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.

 .

.

.

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

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

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.