I always hesitate on the magic frint because i never can come up with more than "coruscatiing orbs of arcane fire" etc... "blades infused with the blood of...blah blah"... so this thing you did was ...er.. Magic!!
I don’t think I’ve read 5he first story but I will but this was so good. I should have been expecting the twist at the end and yet I was surprised by it!
I haven't read the other stories (which I surely will now) but my goodness your writing and world building got me completely hooked on the story very quickly, which is really well done. Awesome read, looking forward to going back to the first in the series!
I haven’t read the previous two stories in this series, but they’re definitely going on my list now.
This reminded me of a scene in one of The Witcher books where Ciri used fire magic in the desert and went a little crazy. On that note, I think the fire-magic here works brilliantly as a symbol of the monks’ faith and tradition (in its restrained form), while also representing the subversion of those values by way of Valdoran’s pride. And there’s something delightfully eldritch about the line: “There are faces in the fire.”
Thanks for reading! Happy to see this reminiscent of Sapkowski. And I’m glad it worked without prior reading. I try to make sure EVERYTHING here will work for a first-time reader, even with recurring characters.
My favorite thing about this story is how effortlessly it manages to address technocracy, but also themes of reverence. Those are so rarely handled in fantasy, and even less rarely done well, but this story nails it. There's also a bit of meta going on here regarding the hard- vs soft-magic debate, but it's not remotely overbearing in its treatment. Well done!
That was great! very much enjoyed the back and forth style. the magic is satisfying!
Thanks, Nick! I appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to read.
I always hesitate on the magic frint because i never can come up with more than "coruscatiing orbs of arcane fire" etc... "blades infused with the blood of...blah blah"... so this thing you did was ...er.. Magic!!
I don’t think I’ve read 5he first story but I will but this was so good. I should have been expecting the twist at the end and yet I was surprised by it!
Thanks, Leanne!
I haven't read the other stories (which I surely will now) but my goodness your writing and world building got me completely hooked on the story very quickly, which is really well done. Awesome read, looking forward to going back to the first in the series!
Great to hear. Thanks for reading!
Linguistic wordplay and worldbuilding both: I LOVE IT.
Thanks, Michael! My world is all about “The Words.”
I haven’t read the previous two stories in this series, but they’re definitely going on my list now.
This reminded me of a scene in one of The Witcher books where Ciri used fire magic in the desert and went a little crazy. On that note, I think the fire-magic here works brilliantly as a symbol of the monks’ faith and tradition (in its restrained form), while also representing the subversion of those values by way of Valdoran’s pride. And there’s something delightfully eldritch about the line: “There are faces in the fire.”
Awesome story!
Thanks for reading! Happy to see this reminiscent of Sapkowski. And I’m glad it worked without prior reading. I try to make sure EVERYTHING here will work for a first-time reader, even with recurring characters.
My favorite thing about this story is how effortlessly it manages to address technocracy, but also themes of reverence. Those are so rarely handled in fantasy, and even less rarely done well, but this story nails it. There's also a bit of meta going on here regarding the hard- vs soft-magic debate, but it's not remotely overbearing in its treatment. Well done!
Thanks, Ian!