Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Exclusive Cover Reveal: Flames of Mana: Eschaton Cycle (Heirs of Mana Book 2) by Matt Larkin
When I contracted Felix Ortiz for this series, it was always supposed to be a trilogy of grimdark fantasy books set in Polynesia (with a potential second trilogy some day).
We knew we wanted all the covers to mirror one another, so book 2 was going to look like book 1 in so far as a god-queen would be wielding badass elemental magic.
Anyone who read book 1 could probably guess which goddess needed to be on this cover:
Pele.
Pretty much the most badass deity in Polynesian myth.
In this case, my request to Felix was something like “give me lots of lava and eruptions.”
Felix pretty much took that and ran with it, incorporating water both for contrast, and a representation of the continuing struggle between the different god-queens.
And I love how it turned out.
We knew we wanted all the covers to mirror one another, so book 2 was going to look like book 1 in so far as a god-queen would be wielding badass elemental magic.
Anyone who read book 1 could probably guess which goddess needed to be on this cover:
Pele.
Pretty much the most badass deity in Polynesian myth.
In this case, my request to Felix was something like “give me lots of lava and eruptions.”
Felix pretty much took that and ran with it, incorporating water both for contrast, and a representation of the continuing struggle between the different god-queens.
And I love how it turned out.
Pre-order FLAMES OF MANA over HERE
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Her rage is an inferno.
Flames and volcanoes answer her call. Armies fall before her.
But not even can she can raise the dead.
Can she?
With unlikeliest of allies, Pele strives to save the soul of her fallen sister. Time is short and with every passing hour, the girl drifts closer to becoming a shade. All that might save her is the Waters of Life.
But how far will the immortal guardians go to protect their secrets?
And even if Pele can overcome the gods, can she face the mistakes of her own past?
You’ll love this gritty dark fantasy that unfolds across tropical islands and undersea realms laced with hidden savagery.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Her rage is an inferno.
Flames and volcanoes answer her call. Armies fall before her.
But not even can she can raise the dead.
Can she?
With unlikeliest of allies, Pele strives to save the soul of her fallen sister. Time is short and with every passing hour, the girl drifts closer to becoming a shade. All that might save her is the Waters of Life.
But how far will the immortal guardians go to protect their secrets?
And even if Pele can overcome the gods, can she face the mistakes of her own past?
You’ll love this gritty dark fantasy that unfolds across tropical islands and undersea realms laced with hidden savagery.
12:00 AM | 
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The Reader |
Monday, March 11, 2019
SPFBO FINALIST: Orconomics by J. Zachary Pike (reviewed by David Stewart & Lukasz Przywoski)
Official Author Website
Order Orconomics over HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: J. Zachary Pike was once a basement-dwelling fantasy gamer, but over time he metamorphosed into a basement-dwelling fantasy writer. By day Zack is a web professional and creative-for-hire, but at night he returns to his lair to create books, films, and illustrations that meld fantasy elements with offbeat humor. A New Englander by birth and by temperament, Zack writes strangely funny fiction on the seacoast of New Hampshire.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Brimming with swords, sorcery, and wit, Orconomics: A Satire introduces Arth, a world much like our own but with more magic and fewer vowels. For the licensed wizards and warriors of Arth, slaying and looting the forces of evil is just a job. The Heroes' Guild has turned adventuring into a career, selling the rights to monsters’ hoards of treasure as investment opportunities. Corporations spend immense sums sponsoring heroes to undertake quests, betting they’ll reap the profits in plunder funds when the loot is divvied up.
Questing was all business for famous Dwarven berserker Gorm Ingerson, until a botched expedition wiped out his party, disgraced his name, and reduced him to a thieving vagabond. Twenty years later, a chance encounter sees Gorm forcibly recruited by a priest of a mad goddess to undertake a quest that has a reputation for getting heroes killed. But there’s more to Gorm’s new job than an insane prophecy; powerful corporations and governments have shown an unusual interest in the job. Gorm might be able to turn a bad deal into a golden opportunity and win back the fame and fortune he lost so long ago.
Promising fun, fantasy, and financial calamity, Orconomics: A Satire is the first book in The Dark Profit Saga, an economically epic trilogy.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS (LUKASZ): Some reviewers have compares Orconomics to Pratchett novels. A bold statement if you ask me. As a fan of satires, I needed to experience and verify it myself. And I liked it.
It’s funny and uplifting but also serious and sad in some places, as every good satire should be.
On the world of Arth, adventuring is the industry that drives the economy. Groups of battle-hardened warriors hunt and kill Monsters and Shadowkin (Orcs, Goblins, Kobolds) and claim their hoards. These loots are bought and sold by corporate interests to plunder funds long before the hero’s guild attacks. You’ll easily see similarities to Goldman Sachs in Goldson Baggs operations.
The story follows Gorm Ingerson - a fallen dwarven hero whose hero’s license has been revoked. His clan disowned him, and he lives as a rogue. One of funds forcibly recruits Gorm to undertake an impossible quest with a team of similar fallen heroes. If he succeeds, he may win back the fame and fortune he lost so long ago.
His new team includes colourful and fun cast of characters– a goblin squire (who brings a lot of comic relief), clumsy and naïve prophet of a mad goddess, an elf warrior addicted to alcohol and drugs (healing potions in the book), two mages who are at each other's throats, a thief who claims to be a bard (even though he can’t really sing) and a warrior seeking his own death. They start the quest to find Elven Marbles. As we follow the story, the plot gets a little more complicated and nuanced.
I always appreciate a well-plotted and solid high fantasy tale with humour woven into the plot and the world. The world building mixed seamlessly into the story impressed me. The characterization doesn’t disappoint - even characters that seem very archetypical get significant development by the book’s end. The pacing is just right. It speeds up and slows down in all the right places.
The humour made me laugh. Obviously, no author should be compared to Sir Terry Pratchett - simply because no one stands a chance. In no way is this book on par with Pratchett’s novels. It is, though, a superb fantasy satire.
Thanks to mostly uplifting tone, Orconomics works as a well-deserved rest from dark books in which characters you love die, become evil or destroyed. On the other hand, it’s not all sunshine and roses. After finishing the book I’m impressed by Pike’s skilful blend of humour and tragedy. I mourn one of characters. Every good satire needs to contain a level of tragedy and Orconomics delivers both.
The ending of the book set ups for the sequel I will definitely read once I sort out my reading schedule.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS (DAVID): Satirical fantasy has never been my sub-genre. I like Terry Pratchett (no way I’m getting through this review without mentioning Pratchett, so might as well get it out of the way), but not in the devotional way of many of fantasy connoisseurs. I get it. There’s no denying the clever writing and imaginative world-building, but for whatever reason my personality type needs serious fantasy. Going into Orconomics, I was prepared to like it and likely not love it. This was the right mindset to begin this book with because by the end I was surprised and delighted to find that, yes, I loved Orconomics.
Gorm Ingerson is a dwarf with a checkered past. Once considered one of the greatest heroes in the realm, Gorm has since fallen into innumerable gutters and increasingly finds it difficult to crawl out. The world according to J. Zachary Pike is one where heroism is a commodity. Heroes are for hire in every sense of the world, and like many video games of our own world, there is a system of points and values associated with questing and slaying what society considers to be evil creatures, or Shadowkin. Gorm used to have a high rank and more prestige than he knew what to do with until he ran from a quest, which in the Freedlands is criminal. Gorm was cast out of the Heroes Guild, rank stripped, and continued to dig himself into a hole by robbing would-be adventurers of their own gains simply to survive. Then a goblin is literally thrown onto Gorm’s sleeping self and everything changes.
In form, Orconomics is nothing extraordinary. It’s a book about a quest, which is a timeless and well-worn path. What makes it so good is its ability to tell this boilerplate story while inserting so many satirical references. Commerce rules the Freedlands much in the same way corporations run the Earth. In many ways Pike is just substituting specific terms and jargon and telling a story that could come out of the New York Times. This even became a slight detriment for me as the economics terminology being thrown about made my eyes glaze over, but it’s all in service to the greater effort and any daze quickly passed as a new joke or metaphor was juggled in front of me. I have no doubt that this story could not have been told in any other way, and it works incredibly well.
I have read a few different books this year that have been heavily inspired by video games. Some, like Phil Tucker’s Death March, use the literal game world as setting. Others, like Orconomics, are slightly more subtle. Pike uses the mechanics behind many video games and posits that such systems could be used as real-world structures. In the Freedlands, the Heroes Guild and the efforts to earn points and rank by slaying monsters is society’s way of forcing ideals of black and white over a shades-of-grey form that it simply does not fit. What makes this novel so competent is the pushback by the heroes against that system, even if they might not realize that they are doing so until the very end.
My only real issue with Orconomics is that Pike has long passages of exposition, or telling as those in the writing world would say, that seem to be viewpoint independent. In fantasy, it is difficult to avoid the problems of exposition because the world is always so fresh and strange that it needs explaining. However, that fact does not mean that there aren’t more efficient ways to slip said exposition into the text without over-long paragraphs of pure tell. Pike switches his viewpoints around, and it is apparent and effective when he does so, but the exposition almost feels told by a narrator in its own consistency and lack of voice.
The final point I want to make about Orconomics is a compliment disguised as a critique. There is no mistaking the satire in this work. Pike sees it through for most of the book, and it is at times brilliant in both its subtlety and overture. However, a certain scene whips away all the pretense of this fantasy novel and renders it as heartfelt and meaningful as any of its peers. Pike deftly builds the relationships between his main characters to the point that we don’t even realize how much we care about them until it hits, like a bolt from the blue, and then it dawns on the reader that the book has transformed from satire into something more. It is a beautiful moment and can not be understated. I look forward to seeing how the sequel to Orconomics flows because it will take a skilled pen to manage what Pike has accomplished with this book and yet transcend it further. He has certainly set the stage for more, and I am curious to see where this goes.
SPFBO Final Score - 8/10
Thursday, March 7, 2019
A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery by Curtis Craddock (reviewed by Lukasz Przywoski)
Order A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery over HERE.
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Curtis Craddock was born in the wrong century and quite possibly on the wrong planet. He should have been born in a world where gallant heroes regularly vanquish dire and despicable foes, where friendship, romance, wit, and courage are the foundations of culture and civilization, and where adventure beckons from every shadow.
Instead, he was born on Earth and lives in a world bounded by bureaucracy, hemmed in by cynicism, and governed by the dull necessity of earning a wage. An exile in this world, he is a biographer of friends he's never met, a chronicler of events that never happened, and a cartographer of places that never were.
Given that the mundane world supplies a dearth of oddly progressive kingdoms to be saved, he spends his time saving cats, dogs, and the occasional bird of prey. By day, he teaches Computer Information Systems classes to offenders at a correctional facility. By night, he puts on his writer's cap, the broad-brimmed one with a feather, and, into the prison walls of reality, etches defiant words of legend.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Isabelle des Zephyrs has always been underestimated throughout her life, but after discovering the well of hidden magic within her, unveiling a centuries-long conspiracy, and stopping a war between rival nations, she has gained a newfound respect amongst the cutthroat court.
All that is quickly taken away when Isabelle is unfairly convicted of breaking the treaty she helped write and has her political rank and status taken away. Now bereft, she nevertheless finds herself drawn into mystery when her faithful musketeer Jean-Claude uncovers a series of gruesome murders by someone calling themselves the Harvest King.
As panic swells, the capital descends into chaos, when the emperor is usurped from the throne by a rival noble. Betrayed by their allies and hunted by assassins, Isabelle and Jean-Claude alone must thwart the coup, but not before it changes l'Empire forever.
All that is quickly taken away when Isabelle is unfairly convicted of breaking the treaty she helped write and has her political rank and status taken away. Now bereft, she nevertheless finds herself drawn into mystery when her faithful musketeer Jean-Claude uncovers a series of gruesome murders by someone calling themselves the Harvest King.
As panic swells, the capital descends into chaos, when the emperor is usurped from the throne by a rival noble. Betrayed by their allies and hunted by assassins, Isabelle and Jean-Claude alone must thwart the coup, but not before it changes l'Empire forever.
CLASSIFICATION: Steampunk / Gaslamp Fantasy with Flintlock elements.
FORMAT: A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery was published by Tor in January 2019 as a second book in The Risen Kingdom series. It'a available in an e-book, paperback and hardcover format.
The book counts 416 pages and is divided into 26 numbered chapters. The cover art was done by Thom Tenery.
I’m happy to say it surpasses expectations. While I enjoyed Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors just a touch more, Craddock’s got the job done properly and once again crafted a wonderfully intricate story with likeable characters, and a plot that demands and rewards attention.
Expect a courtly intrigue, lots of magic, romance, and adventure. Isabelle des Zephyrs unveiled centuries-long conspiracy, stopped a war and gained respect amongst the cutthroat court. As happiness and fortune don’t create suspense the way troubles do, Isabelle soon finds herself unfairly convicted and stripped of her rank. In the meantime, her faithful musketeer and bodyguard Jean-Claude uncovers a series of gruesome murders by someone calling themselves the Harvest King.
Craddock took care to develop both the world and characters.
Isabelle grows significantly as she tries to figure out her place in society, and how she feels about the events and people who interact with her. I always liked her cold logic and honesty, but now I appreciate them even more. It’s a rare pleasure to observe brilliant minds at work and I think the author has captured her sharp intelligence well.
Despite her brilliance, Isabelle has little life experience and her arc has a strong coming-of-age vibe. Especially when she meets a dashing Captain Bitterlich, a shape-shifting Seelenjäger with great manners, a proper sense of humor and great looks. For me, the most exciting parts of the story focused on Isabelle trying to understand her mysterious l’Etincelle sorcery. I love the concept of a maimed heroine with sorcerous limb - an arm-shaped volume filled with luminescent pink and purple clouds and sparks. It turns out this gift has most surprising applications.
Isabelle‘s closest friends, Jean-Claude and Marie, get plenty of screen time and I deeply enjoyed their arcs. Jean-Claudeused to be a dashing musketeer with an adventurous past. Because time spares no one, he turned stout, near-sighted and generally grumpy. His body betrays him more and more. Luckily he didn’t lose his wit, and he somehow remains arrogant, impetuous and whimsy. He combines character traits of D’Artagnan and Portos, an unexpected combination but it works and entertains. Jean-Claude proves once again his loyalty to Grand Leon and Isabelle as he deals with gruesome murders and an infection that strips saintborns of their magic. He also takes an apprentice, but I can’t tell you anything more about this.
As for Marie, she’s tough, efficient and dangerous. We never know what exactly happens in her head, but I do love her character and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her. New characters, especially Captain Bitterlich, feel fully realized and well rounded.
In A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery, Craddock expands the world, its history, customs and geography. While I usually dislike detailed world-building, I found myself immersed and intrigued by his creation and I wouldn’t mind learning even more about it. As readers we learn more about various forms of magic like bestial shape-shifting abilities of Seelenjäger, or Goldentongue sorcery - the ability to craft illusions so convincing that they could even upend nature for a time. A great, imaginative stuff folks.
I find the story and the tone of A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery darker than what we experienced in An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors. At times, violence is graphic and the themes (experimentation on living humans, fratricide) heavy. And yet Craddock finds a way to torture his characters without torturing readers.
CONCLUSION: The ending opens many possibilities for future exploration of the world and Isabelle’s place in it, and I want to participate in this journey. Well done, Monsieur Craddock. Well done.
A short side note: normally I would devour this book in a day or two, but as I had a free audible credit I decided to try immersion reading (reading an eBook and listening to companion audiobook at the same time). I still prefer reading books to listening them, but I must say Erin Bennett's narration is spectacular. Highly recommended.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors by Curtis Craddock (reviewed by Łukasz Przywoski)
Order An Alchemy of Masques & Mirrors over HERE.
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Curtis Craddock was born in the wrong century and quite possibly on the wrong planet. He should have been born in a world where gallant heroes regularly vanquish dire and despicable foes, where friendship, romance, wit, and courage are the foundations of culture and civilization, and where adventure beckons from every shadow.
Instead, he was born on Earth and lives in a world bounded by bureaucracy, hemmed in by cynicism, and governed by the dull necessity of earning a wage. An exile in this world, he is a biographer of friends he's never met, a chronicler of events that never happened, and a cartographer of places that never were.
Given that the mundane world supplies a dearth of oddly progressive kingdoms to be saved, he spends his time saving cats, dogs, and the occasional bird of prey. By day, he teaches Computer Information Systems classes to offenders at a correctional facility. By night, he puts on his writer's cap, the broad-brimmed one with a feather, and, into the prison walls of reality, etches defiant words of legend.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Born with a physical disability, no magical talent, and a precocious intellect, Princess Isabelle des Zephyrs has lived her life being underestimated by her family and her kingdom. The only person who appreciates her true self is Jean-Claude, the fatherly musketeer who had guarded her since birth.
All shall change, however, when an unlikely marriage proposal is offered, to the second son of a dying king in an empire collapsing into civil war.
But the last two women betrothed to this prince were murdered, and a sorcerer-assassin is bent on making Isabelle the third. Isabelle and Jean-Claude plunge into a great maze of prophecy, intrigue, and betrayal, where everyone wears masks of glamour and lies. Step by dangerous step, Isabelle must unravel the lies of her enemies and discovers a truth more perilous than any deception.
All shall change, however, when an unlikely marriage proposal is offered, to the second son of a dying king in an empire collapsing into civil war.
But the last two women betrothed to this prince were murdered, and a sorcerer-assassin is bent on making Isabelle the third. Isabelle and Jean-Claude plunge into a great maze of prophecy, intrigue, and betrayal, where everyone wears masks of glamour and lies. Step by dangerous step, Isabelle must unravel the lies of her enemies and discovers a truth more perilous than any deception.
CLASSIFICATION: Steampunk / Gaslamp Fantasy.
FORMAT: An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors was published by Tor in January 2019 as the first book in The Risen Kingdom series. It'a available in an e-book, paperback and hardcover format.
The book counts 416 pages and is divided into 23 numbered chapters. The cover art was done by Thom Tenery.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Such a great book. Not only does it feel fresh, intelligent and imaginative, it’s also Craddock’s debut work which is impressive.
Grand Leon rules L’Empire Céleste inhabited by Clayborn (regular folks) and Saintborns (direct descendants of saints). Saintborns consider themselves better than a majority of population because of their unique magical talents. Some can kill with their shadows, or hollow people out and take away their volition. Others travel through mirrors or remember all their incarnations.
Isabelle des Zephyrs is a disabled Princess with a genius IQ and the daughter of the Comte des Zephyrs – a cruel aristocrat who loves abusing others physically and emotionally. Sometimes for fun. Sometimes for power or to make a point. He treats Isabelle as a total failure. Not only is she a girl, but she also has a malformed hand and no inherited magic.
Hefails to appreciate Isabelle‘s brilliant mind. Not surprising as the story develops in a strongly patriarchal society that doesn’t allow women to do anything worth doing (like studying mathematics or languages). Women can paint and accompany their husbands to soirées, and that’s basically it. Isabelle’s mind needs stimulation, so she pursues a secret career in science and mathematics under a male pseudonym. Only one person–her protector and King’s Own Musketeer Jean-Claude knows the secret. Fortunately, Jean-Claude is trustworthy, and he loves her dearly. More like a father than a servant.
Because of her disability and lack of preternatural gifts Isabelle doesn’t expect to get married, and she’s prepared to live her double life till the end. But then, one day, she learns that her father has betrothed to a prince of Aragoth, being likely next in line to the throne of that foreign nation. It turns out that one of religious officials – artifex Kantelvar (half human, half clockwork) – pushes hard for her marriage. As if there was more to it than it appears…
Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors impressed me on many levels.
The plot is full of twists and intelligent court intrigue. It mixes fantasy subgenres in a compelling tale that contains elements of science fiction, fantasy, historical fantasy, steampunk, action, and adventure. The stakes are high. Nothing is what it seems. Discovering layers of court intrigue was a delight although sometimes I wished I had taken notes to keep track of all the revelations and surprises. Craddock’s created a fully realised and complex world with floating kingdoms, airships, magic and slightly decadent society, and there’s a lot to process here. Pay attention, or else you’ll get lost fast.
Characters feel human and lively. It’s difficult not to care for them. Both Isabelle and Jean-Claude have a lot to offer to a reader who looks for someone to root for. Isabelle is brilliant, caring, good at heart but also, especially when it’s needed, her mind is cold and analytical. We witness her deduction skills and observe her solving complicated mysteries instead of being told how sharp Isabelle is. She’s not a beauty. Craddock describes her this way:
Jean-Claude is past his prime and he doesn’t fancy the aging process. Born of the trickster archetype, he’d much rather talk his way out of a situation than fight his way out. He’s an expert in selling a man his own boots. In conversation with his King, he reveals what’s his biggest weapon. It was unexpected but hilarious.
Magic system—shadows that can kill, Glasswalkers able to walk through mirrors—impressed me with creativity and restraint in making it too detailed. I like the idea that magical gifts come from old bloodlines connected to Saints and that all have their limitations. Because Craddock portrayed those gifts with skill and imagination, I can still recall my favourite scenes.
Another thing I really appreciated was a nice balance between wry humor, sinister plot and more serious, sometimes dark and violent moments. People die and suffer, but the use of grotesque elements and distanced, sometimes humorous narration allows readers to get some relief. Here’s a sample describing a beer Jean-Claude gets in a bar:
ooted in the story. I enjoyed it. Craddock enjoys thesaurus and fancy words, but I think such choices allowed to make the world consistent and with aristocratic feel.
CONCLUSION: An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors was one of few highlights of 2017 for me and I encourage readers tired of cliches and banality to try it. You won’t regret it.
He
Because of her disability and lack of preternatural gifts Isabelle doesn’t expect to get married, and she’s prepared to live her double life till the end. But then, one day, she learns that her father has betrothed to a prince of Aragoth, being likely next in line to the throne of that foreign nation. It turns out that one of religious officials
Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors impressed me on many levels.
The plot is full of twists and intelligent court intrigue. It mixes fantasy subgenres in a compelling tale that contains elements of science fiction, fantasy, historical fantasy, steampunk, action, and adventure. The stakes are high. Nothing is what it seems. Discovering layers of court intrigue was a delight although sometimes I wished I had taken notes to keep track of all the revelations and surprises. Craddock’s created a fully realised and complex world with floating kingdoms, airships, magic and slightly decadent society, and there’s a lot to process here. Pay attention, or else you’ll get lost fast.
Characters feel human and lively. It’s difficult not to care for them. Both Isabelle and Jean-Claude have a lot to offer to a reader who looks for someone to root for. Isabelle is brilliant, caring, good at heart but also, especially when it’s needed, her mind is cold and analytical. We witness her deduction skills and observe her solving complicated mysteries instead of being told how sharp Isabelle is. She’s not a beauty. Craddock describes her this way:
Half a girl wide and a girl and a half tall, with a long face, Isabelle was well on her way to being horsey.Imagine a cross between Ada Lovelace and Sherlock Holmes and you’ll get the feel of who Isabelle is. I liked her as a heroine because of her brilliance, goodness and quick wit. When time presses, she acts fast. Even though the plot revolves around her marriage, there’s not much of a romance in the book. And for me, it’s a plus.
Jean-Claude is past his prime and he doesn’t fancy the aging process. Born of the trickster archetype, he’d much rather talk his way out of a situation than fight his way out. He’s an expert in selling a man his own boots. In conversation with his King, he reveals what’s his biggest weapon. It was unexpected but hilarious.
Magic system—shadows that can kill, Glasswalkers able to walk through mirrors—impressed me with creativity and restraint in making it too detailed
Another thing I really appreciated was a nice balance between wry humor, sinister plot and more serious, sometimes dark and violent moments. People die and suffer, but the use of grotesque elements and distanced, sometimes humorous narration allows readers to get some relief. Here’s a sample describing a beer Jean-Claude gets in a bar:
“She slapped down a mug of something that was, he suspected, technically alcohol, but only because it had a good lawyer.”Language is neat. I have seen no typos, except maybe Jean-Claude name that’s written as Jean-Claude and sometimes as Jean Claude. Not meaningful, but for the sake of consistency editor should stick to one I guess (unless there was a reason for this that I haven’t caught). The author mixes French words with English but switching between languages has a reason r
CONCLUSION: An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors was one of few highlights of 2017 for me and I encourage readers tired of cliches and banality to try it. You won’t regret it.
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Thursday, February 28, 2019
2019 and Beyond Interview with Craig Schaefer (Interviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)
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 Nothing
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Neon Boneyard
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Sworn To The Night
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Detonation Boulevard
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of The Neon Boneyard
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Sworn To The Night
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Detonation Boulevard
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 Part II of Fantasy Book Critic's In-depth Interview with Craig Schaefer
Read Wisdom's Grave Trilogy Interview with Craig Schaefer
Read Wisdom's Grave Trilogy Interview with Craig Schaefer
Read My Sworn To The Night Cover Reveal Q&A with Craig Schaefer
Yesterday we presented Part I of our interview and in part deux, Craig talks about the books that will be releasing in 2019 as he's set to release four different titles. Read on as he exclusively reveals the title of the new Harmony Black book, details about his new crime thriller series as well as what happens next in within the Daniel Faust and Harmony Black titles.
Yesterday we presented Part I of our interview and in part deux, Craig talks about the books that will be releasing in 2019 as he's set to release four different titles. Read on as he exclusively reveals the title of the new Harmony Black book, details about his new crime thriller series as well as what happens next in within the Daniel Faust and Harmony Black titles.
Q] Welcome back to Fantasy Book Critic Craig, it’s a brand new year and I believe you have some brand new stories for us? What should readers be expecting from you in 2019?
CS: I do indeed. With the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy complete, this year is all about new things: new stories, new experiments, and trying to expand and improve my writing skills. Ghosts of Gotham, a stand-alone fantasy novel, is coming from 47North Publishing in April, and August will bring The Loot, the start of a new crime/thriller series from Thomas & Mercer.
Then we’ll round out the year with new installments in the Harmony Black and Daniel Faust series, both of which will see the protagonists picking up the pieces in the wake of Wisdom’s Grave and facing new challenges.
CS: I do indeed. With the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy complete, this year is all about new things: new stories, new experiments, and trying to expand and improve my writing skills. Ghosts of Gotham, a stand-alone fantasy novel, is coming from 47North Publishing in April, and August will bring The Loot, the start of a new crime/thriller series from Thomas & Mercer.
Then we’ll round out the year with new installments in the Harmony Black and Daniel Faust series, both of which will see the protagonists picking up the pieces in the wake of Wisdom’s Grave and facing new challenges.
Q] Your first new book titled Ghosts Of Gotham, is coming out in April. Can you tell us more about the inception of this book and potential new series?
CS: I firmly believe that writers only get better by challenging themselves, by pushing their boundaries and stepping outside of their comfort zones. I needed to shift to something new, to slip out from under the weight of a dozen novels’ worth of elaborate continuity and start with a clean slate. The story unveiled itself to me over the course of a few long, dark nights in New York City, and the guidance of some very special friends.
A follow-up was written, but ultimately it didn’t live up to my standards, so I tossed out the entire 125k-word manuscript and started from scratch. I’m down in those trenches as we speak.
The objective for Ghosts and its hopeful successors is to mine the literary traditions of dark romanticism. Don’t expect slam-bang urban fantasy; it’s more about suspense tinged with gothic horror, buried historical secrets, and a city whose foundations are steeped in occult mysteries.
Q] Previously you had announced that there will be a new crime thriller series that will be making its debut in 2019. You mentioned “I grew up reading Elmore Leonard and Lawrence Block, so it’s been a heck of a thrill to finally work in their wheelhouse.” So with the crime thriller genre being your next destination, how would you stamp your unique signature on this genre?
CS: I can’t claim uniqueness; in anything I do, any genre I write, I’m walking in the footsteps of giants. I can definitely say the Charlie McCabe series is going to be a fast, fun and hard-edged caper romp, featuring people making terrible life choices, occasional explosive violence (literally), and protagonists who mean well but can’t seem to stop doing crimes. They do a lot of crimes. If you like the Daniel Faust novels, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy hanging out with Charlie and her crew.
CS: I firmly believe that writers only get better by challenging themselves, by pushing their boundaries and stepping outside of their comfort zones. I needed to shift to something new, to slip out from under the weight of a dozen novels’ worth of elaborate continuity and start with a clean slate. The story unveiled itself to me over the course of a few long, dark nights in New York City, and the guidance of some very special friends.
A follow-up was written, but ultimately it didn’t live up to my standards, so I tossed out the entire 125k-word manuscript and started from scratch. I’m down in those trenches as we speak.
The objective for Ghosts and its hopeful successors is to mine the literary traditions of dark romanticism. Don’t expect slam-bang urban fantasy; it’s more about suspense tinged with gothic horror, buried historical secrets, and a city whose foundations are steeped in occult mysteries.
Q] Previously you had announced that there will be a new crime thriller series that will be making its debut in 2019. You mentioned “I grew up reading Elmore Leonard and Lawrence Block, so it’s been a heck of a thrill to finally work in their wheelhouse.” So with the crime thriller genre being your next destination, how would you stamp your unique signature on this genre?
CS: I can’t claim uniqueness; in anything I do, any genre I write, I’m walking in the footsteps of giants. I can definitely say the Charlie McCabe series is going to be a fast, fun and hard-edged caper romp, featuring people making terrible life choices, occasional explosive violence (literally), and protagonists who mean well but can’t seem to stop doing crimes. They do a lot of crimes. If you like the Daniel Faust novels, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy hanging out with Charlie and her crew.
Q] Will the Charlie McCabe series be more open-ended or is it planned to a specific conclusion?
CS: Open-ended. Big plot elements and important beats will carry through the series, but it’s not an elaborate tapestry like my fantasy novels and each book is a self-contained adventure. Thomas & Mercer has me under contract for two books, and if people buy them, I get to write more.
Q] Due to the publication of your books with Amazon next year, how will the release pattern for the next Daniel Faust (#9) and Harmony Black (#5) be affected? Can you give us any specific release months or timelines?
CS: The new Harmony has been done for a while, but it’s still in editing; because of the need to keep a certain time-window open around a new release (to avoid saturating the market and “competing with yourself,” as one of my publishers puts it), it likely won’t come out until the Fall. Right now I’m hoping Harmony will drop in October, and the next Faust novel just a couple of months after that.
Q] Last when we left Daniel and Harmony, they were both in the midst of their individual struggles with the Enemy & The Network. What can readers look forward to in the next individual books for both of them?
CS: The new Harmony Black novel titled, Right to the Kill, is a departure for the series. It’s been envisioned as a Casino Royale-style (very) soft reboot and a place for new readers to jump in. To be clear, nothing in the first four books is being retconned, but I’m taking this opportunity to re-focus the narrative, to drill down on theme and feel and the “voice” of the series, and make the most of a small time jump. When we left Harmony and Jessie in Cold Spectrum, they’d driven out a threat from within and taken control of the Vigilant Lock organization. Now it’s months later and they’re in the driver’s seat, with new responsibilities and challenges to face, and the resources of an illegally-funded covert-operations group backing them up.
When two agents go missing on a mission in Tampa, Harmony and Jessie find themselves on the trail of an occult bioweapon, tracking a madman from the Florida coast to a mist-shrouded New England fishing village. And that’s all I can say about that for now, except that there’s a particular watery connection that readers of Detonation Boulevard will find familiar…
The next Faust outing, The Locust Job, opens with a funeral (if you’ve read Bring the Fire, you know whose) and the sorcerous underground dealing with the fallout from the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy. Everything is in chaos, and while Daniel normally thrives on chaos, his enemies haven’t gotten any less dangerous – especially now that he has a long-lost brother to worry about and an extremely eager apprentice to train.
This would probably be the worst possible time for the Redemption Choir to come back, wouldn’t it? Yep. Definitely the worst possible time. And their old leader is still buried under a brothel’s parking lot, so who’s calling the shots?
Q] What titles (irrespective of genre) are you eagerly awaiting in 2019? Concurrently which authors (that you enjoyed previously) would you like to highlight for our readers?
CS: Nothing’s really on my 2019 radar right now, simply because my to-be-read pile is a massive mountain and I feel like I’m neglecting it by looking at new books when all these OTHER books are tugging at my sleeve, demanding attention.
I recently read a pair of Lovecraft-adjacent novellas – Victor LaValle’s Ballad of Black Tom and Kij Johnson’s The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe – and enjoyed them a lot. Right now I’m slowly making my way through Catherynne M. Valente’s The Refrigerator Monologues -- slowly, because it’s a really good but really downbeat anthology (as it needs to be), absolutely not light bedtime reading – and wolfing down Scott Pratt’s “Joe Dillard” series of legal thrillers, which are very entertaining. And in the middle of all that I’m trying to make room for a couple of Jane Austen re-reads, because sometimes you just need some Jane Austen in your life.
Q] Thank you for your time. I personally can’t wait to read all your new works. I’m sure our fans share the sentiment. What parting thoughts would you offer for your fans?
CS: What can I say, but “thank you”? Readers are an author’s lifeblood; we can’t do what we do without you, and your time and emotional investment means the world to me. I’m trying some new things in 2019, taking some risks and opening new doors, and I hope you enjoy the journey.
CS: Open-ended. Big plot elements and important beats will carry through the series, but it’s not an elaborate tapestry like my fantasy novels and each book is a self-contained adventure. Thomas & Mercer has me under contract for two books, and if people buy them, I get to write more.
Q] Due to the publication of your books with Amazon next year, how will the release pattern for the next Daniel Faust (#9) and Harmony Black (#5) be affected? Can you give us any specific release months or timelines?
CS: The new Harmony has been done for a while, but it’s still in editing; because of the need to keep a certain time-window open around a new release (to avoid saturating the market and “competing with yourself,” as one of my publishers puts it), it likely won’t come out until the Fall. Right now I’m hoping Harmony will drop in October, and the next Faust novel just a couple of months after that.
Q] Last when we left Daniel and Harmony, they were both in the midst of their individual struggles with the Enemy & The Network. What can readers look forward to in the next individual books for both of them?
CS: The new Harmony Black novel titled, Right to the Kill, is a departure for the series. It’s been envisioned as a Casino Royale-style (very) soft reboot and a place for new readers to jump in. To be clear, nothing in the first four books is being retconned, but I’m taking this opportunity to re-focus the narrative, to drill down on theme and feel and the “voice” of the series, and make the most of a small time jump. When we left Harmony and Jessie in Cold Spectrum, they’d driven out a threat from within and taken control of the Vigilant Lock organization. Now it’s months later and they’re in the driver’s seat, with new responsibilities and challenges to face, and the resources of an illegally-funded covert-operations group backing them up.
When two agents go missing on a mission in Tampa, Harmony and Jessie find themselves on the trail of an occult bioweapon, tracking a madman from the Florida coast to a mist-shrouded New England fishing village. And that’s all I can say about that for now, except that there’s a particular watery connection that readers of Detonation Boulevard will find familiar…
The next Faust outing, The Locust Job, opens with a funeral (if you’ve read Bring the Fire, you know whose) and the sorcerous underground dealing with the fallout from the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy. Everything is in chaos, and while Daniel normally thrives on chaos, his enemies haven’t gotten any less dangerous – especially now that he has a long-lost brother to worry about and an extremely eager apprentice to train.
This would probably be the worst possible time for the Redemption Choir to come back, wouldn’t it? Yep. Definitely the worst possible time. And their old leader is still buried under a brothel’s parking lot, so who’s calling the shots?
Q] What titles (irrespective of genre) are you eagerly awaiting in 2019? Concurrently which authors (that you enjoyed previously) would you like to highlight for our readers?
CS: Nothing’s really on my 2019 radar right now, simply because my to-be-read pile is a massive mountain and I feel like I’m neglecting it by looking at new books when all these OTHER books are tugging at my sleeve, demanding attention.
I recently read a pair of Lovecraft-adjacent novellas – Victor LaValle’s Ballad of Black Tom and Kij Johnson’s The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe – and enjoyed them a lot. Right now I’m slowly making my way through Catherynne M. Valente’s The Refrigerator Monologues -- slowly, because it’s a really good but really downbeat anthology (as it needs to be), absolutely not light bedtime reading – and wolfing down Scott Pratt’s “Joe Dillard” series of legal thrillers, which are very entertaining. And in the middle of all that I’m trying to make room for a couple of Jane Austen re-reads, because sometimes you just need some Jane Austen in your life.
Q] Thank you for your time. I personally can’t wait to read all your new works. I’m sure our fans share the sentiment. What parting thoughts would you offer for your fans?
CS: What can I say, but “thank you”? Readers are an author’s lifeblood; we can’t do what we do without you, and your time and emotional investment means the world to me. I’m trying some new things in 2019, taking some risks and opening new doors, and I hope you enjoy the journey.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Wisdom's Grave Trilogy Completion Interview with Craig Schaefer (Interviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)
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 The Neon Boneyard
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Sworn To The Night
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Detonation Boulevard
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
Today we are glad to have Craig Schaefer with us and like last year, he was very gracious to answer a few questions for us. We chat about his Wisdom's Grave trilogy and all the twists, secrets, and ramifications it entailed. This interview will hinge upon some spoilers for the trilogy so be warned.
Q] 2018 marked the completion of the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy and also marked about four years since you first published The Long Way Down. It felt like the completion of the Phase one of your grand story arc ((to paraphrase from the MCU, with the DF, HB & RC books). Would you say that’s a fair assessment?
CS: Definitely. Once I got a handle on what I was aiming to create, I couldn’t help but mentally parse it that way; I’m not even a big fan of the Marvel flicks, but the concept of a “cinematic universe” is so popular and ingrained it’s hard not to view it through that lens.
Q] With Bring The Fire, you had a lot of reveals with regards to the trilogy as well as some of the deepest questions about the state of the universe. How did you decide on what you wanted to put in it versus what you choose to hold back?
CS: It mostly came down to what fit the narrative flow of the story. Nobody likes infodumps; there were a couple of bits I ended up trimming not because I didn’t think readers would find them interesting, but because I couldn’t find a way to make them relevant to the characters and the plot. They’ll show up in later books, eventually, when and where they properly fit.
This happened with characters, too. My original ambition was to have every single (living) character from all of my previous books make a cameo at some point, and that was the first idea to land on the cutting-room floor. Fan service is fun, but it’s got to take a back seat to story.
Q] Sworn To The Night has also made it to the 2018 SPFBO finals. So many, many congratulations on that front. How did you feel when you found out about it? How do you rate its chances?
CS: Very pleased! I don’t rate its chances particularly well (the trilogy as a whole is fairly divisive, people largely either really like it or really don’t – thankfully, more land in the former category than the latter), but anything that gets my work in front of new readers is a net positive.
Q] After the events of Bring The Fire. Will the Owl & the Knight Characters be making future appearances in any of the Faust or Harmony books?
CS: Their influence will definitely be felt. Given the new status quo of the multiverse, they’ve got a lot to deal with, but their influence will definitely be felt. More than that, I can’t say just yet.
Q] Another character that drew my eye was Rosales. She was a fascinating character who while being evil (so as to speak) was fun to read. With her seemingly being on the same spectrum as Jessie (with regards to her powers), will we get to know about her past?
CS: In my original outline, Rosales was slated to die in the final showdown. Ultimately, I was having such a good time writing her that I decided to get self-indulgent and gave myself a way to bring her back sometime. In a world of cosmic schemes, it’s fun to have a villain whose ambitions largely amount to “make enough money doing villain stuff so I can stay in bed, eat pizza and watch reality TV.”
She’ll be back sooner or later, and I’d like to get her and Jessie in a scene together to see what happens. (Possibly violence, possibly Netflix and chill. It could go either way.)
Every now and then I play with the idea of a stand-alone book involving a Suicide Squad style team-up of minor antagonists from the Faust/Black novels, and doing it as a gory pitch-black comedy. If I ever actually write the thing, Rosales will definitely be on the team.
Q] 2018 marked the completion of the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy and also marked about four years since you first published The Long Way Down. It felt like the completion of the Phase one of your grand story arc ((to paraphrase from the MCU, with the DF, HB & RC books). Would you say that’s a fair assessment?
CS: Definitely. Once I got a handle on what I was aiming to create, I couldn’t help but mentally parse it that way; I’m not even a big fan of the Marvel flicks, but the concept of a “cinematic universe” is so popular and ingrained it’s hard not to view it through that lens.
Q] With Bring The Fire, you had a lot of reveals with regards to the trilogy as well as some of the deepest questions about the state of the universe. How did you decide on what you wanted to put in it versus what you choose to hold back?
CS: It mostly came down to what fit the narrative flow of the story. Nobody likes infodumps; there were a couple of bits I ended up trimming not because I didn’t think readers would find them interesting, but because I couldn’t find a way to make them relevant to the characters and the plot. They’ll show up in later books, eventually, when and where they properly fit.
This happened with characters, too. My original ambition was to have every single (living) character from all of my previous books make a cameo at some point, and that was the first idea to land on the cutting-room floor. Fan service is fun, but it’s got to take a back seat to story.
Q] Sworn To The Night has also made it to the 2018 SPFBO finals. So many, many congratulations on that front. How did you feel when you found out about it? How do you rate its chances?
CS: Very pleased! I don’t rate its chances particularly well (the trilogy as a whole is fairly divisive, people largely either really like it or really don’t – thankfully, more land in the former category than the latter), but anything that gets my work in front of new readers is a net positive.
Q] After the events of Bring The Fire. Will the Owl & the Knight Characters be making future appearances in any of the Faust or Harmony books?
CS: Their influence will definitely be felt. Given the new status quo of the multiverse, they’ve got a lot to deal with, but their influence will definitely be felt. More than that, I can’t say just yet.
Q] Another character that drew my eye was Rosales. She was a fascinating character who while being evil (so as to speak) was fun to read. With her seemingly being on the same spectrum as Jessie (with regards to her powers), will we get to know about her past?
CS: In my original outline, Rosales was slated to die in the final showdown. Ultimately, I was having such a good time writing her that I decided to get self-indulgent and gave myself a way to bring her back sometime. In a world of cosmic schemes, it’s fun to have a villain whose ambitions largely amount to “make enough money doing villain stuff so I can stay in bed, eat pizza and watch reality TV.”
She’ll be back sooner or later, and I’d like to get her and Jessie in a scene together to see what happens. (Possibly violence, possibly Netflix and chill. It could go either way.)
Every now and then I play with the idea of a stand-alone book involving a Suicide Squad style team-up of minor antagonists from the Faust/Black novels, and doing it as a gory pitch-black comedy. If I ever actually write the thing, Rosales will definitely be on the team.
Q] The Wisdom’s Grave trilogy ended on such a strong note and with so many revelations. As a reader, it becomes easily apparent as to how much planning has gone forth in all of your series so far. Can you tell us when you began planning for this trilogy as you nearly had to write sixteen books before you could write this trilogy?
CS: I’d say I started planning in earnest three years ago. As soon as the greater scope of my fictional setting started to unfold, I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to take it and where the first crescendo would land. At this point I think readers know me as a writer who plays a long game, and I knew I had to make this work.
Q] It was heartening to see how the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy ended in contrast to the Revanche Cylcle with regards to the bonded Characters. With your books, it’s not often that the characters get a happy ending. This was particularly sweet since we know how throughout the millennia and through various worlds, the Story has played out. Was that a purposeful twist?
CS: Purposeful and mandatory, considering the themes I wanted to explore with the trilogy. Ending the trilogy on a sour note, with the Story repeating again, would have been – I’d go so far as to say ethically, morally wrong. Not everyone comes out of the trilogy with a happy ending (or survives it at all), but it ended the way it needed to end.
Q] With your books being so intrinsically tied in with each other. I noticed one curious aspect that you mentioned about the Garden of Eden. Is the Garden of Eden referenced in The Living End (Daniel Faust #3) the same as the one mentioned by shepherd in Bring The Fire?
CS: Exactly the same. And as per the epilogue to The Neon Boneyard, there’s still a stable gateway in Mexico, now in the Network hands. (Which reminds me of a tangential issue, because it comes up in that scene and I’ve been asked if it was deliberate:
- Yes, the Mr. Smith from Neon Boneyard is the same Mr. Smith who shows up in the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy.
- Yes, he’s been murdered twice, by two different people.
- Yes, there’s a reason for this.)
CS: I’d say I started planning in earnest three years ago. As soon as the greater scope of my fictional setting started to unfold, I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to take it and where the first crescendo would land. At this point I think readers know me as a writer who plays a long game, and I knew I had to make this work.
Q] It was heartening to see how the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy ended in contrast to the Revanche Cylcle with regards to the bonded Characters. With your books, it’s not often that the characters get a happy ending. This was particularly sweet since we know how throughout the millennia and through various worlds, the Story has played out. Was that a purposeful twist?
CS: Purposeful and mandatory, considering the themes I wanted to explore with the trilogy. Ending the trilogy on a sour note, with the Story repeating again, would have been – I’d go so far as to say ethically, morally wrong. Not everyone comes out of the trilogy with a happy ending (or survives it at all), but it ended the way it needed to end.
Q] With your books being so intrinsically tied in with each other. I noticed one curious aspect that you mentioned about the Garden of Eden. Is the Garden of Eden referenced in The Living End (Daniel Faust #3) the same as the one mentioned by shepherd in Bring The Fire?
CS: Exactly the same. And as per the epilogue to The Neon Boneyard, there’s still a stable gateway in Mexico, now in the Network hands. (Which reminds me of a tangential issue, because it comes up in that scene and I’ve been asked if it was deliberate:
- Yes, the Mr. Smith from Neon Boneyard is the same Mr. Smith who shows up in the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy.
- Yes, he’s been murdered twice, by two different people.
- Yes, there’s a reason for this.)
(Garden of Eden artwork courtesy of Nolan Nasser)
Q] On a side note, the Shepherd mentioned that events on the Planet of Eden along with the family that resided on it were somewhat of an epic shitshow! Do you think you would ever be able to tell that specific tale?
CS: It’s definitely going to come up. Not very soon, we’ve got some other business to take care of first, but it’s going to come up.
Q] Following on from the Phase One aspect of your grand story, Will there be more phases to play out since the Enemy was surprisingly silent amidst all of the events of the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy. With the whole Paladin-Enemy conflict that's ever present on the horizon, are you at liberty to reveal if that’s the central conflict of the next phase?
CS: As I mentioned, originally every character I’ve written was supposed to appear in the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy. The Enemy was the first to go, simply because he’s Daniel’s nemesis and I couldn’t find a way to fit him into the trilogy in any kind of satisfying way. A lot came down to exposition. Specifically, trying to avoid it. The entire story of the Enemy involves a lot of background lore and buildup, little of which was directly relevant to the trilogy’s plot, so bringing it in would have involved a ton of extraneous background. That said, the next phase is all about the Enemy and the Paladin, so expect that conflict to take center stage now that the trilogy is complete.
Q] One of the curious things that was unearthed was that the Story was thrown awry as the Characters are supposed to be reincarnating simultaneously but that wasn’t the case. What was the specific reason for this mechanism to be thrown off?
CS: Imprisoning the Enemy broke the entire mechanism. (I’m avoiding massive spoilers, but as we learn in Bring the Fire, it wasn’t a very elaborately designed system to begin with.)
Q] As mentioned in the Daniel Faust books, the Enemy was imprisoned on a desolate world. That seems like a tale in itself. Will that story be ever explored? Was that due to the machinations of the other Characters or due to the inhabitants of that planet?
CS: It will be, yes. I can’t say more about that just yet, but it’s going to come up. (And as some readers have noticed, one of the very first antagonists in my books – the sole surviving Smoke-Faced Man – has been off-stage for a long time. That doesn’t mean I forgot about him, hint hint.)
Q] One of the fascinating things that came up was that the Story has thirteen Characters. However not everyone’s stories are tied in together. Does this mean that Story is finally broken or will that only be done once the Enemy-Paladin conflict occurs.
CS: The Story still exists, baked into the fabric of the multiverse. For now. Which means, of course, that Daniel Faust still has to deal with the burden of having the mantle of the Thief, and you can expect more development on that front very soon. Whether things will end with the Paladin/Enemy showdown, or if our heroes will come up with something a little more tricky…well, I’ve already said too much.
NOTE: Part II of the interview focussing on Craig's upcoming books and plans will be posted tomorrow.
.
CS: It’s definitely going to come up. Not very soon, we’ve got some other business to take care of first, but it’s going to come up.
Q] Following on from the Phase One aspect of your grand story, Will there be more phases to play out since the Enemy was surprisingly silent amidst all of the events of the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy. With the whole Paladin-Enemy conflict that's ever present on the horizon, are you at liberty to reveal if that’s the central conflict of the next phase?
CS: As I mentioned, originally every character I’ve written was supposed to appear in the Wisdom’s Grave trilogy. The Enemy was the first to go, simply because he’s Daniel’s nemesis and I couldn’t find a way to fit him into the trilogy in any kind of satisfying way. A lot came down to exposition. Specifically, trying to avoid it. The entire story of the Enemy involves a lot of background lore and buildup, little of which was directly relevant to the trilogy’s plot, so bringing it in would have involved a ton of extraneous background. That said, the next phase is all about the Enemy and the Paladin, so expect that conflict to take center stage now that the trilogy is complete.
Q] One of the curious things that was unearthed was that the Story was thrown awry as the Characters are supposed to be reincarnating simultaneously but that wasn’t the case. What was the specific reason for this mechanism to be thrown off?
CS: Imprisoning the Enemy broke the entire mechanism. (I’m avoiding massive spoilers, but as we learn in Bring the Fire, it wasn’t a very elaborately designed system to begin with.)
Q] As mentioned in the Daniel Faust books, the Enemy was imprisoned on a desolate world. That seems like a tale in itself. Will that story be ever explored? Was that due to the machinations of the other Characters or due to the inhabitants of that planet?
CS: It will be, yes. I can’t say more about that just yet, but it’s going to come up. (And as some readers have noticed, one of the very first antagonists in my books – the sole surviving Smoke-Faced Man – has been off-stage for a long time. That doesn’t mean I forgot about him, hint hint.)
Q] One of the fascinating things that came up was that the Story has thirteen Characters. However not everyone’s stories are tied in together. Does this mean that Story is finally broken or will that only be done once the Enemy-Paladin conflict occurs.
CS: The Story still exists, baked into the fabric of the multiverse. For now. Which means, of course, that Daniel Faust still has to deal with the burden of having the mantle of the Thief, and you can expect more development on that front very soon. Whether things will end with the Paladin/Enemy showdown, or if our heroes will come up with something a little more tricky…well, I’ve already said too much.
NOTE: Part II of the interview focussing on Craig's upcoming books and plans will be posted tomorrow.
.
Official Author Website
Order The Hod King over HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Senlin Ascends
OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFORMATION: Josiah Bancroft started writing novels when he was twelve, and by the time he finished his first, he was an addict. Eventually, the writing of Senlin Ascends began, a fantasy adventure, not so unlike the stories that got him addicted to words in the first place. He wanted to do for others what his favorite writers had done for him: namely, to pick them up and to carry them to a wonderful and perilous world that is spinning very fast. If he’s done that with this book, then he’s happy. Josiah lives in Philadelphia with his wife, their daughter, and their two rabbits, Mabel and Chaplin
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Fearing an uprising, the Sphinx sends Senlin to investigate a plot that has taken hold in the ringdom of Pelphia. Alone in the city, Senlin infiltrates a bloody arena where hods battle for the public's entertainment. But his investigation is quickly derailed by a gruesome crime and an unexpected reunion.
Posing as a noble lady and her handmaid, Voleta and Iren attempt to reach Marya, who is isolated by her fame. While navigating the court, Voleta attracts the unwanted attention of a powerful prince whose pursuit of her threatens their plan.
Edith, now captain of the Sphinx's fierce flagship, joins forces with a fellow wakeman to investigate the disappearance of a beloved friend. She must decide who to trust as her desperate search brings her nearer to the Black Trail where the hods climb in darkness and whisper of the Hod King.
As Senlin and his crew become further dragged in to the conspiracies of the Tower, everything falls to one question: Who is The Hod King?
FORMAT/INFO: The Hod King is 607 pages long divided into four parts. Narration is in the third person via Thomas Senlin, Voletta, Iren, and Edith Winters. This is the third volume of the Books of Babel series.
The book was published by the Orbit Books on January 22, 2019. Covert art by Ian Leino with design by Lauren Panepinto.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: How does a fantasy book reviewer critique a work that he unabashedly loves? Do I try to make up bad things about Josiah Bancroft’s newest Book of Babel? Do I scour it for the tiniest typo and the smallest grammatical error simply so I don’t come off as an advertisement for Orbit Books?
I mean, I guess it took me five days to read through The Hod King. I finished the final book in the Harry Potter series in a night (a feat I regret to this day because some things deserve to be savoured), so I clearly didn’t love this installment enough to glue it to my eyelids and never look away. Then again, see my statement in the parenthetical and maybe not finishing it so fast means I liked it even more.
What seems clear to this reviewer is that, with every book he writes, Josiah Bancroft proves he is more than just the winner of a self-publishing contest and better than a one-hit wonder. The Arm of the Sphinx was as good, if not better, than Senlin Ascends, and I think that The Hod King is maybe the best yet. How common is this in series fiction? Not very, in my experience. Sequels tend to be worse than their predecessors, even if later books in the same run can reverse the trend. But Bancroft keeps getting better, and if his fourth and final Babel book continues this upward trajectory, he has every right to be carved on to the Mount Rushmore of fantasy authorship.
But enough gushing - what is The Hod King about? Beware of spoilers now because I intended to talk of The Arm of the Sphinx in detail. At the end of the second novel, Senlin and his crew had met the legendary Sphinx, a figure deified in Babel lore and who wields more obvious power than any living thing in the Tower. Through some coercion and bargaining, the Sphinx gathered Senlin, Iren, and Voletta into his net, a web in which Edith had long ago been ensnared. The Hod King sees our heroes undertaking their first overt missions for the Sphinx, and Senlin’s just happens to take him to the very Pelphia where his long-lost wife Marya now resides. It also separates him from his crew, a crew which Edith now captains, and so for the first time since his initial foray into the Tower, Thomas is alone.
I admired the hell out of Bancroft’s bravery in changing viewpoints in The Arm of the Sphinx, and I continue to be impressed with his ability to do so in The Hod King. Senlin Ascends rarely, if ever, took us out of Senlin’s head, a viewpoint that I would wager is quite comfortable for Josiah Bancroft. Both subsequent novels see Bancroft diving into the heads of Edith, Iren, and Voletta, and they are such wildly different characters, and so far removed from Senlin, that watching him stretch his skills like this is like watching a monarch emerge from its chrysalis - you know it will be beautiful but it’s wondrous to watch. Bancroft nails these viewpoints, and lets us into the minds of characters who we could only wonder at in the first novel. We could never have known of Iren’s insecurities or Voletta’s flightiness in Senlin Ascends. We might never have known the depth of Edith’s feelings, nor of her desire to fly had her author not decided to step out of his comfort zone. It works, and it is part of the reason why The Hod King is so successful. This is no longer a story about a man traversing a tower. It’s become almost familial in its intimacy, and I find myself increasingly loving these characters in a way I seldom have for fictional beings. It’s become so bad that I have cajolingly threatened the author on Twitter should he George R.R. Martin any of them.
Aside from character, both the plot and setting of The Hod King continue to captivate and embrace the reader. Bancroft takes a Pulp Fiction approach to his story, with each section using the same basic time-frame to tell a different perspective of the same overall narrative. This is a technique that could end in utter failure, but Bancroft shows mastery over the style. By the last quarter of the book, my urgency to see the whole plot of The Hod King was so focused that I lost sleep about it, and I am continually amazed at the new vistas that this Tower has to offer. That one building can encompass more lore and mystery than many fully-fleshed fantasy worlds is an impressive feat. It helps that it’s likely one of the biggest structures ever imagined in literature.
CONCLUSION: There is not much more to say about The Hod King that will tempt anyone to read it or not read it. Let’s face it, if you read through the first two novels in this series, you will likely want to read through this one as well. I truly do believe that it is the best of the three, and I said in my review of Senlin Ascends that I thought maybe Bancroft had written one of the best fantasy novels of the last decade. I can’t really praise these books any more than that, even if I will continue to do so. I don’t know the name of the last book in the Babel series yet, but this is the first time in a long while that I will be eagerly scanning new release schedules and wishing I could get my hands on something that does not even exist yet. That’s a good feeling to have.
Order The Hod King over HERE
Read Fantasy Book Critic's review of Senlin Ascends
OFFICIAL AUTHOR INFORMATION: Josiah Bancroft started writing novels when he was twelve, and by the time he finished his first, he was an addict. Eventually, the writing of Senlin Ascends began, a fantasy adventure, not so unlike the stories that got him addicted to words in the first place. He wanted to do for others what his favorite writers had done for him: namely, to pick them up and to carry them to a wonderful and perilous world that is spinning very fast. If he’s done that with this book, then he’s happy. Josiah lives in Philadelphia with his wife, their daughter, and their two rabbits, Mabel and Chaplin
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Fearing an uprising, the Sphinx sends Senlin to investigate a plot that has taken hold in the ringdom of Pelphia. Alone in the city, Senlin infiltrates a bloody arena where hods battle for the public's entertainment. But his investigation is quickly derailed by a gruesome crime and an unexpected reunion.
Posing as a noble lady and her handmaid, Voleta and Iren attempt to reach Marya, who is isolated by her fame. While navigating the court, Voleta attracts the unwanted attention of a powerful prince whose pursuit of her threatens their plan.
Edith, now captain of the Sphinx's fierce flagship, joins forces with a fellow wakeman to investigate the disappearance of a beloved friend. She must decide who to trust as her desperate search brings her nearer to the Black Trail where the hods climb in darkness and whisper of the Hod King.
As Senlin and his crew become further dragged in to the conspiracies of the Tower, everything falls to one question: Who is The Hod King?
FORMAT/INFO: The Hod King is 607 pages long divided into four parts. Narration is in the third person via Thomas Senlin, Voletta, Iren, and Edith Winters. This is the third volume of the Books of Babel series.
The book was published by the Orbit Books on January 22, 2019. Covert art by Ian Leino with design by Lauren Panepinto.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: How does a fantasy book reviewer critique a work that he unabashedly loves? Do I try to make up bad things about Josiah Bancroft’s newest Book of Babel? Do I scour it for the tiniest typo and the smallest grammatical error simply so I don’t come off as an advertisement for Orbit Books?
I mean, I guess it took me five days to read through The Hod King. I finished the final book in the Harry Potter series in a night (a feat I regret to this day because some things deserve to be savoured), so I clearly didn’t love this installment enough to glue it to my eyelids and never look away. Then again, see my statement in the parenthetical and maybe not finishing it so fast means I liked it even more.
What seems clear to this reviewer is that, with every book he writes, Josiah Bancroft proves he is more than just the winner of a self-publishing contest and better than a one-hit wonder. The Arm of the Sphinx was as good, if not better, than Senlin Ascends, and I think that The Hod King is maybe the best yet. How common is this in series fiction? Not very, in my experience. Sequels tend to be worse than their predecessors, even if later books in the same run can reverse the trend. But Bancroft keeps getting better, and if his fourth and final Babel book continues this upward trajectory, he has every right to be carved on to the Mount Rushmore of fantasy authorship.
But enough gushing - what is The Hod King about? Beware of spoilers now because I intended to talk of The Arm of the Sphinx in detail. At the end of the second novel, Senlin and his crew had met the legendary Sphinx, a figure deified in Babel lore and who wields more obvious power than any living thing in the Tower. Through some coercion and bargaining, the Sphinx gathered Senlin, Iren, and Voletta into his net, a web in which Edith had long ago been ensnared. The Hod King sees our heroes undertaking their first overt missions for the Sphinx, and Senlin’s just happens to take him to the very Pelphia where his long-lost wife Marya now resides. It also separates him from his crew, a crew which Edith now captains, and so for the first time since his initial foray into the Tower, Thomas is alone.
I admired the hell out of Bancroft’s bravery in changing viewpoints in The Arm of the Sphinx, and I continue to be impressed with his ability to do so in The Hod King. Senlin Ascends rarely, if ever, took us out of Senlin’s head, a viewpoint that I would wager is quite comfortable for Josiah Bancroft. Both subsequent novels see Bancroft diving into the heads of Edith, Iren, and Voletta, and they are such wildly different characters, and so far removed from Senlin, that watching him stretch his skills like this is like watching a monarch emerge from its chrysalis - you know it will be beautiful but it’s wondrous to watch. Bancroft nails these viewpoints, and lets us into the minds of characters who we could only wonder at in the first novel. We could never have known of Iren’s insecurities or Voletta’s flightiness in Senlin Ascends. We might never have known the depth of Edith’s feelings, nor of her desire to fly had her author not decided to step out of his comfort zone. It works, and it is part of the reason why The Hod King is so successful. This is no longer a story about a man traversing a tower. It’s become almost familial in its intimacy, and I find myself increasingly loving these characters in a way I seldom have for fictional beings. It’s become so bad that I have cajolingly threatened the author on Twitter should he George R.R. Martin any of them.
Aside from character, both the plot and setting of The Hod King continue to captivate and embrace the reader. Bancroft takes a Pulp Fiction approach to his story, with each section using the same basic time-frame to tell a different perspective of the same overall narrative. This is a technique that could end in utter failure, but Bancroft shows mastery over the style. By the last quarter of the book, my urgency to see the whole plot of The Hod King was so focused that I lost sleep about it, and I am continually amazed at the new vistas that this Tower has to offer. That one building can encompass more lore and mystery than many fully-fleshed fantasy worlds is an impressive feat. It helps that it’s likely one of the biggest structures ever imagined in literature.
CONCLUSION: There is not much more to say about The Hod King that will tempt anyone to read it or not read it. Let’s face it, if you read through the first two novels in this series, you will likely want to read through this one as well. I truly do believe that it is the best of the three, and I said in my review of Senlin Ascends that I thought maybe Bancroft had written one of the best fantasy novels of the last decade. I can’t really praise these books any more than that, even if I will continue to do so. I don’t know the name of the last book in the Babel series yet, but this is the first time in a long while that I will be eagerly scanning new release schedules and wishing I could get my hands on something that does not even exist yet. That’s a good feeling to have.
Friday, February 22, 2019
SPFBO FINALIST: Aching God by Mike Shel (reviewed by David Stewart & Lukazs Przywoski)
Official Author Website
Order Aching God over HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Mike Shel was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in the suburb of Dearborn. He has practiced as a psychotherapist for over 20 years and is a freelance adventure designer for Paizo Publishing and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Aching God is his first novel. He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife Tracy and has three children, Haylee, Trinity, and Leo. And two dogs, Neko and Elsie. Let’s not forget the dogs.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS (DAVID): The tendency to pigeonhole Aching God as a simple Dungeons and Dragons adventure is tempting (not that such efforts should be cast aside because many a good story has come from the table-top). Shel’s debut has all the trappings of a role-playing game: there is a band of adventurers, each with a different skill set; there are monsters to slay and dungeons to explore; there are strange religions of differing morality; and it takes its characters from one side of a map to another. This formula screams D&D. I would not be at all surprised to hear that Shel took his story from a well-run campaign - a very likely possibility given his Pathfinder work.
Order Aching God over HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Mike Shel was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in the suburb of Dearborn. He has practiced as a psychotherapist for over 20 years and is a freelance adventure designer for Paizo Publishing and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Aching God is his first novel. He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife Tracy and has three children, Haylee, Trinity, and Leo. And two dogs, Neko and Elsie. Let’s not forget the dogs.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: The days of adventure are passed for Auric Manteo. Retired to the countryside with his scars and riches, he no longer delves into forbidden ruins seeking dark wisdom and treasure. That is, until old nightmares begin plaguing his sleep, heralding an urgent summons back to that old life.
To save his only daughter, Auric must return to the place of his greatest trauma: the haunted Barrowlands. With only a few inexperienced companions and an old soldier, he must confront the dangers of the ancient and wicked Djao civilization. Auric has survived fell beasts, insidious traps, and deadly hazards before. But can he contend with the malice of a bloodthirsty living god?
First book in the Iconoclasts trilogy, Aching Godis the debut novel of RPG adventure designer Mike Shel. He is working on book 2, Sin Eater. The first two chapters of Sin Eater are included at the end of Aching God.
To save his only daughter, Auric must return to the place of his greatest trauma: the haunted Barrowlands. With only a few inexperienced companions and an old soldier, he must confront the dangers of the ancient and wicked Djao civilization. Auric has survived fell beasts, insidious traps, and deadly hazards before. But can he contend with the malice of a bloodthirsty living god?
First book in the Iconoclasts trilogy, Aching Godis the debut novel of RPG adventure designer Mike Shel. He is working on book 2, Sin Eater. The first two chapters of Sin Eater are included at the end of Aching God.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS (DAVID): The tendency to pigeonhole Aching God as a simple Dungeons and Dragons adventure is tempting (not that such efforts should be cast aside because many a good story has come from the table-top). Shel’s debut has all the trappings of a role-playing game: there is a band of adventurers, each with a different skill set; there are monsters to slay and dungeons to explore; there are strange religions of differing morality; and it takes its characters from one side of a map to another. This formula screams D&D. I would not be at all surprised to hear that Shel took his story from a well-run campaign - a very likely possibility given his Pathfinder work.
However, Aching God, by virtue of Shel's ability with the written word and his talent for diving deep into a character’s psyche, is so much more than a game set to the page. This is a horror novel, a story about post-traumatic stress, a character study, and a world-building opener that screams at more secrets and things to come. Aching God does what some of the best fantasy in the history of the genre does in its ability to flesh out a map and trickle in enough information to keep a reader wondering with every flip of the page. Aching God is really, really good.
The story finds an aging Auric Manteo, retired from the Syraeic League where he drew his fame and fortune, once more thrust into the life of an adventurer when his daughter and her fellow compatriots in the League, are stricken with a mysterious plague. The source of this plague is an idol taken from an ancient tomb, the kind of thing Auric himself might have plundered in his younger days, and the scholars within the League (those yet alive) predict that the only thing to stop this plague is to restore the idol to its place of origin. Auric must, with a cadre of capable companions, journey to the Barrowlands, spelunk back into the horrifying crypt, and place the idol back into the statue from whence it was wrested.
Sound familiar? The concept here is nothing new, but we don’t always need something new in our fantasy - Nicholas Eames proved that with his genre-shaking debut Kings Of The Wyld. Sometimes the oldest stories, if told with a twist and told well, can be fantastic.
What is Shel’s twist? He has a few. First, and most memorable, is the way in which he narrates Auric’s adventurous past. Auric did not retire because he had a nice long life and wanted to reap the rewards. Auric retired because his last foray into one of the Barrowlands’ dungeons saw his entire party slain and devoured before his very eyes. Shel does a masterful job of relaying Auric’s last journey, mostly through flashbacks or dreams, and the more we learn about that last fated adventure, the more we understand Auric’s motivations and his fears. Shel borrows notes from Lovecraft in his depictions of the Djao gods, deities once worshipped by an ancient race but that were cast down by the realm’s current pantheon. These are grotesque beings of indeterminable size or form. They toy with their victims in an eldritch manner, worming into the mind in order to use madness as a weapon. Shel shrouds all of this in that signature mystery often reserved for ruined ancient races.
Shel also does a lovely job in his characterizations of the party. Of particular note is Auric’s companion Belech, an ex-soldier who accompanies the retired adventurer at the behest of the noble lady in whose realm Auric has retired. Belech is a complex mixture of simple man and unassuming scholar. He has faith, but is not preachy about it and seems to truly believe in the benevolence of his god. He’s also handy with a mace. Auric’s other companions are ones furnished him by the League, but they leave nearly as much of an impact. Sira is a priest whom Auric and Belech meet even before coming to the Syraeic League’s headquarters, and she becomes one of the most sympathetic and authentic characters in the novel. It is a testament to Shel’s character work that he is able to write characters with a spectrum of cynicism and optimism. Gnaeus, a young swordsman, is the consummate cynic and polar opposite of Sira, in much the same way that Auric and Belech lean towards opposite ends. Del Ogara, a happy sorceress, and Lumari, a cold alchemist, round out the balanced pairs in a way that is only noticeable upon later scrutiny. There are times when the characterization does not completely hold up, and a scene near the end in particular that tries to impart an emotional bombshell that is unearned, but for the most part I cared about these characters and wanted to see them succeed.
The only part where Aching God falters is in its ending. Shel spends so much time working towards this confrontation with the unknown Aching God, and then when things finally reach that head, it turns out to be a disappointment. I both understand and lament this. This is the first novel in a series. Robert Jordan couldn’t end The Eye of the World with Rand confronting and defeating Shai’tan. Neither can Shel simply have his characters meet the world’s biggest bad and stick a sword in him. But where Jordan succeeds and Shel fails, to use the prior analogy, is that Jordan casts a wider net with his villains. Shel makes mention of something more out there, but not until the very end, and the entire novel is spent working solely towards this one unfathomable creature. The way in which this is told, it feels like Rand is making his way to the Dark One, to further push that comparison, and when he gets there he finds that the Dark One isn’t very dark at all. I feel that this will be fleshed out in the sequel, certainly, but it makes for a mostly unsatisfying conclusion to what is an incredible journey.
I don’t know if Mike Shel will win the SPFBO. This is my favorite book so far in the competition, but I suspect others might find less depth than I have and see it as more of a simple role-playing game-style adventure. I hope people take the time to read more into the story than what’s on the surface because I do think this is an excellent book, and I expect to stay with Mike Shel for a long while.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS (LUKASZ): Shel’s Aching God receives great reviews and did well in SPFBO contest. I had to see for myself what’s the hype about.
The plot is fairly simple, but not simplistic. Clever twists and turns keep the reader guessing and turning the pages. A mysterious plague devastates the Syraeic League, and no one knows how to fight it. Perhaps returning the Besh relic to the temple will help? Because of the plague, the League “employs” story’s protagonist Auric and his companions to make it work.
Auric Manteo, a retired Agent of the Syraeic League, is a traumatised but otherwise skilled and resourceful adventurer. In the past, during and after his missions for the League, he’s lost most of the people he had cared about. He still deals with PTSD. I think his intriguing and dark back-story makes Auric compelling and relatable. His faults make him more tridimensional, more layered and human. He reacts to events in believable ways. I think Auric’s character and POV make this novel interesting to read.
Other characters get much less time and, as readers, we don’t get a chance to get in their heads. The cast of supporting characters includes a trustworthy mace-wielding fighter Belech, an alchemist, a sorceress, a showy swordsman and an inexperienced priestess of Belu (god of healing).
Because of the choice of narration, all of them (except Belech) remain underdeveloped and two-dimensional.
I liked the simple and straightforward writing style that focuses on telling the story and not on crafting beautiful sentences. I was impressed with the editing - expect no typos or grammar mistakes. Someone put an admirable effort to clean the book.
My main gripe with the novel concerns occasional but dense info-dumps and expositions (for example the Queen’s back-story). Fans of rich and detailed world-building will probably dig it. For me, it was tiring.
The other thing is the ending. It doesn’t answer many questions, but I get it. I’m supposed to buy the sequel. That’s how this business works. Unfortunately, a good Lovecraftian horror that made Aching God exciting, transforms along the way into dealing with more conventional evil. The build-up was great, the resolution rather disappointing (but it’s just me).
Shel crafts a good escapist sojourn. He delivers a thrilling story full of action, wonder, and characters you can grab onto. Aching God is unpretentious (except for its significant length) and fun. The author does his best to immerse you in his world with admirable conviction and he mostly succeeds. For me, there was too much info-dumping to feel fully engaged and, at times, I felt tempted to DNF it. But I can see RPG fans love it, especially the parts of the book that take place in the Dungeon.
SPFBO Final Score - 7/10
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