Hardcover

C. J. Daley

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6 months ago

Is 50% done with

Stone & Skyby

Z.S. Diamanti

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Matt Wesolowski

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Z.S. Diamanti

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Had the perfect opportunity line up where I had just started this as an audio arc and I had the chance to grab a category for the Indie Ink Awards as well. I was so excited to get into this one.

You may not know this, but I am a huge zombie fan. Since Shaun of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead (Snyder), I’ve been a fan of both the more comedic and the serious iterations. As a TWD Universe stan, I just finished a rewatch and a full watch through of all the spinoffs. So I was definitely ready to go when it came to picking this up. And while I’ve been a part of the reviewing community since 2020, there does seem to be a bit of a distance between zombies and readers—not necessarily in the sense of looking down on the genre, but there’s definitely a disconnect—especially when it comes to novel form. Luckily, the author grips you with compelling characterizations, making the zombies an obstacle in the story, rather than the whole plot.

Now I will say there was some mild apprehension behind starting. Mostly as I am in the plotting/early writing phase of working on my own zombie thriller and I was worried about infecting (see what I did there) my own plot with things I loved from this one. And honestly, I know for a fact I’m not capable of being this concise. The prose are sharp and everything is to the point without appearing rushed in any way. So not only am I far too longwinded to appear like I’m pulling from this one, the author also went and made their own unique twist on the genre to take them a step further. These creatures, these infected, can laugh maniacally, can scheme, and when they turn without injury, they can remain awfully fast.

The author is certainly playing within the tropes I know and love here, which for me made this a compulsive read. Although I will say, woah! zombie novel where they say zombie!! Each scene end is a chapter, whether short or long, and that made for a continuous “one more chapter” pull to every break away. Kate and Nick find each other through unusual means, in rather unusual times, and that makes them connect all the more immediately. They’ve both got loads of baggage to deal with, making them complex and compelling in a relatable way. While this novel touches on the depravity that humanity would sink to after the world’s ending, this is more about the idea of hope. Both characters have already seen the dark side of man, and unfortunately it came for them before the world turned over. Therefore they’ve come into the apocalypse already doing what it takes to carry on—surviving. They both could have given up, could have stopped, but they didn’t, and you know what, they found each other! A person can be a safe place even when the world is not one.

Huge notes of abuse and mental health issues, as well as their coping mechanisms or lackthere of. This is a story about survival, but be warned it does not shy away from the reality that causes these issues. It’s deep and real and engaging, and it will leave you thinking when it’s done. And even though it’s dark, you’ll want even more.

Read full review

Had the perfect opportunity line up where I had just started this as an audio arc and I had the chance to grab a category for the Indie Ink Awards as well. I was so excited to get into this one.

You may not know this, but I am a huge zombie fan. Since Shaun of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead (Snyder), I’ve been a fan of both the more comedic and the serious iterations. As a TWD Universe stan, I just finished a rewatch and a full watch through of all the spinoffs. So I was definitely ready to go when it came to picking this up. And while I’ve been a part of the reviewing community since 2020, there does seem to be a bit of a distance between zombies and readers—not necessarily in the sense of looking down on the genre, but there’s definitely a disconnect—especially when it comes to novel form. Luckily, the author grips you with compelling characterizations, making the zombies an obstacle in the story, rather than the whole plot.

Now I will say there was some mild apprehension behind starting. Mostly as I am in the plotting/early writing phase of working on my own zombie thriller and I was worried about infecting (see what I did there) my own plot with things I loved from this one. And honestly, I know for a fact I’m not capable of being this concise. The prose are sharp and everything is to the point without appearing rushed in any way. So not only am I far too longwinded to appear like I’m pulling from this one, the author also went and made their own unique twist on the genre to take them a step further. These creatures, these infected, can laugh maniacally, can scheme, and when they turn without injury, they can remain awfully fast.

The author is certainly playing within the tropes I know and love here, which for me made this a compulsive read. Although I will say, woah! zombie novel where they say zombie!! Each scene end is a chapter, whether short or long, and that made for a continuous “one more chapter” pull to every break away. Kate and Nick find each other through unusual means, in rather unusual times, and that makes them connect all the more immediately. They’ve both got loads of baggage to deal with, making them complex and compelling in a relatable way. While this novel touches on the depravity that humanity would sink to after the world’s ending, this is more about the idea of hope. Both characters have already seen the dark side of man, and unfortunately it came for them before the world turned over. Therefore they’ve come into the apocalypse already doing what it takes to carry on—surviving. They both could have given up, could have stopped, but they didn’t, and you know what, they found each other! A person can be a safe place even when the world is not one.

Huge notes of abuse and mental health issues, as well as their coping mechanisms or lackthere of. This is a story about survival, but be warned it does not shy away from the reality that causes these issues. It’s deep and real and engaging, and it will leave you thinking when it’s done. And even though it’s dark, you’ll want even more.

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Brendan Noble

I received an audiobook arc of this, sorry if I’m a little late, I lost my BookFunnel library and had to go through a couple hoops!

So to start, I want to admit that I did myself a bit of a disservice. And that’s due to the fact that I read almost double the horror novels to fantasy last year. Fantasy has always been my top genre, but that’s just how it landed with arcs and stuff going on. So with some time away, jumping right into not only a large fantasy (19+hrs), but doing so in audio, left me kind of struggling. The sheer amount of names in this novel had me so confused. Every chapter for a while (longer than I care to admit) I thought it was always someone new, and I actually re-listened to quite a lot. It also has a lot of politics going on, with clandestine meetings, as well as parties featuring the elites, so dialogue when you’re confused is also way harder. With all of that being said, these are troubles based on my decision, not the author’s faults in any way.

This is a dark fantasy, where magic is mostly held by the elite (or black market if you can afford it), and it slowly kills the wielder. This should make the magic finite, funneling users into a less powerful role, however those on top are pulling strings far deeper than anyone would imagine. The Crimson Court, a set of seemingly immortal elites, kind of a la Assassin’s Creed’s Templars, have unwittingly set themselves against a dangerous adversary. When Kasia’s father is murdered, she vows to avenge him, if only she can uncover the identity of those hiding in shadows. And although this is in part a revenge story, it is pulling at political strings as she tries to gather allies before making a move in a kind of slow burn build up.

I enjoyed Kasia, as her death wielding allows for those she’s killed to haunt her, making her a complex character juggling guilt, frustration, and constant reminders of her shortcomings. This in a way allows for you to root for her to persevere, as the author has done well to make her struggle multifaceted. The other main POV, which ends up kind of allying themselves with her, I found to be less engaging, both the character and their side story. Although the idea of tainted spirits coming back as mindless enemies, kind of like spirit-zombies is awesome, so a more fleshed out group of fighters trained to stop them could be incredibly awesome (and there is a book two!). The glass swords that stop the spirits are a unique idea, and I kept wondering how many I would break!

I enjoyed the novel, and I just felt myself wanting more. More immersion into the world, more understanding. There are flintlock pistols and rifles, which usually sets fantasy stories apart for me, but I felt like this was a fantasy world with guns, not a true flintlock fantasy world. Not necessarily a negative at all either, as it’s definitely a cool fantasy world! I also spent most of the novel wondering why the king would have a dragon coiled around his throne but only really use it as a giant-sized gavel, shutting up his meeting room. No spoilers though! The narration by Ellie Gossage is well done, and very fitting for the character of Kasia too.

Read full review

I received an audiobook arc of this, sorry if I’m a little late, I lost my BookFunnel library and had to go through a couple hoops!

So to start, I want to admit that I did myself a bit of a disservice. And that’s due to the fact that I read almost double the horror novels to fantasy last year. Fantasy has always been my top genre, but that’s just how it landed with arcs and stuff going on. So with some time away, jumping right into not only a large fantasy (19+hrs), but doing so in audio, left me kind of struggling. The sheer amount of names in this novel had me so confused. Every chapter for a while (longer than I care to admit) I thought it was always someone new, and I actually re-listened to quite a lot. It also has a lot of politics going on, with clandestine meetings, as well as parties featuring the elites, so dialogue when you’re confused is also way harder. With all of that being said, these are troubles based on my decision, not the author’s faults in any way.

This is a dark fantasy, where magic is mostly held by the elite (or black market if you can afford it), and it slowly kills the wielder. This should make the magic finite, funneling users into a less powerful role, however those on top are pulling strings far deeper than anyone would imagine. The Crimson Court, a set of seemingly immortal elites, kind of a la Assassin’s Creed’s Templars, have unwittingly set themselves against a dangerous adversary. When Kasia’s father is murdered, she vows to avenge him, if only she can uncover the identity of those hiding in shadows. And although this is in part a revenge story, it is pulling at political strings as she tries to gather allies before making a move in a kind of slow burn build up.

I enjoyed Kasia, as her death wielding allows for those she’s killed to haunt her, making her a complex character juggling guilt, frustration, and constant reminders of her shortcomings. This in a way allows for you to root for her to persevere, as the author has done well to make her struggle multifaceted. The other main POV, which ends up kind of allying themselves with her, I found to be less engaging, both the character and their side story. Although the idea of tainted spirits coming back as mindless enemies, kind of like spirit-zombies is awesome, so a more fleshed out group of fighters trained to stop them could be incredibly awesome (and there is a book two!). The glass swords that stop the spirits are a unique idea, and I kept wondering how many I would break!

I enjoyed the novel, and I just felt myself wanting more. More immersion into the world, more understanding. There are flintlock pistols and rifles, which usually sets fantasy stories apart for me, but I felt like this was a fantasy world with guns, not a true flintlock fantasy world. Not necessarily a negative at all either, as it’s definitely a cool fantasy world! I also spent most of the novel wondering why the king would have a dragon coiled around his throne but only really use it as a giant-sized gavel, shutting up his meeting room. No spoilers though! The narration by Ellie Gossage is well done, and very fitting for the character of Kasia too.

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