts small, as we’re introduced to Brennan, a ‘hack-first, ask-questions-later’ warrior who is thrust into companionship with a young lad and a potentially duplicitous woman after a town is ransacked by raiders. Brennan’s young daughter is kidnapped by the raiders, so Brennan leads his companions on a mission to rescue her. The book established a sense of immediacy with themes of revenge set in a grimdark world, and the characters were well-drawn and had strong motivations of their own. But then the story gets exponentially bigger as we learn about what makes Brennan’s daughter so special, who Brennan really is, and how trustworthy his companions truly are.   

The environment plays a major role in the story and felt like a character unto itself: cold passages through mountains and forests, underground tunnels and ruined castles, and a menacing, omnipresent evil that grows stronger throughout the book. Even though this was only book one in the series, I was surprised at how much ground was covered before the final page. There is an excellent mix of action, world-building, well-written battles, character development, and urgency in the story that kept me rapt. Still, it’s hard to recommend this book in its current state. I strongly urge the author to give it one more round of close editing, and I’ll be happy to sing its praises and recommend this story left and right. Fans of well-written, grim stories with plenty of action would do well to add this to their TBR, but perhaps wait until a revised edition is established. Or, if this stuff doesn’t bother you that much, go grab it today!

The Last Ranger is the first book of a new series, Ranger of the Titan Wilds, by the prolific Josiah Rosell. Although I haven’t read any of his previous works, most appear to be quite popular across review sites. After breezing through this fast-paced and enthralling adventure, it became easy to see why.

The book starts with the birth of our protagonist, Leiyn, revealing the difficult circumstances that brought her into this world. A near-impossible decision about her birth paved the way for a challenging childhood rife with prejudice against neighboring nations. As an adult, she has become a ranger, which is like a roving law officer that has a strong tendency toward the preservation of nature and the balance of life. Rangers also serve as a protective force against potential threats in the area such as raiding factions, or defending the area against a Titan, which are massive, long-slumbering spirits that occasionally awaken to violent tantrums before falling dormant again.

Early in the story, Leiyn’s band of rangers faces a deadly threat, and she survives by reasons she doesn’t fully grasp. Leiyn is compelled to investigate the origins of this threat, which is much bigger than she initially fears. The story leads her through a difficult journey, encountering different companions and enemies (some whom are both) while she continues to discover secrets about herself, her nation, and the extent of her abilities.

I especially appreciated the development of Leiyn’s character, as she is the central to every chapter in the book. We are privy to her thoughts, and it was nice to hear her asking the same questions as I was. Leiyn is easy to root for: she’s intelligent, determined, yet realistically flawed. Many of the supporting characters were also developed well, though none to the degree of Leiyn. This is the one aspect that I felt Rosell could have worked on a bit more: some of the characters supported Leiyn’s goals but didn’t appear to have motivations that strayed far from Leiyn’s own. Perhaps in future books of the series we’ll dive a bit more into what makes the supporting characters tick, which would do well for fleshing out the story.

There were a handful of compelling mysteries which kept my interest piqued. As the plot progressed, the reader is given a sense that there’s much more going on than meets the eye, and we’re just starting to scratch the surface of what’s truly happening in this world. These elements combined with the fast-paced style of Rosell’s writing led to me finishing this story quicker than anything else in my initial SPFBO batch.

One of the biggest compliments I can say about the start of any new series is stating that I want to pick up book two and start reading it right away. This was the case for The Last Ranger, and while SPFBO has my reading sorted for the next few months, I’m going to try and squeeze the recently released sequel in as early as I can. This book is exciting and well-polished, with a ‘just one more chapter’ pace to it that ended up turning short reading sessions into ‘oh man, that better not be sunrise’ scenarios.

The Phoenix and the Sword immediately stood out to me with its intriguing setting, multiple mysteries, and methodical world-building. It’s been referred to as a cultivation fantasy, and it is my first foray into the subgenre. I very much enjoyed my time with the book, especially the first act of story during which the main players were being established and the unifying relationships were built.

Aili’s people are at war with a neighboring nation across the sea, and her nurse training with the navy is almost complete. Although she is quite skilled at healing and is dedicated to the war’s cause, she doesn’t have much of a social life outside of one close confidant. A short time before graduating and preparing to ship out, Aili meets a fascinating young woman named Tairei. They have an instant attraction, but there’s more than meets the eye: Tairei speaks in riddles and seems to know Aili much better than Aili knows Tairei. Some of Tairei’s secrets come out, but most are initially left unexplained. A visit to Aili’s home and a peek into her past brings Tairei and Aili closer together, but mere hours before Aili goes to war, tragedy strikes, and Aili is left picking up the pieces.

Soon after, the story shifts gears and goes into series of flashbacks. I won’t spoil the plot revelations, but the relationship between Aili and Tairei is examined in new ways, and we begin to understand who they really are. It is at this point in the story where the cultivation aspect becomes a major plot point in the story. The concept involves meditation to gain spiritual strength (filling your ‘spirit well’ with qi), granting the cultivator the ability to heal, conjure a spiritual weapon, or other various talents.

It was at this point where the structure of the story began to lose me. The initial timeline and characters were abandoned to tell an origin story, and I would have appreciated it more if the two stories alternated every couple of chapters. This wasn’t the case, however, and I found it a bit frustrating waiting to go back to the first setting. Additionally, some of the various mysteries presented at the start of the story turned into red herrings, and the further we traveled away from these central mysteries, the less engaged I became.

One positive aspect that stood out was how well Snow developed romance and relationships. Each step of progression felt earned, and I like the way the author integrated cultivation and motivation into each character’s backstory.

Conclusion

My semi-finalist decision came down to two books: Rada and The Last Ranger. Although I enjoyed both immensely, there was one book that slightly edged out the other.

The next FBC Semifinalist is …

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The Last Ranger, by J.D.L. Rosell.

Congratulations Josiah, and commiserations to the other authors in my batch. It was a difficult decision and I hope this contest brings more eyeballs to your work.