Book review - The Unflinching Ash by Angela Armstrong

The Unflinching Ash by Angela Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.

I really quite enjoyed "The Unflinching Ash" by Angela Armstrong. The titular Ash is a Mystic whose parents, a famous magical act, were murdered crowds who deemed their trade witchcraft. Ash carries on the family tradition, in the hopes of attaining the prestigious Queen's Seal. Striking up a friendship with the mysterious fellow magician Besuto Ren, she must deal with prejudice, torture and attempted murder from the fanatically devout Mistress Odell Gregory and Archbishop Fulton, trying to stay two steps ahead of them in her attempts to meet Queen Valencia and not only win the Seal, but change the moral dynamic of the land.

This is one of those books that grabs you and doesn't let go. I've read a few fantasy type novels recently, and oftentimes I find them a little confusing because the world they create is just so vast and massive. The world Armstrong creates here, Morlough, seems real, lived in, and very much alive. I think it's because the majority (if not all) of the novel is set in Morlough, in and around the town of Seeburgh, that I really got a feel for the place.

A great setting is nothing without characters to care about, and Ash is so well defined she jumps off the page. We are privy to her many thoughts and feelings, though outwardly she expresses very little. It could be argued that some of the characters (the Archbishop and a character who earns the nickname Arsebeard) are one-dimensional, but I appreciated it in this context. Subtlety and moral reasoning are left to the characters of Odell and Queen Valencia and, of course, Ash herself. In fact, one of the wonderful things about this novel is that the women in it are so realistically portrayed, with all their complex thoughts and emotions. The men, on the other hand, are for the most part ciphers, with the exception of Besuto Ren. It's about time the roles were reversed!

Armstrong really gets you involved in the details of many of the magical acts. You can tell she is a fan of the art, if not a performer herself. Her descriptions - not just of "the mystical arts" but of everything in general really make this book stand out from the rest. It's incredibly cinematic.

If there is one negative I would point out, it's that perhaps the story takes a while to get going ... but then, there is so much character development and world-building that it's really not a big issue. My least favourite part of the book, to be honest, is when it ended!

Nine magical mystics out of ten.

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Book Review - A Leaf And Pebble by Andrew Monroe

A Leaf and Pebble by Andrew Monroe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.

"A Leaf and Pebble" is a for the most part engaging fantasy novel that follows the adventures of Nil and his friend Volant as they try to stay two steps ahead of the authorities who believe they have stolen a Toron stone which wields immense power.

The good: Nil and Volant are wonderfully drawn characters, and by the time I was finished reading, I felt like I was rejoining old friends every time I cracked open the book. The world of Balteris is huge and they seem to travel everywhere; for the most part each section of the world is clearly defined, although I did get a bit confused in some instances. Monroe has done a really good job creating this world out of his imagination, from the topography and geography to the different "tribes" as it were, to the monsters inhabiting it and the magical powers some yield. Great detail is given and all of it is appreciated.

The not so good: It doesn't work as a stand-alone book. I realise that it is the first part in what is probably a trilogy or multi-book series, but for me it ended very abruptly, and one of the main characters seems to fall off the face of the earth over the last couple of chapters. There were quite a few spelling and punctuation errors, but those are easily rectified.

Bottom line: "A Leaf and Pebble" is a long-ish book, at about 450 pages. Ignore the fact that it took me two months to read, as I've not been in the mood for reading much lately; something like this could easily be read in a week or two. Fantasy has always been difficult for me to get into, but when I did open this book I immediately was brought back into the new yet familiar world Monroe has created.

Seven Skills out of ten.

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