Second Semifinalist Review for SPFBO #10

Beyond The Burning Sea by T.B. Schmid & R. Wade Hodges

It has been over two hundred and fifty years since the sky fell and the Young Gods died.

On the mainland of Niyah, the city states of Gundlaan strive to form a united nation. On the fringe of their western frontier, there are whispers of a sinister force gathering. The Laegis Templars, the mortal remains of the Young Gods’ army, are dispatched to deal with the problem. But in the vast and untamed Deckoran Wilds, Death itself is never far away…

Meanwhile, the SKS Peregrine, pride of the Sea Kings fleet, has done the impossible: she has traveled beyond the Burning Sea, long thought to be the southern edge of the world of Ruine. Now, all that remains of her crew struggle to find their way back, led by a young man bearing a book filled with dark secrets, who must decide whether to reveal the terrifying truth that pursues them…

And here we go, with our second semi finalist review! Again, not all our judges liked this the same, whcih is exactly why we enjoy reading as a big team. many more tastes and opinions to blend – though way more discussions about who shall win!

While we start planning an arena fight behind the scenes, have the second possible candidate!

Kerry: I really enjoyed this; having the prologue set 1 year earlier was a brave move and helped set up the first arc. The huge statue found in the prologue gave me Hounds of Shadow chills from  “HOUSE OF CHAINS“. When we get to the start of the story we are adrift at sea after with one young character carrying a journal containing vital information and part of the original expedition left behind. Though there are lulls in pacing (which unfortunately decreased my score slightly) it makes the action, fighting and deaths more impactful. Though there may not be much world building regarding the sea, when one reads the excerpts from the young sailors journal which sets out some remarkable adventure amongst astonishing flora and fauna.

The 2nd arc is set on land with a young woman called Castelle joining the Templars. I really enjoyed her character; the fact she’s a relatively big muscly farmers daughter giving it to the entitled Nobles who are also Templars gave me great joy. She also proves she no slouch in a fight or has no compunction for tact. 

Whilst the ends of each arc didn’t end up as a cliffhanger the authors’ have set up a the next book nicely. 

It did take a while for the book to get going after the prologue but I personally say stick with it.

Julia: I did like the start, but overall the story felt too slow, and a bit confusing at first. The world and mystery were really interesting, but it took me a bit to get the into the characters and actually get immersed into the story.

A big plus for me where what seems to be a neurodivergent character, and a female fighter who felt well rounded.

Overall it just didn’t grab me enough to keep reading all the way through though.

Patrick: Beyond the Burning Sea was my personal favourite of the books I read for SPFBO, and I was really impressed by it. It’s enormous in scope and ambition, with great characters, beautiful writing, and original settings. The authors seem to have a knack for vividly bringing to life all the locations in the book and making them immersive, whether we’re adrift at sea or encountering ancient ruins in the depths of a jungle. I loved the deep worldbuilding and the sense of mysteries being uncovered, and I thought the book was doing things that few other epic fantasies do. This is a big story, with big consequences, but the authors never take the focus away from the characters who are living it.

On the downside, there were some minor structural issues in the first third of the book: a big time jump after chapter one (if chapter one had been a prologue, that little issue would have disappeared, IMO) and a few too many things told in flashback. There was also an unnecessary and over-long epilogue.

I do feel the cover lets the book down a little, but don’t let that put you off. As soon as I finished it, I went and bought the sequel, which is the biggest complement you can give a book, in my opinion, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

Calvin: I felt like this one had some potential. The prologue was intriguing, and the first chapter felt like it set things up well, even if the time jump was jarring. But it felt like the next several chapters were a series of info dumps. The early chapters ended up being quite a slog for me. The story was slow to develop and the characters, while showing potential, also felt to me like they were slow to develop. In fairness, I do think the characters had potential and the cast was diverse in ways that I appreciated. But I just never felt like I settled into the world or story.

Adawia:  It’s obvious a lot of work has gone into this book, and the authors (at least one of them) probably has some maritime experience, or the research in this area has been extremely thorough – which I can appreciate.

I really love the opening, and the direction the opening thread is taking, but my main gripe, which is kind of keeping me from being enthralled by this story, is the slightly excessive amount of world-building, too much time spent being vague and ominous for my liking. Though I understand this is a big positive for some readers, a plot-geek like me prefers a slightly less verbose storytelling experience. 

I will add that I think the writing is solid and it’s fairly polished – there’s quality in this book.The characters and the world have flesh which is a good thing, but the excessive details and unnecessary descriptions have me often skimming and overly eager to get to the good bits, which, for me, is the plot and the progression of it. 

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