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

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. Fake it till you make it, they say these days... I've never been one to pretend, however, so I'll be honest with you; the audience has not found the book. It's my fault, largely, as I am an extreme introvert, fed up with social media (especially anything owned by Meta, and nowadays everything seems to be owned by Meta), and I have no money whatsoever to spend on marketing. Perhaps a part of the blame must be pointed at the book itself. It's not been written to please the masses. Comparing it to any of the more popular works within the genre is difficult. Reaching the targeted audience has proven impossible, at least by the means available to me.

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. That's why I keep working on the series even though I am my biggest and, almost, only fan. I enjoy writing the story too much to stop and focus my resources on something profitable.

One reason why The Heirs of Duty hasn't reached readers is my utter incompetence in describing my work. 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 in a way that makes the reader want to pick up that particular work from the unfathomable ocean of stories. 

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 practicing 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 emphasized 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. 

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 // 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.

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. 

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.)