Ashlee Scheuerman

This was a compelling read, with a lovely sense of prose that is poetic and descriptive and rich, and often sorely lacking in contemporary fantasy publications today. Wonderfully rich worldbuilding without being overwhelmingly dense, naturally flowing information coming through, and on top of that, snappy, individual character dialogue which makes the characters introduced appealing and interesting, and their own.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about reading the name Lacilegwen (our main protag) show more over and over again, but actually I came to love it within a surprisingly short amount of pages. I adored Thorin, despite his checkered past, as we came to know him through his adoration of Lacilegwen. Even 'side characters' (who can't really be relegated to the side) like Luca, Cifer, Breece, Teluthad and more were all fascinating, and I wanted (and want) to know more about each. I have to admit to having something of a crush on Luca already, ha. He had some of the best lines of dialogue.

Also, so refreshing to have a fantasy novel not bedded down in some of the more distasteful tropes. We have the stoic warrior who hardly talks in Thorin, yet through Lacilegwen's insistence he is emotionally open, becomes more transparent (at least in some areas), and we get this lovely genuine dialogue between anyone who encounters her. To find that level of self-awareness, patience and compassion isn't actually all that common, I find, and shines through as a strength of the book, especially in allowing the reader to access characters who might otherwise be totally cryptic and/or inaccessible.

The descriptions of action and magic are awesome, the villains (and tricksters) fascinating and terrifying in their own right. You come aware that this is a world with a great many threats, and all of them to be taken seriously.

This tale was only benefited by the presence of wonderful chapter by chapter illustrations rendered in black and white by Ty Scheuerman. These are wonderfully evocative, drawing to mind an oldschool style that is very much out of use these days (and how unfortunate for us that it is), and never out of place. All illustrations are thoughtful, giving an idea of the scope and breadth of the world that Ashlee has created, and allowing the imagination to conceive the world as being truly grand and fantastic in nature.

I'm very much looking forward to the next in the trilogy (which should absolutely be more widely known than it is), because I very much need to know what happened to certain things and places we don't know about yet (look I don't want to leave any spoilers). Also the ending? You'll probably cry. Maybe you won't, I'm a bit of a weeper. But *I* definitely cried. It's not often a fantasy novel can do that to me, and this one gets that rare honour. show less