By Samantha Payne
Blurb:
Deep in the folklore of Tallinor lies a dark story of betrayal and destruction, the story of a powerful sentient called Orlac who once razed the famed city of Caremboche, and almost destroyed the entire land. . .
Now, all sentients are feared and, once discovered, subjected to the barbaric practises of bridling and branding. But in a village far from the royal city, a young man, Torkyn Gynt blazes with great power and healing abilities. In order to fulfil his destiny, Tor must leave his home – and his love, Alyssa – to become apprentice to the royal physic.
The trouble is, Tor has no idea how important he actually is. His only guides are a man who is no longer a man and a mysterious woman who appears to him in his dreams. Aware of the magnitude of his powers but unsure to what end he is to use them; Tor embarks on a journey that can only end in triumph or betrayal.
Blurb:
Deep in the folklore of Tallinor lies a dark story of betrayal and destruction, the story of a powerful sentient called Orlac who once razed the famed city of Caremboche, and almost destroyed the entire land. . .
Now, all sentients are feared and, once discovered, subjected to the barbaric practises of bridling and branding. But in a village far from the royal city, a young man, Torkyn Gynt blazes with great power and healing abilities. In order to fulfil his destiny, Tor must leave his home – and his love, Alyssa – to become apprentice to the royal physic.
The trouble is, Tor has no idea how important he actually is. His only guides are a man who is no longer a man and a mysterious woman who appears to him in his dreams. Aware of the magnitude of his powers but unsure to what end he is to use them; Tor embarks on a journey that can only end in triumph or betrayal.
To me this book had as many good points as it did not so good points. I dislike using the word bad when describing anybody’s creative work. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the book. The world of Tallinor was sometimes disturbingly akin to our own world. The inquisitors’ actions against the sentients (magic users) aren’t far removed from the horrific witch burnings of the early modern period (about 1480 to 1750). In fact, you are introduced to the vile act of ‘bridling’ in the first chapter, with a rather disturbing insight into the first villain of the story.
I liked the fact that Fiona used her relatively impressive writing style to garner sympathy towards a very real event in our history. I say her relatively impressive writing as it is in fact her debut novel, so to judge her style based on this book alone would be unfair, but given that I was still impressed. Her story is often graphic, both sexually and violently. Now this doesn’t bother me because as a reader I have quite thick skin but I can see some of her scenes being rather unsettling for the more sensitive fantasy readers out there. She covers such controversial issues such as rape and physical mutilation. They are in fact reoccurring themes throughout the book. I do believe she created such extreme situations to create sympathy towards the characters. For me, this worked with some characters but not all as I will explain.
I found myself unable to relate to the two main characters, finding instead myself relating to the minor characters. Her two main characters are the biggest disappointment I found in this narrative. The female main character is more likable in this book but having read the rest of trilogy, I know her personality only worsens. She commits an act I cannot forgive her for but I will not mention it in this review lest I ruin it for any would-be readers. The male character is likeable but a little too likeable among the ladies of the story if you catch my drift. I find his personality a little unbelievable at times. I think I have stumbled upon on of Fiona’s less glowing of habits when it comes to character creation; they are too ‘perfect’. Both her main characters in this novel are often and overly described as beautiful beyond compare. It’s almost like she is rubbing their perfection in her readers face. I get it Fiona, they’re hot, now can we please get on with the story? I often thought this to myself whilst reading.
I did notice an interesting theme that Fiona put across very well, which was never to underestimate evil. There are some real nasty bits of work in her story, bad guys that really made you side with the heroes even if you didn’t really relate to or even like them. The character Goth, who you meet in the first chapter, really made my blood boil. The way he tormented the weak and punished those brave enough to stand up to him made him a character to be truly loathed. This to me added another layer of depth to the narrative. On that note, I will say I love how Fiona tells her story. It seems to flow smoothly from one scene to the next, though I personally would like to see more details but I’m one for overthinking the details anyway.
To sum up, I enjoyed the narrative. It flowed smoothly, providing many interesting twists along the way. If you can get over the some of the poor character development (not all only some) then I think this a book most fantasy fans will enjoy. I certainly did but I see myself not reading it again for a while. I’m one to re-read a lot of my books to find things I missed the first time but I’m unsure whether I will with this one. It is definitely worth a onetime read though in my opinion.
May you always find adventure wherever you seek it.
I liked the fact that Fiona used her relatively impressive writing style to garner sympathy towards a very real event in our history. I say her relatively impressive writing as it is in fact her debut novel, so to judge her style based on this book alone would be unfair, but given that I was still impressed. Her story is often graphic, both sexually and violently. Now this doesn’t bother me because as a reader I have quite thick skin but I can see some of her scenes being rather unsettling for the more sensitive fantasy readers out there. She covers such controversial issues such as rape and physical mutilation. They are in fact reoccurring themes throughout the book. I do believe she created such extreme situations to create sympathy towards the characters. For me, this worked with some characters but not all as I will explain.
I found myself unable to relate to the two main characters, finding instead myself relating to the minor characters. Her two main characters are the biggest disappointment I found in this narrative. The female main character is more likable in this book but having read the rest of trilogy, I know her personality only worsens. She commits an act I cannot forgive her for but I will not mention it in this review lest I ruin it for any would-be readers. The male character is likeable but a little too likeable among the ladies of the story if you catch my drift. I find his personality a little unbelievable at times. I think I have stumbled upon on of Fiona’s less glowing of habits when it comes to character creation; they are too ‘perfect’. Both her main characters in this novel are often and overly described as beautiful beyond compare. It’s almost like she is rubbing their perfection in her readers face. I get it Fiona, they’re hot, now can we please get on with the story? I often thought this to myself whilst reading.
I did notice an interesting theme that Fiona put across very well, which was never to underestimate evil. There are some real nasty bits of work in her story, bad guys that really made you side with the heroes even if you didn’t really relate to or even like them. The character Goth, who you meet in the first chapter, really made my blood boil. The way he tormented the weak and punished those brave enough to stand up to him made him a character to be truly loathed. This to me added another layer of depth to the narrative. On that note, I will say I love how Fiona tells her story. It seems to flow smoothly from one scene to the next, though I personally would like to see more details but I’m one for overthinking the details anyway.
To sum up, I enjoyed the narrative. It flowed smoothly, providing many interesting twists along the way. If you can get over the some of the poor character development (not all only some) then I think this a book most fantasy fans will enjoy. I certainly did but I see myself not reading it again for a while. I’m one to re-read a lot of my books to find things I missed the first time but I’m unsure whether I will with this one. It is definitely worth a onetime read though in my opinion.
May you always find adventure wherever you seek it.
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