Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
4.5/5 stars
An Inkling of Flame by Z.B. Steele does what the title signifies. It shReview copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
4.5/5 stars
An Inkling of Flame by Z.B. Steele does what the title signifies. It shows the burning potential the series has to leave its scorching mark in the genre.
“When another blames you or hates you, or people voice similar criticisms, go to their souls, penetrate inside and see what sort of people they are.”― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
I will never tire of being pleasantly surprised by titles or authors I never heard of. In fact, as I read so many fantasy books and continue to do so, I find moments like this more treasurable. It is the nature of the world. When you read so many books in the same genre, you’ll find it more difficult to feel impressed by new books you read. If you’ve been following my booktube channel for the past year, I think you’ll know I’ve been feeling mixed about the books I read in the fantasy genre. And that is a shock to me. Fantasy and science fiction are my favorite genres of all time. It brings me genuine sadness when I am not enjoying the books I read. I picked up An Inkling of Flame with zero knowledge about the book. I knew nothing. The author sent me a copy of An Inkling of Flame, which is a prequel novella to the main novel of the Song of the Damned series, Whispers of the Storm. I read the first chapter of An Inkling of Flame, and then I ended up reading the whole book in one sitting.
“A true hero is someone willing to stand up for those who need it, no matter what. No matter the method. Fancy words and dramatic speeches are for the politicians and the nobles; in shaded alleyways, only your honor and your fists can make you a man. Real honor is something earned in the dark when no one is looking.”
This standalone prequel novella follows the story of Layne, a soldier conscripted to fight under the Fox in a vengeance-fueled march. Layne and his friends were due for a fated confrontation with the Assassin in Grey. Now, the inquisitors want to hear every detail of his conscription, his training, and the duel against the assassin in grey. Do you know what this means? Yes, Steele utilizes a framing narrative to create a short, compelling, grim, and impactful narrative that will leave readers enthusiastic to hear more music and sound from the Song of the Damned. The framing narrative is a storytelling device popularized by The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. To this day, despite the popularity of The Kingkiller Chronicle, it is still shocking to see how few fantasy books try to implement that in their storytelling. Steele should've mentioned this to me when he pitched the book to me, and I would've gobbled it up. Thankfully, I still did that anyway.
“So, like I said, it was a boring year, and it was the best year of my life. They say when you’re a kid, you have energy and time, but no money; when you’re an adult, you have energy and money, but no time; when you’re old, you have time and money, but no energy. They left out that when you’re a kid, you have friends and imagination. The games we made up, the laughs we shared, the unspoken bond felt between us… I’d give anything to go back.”
It is crystal clear that Abercrombie and Rothfuss are some of Steele’s main inspirations as an author. Not only their influences are reflected in the narrative, but I also loved how Steele managed to tell a fleshed-out standalone story with such effectiveness in this relatively small book. The friendship between Layne and his friends is well-written. The banter felt realistic. The horror and boredom of war are depicted without mercy. Steele also displayed how everyone is the main character of their respective story through this tale, and the world is never fair to everyone.
“We always talk good about the dead. The good is elevated, promoted to epic proportions. One quick joke is ballooned into a lifetime as a comedian. One noble deed is evidence of a saintly life. Our flaws are treated similarly, when they can be used for levity. How many tears have been turned into laughter at the phrase “remember that time?” Foolish deeds are retold as good natured, immortalizing acts.”
An Inkling of Flame is one of the strongest fantasy novellas I have ever read. If the purpose of this novella is to push readers into reading the main novel, it has succeeded in spades. By the end of the book, I was craving for more out of this world and the characters, especially the Assassin in Grey. The identity of the Assassin in Grey will not come as a surprise. But his motivation? His actions in An Inkling of Flame? The deal with his hatred toward Tidur, Samira, Odis, Balin, and their supposedly crafted palace of lies? I want to know more. I want to know whether the Assassin in Grey is justifying his actions or telling the truth. To put it simply, I need to find out the full story behind his motivation. And to do that, enters the Whispers of the Storm. I shall do that (most likely) within this year. I highly recommend An Inkling of Flame to fantasy readers who love framing narrative and grimdark fantasy.
“They’ll never say it to your face, but they do. Don’t underestimate the value of one tenacious person. If you give up that fire, they’ll be doused too. This is war, Layne. If we don’t want to live, we won’t.”
(Side note: Steele named almost all the main characters in this novella after people in the fantasy bookish community. For example, Spark from Anna Smith Spark. This is super cool, and it did not decrease my enjoyment of the book and rating, but I did find my immersion distracted because I know most of the people and ended up imagining all of them cosplaying as the characters instead! xD)
Review copy was provided by the editor in exchange for an honest review.
3.5/5 stars
Grimdark fantasy fans, this anthology is the perfect place for you Review copy was provided by the editor in exchange for an honest review.
3.5/5 stars
Grimdark fantasy fans, this anthology is the perfect place for you to find a new hidden gem in the genre.
Let me start off by saying that this anthology has one of the best production values you can find in a book; stunning cover, nineteen short stories. Not only most of the stories are quite excellent, if you're reading this from the physical book, each story even has their mini-cover done by Jason Deem.
Picture: The Syldoon Sun mini cover (Interior artworks can only be found in the physical book.)
[image]
Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of Antagonists, like the title implied, is a collection to show you that most of the times, ‘evil' really only depends on the side to which you belong. Right from the start, the book began with a beautifully written introduction and concept on what grimdark fantasy is all about by R. Scott Baker and the editor, Adrian Collins.
“To write grimdark, to pursue complicated moralities in fantastic settings, is to risk the universal instincts of one's fellows in a manner no other genre can."
Almost all of the short stories here took place in each author's respective main series from a villain's POV. The only related series I've read before this collection is Manifest Delusions by Michael R. Fletcher and Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne by Brian Staveley and because of that, both stories felt more comfortable to read for me. The rest is completely uncharted territory, most of them I never even heard about, and that's okay because, in my opinion, the purpose of this anthology is for you to find which author's work suited you most so you can try the main series you think you'll like.
I don't want you to think of me as being lazy here with my review, but I won't be doing a mini review on any of the stories here. Almost all of them are way too short and take just five to twenty minutes to complete and as such relating any of it will just spoil some aspect of the tale; it is better to just read them for yourself.
Like all anthology I've read, some of the stories are amazing, some are not; no single story can work for everyone after all. I'll list which ones were the most memorable and the least for me.
Most memorable:
The Broken Dead (Manifest Delusions) by Michael R. Fletcher The Syldoon Sun (Bloodsounder’s Arc) by Jeff Salyards The Darkness within the Light (The Annwyn Cycles) by Shawn Speakman The Greater of Two Evils (Chronicles of the Exile) by Marc Turner Better Than Breath (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne) by Brian Staveley
Least memorable:
The Divine Death of Jirella Martigore (Crimson Empire) by Alex Marshall A Royal Gift (Banners of Blood) by Mark Alder A Storm Unbound (Glyph War World) - E.V. Morrigan
Outside of the ones I listed above, the rest are either decent or great in quality. One minor con I had with the overall book is that from my perspective, almost all the POV featured a wholly evil character with virtually no redeeming factor. However, that may be just me, as the title said, it's a matter of perspective, and it doesn't change the fact that the majority of the stories here are enjoyable, some even poignant.
It wouldn't be fair for me to rate this book based on the cumulative score of each short story, it's better for me to rate it by the whole package. The most important thing you should be aware of you're reading this book is not to expect epic tales —most of the stories are too short to get that kind of experience— but to potentially discover new authors who have been producing quality at work in the genre. At least that's how it was for me. For example, I've never heard about Chronicles of the Exile, but after this, I'm interested in its tale and will probably read it in the future.
Overall, this is one of the greatest anthologies I've read after Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson. If you're a fan of grimdark fantasy, you should get this; it's pretty much a literary treasure hunt.
You can find this and the rest of my Adult Epic/High Fantasy & Sci-Fi reviews at BookNest
Merged review:
Review copy was provided by the editor in exchange for an honest review.
3.5/5 stars
Grimdark fantasy fans, this anthology is the perfect place for you to find a new hidden gem in the genre.
Let me start off by saying that this anthology has one of the best production values you can find in a book; stunning cover, nineteen short stories. Not only most of the stories are quite excellent, if you're reading this from the physical book, each story even has their mini-cover done by Jason Deem.
Picture: The Syldoon Sun mini cover (Interior artworks can only be found in the physical book.)
[image]
Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of Antagonists, like the title implied, is a collection to show you that most of the times, ‘evil' really only depends on the side to which you belong. Right from the start, the book began with a beautifully written introduction and concept on what grimdark fantasy is all about by R. Scott Baker and the editor, Adrian Collins.
“To write grimdark, to pursue complicated moralities in fantastic settings, is to risk the universal instincts of one's fellows in a manner no other genre can."
Almost all of the short stories here took place in each author's respective main series from a villain's POV. The only related series I've read before this collection is Manifest Delusions by Michael R. Fletcher and Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne by Brian Staveley and because of that, both stories felt more comfortable to read for me. The rest is completely uncharted territory, most of them I never even heard about, and that's okay because, in my opinion, the purpose of this anthology is for you to find which author's work suited you most so you can try the main series you think you'll like.
I don't want you to think of me as being lazy here with my review, but I won't be doing a mini review on any of the stories here. Almost all of them are way too short and take just five to twenty minutes to complete and as such relating any of it will just spoil some aspect of the tale; it is better to just read them for yourself.
Like all anthology I've read, some of the stories are amazing, some are not; no single story can work for everyone after all. I'll list which ones were the most memorable and the least for me.
Most memorable:
The Broken Dead (Manifest Delusions) by Michael R. Fletcher The Syldoon Sun (Bloodsounder’s Arc) by Jeff Salyards The Darkness within the Light (The Annwyn Cycles) by Shawn Speakman The Greater of Two Evils (Chronicles of the Exile) by Marc Turner Better Than Breath (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne) by Brian Staveley
Least memorable:
The Divine Death of Jirella Martigore (Crimson Empire) by Alex Marshall A Royal Gift (Banners of Blood) by Mark Alder A Storm Unbound (Glyph War World) - E.V. Morrigan
Outside of the ones I listed above, the rest are either decent or great in quality. One minor con I had with the overall book is that from my perspective, almost all the POV featured a wholly evil character with virtually no redeeming factor. However, that may be just me, as the title said, it's a matter of perspective, and it doesn't change the fact that the majority of the stories here are enjoyable, some even poignant.
It wouldn't be fair for me to rate this book based on the cumulative score of each short story, it's better for me to rate it by the whole package. The most important thing you should be aware of you're reading this book is not to expect epic tales —most of the stories are too short to get that kind of experience— but to potentially discover new authors who have been producing quality at work in the genre. At least that's how it was for me. For example, I've never heard about Chronicles of the Exile, but after this, I'm interested in its tale and will probably read it in the future.
Overall, this is one of the greatest anthologies I've read after Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson. If you're a fan of grimdark fantasy, you should get this; it's pretty much a literary treasure hunt.
You can find this and the rest of my Adult Epic/High Fantasy & Sci-Fi reviews at BookNest...more
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