The Stone Knife

I am always on the look out for innovative and different takes on fantasy, and The Stone Knife definitely fits that bill. Here we are transported to a fantasy version of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, a fascinating and rarely explored conceit within the fantasy genre. In this world, a vast empire (The Empire of Song) is poised to complete its conquest of all known lands by conquering the last two allied independent states. The empire is ruled over by The Singer who spreads his influence by way of a magical song that can be heard throughout his domain, powered by pyramids capped with ‘songstone'. Alongside them are their gods, fearsome water dwelling creatures called ‘the drowned' by their enemies and ‘Holy Setetmah' by the Empire of Song.

This story is essentially following both sides of this conflict through multiple POV. The most interesting one is probably the Singer's chief concubine, whose Machiavellian schemes provide most of the intrigue. We are also witness to the way that the empire brainwashes its new subjects, providing an impressively cohesive and believable campaign.

The Stone Knife has the same kind of literary voice as Anna Stephens used in her Godblind series, but takes on the world building in an entirely more developed way. This mesoamerican cultural setting really gives it a tremendous lift and it is so refreshing to see things move away from the typical European frames of reference. The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and I have certainly been left wanting more