It’s that time of year again Factioneers! Time for the 11th Annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off to begin! We at Fantasy-Faction have been judging the contest since its inception way back…
Absurd quests, unexpected twists, and a steady undercurrent of satire kept the pacing brisk and the tone light, without slipping into pure farce.
... blends romance, magic, and courtly intrigue into a story driven as much by emotion as by politics. Set in a richly imagined, Middle Eastern inspired world, it follows characters…
"It’s one of those rare books that transforms as you read it, and then transforms you in turn."
A wonderful mix of mystery, adventure and heart. It captures the spirit of old-school fantasy while keeping a modern warmth that makes it easy to love.
It is sharp without being flowery and keeps the focus where it belongs, on the characters and their choices.
French deserves credit for doing something original with grimdark genre and creating a setting quite different to what you will usually have read.
A beautiful book, beautifully written.
Do not read this book at 3am whilst suffering from insomnia and then discover there is NO chocolate in the house, in any form!!
A very well-written story with plenty of atmosphere, and the relationships—both new and old—being particularly well done.
...a clever, gritty little gem. A witty, tightly written fantasy adventure with a phenomenal lead, great humor, surprising emotional depth, and just enough chaos to keep things unpredictable.
This was my favourite of the SPFBO books by quite some distance. It’s a powerful story about outsiders, how they try to fit in, and how they are treated.
Jennie Ivins
Julia Kitvaria Sarene