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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I've read this as part of SPFBO in which it was chosen as my semi-finalist. You can check out the reviews of the rest of the team here
Actual rating: 4.5*
I’ve been wanting to read one of Fletcher‘s books for a while now as many of my friends praised his books, but I never quite got around to it. Lady Luck stood by my side and Black Stone Heart got sorted into our group. I took it as a sign and claimed it for myself. In the meantime the audiobook was also released and I got myself a copy of that too to speed things up. Little did I know what was waiting for me.
Black Stone Heart is the story of Khraen, a young (or old, depending on your POV) man in search of his past and the pieces of his obsidian heart. The first person POV makes Black Stone Heart a very intimate read as we tag along Khraen discovering the world and the answers to his questions through him. I generally favor books written in first person, so this aspect was a huge plus for me. There is something raw and powerful in Fletcher‘s writing that makes Khraen’s world to come alive. His thirst for collecting his memories, his hate for wizards bordering on irrational and the many form of magic than inhabit the pages.
I admit I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Khraen, which – to me – shows his complexity as a character. On one hand, I sympathized with him and rooted for him to find his memories or to find his happiness with Shalayn. But as the plot went ahead, he started to make decisions I did not quite understand. His flaws started to come out more and more as he gained his memories and his personality changed with it. It was really intriguing to see that change, I might add. The way he battled with himself, trying to balance his new and old personality. But also, he resents the people of the North for treating him badly due to his dark skin color and old superstitions, but at the same time, he holds a similar prejudice against wizards. Sure, he has a good reason to hate them, but he never stops considering that maybe, just maybe, not every wizard is a traitorous bastard.
Another interesting aspect of Black Stone Heart is Khraen’s struggling with the concept of evil. Is killing people considered evil? And if you do it for your own survival? Or for the good of your people? Does the purpose make the deed excusable? And then, what is evil anyway? What makes Khraen a really memorable character is that the reader can’t really decide on which side he falls on the evil spectrum. I don’t think he knows it either. Characters like him make the Grimdark subgenre so damn intriguing for me. Because I just can’t make up my mind about him and it’s been a while since I’ve read it. Twice in quick succession because damn, Black Stone Heart just makes its way under your skin like a bad itch you can’t get rid of.
My only issue and the reason I didn’t give this book a higher rating is Khraen’s relationships with Henka and Shalayn. I won’t go into details so I won’t spoil anything, but suffice to say, I found his feelings a bit unbelieavable and a bit forced. He told us over and over and over what he felt but it felt more like pep talking himself and not convincing either of us. Though, in retrospect, some things do make sense by the end of the book.
That being said, Fletcher has this way of fucking with your mind, whether you like it or not. There aren’t many big surprising twists – only one that really caught me by surprise and which I should have expected. It is more character driven rather than plot and even then, the Fletcher does not make life easy for them.
Black Stone Heart will make you uncomfortable, will make you question the actions of the characters but will never let you go. Do a favor to yourself and listen to the audiobook narrated by Fletcher himself. If you won’t fall in love with his voice and wish he was reading everything to you from now on, then there is something wrong with you.
Actual rating: 4.5*
I’ve been wanting to read one of Fletcher‘s books for a while now as many of my friends praised his books, but I never quite got around to it. Lady Luck stood by my side and Black Stone Heart got sorted into our group. I took it as a sign and claimed it for myself. In the meantime the audiobook was also released and I got myself a copy of that too to speed things up. Little did I know what was waiting for me.
Black Stone Heart is the story of Khraen, a young (or old, depending on your POV) man in search of his past and the pieces of his obsidian heart. The first person POV makes Black Stone Heart a very intimate read as we tag along Khraen discovering the world and the answers to his questions through him. I generally favor books written in first person, so this aspect was a huge plus for me. There is something raw and powerful in Fletcher‘s writing that makes Khraen’s world to come alive. His thirst for collecting his memories, his hate for wizards bordering on irrational and the many form of magic than inhabit the pages.
I admit I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with Khraen, which – to me – shows his complexity as a character. On one hand, I sympathized with him and rooted for him to find his memories or to find his happiness with Shalayn. But as the plot went ahead, he started to make decisions I did not quite understand. His flaws started to come out more and more as he gained his memories and his personality changed with it. It was really intriguing to see that change, I might add. The way he battled with himself, trying to balance his new and old personality. But also, he resents the people of the North for treating him badly due to his dark skin color and old superstitions, but at the same time, he holds a similar prejudice against wizards. Sure, he has a good reason to hate them, but he never stops considering that maybe, just maybe, not every wizard is a traitorous bastard.
Another interesting aspect of Black Stone Heart is Khraen’s struggling with the concept of evil. Is killing people considered evil? And if you do it for your own survival? Or for the good of your people? Does the purpose make the deed excusable? And then, what is evil anyway? What makes Khraen a really memorable character is that the reader can’t really decide on which side he falls on the evil spectrum. I don’t think he knows it either. Characters like him make the Grimdark subgenre so damn intriguing for me. Because I just can’t make up my mind about him and it’s been a while since I’ve read it. Twice in quick succession because damn, Black Stone Heart just makes its way under your skin like a bad itch you can’t get rid of.
My only issue and the reason I didn’t give this book a higher rating is Khraen’s relationships with Henka and Shalayn. I won’t go into details so I won’t spoil anything, but suffice to say, I found his feelings a bit unbelieavable and a bit forced. He told us over and over and over what he felt but it felt more like pep talking himself and not convincing either of us. Though, in retrospect, some things do make sense by the end of the book.
That being said, Fletcher has this way of fucking with your mind, whether you like it or not. There aren’t many big surprising twists – only one that really caught me by surprise and which I should have expected. It is more character driven rather than plot and even then, the Fletcher does not make life easy for them.
Black Stone Heart will make you uncomfortable, will make you question the actions of the characters but will never let you go. Do a favor to yourself and listen to the audiobook narrated by Fletcher himself. If you won’t fall in love with his voice and wish he was reading everything to you from now on, then there is something wrong with you.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Khraen searches for the obsidian parts of his heart. He falls in love on his journey for this task. A lot of the first half of the book is about this. I’m not sure I enjoyed it, I wanted more of the task, more history of the demonologists and wizards, etc. I wanted less about his love for Shalayn and later Henka. I was just not into it. I felt that it was constant whatever woman showed up he was into, get on with the story.
The concept though was good, I really liked the idea of this world that was ruled by wizards who had rewritten history to make themselves the heroes and all the questions that brought up. I feel like if the story focused more on this I’d have been more interested. I wanted to know why the world ruled by wizards was so bad, I wanted to see more of what life was like before they had won.
The last 30 pages were good, but I found the whole book focused more on Khraen’s relationships and less about the world and the demonologists, etc. I expected more. I would have enjoyed a book about his past life way more.
The concept though was good, I really liked the idea of this world that was ruled by wizards who had rewritten history to make themselves the heroes and all the questions that brought up. I feel like if the story focused more on this I’d have been more interested. I wanted to know why the world ruled by wizards was so bad, I wanted to see more of what life was like before they had won.
The last 30 pages were good, but I found the whole book focused more on Khraen’s relationships and less about the world and the demonologists, etc. I expected more. I would have enjoyed a book about his past life way more.
Starting off with the fact I have never read a book by Michael Fletcher so I have no other works of his to compare this to, but I am glad I discovered him. Solid 3 star read for me, would have been 4, but some side characters aren't as fleshed out as I'd have liked to have seen them - which isn't a surprise being this is told from one POV, still an excellent read.
From prologue to epilogue this was an engrossing and addictive read. With interesting characters, an imaginative world, immersive writing, and intense moments mixed with a bit of black humor - I found myself consistently surprised. This is written from one POV, that of Khraen, who starts off as an animalistic savage with no recollection of his past. Throughout the novel he is drawn to shards that bring back his memories little by little, and he starts to grow and remember that he was a demonolgist - a group of people either misunderstood or feared. Never revealing too much at one time and having an internal moral dilemma connecting who he was to who he is becoming - Krahen has an identity crisis throughout. Travelling with a necromancer named Henke, who may or may not be a reliable source of information, she encourages Khraen along the way. What is Evil? Is it subjective? Was/Is Kharen Evil? He's definitely not inherently good. Read the book for yourself and take the journey with him to find out.
From prologue to epilogue this was an engrossing and addictive read. With interesting characters, an imaginative world, immersive writing, and intense moments mixed with a bit of black humor - I found myself consistently surprised. This is written from one POV, that of Khraen, who starts off as an animalistic savage with no recollection of his past. Throughout the novel he is drawn to shards that bring back his memories little by little, and he starts to grow and remember that he was a demonolgist - a group of people either misunderstood or feared. Never revealing too much at one time and having an internal moral dilemma connecting who he was to who he is becoming - Krahen has an identity crisis throughout. Travelling with a necromancer named Henke, who may or may not be a reliable source of information, she encourages Khraen along the way. What is Evil? Is it subjective? Was/Is Kharen Evil? He's definitely not inherently good. Read the book for yourself and take the journey with him to find out.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book so much. Who knew I needed grimdark fantasy in my life!? This story is action packed, bloody, dark and full of turns. I could not quit reading it. I would think about it and loathed for the story throughout the day. I’m attached to the character who is not a great person in a world filled with demons, wizards, necromancers, and manner of beasts. 390 pages never went so fast. If you are interested in stepping into grimdark fantasy or just need a break from typical horror, this is an excellent book to read.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
”Your actions will define you.”
I love stumbling across really good fantasy that nobody’s heard of. I’ve sort of fallen out of the fantasy genre as a whole in the last few years, mostly because it felt like everytime I dipped a toe in it just felt like more of the same. And that’s fine! Everyone loves comfort reads! But when I read something new, I want it to feel new. I’d honestly never heard of this author before randomly adding this to my to-read list earlier this year, but holy cow does he have a ton of books out! This definitely was new to me, it was different, and it was delightful.
A note for my friends, whom I know love fantasy dearly: this is definitely grimdark fantasy. It’s very dark, very descriptive, and not exactly fluffy. There’s a lot of blood, a lot of description of gore and dismemberment, but all of it has a place in the story and didn’t feel gratuitous. Just know that before giving this a look based on my review.
The book follows a man who wakes up, claws his way out of a dirt grave, with no memory of how he got there. Around his resting place are the corpses of animals and people, but he certainly didn’t put them there. Who is he? How did he get there? Where does he go from here? Instinct guides him for the next period of time, until he finds himself drawn to a man in a cabin who inexplicably looks just like him. Before he has time to think, he reacts, kills the man with his own face, and is compelled to dig out his heart. But instead of a heart he finds…a black shard of stone. Touching the stone pulls it inside our main character, and restores a small portion of his memories in the process. Thus our man, Khraen, starts walking the path to restore his own black stone heart, piece by piece, and discovering along the way how bad of an idea it might be.
I loved the detailed worldbuilding going on here, and the philosophical ponderings about what makes a man and how memories can shape someone. Khraen meets few people on his path to restore his own heart, but each one has a reason for being there, a place in Khraen’s story, and I really felt compelled to continue to find out who Khraen was and where the story was going. The best part about the book for me was how, even with all the terrible things Khraen finds himself doing in pursuit of his goal, the author manages to make him sympathetic at the same time and includes moral dilemmas along the way. I thought that was a neat touch.
There’s even a bit of romance, but…maybe not in the traditional sense.
This was a delightful find, and I can’t wait to read the second book.
I love stumbling across really good fantasy that nobody’s heard of. I’ve sort of fallen out of the fantasy genre as a whole in the last few years, mostly because it felt like everytime I dipped a toe in it just felt like more of the same. And that’s fine! Everyone loves comfort reads! But when I read something new, I want it to feel new. I’d honestly never heard of this author before randomly adding this to my to-read list earlier this year, but holy cow does he have a ton of books out! This definitely was new to me, it was different, and it was delightful.
A note for my friends, whom I know love fantasy dearly: this is definitely grimdark fantasy. It’s very dark, very descriptive, and not exactly fluffy. There’s a lot of blood, a lot of description of gore and dismemberment, but all of it has a place in the story and didn’t feel gratuitous. Just know that before giving this a look based on my review.
The book follows a man who wakes up, claws his way out of a dirt grave, with no memory of how he got there. Around his resting place are the corpses of animals and people, but he certainly didn’t put them there. Who is he? How did he get there? Where does he go from here? Instinct guides him for the next period of time, until he finds himself drawn to a man in a cabin who inexplicably looks just like him. Before he has time to think, he reacts, kills the man with his own face, and is compelled to dig out his heart. But instead of a heart he finds…a black shard of stone. Touching the stone pulls it inside our main character, and restores a small portion of his memories in the process. Thus our man, Khraen, starts walking the path to restore his own black stone heart, piece by piece, and discovering along the way how bad of an idea it might be.
I loved the detailed worldbuilding going on here, and the philosophical ponderings about what makes a man and how memories can shape someone. Khraen meets few people on his path to restore his own heart, but each one has a reason for being there, a place in Khraen’s story, and I really felt compelled to continue to find out who Khraen was and where the story was going. The best part about the book for me was how, even with all the terrible things Khraen finds himself doing in pursuit of his goal, the author manages to make him sympathetic at the same time and includes moral dilemmas along the way. I thought that was a neat touch.
There’s even a bit of romance, but…maybe not in the traditional sense.
This was a delightful find, and I can’t wait to read the second book.
