* Disclaimer *
Everyone is different and likes and dislikes different things. Reading is no exception. One person’s all-time favorite might seem too bland or too high stakes for another. That being said, the opinions of our judges in this contest are just that, opinions. Just because we let a book go, doesn’t mean it isn’t good. It could be your next favorite, who knows?
However, since this is a contest, there can be only one winner. Hence it is necessary to work our way down to our favorite from our batch of thirty titles. We will be letting books go five at a time, until we reach our semi-final list for Round One. These groups of five are being let go in no particular order. So, the books we say goodbye to today are not worse than books we let go in the next batch. They are just the first ones we read that didn’t quite click with us as a group.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can learn more about the contest here.
Yes the title said FOUR fall, not five. We ended up with a bunch of books tied, so we will have six semi-finalists this year!
Today we say goodbye to our last group of books from Round One of SPFBO#7 before we review our semi-finalists! In this group of four are some intriguing concepts, good writing, and interesting characters. Unfortunately, for different reasons, they didn’t stack up against the rest of the competition.
Here are our Last Four to Fall!
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Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill
Born in fire. Tempered in blood.
Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the south squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North.
In the remote villages of southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving—a test of courage and skill that not all survive.
But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war that has been raging for centuries.
There is no prophecy. His coming was not foretold.
He bleeds like any man, and bleed he will.
Of Blood and Fire promises adventure, magic, and dragons! It follows Calen just on the edge of adulthood as he is thrown into the larger story of his world. The worldbuilding of said world is typical fantasy fare, dwarves, elves, dragons, etc., and the writing is up there with some of the best in our group.
That said, there is a lot of telling instead of showing, and our judges found the story to be a bit generic and tropey. If you enjoy classic high fantasy, it might be a good book for you, but for us we had to let this one go.
Order of the Magi by Christopher Scott
Cantus dreams of glory in magical combat. He should have ample opportunities to win fame by hunting down rogue spellcasters for the Order of the Magi. But when a seemingly simple mission leaves him permanently disabled, he must journey to the center of the Auduwyn Empire to track down the errant mage who can heal him before his magic disappears entirely. To make matters worse, he soon discovers a growing threat that challenges the very fabric of the Order and the lasting peace it has established.
A story about hubris, fear, and the occasional fireball, the self-contained novel Order of the Magi transports readers into a world where magic only complicates matters and glory comes at a grisly cost.
This story follows Cantus who dreams of making a name for himself. He wants his name to be mentioned in song for his great battles with rogue mages, to be remembered like the great mages of old. Instead he finds himself pushed to the side in a job where glory is little and boredom is great.
The concept of an order of mages policing their own, so a rogue mage doesn’t takeover or even destroy the world, is interesting. The biggest issue was our judges had a hard time connecting with the main character. In the beginning of the book he is self-centered, power hungry, and full of hubris. He changes throughout the story, but it was difficult for us to get there. So, this was another story, we had to say goodbye to.
Overworld by Rohan M. Vider
A magic apocalypse. Refugees from Earth. A new world. Elves, orcs, and dragons!
Portals from Overworld have appeared on Earth, and beings intent on conscripting humanity into the mysterious Trials have invaded.
Jamie Sinclair, a young man with unique gifts, must find a way for his family and friends to survive Earth’s destruction and build a new home in Overworld.Earth is doomed. Humanity has been exiled. Jamie struggles through the brutal Trials while wrestling with his new magics and Overworld’s game-like dynamics.
But the Trials is not a game. Will Jamie survive its challenges and help save mankind?
Another LitRPG title, Overworld, starts in our world and throws our main character into the world of the Trials, where each person has stats and abilities, and humanity must fight against the world and its inhabitants or be utterly destroyed or subjugated.
Our judges loved the fact that the main character was disabled and that his disability was not “fixed” in the game world. The mechanics were also a lot easier to follow than the other LitRPGs we read this year. But unfortunately the genre itself was a sticking point with some of the judges, who just couldn’t get into the story because of the format. (Personally, this was my favorite book in our batch!) If you also enjoy LitRPG, you definitely need to check this one out! But overall, it didn’t quite make it into our semi-finals, and we had to say goodbye.
Twelve Jackals by Moud Adel
In a divided land where rival factions struggle to gain control using the unique talents of their respective realms, Rakamai and people of Kala curb their use of magic, because to do otherwise steals years from their lives.
But when a new alliance turns into a bloody betrayal and threatens open war, Rakamai vows to get revenge and secure the future of his people. To do so, he’ll need to fully embrace the magic of his people and bring his own considerable powers to bear. After all, a short future is better than no future at all.
This was another book that promised an interesting world. There are different tribes with different forms of magic and science, and the mechanics of the magical and physical fights was unique.
The biggest issue our judges found was the characters weren’t as fleshed out as they could have been. That coupled with the fact that we switch between characters and locations in rapid succession made it hard to connect with what was happening in the story. So, alas, we had to say our goodbyes to this book as well.
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We would like to thank all the authors for letting us read their work! We congratulate you on having the courage to enter the contest and wish you all much success in the future!
And a big congratulations to our semi-finalists! (Listed in alphabetical order by title.)
- Burn Red Skies by Kerstin Espinosa Rosero
- Dragon Mage by M. L. Spencer
- Seasons of Albadone by Christopher Warman & Elan Marche
- The Blood of the Spear by Mark Timmony
- The Mazes of Magic by Jack Massa
- The Sword in the Street by C. M. Caplan
We will be reviewing our four runners up then our second and first place winners, all by the end of the week! But regardless of the outcome the above books are well worth the read and we highly encourage you all to check them out!
Our judges this year are A. A. Freeman, Julia Kitvaria Sarene, Kartik Narayanan, Kerry Smith, Lynn K., and Jennie Ivins (me). If you’d like to learn more about us, including our likes and dislikes, you can read about them here.
Any queries should be directed at me, Jennie Ivins, via DM (Facebook/Twitter).
Title image by Free-Photos.
Julia Kitvaria Sarene