Wednesday, February 8, 2023
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (Reviewed by Shazzie)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jed M. McGowan writes and draws in Los Angeles, California. His previous comics include Gonzalo (nominated for an Ignatz Award), Uninhabitable (included in Best American Comics 2019), and Lone Pine (published with a grant from the Xeric Foundation). He’s also designed backgrounds for animation and created illustrations for the New York Times, Vice, and other publications.
Publisher: Oni Press (February 7, 2023) Length: 96 pages
OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: Richard was born in North Yorkshire and spent most of his early life on Royal Air Force bases in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. He studied law at the University of Manchester, and spent the following ten years as a litigator.
Between 2015 and 2018, Richard self-published "The Art of War Trilogy", a sequence of epic space opera novels, as well as a prequel ("Hadan's Reach") and two spinoff mil-sci-fi novellas ("VIPER One", and "VIPER One: Countervalue", the latter co-authored with George Lockett).
Richard's debut fantasy "Empire of the Wolf" trilogy recently sold to Orbit Books, with the first instalment coming out in February 2022.
Richard currently lives and writes in Sydney, Australia.
Between 2015 and 2018, Richard self-published "The Art of War Trilogy", a sequence of epic space opera novels, as well as a prequel ("Hadan's Reach") and two spinoff mil-sci-fi novellas ("VIPER One", and "VIPER One: Countervalue", the latter co-authored with George Lockett).
Richard's debut fantasy "Empire of the Wolf" trilogy recently sold to Orbit Books, with the first instalment coming out in February 2022.
Richard currently lives and writes in Sydney, Australia.
(Image Credit: Vaughn Roycroft)
Author Website
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Tales of the Bringer of Urrinan had been told for generations, but never had the prophecy felt so near to so many. Elan wasn’t sure if she even believed one man could cause the sort of upheaval that would change the world. And yet, just as the prophecy foretold, dark forces were on the rise—including the many Spali warbands raiding across the borderlands.
It was in pursuit of one such warband when Elan’s host discovered the hidden compound of the Outcast. She’d heard how the former chieftain of the mighty Amalus Clan had been unjustly accused of murdering his rival. How the conflict had begun over a woman. How the Outcast’s son—born of that same woman—perfectly matched the prophecy’s foretelling of the Bringer.
Prophecy aside, it seemed that fate had led Elan into the midst of a legend. Because of a choice made in the heat of battle, Elan found herself bound to an outlaw hunted by friend and foe alike. Whether she believed in the prophecy or not, she found herself entangled with a lone figure who vowed to seek the sort of upheaval that might just change the world.
Could Vahldan, son of the Outcast, truly be the Bringer of Urrinan?
It was in pursuit of one such warband when Elan’s host discovered the hidden compound of the Outcast. She’d heard how the former chieftain of the mighty Amalus Clan had been unjustly accused of murdering his rival. How the conflict had begun over a woman. How the Outcast’s son—born of that same woman—perfectly matched the prophecy’s foretelling of the Bringer.
Prophecy aside, it seemed that fate had led Elan into the midst of a legend. Because of a choice made in the heat of battle, Elan found herself bound to an outlaw hunted by friend and foe alike. Whether she believed in the prophecy or not, she found herself entangled with a lone figure who vowed to seek the sort of upheaval that might just change the world.
Could Vahldan, son of the Outcast, truly be the Bringer of Urrinan?
Let's also take a look at what author has to say about what readers can expect from this book, as well as his vision for the series:
I consider The Severing Son to be a character-driven epic tale. For readers who entrust me to guide them, I hope to provide immersion that sweeps them to a legendary time and place. Yes, I aspire to provide an escape, to a world where concepts like honor and duty are more than quaint. But I also aspire to provide the distance to reflect—on what it means to be human, and on humanity. My fondest wish is to leave readers thinking and feeling, even after they’ve finished the final page.
The giveaway is open from 5th February 2023 and will end on 12th February 2023.
Here are the terms and conditions associated with it:
- Participants must have a U.S. mailing address.
- The winner will be chosen at random after the giveaway ends, and notified via the Twitter/Instagram.
- Participants must be above 18 years of age, and willing to share their mailing information with the author if they win. This will include a name and a mailing address, and may include a phone number, depending on the shipping method.
- This giveaway is not affiliated with Twitter, Instagram or Blogger in any way.
In order to participate, you may do one or both of the following, each of which constitues a single entry:
- Follow both @FantasyBookCrit and @VaughnRoycroft on Twitter, and retweet the giveaway announcement, so watch the @FantasyBookCritic space!
- Follow both @fantasybookcritic and @vaughnroycroft on Instagram, like and share the giveaway post in your stories. Remember to tag @fantasybookcritic in it.
Thank you all for participating in this, and good luck!
Order Wolfeater over HERE
OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFO: Anthony Mitchell is the
author of several stories set in the world of Domanska. He lives on the Wirral with his family, and their dog, the mighty Thor. By day he works in IT, but by night he can be
found in a world of swords and sandals, working towards his next novel.
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
The Battle Of Medicine Rocks by Rachel Aaron (reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)
Official Rachel Aaron
Website
Order “The Battle Of Medicine Rocks” over HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of The Last Stand Of Mary Good Crow Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Forever Fantasy Online"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "FFO: Last Bastion"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "FFO: The Once King"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Nice Dragons Finish Last"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "One Good Dragon Deserves Another"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "A Dragon Of A Different Color"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Last Dragon Standing"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Minimum Wage Magic"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Part-Time Gods"
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of “Night Shift Dragons”
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "The Spirit Thief"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of “The Spirit Rebellion”
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of “The Spirit Eater” & “Spirit’s Oath”
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of “The Spirit War”
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Spirit's End"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Fortune's Pawn"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Honor's Knight"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Heaven's Queen"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's joint interview with Rachel Aaron & Travis Bach
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Interview with Rachel Aaron
Read Eli Monpress series completion interview with Rachel Aaron
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Interview with Rachel Bach
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Heartstrikers interview with Rachel Aaron
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Second Heartstrikers interview with Rachel Aaron
Read "Why A Nice Dragon" by Rachel Aaron (Guest post)
Order “The Battle Of Medicine Rocks” over HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of The Last Stand Of Mary Good Crow Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Forever Fantasy Online"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "FFO: Last Bastion"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "FFO: The Once King"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Nice Dragons Finish Last"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "One Good Dragon Deserves Another"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "A Dragon Of A Different Color"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Last Dragon Standing"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Minimum Wage Magic"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Part-Time Gods"
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of “Night Shift Dragons”
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "The Spirit Thief"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of “The Spirit Rebellion”
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of “The Spirit Eater” & “Spirit’s Oath”
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of “The Spirit War”
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Spirit's End"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Fortune's Pawn"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Honor's Knight"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of "Heaven's Queen"
Read Fantasy Book Critic's joint interview with Rachel Aaron & Travis Bach
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Interview with Rachel Aaron
Read Eli Monpress series completion interview with Rachel Aaron
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Interview with Rachel Bach
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Heartstrikers interview with Rachel Aaron
Read Fantasy Book Critic's Second Heartstrikers interview with Rachel Aaron
Read "Why A Nice Dragon" by Rachel Aaron (Guest post)
Official Author Goodreads Profile
Order Aiduel’s Sin over HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic’s review of Illborn
Buy No Heart for a Thief here
OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFORMATION: James is a nerd with a head full of stories and limited time to put them on the page.
He grew up in Grand Rapids, MI, spending an excessive amount of time at a local community theater where he developed his affinity for storytelling. This affinity grew into a deep admiration for language and spoken word poetry while studying mathematics and education at the University of Michigan. A few hundred mediocre poems and lackluster performances later, he decided his dream of writing a novel might not be as ridiculous as he once thought. He firmly believes that art—even silly books about magic, or maybe especially silly books about magic—has the ability to tell stories that sink beneath the surface.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: We are the stories we tell ourselves...even the lies.
The Thief, a great spirit, and her descendants have abused their ability to steal magic for centuries. When Kaylo starts to hear the song of other people’s magic, he must learn to hide from his people as well as the invaders. A gift or a curse, Kaylo may be able to save his people from the Gousht Empire that claimed their land with this stolen magic.
Eighteen years later, Kaylo still prays to the spirits, but not out of loyalty or love. He knows better than to rely on those selfish bastards for anything. While hiding in the forest from his foolish acts of rebellion, he encounters a girl, Tayen, being pursued by two soldiers of the empire. Against his better judgment, he risks facing the consequences of his past to intervene.
When Tayen attempts to run off seeking vengeance for her family, he offers to train her to wield her magic and a blade. If he can’t convince her to relinquish her need for vengeance and stave off the demons of his past, he’s going to get them both killed.
FORMAT/INFO: No Heart For a Thief was published on January 24th, 2023 by G&D Publishing and has a print length of 460 pages. It is the author's debut epic dark fantasy and the first book in the Malitu trilogy.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: At the beginning of the story we find Kaylo, a hermit living in the forest, saving Tayen's life from a horrible fate. She's been running for her life since finding her family murdered at their home. After Kaylo saves her, he offers her a place to stay. She's reluctant but she's lost her entire family and soldiers are after her (and her magic).
In this world there are people who can listen to something called The Song, and through its rhythm they can do many things according to who of the Seven Spirits, they have a connection with. These people are called Dancers. Not all people have a connection, those who do not are called Spirit Bound.
Kaylo can connect with two spirits, not one, like most dancers. One of the spirits is the Seed, which gives him the ability to manipulate everything that grows in the earth. The other spirit is the Thief, which is the one that made him pretty famous as Ennea's Thief, The Hero of Anilace. His belief in the spirits has become very bitter and grudging due to the many tragedies the spirits did nothing to prevent.
"'Listen, little shade, at the end of the day, the spirits will do what they're going to do. No prayer is going to change that. And right now, they seem content with letting us all kill each other over land and their so-called gifts.'"
Tayen can manipulate the shadows due to her connection with the spirit called Shadow. She's not very good at it but she's still a child, still learning. The people who Kaylo saves her from are soldiers of the Empire that were going to stripped her of her connection with the Shadow using a very special crystal. They believe their God showed them where to find the crystals to subdued the dancers (those who can listen to the Song), after they landed on the shores. Now the soldiers just steal the dancer's connection with the spirits using the crystals and the person striped of the connection, they send to the mines, to extract the same crystals used on them.
There are so many themes interwoven in the story, which in my humble opinion, I think are really well done. Discrimination, occupation, war, trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and survivor's guilt are a few of these.
Even though I was having a really hard time stopping myself from screaming at what the children did, Tayen in the present timeline and Kaylo in the past, I thoroughly enjoyed both of their characters. Tayen is so focused on revenge that I had problems connecting with her at times, no matter how justified her bloodthirstiness may be. She was almost blinded by it. Kaylo, in the present is very hard to reach but not hard to understand. I found him fascinating. He has spent so much time isolated from the world, and having to face it in the form of this child, who in so many ways is kin, one that shakes his world completely. He just wants to live in peace but the war isn't done with him quite yet. Both of them and the secondary characters are very realistic and sometimes I had a hard time not to empathize with everyone, even with the antagonists. You can see all sides of the conflict and at least in my case, can't help but grieve for it.
The relationship between Kaylo and Tayen starts to evolve towards a found family. Kaylo feels like a father to her, even if she doesn't want to admit it, and his hideout from the world, like a home. But as she's set on revenge and wants to leave, he offers to train her and while doing that, he shares part of his life story. He, in sharing his story is trying to convey and teach her so many things but the one that matters most is "Tayen don't leave. We can live in this quiet place. There's no need for revenge. The only thing revenge can bring is more pain and death".
Their master- disciple relationship is wonderful. How he trains her, and cares for her is so heartwarming. He really cares for her, and because of that he's forced to decisions that cost them both.
The writing was fantastic. Fast paced with pauses of relative calm in between action. Those pauses served to connect, understand, learn more about the characters, the magic system, the lore/religion/culture side of things, etc. all of which is so interesting and compelling that you just want to know more and more. I loved how action packed it was but especially the pace. I think the pace was just perfect for this type of story.
The descriptions of the land, the dialogue, the interactions between characters. The atmosphere was amazing. I loved when a particular scene, you don't need much to feel you're there. You dread during so many apparently inconsequential scenes.
The magic system and lore were awesome. Tayen's ability to manipulate shadows is very interesting but not as much as Kaylo's ability to use the Shadow himself, as he's more experienced. I found fascinating how Kaylo described the Song, and how he felt the plants and seeds in the soil and the life in them. I loved how the Seven Spirits were described, with their own peculiarities and providing abilities and at times, they seemed very human-like.
The different cultures were really interesting and very rich and especially well developed during the whole story.
I really liked how the Empire, even though I thought of it many times as bunch of religious fanatics, truly believed they were doing the right thing through horrible actions. It's always a great to feel that the antagonist is not evil just because.
The characters beliefs were put to the test more than once because morality, religion and necessity didn't always coincide.
After they're found out, they find no save heaven. The Empire has destroyed their way of living, their families, their friends, their homes until there's no other option but running.
"No heart for a thief, no save heaven, only a grave will do."
I absolutely loved this book. And I really wish it was longer because I really wanted to continue this amazing story. I really appreciated the author taking the time to write a very thoughtful and detailed Author's Note.
CONCLUSION: No Heart for a Thief is a very strong debut from the author, an absolutely amazing action packed story with fascinating and very complex characters. This wonderful dual timeline story, is one of loss, sacrifice, survival and magic that just makes you question these Spirits and Gods, more with each passing chapter. The pace is absolutely terrific and it will just leave you wanting for more until and beyond the very end. Cannot wait for the next book in the trilogy.
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