The end of October is fast approaching, and we’ve still got a fair few books to cut. We’ll be announcing our four highest-scoring books soon, which we will recognise as our semi-finalists, but until then… It’s more cuts, unfortunately. Among these few are a couple of books that came very close to those semi-finalist spots.
The Nine by C.G. Harris
Click here for blurb
Hell is not what you think … It’s bone-chilling.
Gabe is a good guy making the best of eternity in a place not known for its hospitality — until he is recruited by Judas Iscariot (yes, that Judas) to join a sect of double agents dedicated to sabotaging the mayhem being released on Earth.
Armed with a skill set of irritating quips and zero knowledge of the modern world, Gabe must figure out how to work with his beautiful, tough-as-nails partner without botching the mission or revealing his true identity.
If this unlikely hero can’t figure it out before disaster strikes, facing the wrath of Hell will be the least of his worries …
Reader: Hiu
C.G. Harris’ The Nine was second book I read from start to finish for this year’s SPFBO. Honestly? It was readable enough that I had to rip up some plans to keep reading. See, what I usually do for this competition is read to the 20% mark for all of the books in my batch. That helps give me some idea of how good these books are, and from there I can decide which ones I want to finish and which I’m going to DNF.
The Nine, though (along with my yet-to-be-named first read), had such a *voice* to it that I wanted to keep reading. It’s admittedly not the most original piece of voiceyness I’ve ever read — it leans hard on the “gruff urban fantasy badass” trope — but I’d say that’s offset by the originality of the setting. The titular “Nine” refers to the ninth and worst level of hell, which is where our main character Gabe resides. He runs a shop there selling smuggled goods from our Earth, and has to deal with all of the demons and firestorms and, y’know… dead people, that come with the territory. Sure, that doesn’t sound all that original, but the way that it’s all put together felt like a very fresh repainting of urban fantasy.
Plot-wise, Gabe finds himself employed by perhaps the worst person he could be employed by. Not Satan, but Judas. Yes, that Judas. In a twist that makes a complicated sort of sense due to the betrayer’s nature, Gabe is tasked with actually *disrupting* the plans of hell, in order to keep a sort of balance between good and evil (or some such reason).
So we have an interesting concept set in an interesting world, a character with a strong narrative voice, and some very polished prose. With no disrespect intended to previous SPFBO entrants, in either of my previous years this might have been enough to earn The Nine a semi-finalist spot. This year, however, we have a very strong batch, and so unfortunately The Nine won’t be advancing further in the competition.
With that in mind, you may be wondering where my critiques lie if The Nine is such a solid book. Honestly? The thing is that it never really rose beyond “solid” in my estimation. I loved the ideas, I loved being introduced to the world (horrible as it was), but I was never fully invested in the story and the characters. Part of that may have been due to some authorial decisions that I found inherently questionable1 (especially as they weren’t suitably engaged with, in my opinion), but I also just never fully bought into the stakes of the story.
In the end, The Nine is a solid and original almost-urban-fantasy that I believe will have a sizeable audience out there waiting for it. If it looks like your kind of book, I encourage you to pick it up.
Note 1: Click for spoilers!
These decisions involved the death of an autistic brother as backstory motivation, and the main character’s past history as a slaver. I did not ding this book score-wise for the inclusion of these elements (I accept that the dude is in the worst sector of hell for a reason), but my personal feeling is that a book should be doing some seriously hard work when including such elements in order to appropriately incorporate them into a story.
These Violent Nights by Rebecca Crunden
Click here for blurb
Once upon a time, inhabitants of another world tore a hole through the universe and came to Earth. They called themselves Suriias, and rivalled humans in knowledge and skill with one great exception: they had magic.
War followed. Humanity lost. And three hundred years later, humans are on the brink of extinction.
Orphans Thorn and Thistle live in hiding. They are the last of their families, the last of their friends. They scrape by, stealing to survive and living on the streets or hiding in sheds. But even under the brutal regime of the Suriias, there are places where humans can mingle in secret with magical sympathisers, and one night Thistle gets an unexpected offer of marriage from a Suriia with high standing and friends in all the right places. For Thistle, it’s a chance at safety and comfort; for Thorn, it’s a chance to find the ones who killed her parents.
And so the pair move into the capital city of Courtenz. An urban monstrosity of magic and might, false friends and flying cars, drones and death tolls, the new city promises a fresh start – and new love – for both.
But if there’s one thing Thorn knows for certain, it’s that dreams can swiftly turn into nightmares.
Reader: Kop
This is both a tricky and easy book for me to review. While it’s a long book, it never really felt like it. To me it was one I could easily pick right back up and become immersed in the world. I think what helped was that while the actual plot and world could be a bit confusing at times, the prose itself was very reader friendly and guided you along the way. One of the strengths of this book for me was its ability to blend genres so seamlessly. There’s futuristic urban fantasy, some romance, a bit of a mystery going on, and more. I also really liked how the whole story wraps up in a single volume. It took some big risks that I think paid off for the most part. But there were overall parts that didn’t really hit for me. I’ve said in some past reviews (somewhere) that “nothing happened” is not a detractor for me. However, there were parts here where I really felt nothing was happening; the prose was nice, but we were just rehashing the same character development (the main protag doesn’t trust the aliens; she wants to escape but also avenge the death of her childhood friend, etc), world-building, etc. I also felt like the set-up of the world and plot was pretty lengthy compared to the ending. While I definitely appreciate it being a standalone, part of me wonders if it couldn’t have been a duology instead, allowing the climactic end to feel like an actual climactic end (not counting the epilogue, which I did think was a nice touch). Overall, I did really enjoy this book and would recommend it to people, but it’s also one I wish did some things better.
Dreams of Dust by Lily Anne Crow
Click here for blurb
The immortal lilka heal the wounds of a fractured world, but when the spirits of nature are silenced…
Thaniel Swift’s life is about to change. The inexperienced Wayfinder sets out on his first mission to explore the untamed wilds of Koranth. But when he joins a band of storied heroes to uncover the cause of an ominously deserted village, the hunt will lead Thaniel far from home, into the remnants of a long-forgotten civilization, and dangers beyond his dreams.
In the east, an ancient sorceress wields forbidden magic to attain the object of her obsession, no matter how much nature itself cries out in fear and pain. To achieve her desires, she will destroy not only the guardian spirits of the land, but the humans as well, leaving the continent of Koranth in desolation.
Thrown into the unpredictable wilderness, with growing talents he barely understands, Thaniel uses magic and skill to lead his new allies further into a dying land, seeking answers. Only with the wisdom of the lilka, and the aid of one of the enigmatic Builders, will Thaniel and his companions have any chance at all.
But will it be enough to stop the Queen of Dust?
Reader: Hiu
I was never quite sure how to put my finger on how I felt about Dreams of Dust. Or even how to explain what kind of book it is. Admittedly, I left the writing of this review until a while after reading the book in hopes of letting my thoughts settle, but I’m not sure it has made things any clearer.
Dreams of Dust is a very very slow-paced, almost “chill” epic fantasy that has a big focus on exploration. The main character, Thaniel, is a bit of a nervous softboi that wants to match up to the rest of his very competent party members. Being an epic fantasy, Thaniel of course eventually gets a glow-up, and I appreciate that this happened without fundamentally changing the type of person that he is — something that I feel too many books veer away from.
The exploration of the world takes up a lot of the first 50ish% of this book. Here, Thaniel and co. find a bunch of evidence of Evil Doing (for the most part whilst avoiding much direct confrontation) and come across a bunch of Natural Wonders. Rather formulaically, any discoveries tend to become relevant in a few chapters’ time. These early chapters don’t feel like they have much urgency at all, which often feels a bit at odds with the actual content of the story, but I don’t know that I minded this too much. When the characters are in danger, they’re more likely to have a calm-seeming conversation on the best way to survive, rather than acting impulsively. It makes for the most inoffensive, breezy, unhurried kidnapping story I’ve ever read. The characters are supposedly in a hurry to find the kidnappers and the source of all the Evil Doing, but really what we get on page is Thaniel crushing on a bunch of folks while moving from A to B to C.
In the last third, the dreaded Queen of Dust from the blurb comes into play, and we get the standard big book 1 epic fantasy conclusion. For me, though, it weirdly felt like the focus on these elements happened too late in the game? The transition from chill epic fantasy survival simulator to a plot-necessitated Big Bad feels like it leaves Dreams of Dust with a bit of an identity crisis, but I don’t know how big an issue this would be to most readers
In the end, I have very few criticisms to throw at this book, and I feel like fans of the Wheel of Time could really enjoy this one. I did find it a little dull, but that’ll be personal. It is really slow paced, but that’s not always a bad thing.
This is a solid book that I encourage any interested readers to check out. Especially seeing as it seems to have so few reviews at the moment (None on Goodreads! None! And this deserves so much more than that.) I would put this up against quite a few of last year’s SPFBO finalists and I think it would match up well, but unfortunately… we have a ridiculously strong batch at the Inn this year, and Dreams of Dust was unlucky enough to be drawn into the group of death.
This is a cut. But if it interests you? Read it, shout about it, spread the word.
Thanks for the review! I’m sorry it wasn’t quite your cup of tea, Hiu, but I very much appreciate the chance to participate, as well as the exposure. 🙂
~Lily