Short Book Review // The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden is categorised as historical fantasy. It's the first book of the Winternight trilogy, but you can read it as a standalone. For more information, visit the author's homepage, as I am still writing reviews, not summaries and fact dumps. 

So, let's get started with the review. The book is meant for adult readers, at least it says so on the author's website, but it is a coming-of-age story and young adult-friendly. Fortunately, the main character, Vasya, feels older than her years, making The Bear and the Nightingale work well for mature readers. The book is beautifully written–the language is as bright as the coldest winter day. It's also packed with Russian folklore and displays a plethora of the most fascinating mythical creatures.

The Bear and the Nightingale tells Vasya's–the youngest daughter of a regional lord in the northern Rus'–story from birth to the threshold of adulthood. Vasya is born with magical abilities in a time when the Orthodox Christian church does all in its power to root out the old ways and heathen beliefs from every corner of the empire. Vasya grows up listening to her old nurse's stories and fears more of the disappearance of the ancient guardians of the forest and household than the fiery pits of Hell. When a new priest from Moscow arrives to bring her home village to the church's order, she does all in her power to keep the mythical creatures dwelling in her house and the wilderness around from fading away.

I love the way Arden weaves folklore into the story. It feels symbolic and real at the same time, leaving me uncertain of what actually happened to Vasya. Which parts were real, which sheer imagination or dream–I couldn't say, and I don't mind that at all. The Bear and the Nightingale feels like a dark fairy tale, and it's an enjoyable book which I devoured in two chunks–one in November and the other during the past weekend.

If you're intrigued by folklore, slow-building suspension, and multilayered stories, The Bear and the Nightingale should be on your to be read-list. It would also be a wonderful story to listen to as an audiobook, on a cold winter night, curled up by the fire. I slightly regret that I didn't come to think of that before starting to read it as an E-Book, but perhaps I'll purchase the second book in the trilogy, The Girl in the Tower, as an audio version.

A Slow Return to Books

I've taken up reading and writing again, although the engine coughs a bit. I intend to read more books this year than I did in 2025, including those that have been lying on my shelf for ages, unfinished. 

Finishing pending projects is my goal for 2026, so Rues of the Heroes is definitely going to be released, and The Heirs of Duty will return to market. While waiting for the books to come out, you may entertain yourself by checking out the Braenduir Chronicles' homepage, where you'll find free samples of both books and a blog providing additional material. If you're a fan of fantasy folklore, worldbuilding, character insights, and so on, you'll find Tales from Braenduir worth visiting. Both the books and the contents of the Tales from Braenduir blog are meant for adult fantasy readers, meaning they can contain explicit scenes that might upset underage or sensitive people.

Here's a snippet of the blog, so you get a hang of what kind of content to expect when you open Tales from Braenduir:

The fire crackled. Its warmth flooded over me, lulling me into a state of drowsiness where memories began to rise uninvited. Jan's face appeared in front of me, a rare expression of joy and relaxation upon it. His lips were moving, his hands drawing images in the air between us as he rehearsed a story about the famous Toren Eddesen, who seemed to be a fathomless source of anecdotes, some more plausible than others.

  "I've never heard this tale from Toren himself, though," Jan said, pausing. "So, I'm not sure whether I should spread it as its accuracy hasn't been confirmed."

  "I'm sorry," I said, realising that I'd been focusing on watching him rather than listening. "The story was about what–a princess and a three-legged hog. Did I get that right?"

When it comes to reading, I'm in the middle of The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden which I started months ago. Even though it seems to be yet one supposed-to-be-adult-fantasy-book while actually being young adult, I've enjoyed it so far. It reminds me of the Russian classics I binge-read as a teenager, only it's adorned with tons of folklore.

Happy New Year

Just a quick word to assure you that I haven't died, nor have I forgotten about this blog, even though it's been quiet for a while. I focused on other things than reading and writing in December, so I didn't have anything to post. I'll be back with the Short Book Reviews and updates on Braenduir Chronicles, though.

My goals for 2026 are to read more books, edit The Heirs of Duty, and finish Rues of the Heroes, with the intention of releasing both in the spring. The reason the process is slow is that I am working alone, doing everything from raw drafts to final touches myself. The only tool, besides the text editor program, I use is the free version of Grammarly to check the grammar. Everything else I do myself, every word is written by a human hand, and that takes time.

I hope 2026 has shown you a smiling face so far, and the positive vibe remains throughout the year. For me, the past couple of years were dark and wearisome, but I am cautiously optimistic that this year will become brighter and happier. 

Short Book Review // A Time of Courage by John Gwynne

I finished A Time of Courage, the third book in Of Blood and Bone trilogy by John Gwynne, around two weeks ago, and I've started writing the review three times over by now. The book is about the Banished Lands and the eternal war between the Ben-Elim and the Kadoshim, in which the mortal people of the world are involved, whether they willed it or not. For more information, visit the author's website.

I don't usually struggle to express my opinion on a book. A Time of Courage is an exception that fortifies the rule. To me, it is an okay book. It's little else than battle and bloodshed, which is what I expected after reading the first two books in the trilogy. 

This author is skilled in writing battle scenes and certainly knows how to keep the reader engaged, which makes A Time of Courage easy and quick to read, regardless of its length. However, it isn't for me. It could've been if not for the underlying young adult fantasy vibe that is present already in the second book and only fortifies in A Time of Courage, making it rather confusing a read, because, considering the amount of death and gore, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to young adults. 

I've nothing against YA books in general. I read them and largely enjoy them. However, I would like to know whether the book/series is YA or YA friendly before I pick it up. OF Blood and Bone is presented as adult fantasy, which is why I started reading it in the first place. Adult fantasy that isn't focused on mere politics and/or world-building, or isn't complete (and as often as not, badly written) smut, isn't easy to find. So, I was happy to have discovered Of Blood and Bone, which seemed to be what I was looking for. Only, it isn't.

The first book in the trilogy, A Time of Dread, doesn't yet scream YA on all of its pages, and that encouraged me to read the second book. There, the young adult vibe is already strong, but as I had read two of the three, I decided to finish what I'd started. I kind of wish that I hadn't, because I wanted to give this trilogy a better review.

What makes A Time of Courage YA then? Firstly, the style in which everything except the battle scenes is written. It deals with adult themes, but lacks the depth I'd expect from an adult book, and the romance that sparks between two of the main characters is fully young adult. I wish the author had left it out entirely. It doesn't add anything to the story, only highlights that A Time of Courage tries to be a book that works for everyone between 13 and 100+ years. 

Then there are the characters. There are five main/narrator characters in A Time of Courage, and only one of them is older than 20 and has a little more life experience than the others. The rest are all around the same age, from 17 to 20 (according to my calculations, at least, as their ages aren't directly mentioned in the books). Basically, we have four coming-of-age plots - quite a bit more violent than they tend to be - and four characters who are more or less alike. I'm sorry to say this, but it's boring. It's also frustrating because there are many interesting figures among the minor characters who could've easily been made MCs to give the story different points of view, adding depth to it and making it more intriguing to adult readers.

All in all, A Time of Courage is an engaging read that won't let you down if you're looking for something action-heavy that brushes on serious themes but doesn't force you to contemplate them too deeply. But it's not adult fantasy. It's YA friendly at the very least, so if you're like me and need a different mindset for enjoying YA fantasy, prepare yourself. 

Short Book Review // A Time of Blood by John Gwynne

A Time of Blood is the second book of Of Blood and Bone trilogy by John Gwynne. In a nutshell, A Time of Blood is an action-packed work of dark/epic fantasy, set in the Banished Lands, where the eternal war between Ben-Elim, divine creatures come to flesh, and their demonic foes, the Kadoshim, rages, affecting everyone in the world. It is a multi-POV story, an individual voice given to a variety of characters, best suited for adult readers, I think, as it's fraught with violence. Although I don't know whether it's written as adult fantasy. It has a young adult fantasy vibe to it, which, together with the overall (grim)darkness of the book, is confusing. For more information about the book, visit the author's website.

A Time of Blood continues straight where the first book, A Time of Dread, ended. It introduces a new main character and, through her, presents the point of view of the adversary of those who stand for the Ben-Elim. That's something I didn't expect, as the first book was written solely from the POV of those standing against the Kadoshim, and is the main reason why I devoured the book despite the few flaws that otherwise might've made me give up on it.

Things I find off-putting in A Time of Blood are smallish, yet I found the first of them especially frustrating: repetition. There's a LOT of returning to the events in the first book and repeating the facts about the characters and their pasts. About two-thirds of the book is plagued by rehearsing the same things over and over again. It's the second book in a series, so a certain amount of reminding the reader about the key points and previous events is necessary, but in A Time of Blood, it reaches the point where it makes you wonder whether the author is repeating the past events merely to add bulk to the story. 

Another feature in the story that I don't like is a few too many miraculous escapes from impossible situations. If this type of fantasy was right up my alley, I probably wouldn't pay any attention to it, but I must admit that the trilogy isn't quite my horn of mead. It's a bit too action-heavy for me, and the writer side of me seethes with frustration at seeing how much richer and more multifaceted this series could be if the author had put down the sword and axe every now and then, giving more room to the other levels of the story. However, I enjoyed A Time of Blood, and I'm already a hundred pages in A Time of Courage, the last book in the trilogy.

The underlying theme that no one is purely good or evil, and even the most horrid of deeds are done because the person behind them believes they're acting for the greater good, speaks to me. It also happens to be one of the themes I focus on in my books, which is why it makes me hail Of Blood and Bone that much louder.

All in all, A Time of Blood is a good read. It kept me encaged from start to finish, even managed to make me feel slightly sick at times. If it were purely adult fantasy, not adult fantasy written so that it doesn't need to be age-restricted, I'd say it's a great book. 

 

Short Book Reviews // A Time of Dread by John Gwynne

The older I get, the more selective a reader I become. As a teenager, I read almost everything I could get my hands on, waded through every shelf in the local library, except the horror and mystery sections. I also had a principle to finish every book I've started. I forbade myself from picking up a new read before I'd finished the previous one. Although even that rule had an exception: I am yet to finish The Brothers Karamazov by Fjodor Dostojevski, which my friends gave me for my eighteenth birthday. Nowadays, I don't think twice about giving up on a book partway through if it doesn't seem right up my alley, though I try to read more than one or two chapters before doing so. 

I started A Time of Dread (Of Blood and Bone #1) by John Gwynne (for background information, check the author's website, as I still don't write summaries or copy+paste information that anyone can google themselves in three seconds) in the late summer and was about to give up on it before I finished the first chapter. Because I had done that to several books during the summer, I forced myself to keep reading, thinking that at this rate, I'll never finish another book in my life. The first ten or so chapters felt like trying to consume a cooled-down cup of coffee, merely because throwing it away is against my principles. I felt utterly detached from the world and characters, even though Gwynne puts up just the kind of fantasy setting I like best, and there is more than one main character to find your favourite among. 

At the beginning of September, I actually put A Time of Dread aside to read The Alchemist. Then my dog died, and reading anything at all was the last thing on my mind for a while. I returned to books about two weeks ago, finished The Alchemist and decided to give A Time of Dread another go. I gobbled down the remaining forty-plus chapters in three days and can't even begin to comprehend anymore what felt so off-putting about the book when I started it.

Quite a long way to say you shouldn't give up on a book only a few pages in, not even only a few chapters in, but read at least twenty percent of it before you do. It's not always worth the time, but sometimes patience is rewarded.

A Time of Dread certainly turned out worth the second chance I gave it. Though the level of gore is a tad too high for my liking in general, I enjoyed the story immensely. Gwynne's writing style is something that I needed some time to get used to, but it works very well for this type of fantasy that's heavy in action and battle scenes. The characters that I couldn't relate to at all on my first attempt to read this book became so dear to me that towards the end, I struggled to continue reading because I didn't want to see them get hurt. That's something that hasn't happened to me in a long time, not after I listened to The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which I very nearly didn't finish simply because I felt I couldn't bear the inevitable unhappy ending. 

To keep this short as the title promises, I am captivated by Gwynne's world and will definitely read the whole series, Of Blood and Bone, and probably give The Faithful and the Fallen a go as well. I am a person who picks up books at random, without doing much research beforehand, and it occurred to me only after I'd finished A Time of Dread that I might've been wise to start from The Faithful and the Fallen, as Of Blood and Bone is technically a sequel to it, although designed so that it can be read as a standalone series. 

If you enjoy multi-POV epic fantasy jampacked with suspense and bloodshed, A Time of Dread is for you. The pool of blood is deep, the island of mauled bodies in the middle is high, so if you're sensitive to gore (as I was back in the day before watching The Game of Thrones, after which any amount of violence in fiction hasn't affected me), you might want to keep a bucket within arm's reach while reading it. Sounds like I'm joking, but I'm actually (all but) serious, because the scenes that include violence are so well written that I could smell the stench of death and fouler things. It's not all blood and spilt guts, though. There are quiet moments, too, and deep bonds between the characters, interesting and adorable creatures (I love the talking crows of Dun Seren, though usually I find talking animals in what I deem as adult fantasy off-putting), and a world that unfurls as the story progresses. Also, even as it's an epic fantasy, A Time of Dread isn't overly political, nor does it contain info dumps. Definitely a book worth adding to your to-be-read list.

What is it with these middle-aged, bearded men that they're so damn good at writing fantasy? And why, oh, why can't I be a middle-aged, bearded man, because if I were, perhaps my book would have a few readers, too. 

Short Book Reviews // The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist isn't a fantasy book, but it's the latest book I've read. I picked it up as a quick in-between read because I've always thought I should read something from Paulo Coelho, and Google recommended it when I asked for "the best self-help book when you feel like nothing's working out for you" (or something like that; I don't remember the exact wording of my search anymore).

I set a goal to read this book during September, but I didn't quite achieve that. I finished it yesterday and have somewhat mixed feelings about it. 

If I reviewed The Alchemist purely as a fiction book, I'd say it's a nice little story, easy to read, and as easy to forget. It's a story about the boy who chases his Personal Legend, following omens through the desert. He meets many people and learns a lot along the way. All in all, a cute story that would serve well someone who's only at the beginning of their reading journey, as it is short-ish and doesn't require much of the reader. It also served me well in the situation I am in, struggling with grief and guilt and the overall feeling of being an utter failure. If there's any book I could finish at the moment, it's The Alchemist.

However, I chose to read The Alchemist as a self-help book in a situation that feels hopeless. It turned out that I'm much like the Boy; I, too, chase my Personal Legend. Only, the Universe definitely doesn't conspire in my favour. (If nothing else, at least now I know where all that talk comes from...) Oftentimes, it feels that the Universe does the exact opposite, trying its hardest to prevent me from achieving my dream. 

That, of course, isn't true. I know, and The Alchemist confirms, that all the Universe does is exist. The only one who can help a person achieve their Personal Legend is the person themselves, and they are also their biggest obstacle on their way to their treasure. 

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."

That's very true, and I wouldn't have needed to read a book to figure it out. The Alchemist is full of the same kind of wisdom, stuff that is self-evident but often difficult to admit to oneself. It's easy to blame outside factors (one's parents, the society, the Universe...) when things don't go as intended. The harsh truth is, however, that in the end, the only one responsible for a person's success or failure is the person themselves. I knew that before I read The Alchemist, just as I knew that to achieve my dream, I must shake the thought that it's impossible to begin with and that I'll fail anyway, no matter what I do. Unfortunately, that's much easier said than done. 

So, in a nutshell, The Alchemist is a sweet little book that offers a lot of wisdom or lots of platitudes, depending on the reader. Unlike Google, I wouldn't recommend that you read it as a self-help book, but simply as a work of fiction. 

Why So Silent?

The blog's been quiet for a while. I haven't given up on it, but because I don't know when I'm returning to posting, I thought maybe I should drop a few lines to explain why I haven't been active here.

The main reason is that I lost my dog a couple of weeks ago. She was ten years old and my first very own dog. Her passing was quite sudden, and reading and reviewing books has been the last thing on my mind since then.

The other reason is that I've been working on the second book of Braenduir Chronicles. I'm still determined to publish Rues of the Heroes by the end of this year. 

That's it in a nutshell. I don't have anything more to say today except that spend as much time as you can with your loved ones, because you never know when the day comes that they're no longer here. 

Author's Review // The Heirs of Duty by Julia P. Aspenn

The Heirs of Duty is currently off-market. Visit the series' HOMEPAGE for additional material to read while waiting for its return.

General Rambling

The first book in my swords and sorcery/adventure fantasy series, Braenduir Chronicles, The Heirs of Duty (originally published under the title Runecursed) has been out for a few years. I didn't write it to please the masses, and comparing it to any of the more popular works within the genre is difficult. I can write over ten thousand words in a good day, but when I should compose a blurb of one hundred and fifty words, I suddenly become incapable of typing even the first line. It's a skill of its own to be able to capture the essence of a 150,000+ word book into a few lines. But I'll try my best to describe it.

When I started to write The Heirs of Duty six years ago, I didn't write it for others. I wrote a story I had always wanted to read but had never happened upon, though I have read quite a lot of books. Fantasy was always my go-to genre as a writer. I have tried my hand at general fiction and even poetry, but writing fantasy is what I am truly passionate about. 

The Review

Have I rambled enough? I dare say, I have, so let's cut to the point, finally. How could I describe The Heirs of Duty? I already mentioned that comparing it to any book most fantasy readers know is challenging. When I started writing Braenduir Chronicles, I wanted to create something like A Song of Ice and Fire, but lighter and more easily approachable, less political, less complex, and faster-paced. I ended up with a multi-point-of-view story that has little likeness to ASoIaF. 

When I was young, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was my favourite series. I've wanted to publish a book of my own ever since I learned how to read and write, and thanks to Tolkien, the traditional fantasy setup has always been the only choice for me. So, when it comes to world-building, Braenduir Chronicles doesn't offer anything out of the ordinary. However, I've never been a fan of the black-and-white Good versus Evil opposition that leaves no room for the shades of grey. In that sense, THoD is very different from LotR, brushing elbows with ASoIaF and other books/series like that.

I am a huge admirer of the Witcher series as well. I enjoy Geralt debating ethics with several minor characters, as well as the banter between him and Jaskier. The philosophical side is the thing for me in the series. I would love it even if Geralt didn't kill a single monster. He could sit on a rock in the middle of the forest throughout the series, brooding and discussing the large questions of life and the universe with anyone who happens to pass by, and I would still love the books, probably even more than I do now. When writing Braenduir, I constantly struggle to curb my desire to make half of my characters Geralts of their own lives - not monster hunters but great thinkers and friends of humanity, devoted to compassion. 

I also enjoy a sprinkle of romance in almost any book. I read mostly fantasy nowadays, but my favourite romantic stories aren't of the genre - except for The Song of Achilles; my heart still aches when I think about it. However, romantic fantasy in general isn't my thing. That being said, I enjoy writing romance, so I have tossed it in the confusing and overpouring pot that is the essence of Braenduir Chronicles. 

What I don't enjoy, however, is ranting about politics. The Heirs of Duty mostly takes place in courts and castles, but the points of view aren't of those holding the power, nor are the political relations of the realms the point of the story, even though there is a war going on. Another thing I find off-putting as a reader is a church as one of the major agents. Gods play a part, in fact, a rather significant part, in my series, but religions and practising them have only a minuscule role.

What is it about, then, you may ask. The Heirs of Duty, as well as the whole series, is about choices and how they affect a person's destiny. It's about an individual's right to be who they are and live in the world as themselves, without needing to hide their true selves in fear of persecution or being shunned by society, and even their family and friends. The rulers of Braenduir might be warring over land and wealth and power itself, but the main characters of the story fight against prejudice, intolerance, and oppression - things that millions of people also in our world, still, in the year 2025, face in their everyday lives. Yet, it is not a political manifesto. The Heirs of Duty is chiefly a work of fantasy, an adventure that is written to entertain. If it causes the reader to contemplate the deep questions, that's a plus, but my primary goal as a writer is to offer people a getaway from the mundane.

Who is it for, you might also wonder. First of all, the series is written for adult readers. When I was around 14 years old, I read every work of Henry Miller I could find in the local library, as well as a pile of other books written by old men who write about things by their true names. However, I feel that as an author, I have the responsibility to tell the younger people (and those adults who prefer their books without sex and/or gore) that Braenduir Chronicles isn't necessarily the series you want to pick up as your next read. It's not smut, but The Heirs of Duty contains erotic scenes that leave little to the imagination. It also contains sexual violence and scenes of death. 

So much for the warnings. If you're mature enough to handle the stuff mentioned above, feel free to give The Heirs of Duty a go. As said, I read Henry Miller's The Rosy Crucifixion Trilogy when I was in secondary school, and I grew up more or less sane - apart from becoming a writer, that is. 

The series has multiple MCs, some male, others female, some younger, others more mature, which should make it a suitable read for most fantasy enthusiasts, regardless of their gender and age. However, to enjoy The Heirs of Duty, and the upcoming sequel, Rues of the Heroes, you need to be open-minded. Braenduir Chronicles displays a diverse cast of characters, which is something I refrain from touting as far as I can, because I believe diversity in all its forms should be a natural part of every society, something that is taken for granted and needs not to be emphasised or apologised. 

If you're a fan of swords and sorcery and/or adventure fantasy, and are looking for a new series to engage yourself in reading, do consider giving Braenduir Chronicles a chance. The threshold to try it shouldn't be too high, as the electric version of The Heirs of Duty is available for free on Smashwords, Rakuten kobo, Barnes&Noble and many other platforms, including the author's Payhip store. Edit // THE EBOOK IS CURRENTLY OFF-MARKET.

To encourage you to download the first book, here are some reviews The Heirs of Duty/Runecursed has received. The reviews are written by LibraryThing users who acquired the book via the site's Early Reviewers Program. Nothing was given to them in return for their time and effort except a free eBook, and none of the reviewers are friends or family members of the author. I have but one person in my social circle who knows English well enough to have read my book, so what little attention The Heirs of Duty has received is authentic. 

If you read this far without dozing off, thank you. I appreciate your effort and humbly request that you invest a small chunk of your precious spare time in wading through The Heirs of Duty. You might even enjoy it, but that's something you'll never find out unless you set aside your prejudices towards a self-published work of an unknown aspiring author. 

Short Book Reviews // Heir of Novron by Michael J. Sullivan

If you want to familiarise yourself with the series before reading the review, visit this page, because my Short Book Reviews don't include summaries of the books.

Heir of Novron includes books five and six of Riyria Revelations, an epic fantasy book series by Michael J. Sullivan -although Book Five, Wintertide, appears to be rather a long prologue to the last book in the series, Percepliquis, than a story of its own. I'll review the two as one, as I read them as a unit. 

I wish I could say I loved Heir of Novron. While reading Theft of Swords and Rise of Empire, I was intrigued by the multifaceted plot, which delivered a surprise after another, and I expected the story to grow even more complex, giving me a proper pause at the end. I'm saddened to say that the last two books in the series don't meet my expectations. 

The plot of Heir of Novron chugs on like a train on a plumb rail, bringing the reader safely to the expected destination. It's good, solid fantasy, but it's also lazy writing. Even though it became clear at the early stages of Wintertide that Heir of Novron isn't holding the rattling twist I expected, I clung to the hope it would yet come until the last few chapters. Unfortunately, the ending was just as I supposed it would be, and that's almost always a bummer. If the journey to the inevitable end included unexpected turns, I might be satisfied. It doesn't, and though Riyria Revelations had all the makings of a remarkable work of epic fantasy, the last two books ensure the series drowns in the vast ocean of average stories. Heir of Novron is entertaining and easy to read, but it left me cold. I gave Theft of Swords and Rise of Empire four stars each, but I can't grant more than three to Heir of Novron. 

However, as always, I recommend that you read the books and make up your own mind. A book review is always a personal opinion, and though I was disappointed with the ending of this series, you may well have an entirely different view. 

Short Book Reviews // Rise of Empire by Michael J. Sullivan (Part Two)

If you want to familiarise yourself with the series before reading the review, visit this page, because my Short Book Reviews don't include information about what happens in the books.

Book Four of Riyria Revelations, Emerald Storm, by Michael J. Sullivan, is the best in the series so far. It kept me engaged till the end and managed even to move me to some measure, which is quite a remarkable achievement for any work of fiction nowadays. 

There's more action in Emerald Storm than in the first three books, making it a gripping read. Some of the plot twists made me almost hate the author and wonder whether he hates his characters, especially the female ones. Is there truly no limit to the suffering of those poor women? Not that the male characters aren't getting their share of difficulties and pain, but not one of the female characters seems to be struggling towards a happily-ever-after.

Regardless, I would've given Emerald Storm five stars if not for the tediously detailed descriptions of managing a sailing vessel. I know, as a fiction writer, that fiction writers sprinkle their stories with hard facts to make them more plausible, but (here it comes again, the infamous and ominous but) there's a difference between sprinkling and loading. Sprinkling is fine. I don't mind learning a few facts and a handful of new words about a specific subject, even from a fantasy book. However, when I read fiction, I want it to remain fiction from beginning to end, instead of occasionally turning into an instruction manual on anything. I know many epic fantasy readers, perhaps even the majority, like a book the better, the more generous in factual details it is. Yet to me, lessons on fencing, sailing, playing chess, and whatnot are nothing if not distracting at their best and totally off-putting at their worst. The sailing blaah-blaah-blaah in Emerald Storm verges on being off-putting. If the book weren't so damn good aside from the aforementioned bits, I would drop it into my three-star pile.

All in all, I enjoyed Emerald Storm and could scarcely wait to move on to the next book in the series. I'm currently reading Heir of Novron and regret to say that, at least for now, book five, Wintertide, hasn't managed to impress me. Let's not write a review on an unfinished read, however. Who knows what surprises lurk on the pages I am yet to turn, so it would be most unfair to judge the whole book by the first fifteen chapters. 

Short Book Reviews // The Broken Tower by Kelly Braffet

It's been a week (? Or more-time runs so fast, I seem unable to keep up with it.) since I finished reading The Broken Tower (The Barrier Lands 2) by Kelly Braffet. I read it as an eBook and was annoyed many times because I had to put the tablet down and do something else. If it were possible, I'd have devoured the book in one go as I did with books I loved when I was a kid/teenager. But I'm an adult (What does that even mean?) and have responsibilities that I must prioritise over pleasures.  

The Broken Tower continues the story started in The Unwilling (the first book of The Barrier Lands) of three young people, Judah the Foundling, Lord Gavin of Highfall, and Lady Eleanor, who is Gavin's betrothed, bound to each other by the ties of love, friendship, and magic. I'm under the impression that The Broken Tower is supposed to be young adult fantasy, but I wouldn't recommend it for readers under 18. The book contains scenes that are brutally violent and, to be honest, quite disturbing. No sex, though, so if you're okay with gore but not with erotic scenes, go for it. 

You'll find a short description of the book here. I googled for the author's website or something else a tad more extensive, but this Risingshadow page was the only non-commercial site I could find. (The reason why I try to avoid sharing commercial links is that I don't want to direct you to purchase the books on a specific platform. Most books are available on various platforms in multiple formats, and I believe in giving people the full freedom of choice instead of nudging them in one direction or another.)

But to the review now. It's no surprise to anyone at this point that I loved the book at least as much as the first book in the series. If things went bad for the characters in The Unwilling, in The Broken Tower, they go even worse. That's not why I enjoyed The Broken Tower so much -I'm not a sadist, after all- but there is a beauty to a story that keeps taking a turn after another towards more misery. We are used to stories developing towards the better, aren't we? Most books have a happy ending, or at least things don't go to the dogs for all the main characters. So far, The Barrier Lands seems to be an exception on that account. There are moments that cheat the reader into imagining, the sun is finally starting to shine upon the MCs, yet, in the next chapter, they find themselves even more screwed than they were before. 

I've been complaining that I can no longer relate to the book characters. However, I can still emphatise with Judah's defiance and dedication to her loved ones. She ends up doing some pretty gruesome things to protect her friends and dodge the fate that other people are trying to force upon her. Some might think she's going too far, even mark her as one of the least likable characters in the story, but I understand her choices because I'd act the same if I were in her place. Afterwards, I'd be horrified for what I've done, just like Judah is, but the outcome would be the same.

I don't want to spoil it for you by revealing too much of the plot, so let's stick to more general notions. The story is written in the third person from the points of view of various characters, some of whom had only a minor role in The Unwilling. I like this type of structure a lot (and use it in my own books, as well). I think it gives the story more depth and keeps it more interesting. 

When it comes to language, The Broken Tower isn't the easiest book to read. In many places, the phrase structure is confusing and complicated. I had to read several sentences twice or thrice to figure out their meaning, but largely, the language is eloquent without getting overly embellished. 

To wrap it up, The Broken Tower isn't a light read, but it's definitely worth the time and concentration it requires. The plot is rather straightforward, save for a couple of twists, but because of the number of characters and events, the reader needs to focus fully on the story to keep up with it.

Currently Reading: The Broken Tower by Kelly Braffet...

...and a few words about me as a reader

I've been complaining in my recent reviews that the characters feel non-relatable. Once I finished Nyphron Rising (Riyria Revelations Book Three), I wondered whether the problem is in me rather than the books. To find that out, I picked The Broken Tower (The Barrier Lands 2) by Kelly Braffet as my next read, and now that I'm halfway through the story, I can safely say it's definitely me. 

I remember listening to the first book of The Barrier Lands, The Unwilling, as if it were yesterday, because it aroused such potent emotions in me -abhorrence and grief, mainly. I felt the characters' pain and desperation as if they were my own. The Broken Tower does not have the same effect on me, but the book isn't to blame. I've been binge-reading it, enjoying every word, but I feel nothing. The characters are as fantastic as in The Unwilling, the plot as gripping and haunting, but I could as well be reading the day's weather forecast for what emotions any of it arouses in me. 

As a child and teenager, I was so sensitive that I was afraid of the Orcs for years after I saw the Lord of the Rings movies. When I had to go out after dark, I was terrified because I was convinced there was a patrol of orcs hiding in the hayloft of our barn. Even as an adult, I have pinched my eyes shut if a scene in a movie or an episode has started to seem too suspenseful or violent. I've never been a keen reader of detective stories, let alone horror novels, because the thrill's been too much for me.  

It seems I'm not that person anymore, and the change saddens me. Even though life isn't easy for a susceptible and empathetic person, I'd rather have remained that way than become this calloused shell of a human I am today. It is what it is, however, and what changed me cannot be undone. 

Let's return to the book I'm currently reading for a bit, though. I haven't finished it yet, but I can already recommend it as a magnificent work of fantasy. The Broken Tower is categorized as young adult fantasy, but it's definitely a go-to for adults, too. I'm halfway through the book, would've finished it by now had I not returned to working on my own series, and I can scarcely wait to find out how it ends.

Short Book Reviews // Rise of Empire by Michael J. Sullivan (Part One)

I finished reading Book Three of Riyria Revelations, Nyphron Rising, by Michael J. Sullivan, and though these books come in packs of two, I saw it best to write the review on this one before starting Book Four, because -and I am a tad ashamed to admit this- I don't think I'll remember much of Nyphron Rising once I've finished the fourth book. I mentioned in my review of Theft of Swords (which contains the first two books of Riyria Revelations) that this series, despite being intriguing, isn't one to linger in my head for long. If you want to know more about the series, visit this page, because my Short Book Reviews don't include information about what happens in the books.

I enjoyed Theft of Swords, and Nyphron Rising turned out to be even more captivating. I struggled to put my tablet down at times (I'm reading the series as eBooks). Since the first page, the story anticipated a major plot twist, and on the last page, it was finally provided. Between the beginning and the end, a lot was going on. Theft of Swords is, in my opinion, a fast-paced book, but Nyphron Rising rolls on at a breakneck speed. Still, it manages to provide a few brief moments of quiet, much needed to balance out the avalanche of twists and turns the story takes. 

Regardless of keeping me hooked, Nyphron Rising failed to move me. Just like Theft of Swords, it's gripping and entertaining (and written better than the first two books), but doesn't provoke emotions. There are good characters, but no Joffrey Baratheons and Tyrion Lannisters. Despite many of them suffering greatly, I cannot feel their pain, nor can I rejoice for their victories. The sad truth is that even among the main characters, anyone could die, and I wouldn't mourn for them. I suspect I'd even remember them once I turned the page. I am starting to wonder whether I should read something else before continuing to Book Four, to make sure the fault isn't in me, rather than the characters, for they are all well-written with full backgrounds and everything else needed to make a parade of excellent book characters, they just lack that something that makes an imaginary person relatable. 

Nonetheless, Nyphron Rising is a quick and entertaining read that should provide enough action even to the less patient readers. I'll rate it four stars and look forward to reading The Emerald Storm, Book Four of Riyria Revelations.

Short Book Reviews // Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

What a captivating work of epic fantasy this is! It's been a while since I've struggled to put a book down, but Theft of Swords (Books 1 and 2 of Riyria Revelations) by Michael J. Sullivan gripped me from page one and kept me intrigued and entertained until the end.

(Because I'm not going to write a summary of the book, you may want to visit this page for a broad description.)

Theft of Swords has pretty much everything I require of a good fantasy book. If it offered a splash of romance in the bargain, I would give it five stars. As it has everything else that one would expect of a work of high fantasy, likable heroes, battles, conspiracies, it earns four stars from me. 

I have a soft spot for roguish heroes, so the main characters, Hadrian Blacwater and Royce Melborn, a duo of thieves who grow into Robin Hood-like characters as the story progresses, stole my heart at first sight. There are many other good characters in Theft of Swords besides them, but unfortunately, I found none of them too relatable. That's the other flaw the book has; it fails to arouse emotions. It's one of those stories that I liked a lot while reading, but that will slip off my mind in a span of days, leaving no trace. Regardless, it's a solid work of fantasy with a set of well-written characters, a complicated enough plot to keep you interested, an elusive wizard, and an almost invincible monster. 

Language-wise, Theft of Swords is easy to read (except for a few sentences I read half a dozen times, and still, they made no sense to me) with little embellishment. Yet, the author manages to picture elaborate scenes with only a few words -a skill I both admire and envy.

I also appreciate Sullivan's way of world-building. Instead of a massive info-dump that would just overwhelm the reader, he expands the world along with the story, sharing a new piece of information when required. I would also give the author credit for adding a glossary of names and places at the end of the book (I'm thinking I should steal the idea for my own books.).

All in all, a go-to if you're looking for a finished epic fantasy series that'll keep you entertained without mentally draining you. 

Devouring Words

I've been reading like crazy lately. Since I purchased the tablet, I've used every spare moment to devour books. I'm currently reading Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan, and so far, The Riyria Revelations seems just my kind of series. I won't reveal more about my thoughts on the story until I've finished books one and two, though.

There are a couple of reasons why I haven't read much in years. For starters, I've been busy renovating our house, and working on Braenduir Chronicles has occupied most of my spare time. Also, my budget for buying books is extremely limited, leaving the local library practically my only source of new reads. Not too many fantasy books are translated into my mother language, basically only the best-selling among the bestsellers, so I rarely find anything on the library shelves that piques my interest.  

At one point, I listened to a lot of audiobooks because I could do that while doing something else, like household chores, or gardening, etc., but listening to a book isn't quite the same as reading it. If the story isn't highly intriguing, my mind starts to wander, and at some point, I perk up to realise that an hour or two has passed without my paying any attention to the book. That can happen while I read as well, for a part of my brain is constantly working on my own series, but I usually can resume my focus when it's time to turn the page. 

But let's return to the original subject. Now that I have a proper device for reading eBooks, I read while having coffee or a meal, in the evenings when I've finished whatever tasks I have for the day, and even when I stand in front of the stove stirring a pot of sauce or something. I generally tend to think that the development of technology isn't entirely a positive thing, but thank gods for the internet and eBooks! Not only are there billions of books within my grasp, but most of them are also affordable, even free (like my book The Heirs of Duty), allowing us who live on the fringes of the civilised world access to a much vaster selection of stories than we would have otherwise. 

So, plunge into the sea of stories and pick up your next read, for there's no excuse to not spend time with books. There's also no reason not to give a chance to something else than the most popular and best-selling works, because there are countless eBooks available for FREE on various platforms, including the first book of Braenduir Chronicles, The Heirs of Duty, which you can now download for $0.00 on Barnes&Noble, Rakuten Kobo, Smashwords and many other platforms via this link.

Short Book Reviews // Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

I finished Tress of the Emerald Sea, a young adult fantasy adventure/romance by American author Brandon Sanderson. The book is about Tress, a window washer who lives on an island called the Rock in the middle of an ocean of emerald spores.

When I acquired the book, I didn't pay attention to the fact that it's a young adult novel. I've nothing against those, but it became evident pretty quickly that I don't belong to the targeted audience. Nonetheless, I finished the book and found it enjoyable enough. 

The world Sanderson builds is intriguing. It's not a fantasy world I'd go for if I investigated the books I intend to read before purchasing them, but I don't. For instance, I never read any reviews of the book beforehand. And as often as not, I also skip the blurb. Yet, it turned out to be a world into which I wouldn't mind taking another peek. In short, the story takes place in a universe divided into several oceans of spores, each ruled by a moon of its own. The occupants live on islands, leaving which is difficult because the spores are dangerous.

The heroine of Tress of the Emerald Sea does leave her home island, however, to rescue her beloved, Charlie, who's been captured by the Sorceress of the Midnight Sea. Her voyage across the Verdant and Crimson Seas is captivating even for an adult reader, regardless of the plot being somewhat predictable and the characters being one-dimensional. As could be expected, the characters are either Good or Bad; there's not much of a middle ground. If this were an adult fantasy book, I would consider that a major failure, but as TotES is a young adult book, I'll just skimp over it. 

All in all, I liked Tress of the Emerald Sea. It's an entertaining, easy-to-read story. Not something that'll dwell in your head for years, or even weeks, but worth considering if you're looking for a light-weight adventure sprinkled with the hints of a romance.

As a curiosity, this is the first Sanderson book I've read. Would I read more from him based on TotES? Yes. What's funny about it is that if I were me back in the day, when I was a young adult, I would've given up on the book when the talking rat made his entry and condemned the story as childish and the author as someone whose work I won't be wasting more time on. The boundaries of my imagination have, fortunately, widened since then, allowing me to find a talking rat an asset rather than an annoyance.

A Writer's Birthday Present

This year, I was a tad selfish and bought a birthday present for myself instead of spending the money on daily necessities. And what else would a writer want for their birthday except words? 

If I want to read in English, eBooks are practically my only option. I'd rather buy physical books, but with the shipping costs, they just are too expensive for me atm. So, thank gods for eBooks and the devices for reading them!

An actual eBook reader would've been a dream, but as a practical person, I decided on a tablet. I can use it to keep in touch with my family in case my (ancient) phone stops working. 

Now that I have a proper device, I've been able to read chapters instead of paragraphs at a time and am close to finishing Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. I started the book last year, but as I've been reading it on my phone, the progress has been painfully slow. 

I can scarcely wait to read more books, only I am a bit overwhelmed by the number of stories I haven't read, making it difficult for me to pick up my next read. If I assumed, someone was reading this blog, I'd ask for recommendations, but as I still suppose I'm lecturing an empty auditorium, I'll settle for wishing a wonderful week (or what's left of it) to everyone and no one.

Allowing the Night Audiobook Is Out

Allowing the Night, A Dark Fantasy Romance, by T. S. Winterway is now available as an audiobook! I am both proud and saddened to say it's available exclusively on Aspenn Fantasy Payhip store for $4.99 plus tax according to the regional regulations. 

We are also offering a package deal to people visiting this blog: $5.99 for both the E-Book ($3.49 bought alone) and audiobook ($4.99 bought alone), so CLICK-CLICK .

Allowing the Night has been reviewed by several LibraryThing users if you'd like to find out how others deem the story before purchasing. If you want my opinion, it's a lovely little book, an enchanting bedtime story for adults.

When it comes to the audio version of my book, I've buried the project. The Heirs of Duty is such a long book that converting it to audio, even with AI software, would be too expensive and time-consuming. If I could expect sales, I would take the gamble, but I've long since ceased to hope that I'd get back even a fraction of the resources I've invested in Braenduir Chronicles. 

Even though Smashwords' Read an E-Book Week was a success -a year ago, I would've been over the moon, imagining so many downloads must lead to a handful of reviews at least- I no longer nurture a silly hope that anything more would come out of it. I am still working on the series -a part of me just can't ditch the project, though I know it's nothing if not a waste of time- but whether Rues of the Heroes will ever be published remains to be seen. 

So much for whining, however. It's as useless in marketing a book as the feigned positivity. I hope from the heart that my friend's book gets more attention than mine.

 

Short Book Reviews: The Kingkiller Chronicle Books 1 and 2 by Patrick Rothfuss

The Kingkiller Chronicle is a planned trilogy by an American author Patrick Rothfuss whose independent work The Slow Regard of Silent Things is one of my favourite fantasy books. As the third book is still pending, I suppose I should review the two existing ones individually but as it's also likely the trilogy will never be completed, and I don't really have that much to say about The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear, I decided to bundle them together.

The Kingkiller Chronicle is about Kvothe, a famous musician and adventurer who has retired to a desolate village where no one knows him to work as an innkeeper. The perspective shifts between the third and the first person. The "present-day" parts are told in the third person whereas Kvothe's legend which he rehearses to the Chronicler, is in the first person.

I listened to The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear as audiobooks, and a good thing that I did for I don't think I could've finished even the first book had I chosen to read it. I'm not saying TNOTW and TWMF are bad books -well, The Wise Man's Fear is partially, if not bad, at least highly frustrating- but they are slow-paced to the point of tediousness. Also, the MC has too many similarities with Harry Potter (loses his family, enters a school of magic, makes an enemy of a well-off fellow student and so on) to make me take him seriously.

Yet, I kind of enjoyed The Name of the Wind. It hooked me with its deep insight into humanity. I might've loved it if the set-up was different and the story-telling a little faster-paced. The Wise Man's Fear, however... I still can't figure out why I finished listening to it. Mainly because I had paid for it and didn't have anything more intriguing on my TBR list at the moment, I suppose. 

In the second book, Kvothe becomes even more burdensome a character than he is in TNOTW, making me suspect his fame is largely a soap bubble. His stubborn devotion to his flimsy school-time sweetheart Denna made me want to hit something, and the elongated description of his visit to the fairyland would work better an an independent publication. In the end, Bast, Kvothe's non-human servant/friend became my favourite character of whom I would've loved to learn more.

The Kingkiller Chronicle is one of the fantasy series whose popularity and high overall rating remain a mystery to me. I would give The Name of the Wind three stars out of five, and The Wise Man's Fear not even that many. However, you don't need to take my word for it. Read or listen to the books for yourself and form your opinion based on them.

(Also, I am willing to admit that my opinion might change if the third book was published. It could yet salvage the series.)