C. J. Daley
RTC after BBNYA final round ends
RTC after BBNYA final round ends
I was apparently approved for this from NetGalley, but then I got so busy that I completely missed it. So, very sorry about that! The narration by Lindsay Dorcus was awesome.
Wardens are like rangers and wizards mixed into one. Our main character, Aelis, is a sword wielding, wand caster, and the new arriving overseer of Lone Pine. She is a necromancer, an anatomist, and pretty good with a sword too. The world pieces Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and even Harry Potter, and I could see people thinking Gideon the Ninth too. With all that in mind, the blend read very unique to me, as well as fully fleshed out.
The inner thoughts of Aelis, somewhat sarcastic and even self-deprecating, mixed with the more deadpan and steadfast personality of her half-orc guide, Tun, read as a great dynamic. I did struggle a bit with the half-elf love interest though. It felt kind of like pushing for a sapphic subthread that didn’t really need to be there. Or at least it wasn’t fleshed out enough for me.
I’d also liken it to some older fantasy series in the sense that it doesn’t deliver on some gigantic climax. That didn’t really work for me in the moment, but I think I’ve just become so engrained in the modern delivery of heavy action before the end. This does not have that, and that’s actually okay. It’s not without action, nor is it boring at all!
Personally a 4/5*. The peppered in flashbacks from school at the Lyceum really added depth to the world and the MC.
I was apparently approved for this from NetGalley, but then I got so busy that I completely missed it. So, very sorry about that! The narration by Lindsay Dorcus was awesome.
Wardens are like rangers and wizards mixed into one. Our main character, Aelis, is a sword wielding, wand caster, and the new arriving overseer of Lone Pine. She is a necromancer, an anatomist, and pretty good with a sword too. The world pieces Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and even Harry Potter, and I could see people thinking Gideon the Ninth too. With all that in mind, the blend read very unique to me, as well as fully fleshed out.
The inner thoughts of Aelis, somewhat sarcastic and even self-deprecating, mixed with the more deadpan and steadfast personality of her half-orc guide, Tun, read as a great dynamic. I did struggle a bit with the half-elf love interest though. It felt kind of like pushing for a sapphic subthread that didn’t really need to be there. Or at least it wasn’t fleshed out enough for me.
I’d also liken it to some older fantasy series in the sense that it doesn’t deliver on some gigantic climax. That didn’t really work for me in the moment, but I think I’ve just become so engrained in the modern delivery of heavy action before the end. This does not have that, and that’s actually okay. It’s not without action, nor is it boring at all!
Personally a 4/5*. The peppered in flashbacks from school at the Lyceum really added depth to the world and the MC.
I received this novella to judge for SFINCS. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team. I did also happen to purchase this in paperback, as I prefer to read physical, and I liked the cover.
As a prequel, I was surprised how character focused this was, especially because it came out after the series first book (something that seems quite popular in current fantasy series). It opens right into a very morally grey set of characters, and as with all wars, they are on both sides. I enjoyed all of the perspectives and the ways in which they were different. And the author definitely has a deft hand with written intrigue.
The world seems to have a system where whenever someone dies, everything they’ve ever handwritten disappears. It’s intriguing for sure, though just barely touched upon. I don’t know if this is because you are supposed to be teased into reading the first book, or because it was originally explained at length in the novel, but as a standalone for SFINCS, it didn’t really work for me, feeling more like a possible companion to book one in that sense, rather than a standalone prequel.
The action sequences, though rather short, are intense, written well, and definitely make you feel like you’re thrust right into the thick of it. Because it’s character focused though, I do feel like it fell a bit short on delivering against its title of “The Revenge of Thousands.”
Personally a 3.5/5*. I am trying to judge it as a standalone for the competition, but my own thoughts are that I would very gladly continue right into the first book!
I received this novella to judge for SFINCS. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team. I did also happen to purchase this in paperback, as I prefer to read physical, and I liked the cover.
As a prequel, I was surprised how character focused this was, especially because it came out after the series first book (something that seems quite popular in current fantasy series). It opens right into a very morally grey set of characters, and as with all wars, they are on both sides. I enjoyed all of the perspectives and the ways in which they were different. And the author definitely has a deft hand with written intrigue.
The world seems to have a system where whenever someone dies, everything they’ve ever handwritten disappears. It’s intriguing for sure, though just barely touched upon. I don’t know if this is because you are supposed to be teased into reading the first book, or because it was originally explained at length in the novel, but as a standalone for SFINCS, it didn’t really work for me, feeling more like a possible companion to book one in that sense, rather than a standalone prequel.
The action sequences, though rather short, are intense, written well, and definitely make you feel like you’re thrust right into the thick of it. Because it’s character focused though, I do feel like it fell a bit short on delivering against its title of “The Revenge of Thousands.”
Personally a 3.5/5*. I am trying to judge it as a standalone for the competition, but my own thoughts are that I would very gladly continue right into the first book!
I received this novella to judge for SFINCS. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team. I did also happen to purchase the audiobook, as I am super busy, and the narration was a nice plus.
This was an interesting mix of kind of slice-of-life styled mundane work and then urban fantasy-ish blended cosmic horror and action. A car park. Creepy lights and darkness. The car park workers. Discovering a cistern that’s slowly churning out multi-dimensional monsters. Oh and the monsters turn to sludge when they die, so no one will believe it.
The main character, Sam, is enjoyable and believable. Her experiences are so real and frustrating that I didn’t mind sitting in the booth with her while she worked. As a retail worker, I have experienced and heard some of these things myself, so it was spot on (sadly!).
I liked the idea of her recruiting the other car park employees to protect the place and stake out the cistern, however I did find the ending to come up a bit short. Both in the literal scale, and excitement. It wasn’t outright flat, it just felt as if it came and went, the action happening in one single little burst. It made the built up stakes not read as quite real.
Personally a 3.5/5*, I’d still recommend as I’m sure book 2 adds even more to it.
I received this novella to judge for SFINCS. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team. I did also happen to purchase the audiobook, as I am super busy, and the narration was a nice plus.
This was an interesting mix of kind of slice-of-life styled mundane work and then urban fantasy-ish blended cosmic horror and action. A car park. Creepy lights and darkness. The car park workers. Discovering a cistern that’s slowly churning out multi-dimensional monsters. Oh and the monsters turn to sludge when they die, so no one will believe it.
The main character, Sam, is enjoyable and believable. Her experiences are so real and frustrating that I didn’t mind sitting in the booth with her while she worked. As a retail worker, I have experienced and heard some of these things myself, so it was spot on (sadly!).
I liked the idea of her recruiting the other car park employees to protect the place and stake out the cistern, however I did find the ending to come up a bit short. Both in the literal scale, and excitement. It wasn’t outright flat, it just felt as if it came and went, the action happening in one single little burst. It made the built up stakes not read as quite real.
Personally a 3.5/5*, I’d still recommend as I’m sure book 2 adds even more to it.