Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I'm not sure how I feel about this one.
On one hand, it's very well written and definitely a page turner. The characters feel well developed and you want to know what happens next.
On the other hand, the main characters are two of the most awful people I've read in fantasy. On every encounter, I root against them, hoping they will finally be blasted to ash by an observant wizard. I really hope they both die and book two ends abruptly with their failure. Then again, I stopped reading a song of ice and Fire when Ned and then Rob Stark died so this clearly is not the genre for me!
It's definitely not a bad book and is enthralling in it's own way, but I'll never recommend it and currently feel vaguely depressed as I recollect the details of the world. I'd say the author succeeded in his vision. 4 star
On one hand, it's very well written and definitely a page turner. The characters feel well developed and you want to know what happens next.
On the other hand, the main characters are two of the most awful people I've read in fantasy. On every encounter, I root against them, hoping they will finally be blasted to ash by an observant wizard. I really hope they both die and book two ends abruptly with their failure. Then again, I stopped reading a song of ice and Fire when Ned and then Rob Stark died so this clearly is not the genre for me!
It's definitely not a bad book and is enthralling in it's own way, but I'll never recommend it and currently feel vaguely depressed as I recollect the details of the world. I'd say the author succeeded in his vision. 4 star
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the first of Fletcher's books that I didn't love, and I'm sad about it! Honestly nothing about the book really drew me in. I've come to expect exceptional characters from Fletcher that excuse his shallower world-building, but in this case I found both the characters and world a little bland. Our main character spent every brain cell wallowing over his decaying moral compass while f*cking his literally decaying necromancer mistress. Add a few more sentences about wizards and demonic empires and the whole book is summed up.
I liked wisps and snippets of the magic and demonology but it's not enough to make me pick up the second book, unfortunately. All that said, it was still better than some of my other 3 starred reviews, so it gets a little bump up over them.
I liked wisps and snippets of the magic and demonology but it's not enough to make me pick up the second book, unfortunately. All that said, it was still better than some of my other 3 starred reviews, so it gets a little bump up over them.
Strong prose and narrative, with complex characters but it was hard to a actively invest in the story because of how amoral the main character was. This was the point of the book, an exploration of that morality, but it's still hard to enjoy a main character who actively, and repeatedly, murders and butchers innocents. Him lamenting these actions helps to maintain interest but it's not really enough. Two of the three major plot reveals were fairly predictable, though one barely counts as reveal since it was almost a given from the start.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely love the premise of this book. And I think Fletcher does a decent job with it, taking the story down an interesting path.
Two things really kept this book from greatness, in my opinion.
1) It comes off as an embarrassing kind of wish fulfillment fantasy. The protagonist (who is young, scrawny, penniless, and on the wrong end of some extreme racism) spends the entire book being pursued by gorgeous, capable women. There are some mitigating circumstances, but this coupled with the constant leering descriptions got way out of hand. I was a teenager once too, Fletcher, and it's not the excuse you think it is.
2) The premise of the book begs a certain question about morality and nature versus nurture. Fletcher wisely weaves that into the story. At first. And then it's not weaving so much as... I don't know, throwing yarn at your face? He loses all nuance and subtlety, to a totally ridiculous degree.
I could do without that incredibly pretentious prologue, also. Jumping right in would have been an strong start - the early chapters are phenomenal, absolutely gripping.
But! I loved the world-building. I liked how distinct the different kinds of magic are. The first half of the story is mostly a traditional fantasy adventure, which was a lot of fun.
By the end, though, I was feeling the grimdark fatigue.
It's not a masterpiece, but I think I'll continue with the series.
Two things really kept this book from greatness, in my opinion.
1) It comes off as an embarrassing kind of wish fulfillment fantasy. The protagonist (who is young, scrawny, penniless, and on the wrong end of some extreme racism) spends the entire book being pursued by gorgeous, capable women. There are some mitigating circumstances, but this coupled with the constant leering descriptions got way out of hand. I was a teenager once too, Fletcher, and it's not the excuse you think it is.
2) The premise of the book begs a certain question about morality and nature versus nurture. Fletcher wisely weaves that into the story. At first. And then it's not weaving so much as... I don't know, throwing yarn at your face? He loses all nuance and subtlety, to a totally ridiculous degree.
I could do without that incredibly pretentious prologue, also. Jumping right in would have been an strong start - the early chapters are phenomenal, absolutely gripping.
But! I loved the world-building. I liked how distinct the different kinds of magic are. The first half of the story is mostly a traditional fantasy adventure, which was a lot of fun.
By the end, though, I was feeling the grimdark fatigue.
It's not a masterpiece, but I think I'll continue with the series.
When Khraen wakes up, he has almost no memories of his past. It included violence, murder, and hacking his own chest open but other than that? Hard to say.
He doesn’t act like a human being; rather as a savage creature focused on survival, living off bugs and roots. Only after finding an obsidian shard that pierces his skin and finds its way to his heart, he regains parts of his identity.
His integration into the local society gets tricky, especially that he has no marketable skills beyond killing children and women. His actions stem from the urge to follow the remaining shards of his heart scattered around the world. After getting each shard Khraen undergoes a painful process of integration during which he regains some memories of the past. And with them comes a growing sense of unease - it’s possible people hate him for a reason other than the color of his skin. It’s possible his past actions had disastrous consequences.
With its breakneck pace, excellent banter, wild twists and reveals, Black Stone Hearts bullies you into liking it. There’s no time not to. Things happen and they are exciting. Yes, I know that I write vaguely about this book but I do it out of a desire not to spoil it. The plot is fairly simple (protagonist and narrator regains parts of his heart, gets drunk and laid, regains his memories, travels to impossible places, meets old friends and foes, discovers his violent past) and most of the fun comes from experiencing events with Khraen and seeing how they change him. Fletcher has a knack for characterization and, surprisingly, for crafting entertaining and dark comedy. It’s a dark book and yet it made me laugh multiple times.
He brilliantly captures the change of Khraen’s voice as he ponders on his identity and the essence of identity in general. Each new Shard allows Khraen to reassemble himself and regain his memories. If you’ve already read Fletcher, you know better than to expect happy endings and uplifting mood. Here, though, the darker side of the story hides behind the darkly humorous voice.
Make no mistake, Khraen and his companions aren’t good guys (although one question Fletcher asks is about the nature of evil - is a predator evil when it feeds itself to survive?). One of them, a necromancer, harvests people to repair herself. She treats people as a source of parts.
Black Stone Heart is, above all, addictive and compulsively readable - it forced me to prolong my lunch as much as I dared because I couldn’t bear to stop reading it. If anything depended on me, I would forbid Fletcher to work on anything but The Obsidian Path series. I need the sequel.
It’s clear I’m biased. For the sake of objectivity, I have to say it probably won’t appeal to readers tired of over-the-topness, violence, and a certain level of predictability (those two final surprises weren’t really exactly shocking). I loved it too much to care, though, and felt fully immersed in the narrative.
He doesn’t act like a human being; rather as a savage creature focused on survival, living off bugs and roots. Only after finding an obsidian shard that pierces his skin and finds its way to his heart, he regains parts of his identity.
His integration into the local society gets tricky, especially that he has no marketable skills beyond killing children and women. His actions stem from the urge to follow the remaining shards of his heart scattered around the world. After getting each shard Khraen undergoes a painful process of integration during which he regains some memories of the past. And with them comes a growing sense of unease - it’s possible people hate him for a reason other than the color of his skin. It’s possible his past actions had disastrous consequences.
With its breakneck pace, excellent banter, wild twists and reveals, Black Stone Hearts bullies you into liking it. There’s no time not to. Things happen and they are exciting. Yes, I know that I write vaguely about this book but I do it out of a desire not to spoil it. The plot is fairly simple (protagonist and narrator regains parts of his heart, gets drunk and laid, regains his memories, travels to impossible places, meets old friends and foes, discovers his violent past) and most of the fun comes from experiencing events with Khraen and seeing how they change him. Fletcher has a knack for characterization and, surprisingly, for crafting entertaining and dark comedy. It’s a dark book and yet it made me laugh multiple times.
He brilliantly captures the change of Khraen’s voice as he ponders on his identity and the essence of identity in general. Each new Shard allows Khraen to reassemble himself and regain his memories. If you’ve already read Fletcher, you know better than to expect happy endings and uplifting mood. Here, though, the darker side of the story hides behind the darkly humorous voice.
Make no mistake, Khraen and his companions aren’t good guys (although one question Fletcher asks is about the nature of evil - is a predator evil when it feeds itself to survive?). One of them, a necromancer, harvests people to repair herself. She treats people as a source of parts.
Black Stone Heart is, above all, addictive and compulsively readable - it forced me to prolong my lunch as much as I dared because I couldn’t bear to stop reading it. If anything depended on me, I would forbid Fletcher to work on anything but The Obsidian Path series. I need the sequel.
It’s clear I’m biased. For the sake of objectivity, I have to say it probably won’t appeal to readers tired of over-the-topness, violence, and a certain level of predictability (those two final surprises weren’t really exactly shocking). I loved it too much to care, though, and felt fully immersed in the narrative.
This is a story that is at once deeply personal and also epic. A contradiction? Not if the protagonist is Khraen. The stakes are intimately individual, and affect the entire story world. It’s about a man trying to piece together his past, trying to understand his own identity, and define it for himself…all the while struggling with questions about the nature of evil and the value of revenge. His decisions will shake the world to its foundations.
Khraen is a great main character. The story is written from a first person point-of-view, which immediately draws us into his personality, and gives us access to his deeply conflicted and splintered psyche. It’s quite a feat for Michael Fletcher to base his story around a character that is truly and deeply evil. Fletcher wisely begins with Khraen in a state of semi-innocence, a feral glimpse of nature that is animalisticly free of concerns over morality. He takes us on a grand corruption arc populated by well-constructed foils. From the get go, you can see his crimes, his equivocations, his mounting disregard for moral norms. But his journey is portrayed so intimately and authentically that you never give up on him. If this had not been so well-written, the latter half of this book would have seen its readers dropping like flies. Sure, a reader or two will still end up DNFing this book as they clutch their pearls, but…they probably should have known better. Credit to the author for not only making the story exciting, but the mysteries intriguing. He led us down the proverbial slippery slope one scene at a time until, somehow, we found ourselves rooting for a demon summoning mass murderer.
The plot is very well-paced and interesting. Right off the bat we are exposed to the central premise of the story; Khraen awakens in the wilderness, knowing that he is a man divided, that magic has splintered him into fragments. He must reclaim the shards of his heart in order for himself to be whole again. Every page drives Khraen on his quest to reclaim his identity or to forge a new one for himself. There were very few lulls in the pace of the novel and those I think we’re calculated to allow the reader time to catch their breath.
As the main character struggles to come to terms with his identity, he has to answer questions about the nature of evil. The more he discovers about himself, and more importantly about the things that he is willing to do to reclaim that self, the more directly he must face the mirror. Although this self-reflection, in most novels, would cause the protagonist to strive for redemption, Khraen is more than an anti-hero. Even he sees the things that he is doing as wrong, and yet he is willing to do them because he has set himself to a task, and to him, ultimately, the ends justify the means. I think different readers will respond to this in different ways, but for me it was well-executed enough that I am totally on board. Fletcher set the stage for a titanic battle, not just of wizardry and swordsmanship, but of morality. And frankly I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. In the end, maybe Khraen ends up a blood guzzling, demon humping, murder hobo. Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m here for it one way or the other. It’s sure to be a compelling ride.
With all that gushing out of the way, there was a thing or two that the author didn’t quite nail, in my opinion. Khraen is an outsider in terms of race throughout the story. Those around him revile him because of the color of his skin. As the narrative progresses, we learned that these biases are based on historical practices of demon summoning and the evil associated with it. By connecting these themes of race, evil, and bias, the reader can rightly expect the author to have a message about their relationship. However, in the end, there didn’t appear to be one. Khraen’s nefarious activities only validate the biases. Sure, any well-imagined world is complex, and an instance of validation doesn’t justify the bias, but ultimately, I was left wondering why the author had created all of these threads, if he wasn’t going to weave them into anything meaningful.
There were also a couple of twists toward the end that I felt were a little too telegraphed. Ultimately, on the theme of identity, there were some reveals that didn’t really feel surprising. Since it wasn’t a murder mystery, I don't think it impacted the narrative too adversely. I still enjoyed the end of the book and I thought it set up nicely for the rest of the series.
Speaking of what is to come…I’m excited. Black Stone Heart sets up the sequel for bigger stakes and darker consequences. This baby is gonna slap. Fletcher’s worldbuilding has dovetailed nicely with both character arc, and plot development, leading us into a new adventure in a new locale. Wizards, demonologist, ancient haunted ruins. She Dreams in Blood is out in two days. Two. Days. Sign me up.
All-in-all, this is a very well-written story. It is extremely unique in terms of its protagonist’s perspective, presenting a nearly flawless execution of the corruption arc. The first-person narrative is intimate, an essential element, if we are to understand the dark path Khraen takes. By natural inclination, I love stories that are this dark, but this one pushed even my boundaries. Buckle. Up. I think any reader who gravitates towards horror or grimdark aesthetics will absolutely love this book. Even if you don’t, it’s pretty friggin’ good. Just keep your pearls handy.
Khraen is a great main character. The story is written from a first person point-of-view, which immediately draws us into his personality, and gives us access to his deeply conflicted and splintered psyche. It’s quite a feat for Michael Fletcher to base his story around a character that is truly and deeply evil. Fletcher wisely begins with Khraen in a state of semi-innocence, a feral glimpse of nature that is animalisticly free of concerns over morality. He takes us on a grand corruption arc populated by well-constructed foils. From the get go, you can see his crimes, his equivocations, his mounting disregard for moral norms. But his journey is portrayed so intimately and authentically that you never give up on him. If this had not been so well-written, the latter half of this book would have seen its readers dropping like flies. Sure, a reader or two will still end up DNFing this book as they clutch their pearls, but…they probably should have known better. Credit to the author for not only making the story exciting, but the mysteries intriguing. He led us down the proverbial slippery slope one scene at a time until, somehow, we found ourselves rooting for a demon summoning mass murderer.
The plot is very well-paced and interesting. Right off the bat we are exposed to the central premise of the story; Khraen awakens in the wilderness, knowing that he is a man divided, that magic has splintered him into fragments. He must reclaim the shards of his heart in order for himself to be whole again. Every page drives Khraen on his quest to reclaim his identity or to forge a new one for himself. There were very few lulls in the pace of the novel and those I think we’re calculated to allow the reader time to catch their breath.
As the main character struggles to come to terms with his identity, he has to answer questions about the nature of evil. The more he discovers about himself, and more importantly about the things that he is willing to do to reclaim that self, the more directly he must face the mirror. Although this self-reflection, in most novels, would cause the protagonist to strive for redemption, Khraen is more than an anti-hero. Even he sees the things that he is doing as wrong, and yet he is willing to do them because he has set himself to a task, and to him, ultimately, the ends justify the means. I think different readers will respond to this in different ways, but for me it was well-executed enough that I am totally on board. Fletcher set the stage for a titanic battle, not just of wizardry and swordsmanship, but of morality. And frankly I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. In the end, maybe Khraen ends up a blood guzzling, demon humping, murder hobo. Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m here for it one way or the other. It’s sure to be a compelling ride.
With all that gushing out of the way, there was a thing or two that the author didn’t quite nail, in my opinion. Khraen is an outsider in terms of race throughout the story. Those around him revile him because of the color of his skin. As the narrative progresses, we learned that these biases are based on historical practices of demon summoning and the evil associated with it. By connecting these themes of race, evil, and bias, the reader can rightly expect the author to have a message about their relationship. However, in the end, there didn’t appear to be one. Khraen’s nefarious activities only validate the biases. Sure, any well-imagined world is complex, and an instance of validation doesn’t justify the bias, but ultimately, I was left wondering why the author had created all of these threads, if he wasn’t going to weave them into anything meaningful.
There were also a couple of twists toward the end that I felt were a little too telegraphed. Ultimately, on the theme of identity, there were some reveals that didn’t really feel surprising. Since it wasn’t a murder mystery, I don't think it impacted the narrative too adversely. I still enjoyed the end of the book and I thought it set up nicely for the rest of the series.
Speaking of what is to come…I’m excited. Black Stone Heart sets up the sequel for bigger stakes and darker consequences. This baby is gonna slap. Fletcher’s worldbuilding has dovetailed nicely with both character arc, and plot development, leading us into a new adventure in a new locale. Wizards, demonologist, ancient haunted ruins. She Dreams in Blood is out in two days. Two. Days. Sign me up.
All-in-all, this is a very well-written story. It is extremely unique in terms of its protagonist’s perspective, presenting a nearly flawless execution of the corruption arc. The first-person narrative is intimate, an essential element, if we are to understand the dark path Khraen takes. By natural inclination, I love stories that are this dark, but this one pushed even my boundaries. Buckle. Up. I think any reader who gravitates towards horror or grimdark aesthetics will absolutely love this book. Even if you don’t, it’s pretty friggin’ good. Just keep your pearls handy.
* This is one of the finalists for the #SPFBO and I read it as a judge*
This story is dark and tells the tale of a man (well, kind of a man) called Khaern who wakes from within the ground with little memory of his life and legacy. He's sure that he needs to find out more, and begins to slowly do so, but his tale is filled with sadness, death and loss, and he's soon to find out far more than he bargained on.
I want to mention this is definitely a grimdark tale with things like rape, flaying, blood, death, decay and more thrown quite casually into conversation and sometimes into the plot too. This is not a book for the faint of heart, and so I want to be clear that you should only pick this up if those things won't bother you greatly.
Some of the magic in this is pretty cool I admit. We see demons, necromancy, wizards and magical items. Everything fits nicely into this fantastical world, and as you uncover the story we see more of the magic and the different paths.
This is definitely an anti-hero tale told from first person with Khaern as the one who is trying to uncover just who he was and who he is now. Along the way he meets Henka and Shalayn who are two very different women with two vastly different impressions they leave on him.
This really reminded me of books by Mark Lawrence and I certainly think if you've enjoyed his grimdark stories with Jorg then you'll probably enjoy this too. I did see some of the twists coming, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment at all and I found the character easy to engage with even though they do some dispicable things. I enjoyed the journey of discovery, even when it was a dark one.
Overall, the pacing is a lot of fun and the story flows smoothly. This was easy to hook me and quick to engage the imagination, and I definitely think it's one of my more appealing grimdark reads which I think has an awful lot of potential for the rest of the story.
I've heard from many friends and reviewers that this author has a fair few titles in other series and that they're all good and I can definitely believe that after trying this. I fully plan to pick up some more by this author to try out, as I am confident I'll enjoy them too.
This one ended up as a solid 4.5/5*s which is 9/10 for #SPBFO, making it one of my top for the competition this year :)
This story is dark and tells the tale of a man (well, kind of a man) called Khaern who wakes from within the ground with little memory of his life and legacy. He's sure that he needs to find out more, and begins to slowly do so, but his tale is filled with sadness, death and loss, and he's soon to find out far more than he bargained on.
I want to mention this is definitely a grimdark tale with things like rape, flaying, blood, death, decay and more thrown quite casually into conversation and sometimes into the plot too. This is not a book for the faint of heart, and so I want to be clear that you should only pick this up if those things won't bother you greatly.
Some of the magic in this is pretty cool I admit. We see demons, necromancy, wizards and magical items. Everything fits nicely into this fantastical world, and as you uncover the story we see more of the magic and the different paths.
This is definitely an anti-hero tale told from first person with Khaern as the one who is trying to uncover just who he was and who he is now. Along the way he meets Henka and Shalayn who are two very different women with two vastly different impressions they leave on him.
This really reminded me of books by Mark Lawrence and I certainly think if you've enjoyed his grimdark stories with Jorg then you'll probably enjoy this too. I did see some of the twists coming, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment at all and I found the character easy to engage with even though they do some dispicable things. I enjoyed the journey of discovery, even when it was a dark one.
Overall, the pacing is a lot of fun and the story flows smoothly. This was easy to hook me and quick to engage the imagination, and I definitely think it's one of my more appealing grimdark reads which I think has an awful lot of potential for the rest of the story.
I've heard from many friends and reviewers that this author has a fair few titles in other series and that they're all good and I can definitely believe that after trying this. I fully plan to pick up some more by this author to try out, as I am confident I'll enjoy them too.
This one ended up as a solid 4.5/5*s which is 9/10 for #SPBFO, making it one of my top for the competition this year :)