Michael Barnes
This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne (of Tomes & Tea quadrology) is book one of the Titan's Wrath trilogy. Described as “lesbians versus zombies on a doomed submarine,” ís only the surface description of this wild genre splicing tale, beneath it is steampunk fantasy with claustrophobic (it is set on a cruise liner sized submarine called The Luminosity descending to an underwater city) supernatural horror.
The story is set Valkesh, a kingdom separated from its bigger neighbour and now at war at them. Valkesh has an advantage though: it has access to a miracle metal called ichoron, which heals, makes weapons, helps you see like an eagle, anything you name really. Ichoron is mined beneath an underwater city which you get to from Valkesh via the Luminosity. The story is threaded with a strong societal classism to which as a Marxist I can respect.
Through into this is our enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance with Sergeant Nix Marr, who is summoned to take a voyage down to the ichoron mines on the Luminosity following tales of a strange massacre, a supernatural beast called the Crypt Keeper seemingly more myth than reality but the alternative is a terrifying contagion driving the miners to violent rage. Now enter the people's hero one of Valkesh’s royals, Kessandra. Last time they were down in the depths together, Nix lost her best friend and her romantic relationship with Kessandra went sour.
The action is fast, the reveals and betrayals exciting and I got to know a supporting cast of interesting and intriguing characters enough that I was concerned for their fates when they were in peril. The book concludes more in a pause than a resolution so I am looking forward to the next book eagerly.
This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne (of Tomes & Tea quadrology) is book one of the Titan's Wrath trilogy. Described as “lesbians versus zombies on a doomed submarine,” ís only the surface description of this wild genre splicing tale, beneath it is steampunk fantasy with claustrophobic (it is set on a cruise liner sized submarine called The Luminosity descending to an underwater city) supernatural horror.
The story is set Valkesh, a kingdom separated from its bigger neighbour and now at war at them. Valkesh has an advantage though: it has access to a miracle metal called ichoron, which heals, makes weapons, helps you see like an eagle, anything you name really. Ichoron is mined beneath an underwater city which you get to from Valkesh via the Luminosity. The story is threaded with a strong societal classism to which as a Marxist I can respect.
Through into this is our enemies-to-lovers sapphic romance with Sergeant Nix Marr, who is summoned to take a voyage down to the ichoron mines on the Luminosity following tales of a strange massacre, a supernatural beast called the Crypt Keeper seemingly more myth than reality but the alternative is a terrifying contagion driving the miners to violent rage. Now enter the people's hero one of Valkesh’s royals, Kessandra. Last time they were down in the depths together, Nix lost her best friend and her romantic relationship with Kessandra went sour.
The action is fast, the reveals and betrayals exciting and I got to know a supporting cast of interesting and intriguing characters enough that I was concerned for their fates when they were in peril. The book concludes more in a pause than a resolution so I am looking forward to the next book eagerly.