Adrian Collins's Blog, page 23

In the Shadow of their Dying now available in Audio! Listen to Chapter One here.

There is something special about the extra dimension of creativity introduced to a book by having it delivered by a brilliant voice actor like Emma Gregory. When we signed on to partner with W.F. Howes to produce the audio version of In the Shadow of their Dying by Anna Smith Spark and Michael R. Fletcher, the authors and I were incredibly excited about what W.F. Howes could create from Anna and Mike’s work.

I think, and I hope you’ll agree, it’s something fucking magnificent.

About Emma Gregory

Emma is a highly experienced, 5-star audiobook narrator and is well known for her performances within the Warhammer audiobooks and audio dramas by Games Workshop. Emma has gathered a large fan base for her work across Warhammer 40k, and especially for her role as Minthara in the multi-award-winning game, Baldur’s Gate 3 for which she was put forward for BAFTA consideration.

Listen to Emma bring In the Shadow of their Dying to life

I love Emma’s ability to slip between gritty voices for the range of human and demon characters, bringing the tension and action and laughter from the page into your ears. Use the below to listen to 35 glorious minutes of Emma Gregory narrating chapter one of In the Shadow of their Dying and grab yourself a copy from Amazon / Audible, here.

https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/In-the-Shadow-of-their-Dying-Chapter1-video.mp4Listen to In the Shadow of their Dying by Anna Smith Spark and Michael R. Fletcher

Listen on Audible

The post In the Shadow of their Dying now available in Audio! Listen to Chapter One here. appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Behind Blue Eyes: The Graphic Novel by Anna Mocikat

Behind Blue Eyes: The Graphic Novel #1 by Anna Mocikat and illustrated by Ivano Lago is a fantastic cyberpunk comic book that shows that independent creators are rapidly developing the ability to compete with larger imprints. It is based on the indie science fiction series of the same name but serves as a standalone story that is roughly the size of two normal-sized comics at 77 pages. There are no advertisements within the comic, and it is a bit text heavy but filled with beautiful sequential art.

The premise for Behind Blue Eyes: The Graphic Novel is that the world has been taken over by oppressive corporations with the Olympias Corporation ruling the Western Hemisphere. Olympias is good at appearing liberated, though. Its population is kept in access to brain numbing media, sex, and drugs to keep its people compliant. This keeps the public from also resisting the fact they have banned books, religion, immigration, and regularly engage the public with death squads that eliminate those who seemingly threaten the state. It should be noted Anna Mocikat is a woman from Poland and is just the right age to have lived under totalitarianism.

Nephilim is one of the many children of the state’s victims that have been kidnapped from their parents or acquired through other means before being put through a state-run education that exists to turn them into soldiers. Much of the comic is devoted to depicting Nephilim as she goes through the horrifying physical changes as well as indoctrination that the Olympias Corporation needs from its Guardian Angels. This is all framed through the lens of a flashback occurring while Nephilim is leading the attack on a bunch of refugees hiding away from the Olympias Corporation in the woods.

Behind Blue Eyes: The Graphic Novel is a very dark and oppressive story that is nevertheless incredibly beautiful to read. The artwork is beyond stunning and very reminiscent of Ghost in the Shell. The character designs are beautiful and manage to run the line between sexy and foreboding. It is not exactly anime/manga, being slightly more realistic, but it invokes it enough to remind you of Eighties cyberpunk.

Behind Blue Eyes: The Graphic Novel is better if you’ve read the Behind Blue Eyes novel series, but it isn’t essential to know the series beforehand. On its own, it’s a pretty straightforward and enjoyable tale of a woman being indoctrinated into a soldier for the megacorps and the people trying to resist. It’s also got fantastic art that perfectly encapsulates a cyberpunk aesthetic. Its visual style is reminiscent of several things I’ve enjoyed but also unique.

In conclusion, I really recommend Behind Blue Eyes: The Graphic Novel as something for cyberpunk and grimdark fans to check out. If you enjoy it, perhaps you should check out the book series. Hopefully this graphic novel might also lead to other comics set in the universe. Anna Mocikat has created a really lovely work of art here and I think it’s well worth the money to pick up.

Read Behind Blue Eyes: The Graphic Novel by Anna Mocikat

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: Behind Blue Eyes: The Graphic Novel by Anna Mocikat appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi

Saara El-Arifi returns to her magical world of fae and elves with Cursebound, the second novel in The Faebound Trilogy. The opening novel in this series, Faebound, was the first of El-Arifi’s books I had ever read, so I happily returned to this fantastical land eager to find out what was in store next for elven sisters Yeeran and Lettle.

Luckily for me (and something I always appreciate when reading subsequent books in a series), El-Arifi begins Cursebound with a brief synopsis of the first novel’s events, so although Faebound must be read first, no reread is required. Huzzah! There is also a “Notes on Mosima” reference at the end of the novel, which is full of extra tidbits of world-building if you are the sort of reader who likes to know even more about the world you have been exploring.

After the events of Faebound, Yeeran and Lettle are no longer prisoners of the fae. Yeeran, a formidable warrior, finds herself fighting a battle she is unprepared for – love. Torn, she leaves her fae lover, the Queen Furi, to travel back to the homeland that exiled her to warn them of the grave new dangers they face in their endless war. Lettle, the seer, now holds an esteemed place in the fae court as a diviner and consort to the half-fae king, Rayan. Her determination to break the curse, which binds all of the fae to remain in Mosima, will lead her down a deadly path. One that is made harder now that the fates are silent whenever she tries to speak with them.

If you enjoyed reading Faebound, which I did, you will find much to like in Cursebound. El-Arifi has continued the series with very easy-to-read, well-paced chapters. The novel is around 350 pages long, and I read it easily within a few days. Her world is not an overly complex one to settle into, and the perspectives of all the characters, even new ones, are easy to keep track of, and the narrative flows very nicely. Cursebound is a queer norm, magical world, and focuses mainly on the two races of the fae and elves rather than humans. There are some politically intriguing parts, some slightly darker moments, a varied group of characters from the ensemble cast, and a smattering of romantic relations.

However, Cursebound is not particularly dark. El-Arifi focuses here on the characters and their relationships rather than the more military epic fantasy readers may be familiar with from her first trilogy, The Ending Fire.  Hopefully, as Cursebound is this trilogy’s second instalment, readers will already be aware of these differences and expect them as they continue the story. If you prefer your reads to be grimmer and darker and not to have romance form a key part of the plot, you might not enjoy The Faebound Trilogy as much as El-Arifi’s other works.

Cursebound still sits firmly in the realm of books I enjoy reading, and I liked the escapism it gave me for a few days. Although it does suffer a little from middle-book syndrome, Cursebound has set the stage well for the final instalment in the trilogy, and I look forward to the conclusion of this tale when it arrives. Thank you very much to Saara El-Arifi and the team at Harper Voyager for sending an ARC of Cursebound for us to review.

Read Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: Cursebound by Saara El-Arifi appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is an animated movie released by Netflix on February 11th, 2025. It is a (very) loose adaptation of The Sword of Destiny short story, “A Little Sacrifice” by The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski. How loose? Well, “A Little Sacrifice” is inspired by The Little Mermaid fairy tale and the sacrifices we make for love. This movie is about the war between the humans of a coastal village and a bunch of mermen, while also setting up another romance for Geralt aside from his traditional one with Yennefer.

A loose adaptation doesn’t mean it’s bad, though. The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is up there as one of Netflix’s better adaptations in The Witcher franchise. Whenever Netflix sticks to Sapkowski’s material, it’s pretty darn good like Season One of the live action show, and, to a lesser extent, Season Three are decent despite some inexplicable choices. It’s only when Netflix decides to “improve” Sapkowski’s work or generate original material that it becomes less enjoyable.

The premise for The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is that Agloval and Sh’eenaz are a pair of star-crossed lovers. Agloval is a prince who is keeping Sh’eenaz, a merwoman, as his mistress while the two hope to make a more permanent bonding. This is difficult when their two races are at war over the oyster trade; one loves their pearls while the other needs them to survive. Geralt is in a funk after being dumped by Yennefer (again) and Jaskier wants to introduce him to other women. One of these other women is Essi Daven, a beautiful bard that is about 99% less annoying than Jaskier.

I’d say despite the “actionizing” of the short story (which had no action at all) The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is faithful in spirit. The hour and a half movie understand that the core of both stories is that Agloval and Sh’eenaz’s love is healing but requires compromises. In the short story collection, it is clearly showing that Geralt and Yennifer’s unwillingness to do any sort of compromising is why they can’t stay together at this time in their lives. It also highlights that there’s a possibility for him and Essi to do the same, but it doesn’t work out.

Still, there are a lot of changes for The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. They introduce an antagonistic Ursula figure named Melusina, who is the architect of all the things going wrong with the situation. We also get changes to Jaskier’s backstory and Essie’s, making them more directly tied to events. The merpeople are also portrayed as indigenous beings who are at one with nature while the humans fishermen are rapacious pearl-seekers who would throw out a thousand oysters even though the village is starving. Still, the story isn’t badly written, and I’d give it props in several places for being at competently done.

Animation-wise The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep should be praised. It is a very visually beautiful film and the designs for both humans as well as merfolk are well done. Geralt moves with far more fluid anime-like superhuman moves throughout the story compared to the live action depictions. The voice work is also excellent with Doug Cockle, who did voice work on The Witcher video games, making his return to the role of Geralt after the loss of Henry Cavill. I think the nostalgia factor of hearing him once more perform Geralt’s lines will smooth over a lot of the minor bumps of this movie with hardcore Witcher fans. Sort of like Kevin Conroy’s Batman, many mid-tier projects are elevated simply by his excellent voice acting.

Overall, how is The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep? It is…fine. I would say it is a solid B, B+ production that blows Blood Origins out of the water. If you have a picture in your mind about how a Romeo and Juliet-esque story about humans and merfolk would get resolved by Geralt then you probably know 90% of this movie already. The Essi Daven and Geralt bits are the remaining 10% and are done well. It is a competent and enjoyable animated action film and reminds me of plenty of well-done anime I’ve seen. I can think of much worse ways to spend an evening and it is only an hour and a half, so does not wear out its welcome.

The post REVIEW: The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: A Sojourn in the Sunset Forest by Zammar Ahmer

The final page of The Book of Astea has been turned, but now Zammar Ahmer returns to this darkly alluring world for one final farewell to these characters in A Sojourn in the Sunset Forest. Set roughly four years before the events of Riven Earth, this newsletter freebie companion prequel novella is an exciting little treat for fans of the series to soothe their soul after surviving the beautifully bittersweet ending of the duology.

Now, if you are familiar with Ahmer’s storytelling, then you should know that he is not afraid to go dark. But while that still holds true in A Sojourn in the Sunset Forest, this little adventure is remarkably more chill and light-hearted compared to the trauma, heartache and world-ending stakes that the main instalments in The Book of Astea duology deliver. Plus, the fact that the cockroach Maisades doesn’t make an appearance increases the cozy factor exponentially, so there is that. 

Going back in time to see these characters in a happier state of mind before all went to utter hell was just an absolute joy, and I loved that we got to go on not one, not two, but three separate adventures with them as they all go off on their own little mission. Moreover, A Sojourn in the Sunset Forest features some characters who tragically died before the start of Riven Earth, and I really enjoyed seeing how they did (or maybe did not totally) live up to the legacy that they left behind in the main series.

For me, Otto and Tilly’s journey into the swamps was probably my favourite of the three storylines, but I was also captivated by Jaswyn and Raia’s nautical adventure and Kaido’s exhilarating expedition into the mountains. They are each faced with a lot more trials and tribulations than anyone could have anticipated (except for Uncle Galtus of course, just know that he called their idiocy, thank you very much), and seeing the profound character growth they all go through as they have to step up in unexpected ways to handle the conflicts in their way was so empowering and satisfying to experience.

Now, could you treat this prequel novella as your intro to the world of The Book of Astea? Technically yes, but realistically no. I mean, it doesn’t feature any spoilers and Ahmer’s immersive storytelling is undoubtedly strong enough to get you grounded and invested regardless, but I think this story really hits best if you already have a deeper connection to these characters from reading at least Riven Earth first.

For me, A Sojourn in the Sunset Forest was truly everything I didn’t know I needed from a prequel novella, and it is just beyond me how Ahmer managed to pack so much action, emotion, and intrigue into so few pages. Especially the sweet yet slightly heart wrenching epilogue had me completely in my feels with knowledge of what’s coming for these characters, while also giving me so much satisfying closure. If The Book of Astea wasn’t already one of my favourite series yet, then this companion novella absolutely solidified it; this is character-driven grimdark fantasy with heart at its very best.

Read A Sojourn in the Sunset Forest by Zammar Ahmer
[image error]Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: A Sojourn in the Sunset Forest by Zammar Ahmer appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: The Rig Season 2

The Rig season two released onto Prime Video in early January (2025) and sticks to the Brit-drama 6 episode format. While I’ve tried to avoid them as much as possible, this review does have some mild spoilers for the end of season one (in particular the ending) so proceed with caution!

Season two picks up minutes after the dramatic ending of season one as the Kinloch Bravo crew, accompanied by Pictor’s antagonistic Coke, are whisked off the doomed oil rig at the last moment by helicopter. They are flown not to land but deep into the Arctic ocean to alight on a mining-come-research structure known as The Stack where Coke is top dog and immediately separates and locks down the Bravo crew. Coke is none-too-pleased when Pictor CEO, Morgan Lennox, arrives to breathe down his neck.

The Bravo team are issued an ultimatum by Pictor: we’ll fly you home if you sign these airtight NDAs. Lennox leverages her prior relationship with Rose to convince the crew to play along; while Coke appeals to Magnus’ “leave no-one behind” ethos to enlist the help of the rest of the crew to rescue one of The Stack’s rover teams who are lost on the ocean floor. The main characters largely stay behind to help the rover team, but Hatton (the angry, sweary veteran) and Cat (the pregnant nurse) are among those who return to land with Lennox.

The story of The Rig splits, with one group of characters dealing with the aftermath and devastation on land, focussing mostly on Cat’s search for her wife and Lennox’s attempts to obfuscate Pictor’s involvement in causing the catastrophe. The group who remain on The Stack have to deal with the deep-sea creature, the Ancestor, and the deeply ingrained corruption under Coke’s oversight.

While the storyline in the Arctic has vibes reminiscent of The Abyss, with a little Interstellar mixed in, season two of The Rig has a chronic case of ‘middle book syndrome’. There’s too much vying for attention and, as a result, everything is explored too little. At times it felt as though the creators were leaning too heavily on ‘show don’t tell’ that they forgot to explain and join the dots completely.

There are a lot of unanswered questions by the end of the show that really should’ve been addressed. They took the foot off the gas on the horror side and relied on a paint-by-numbers evil corporation storyline instead. It had a lot of potential that, sadly, hasn’t been realised. If The Rig continues for a third season, I expect it will be geared more towards corruption and politics than the brief whisper of cosmic horror season one hinted at.

The post REVIEW: The Rig Season 2 appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Mists of Memory by N. C. Scrimgeour

Two years ago indie author N. C. Scrimgeour gave us the sea-faring, sea monster-filled dark fantasy Sea of Souls, which combined an impeccably crafted maritime Scottish-inspired fantasy world with atmospheric prose, a dark, chilling tone and near-perfect characterisation.

Now she’s back with the sequel Mists of Memory, and not only is there no sophomore slump with this one but it sails proudly out of the seaborne fog as one of the contenders for fantasy of the year. Mists of Memory is a blood-soaked, heart-rending, compulsively addictive example of what the very best of the genre can offer.

We pick up pretty much where we left off last time, with sailor turned fugitive Isla Blackwood dealing with the revelations of her true heritage while Darce Galbraith, her soul-bonded love interest and sword master turned sea wizard, is trapped back in the capital. Immediately the stakes are set: this is the selkies versus the Admiralty, the latter headed by the memorably villainous Grand Admiral who will stop at nothing to get his daughter back and slaughter as many selkies as he can in the meantime.

In the middle of this blood feud are Isla and Darce, bonded yet separated. Isla must convince her newfound selkie family that she can save them all by completing her mother’s destiny, while Darce must try and defeat the Admiral from the inside while trying to protect Isla’s increasingly bitter brother Lachlan.

Mists of Memory is about people trying to find their true home, and what happens when that is split between their love and their family; it’s a book about sacrifice and generational healing; and it’s a book about how hatred between two peoples can blind them into cycles of violence. The vessel for exploring these meaty themes is Scrimgeour’s fantastic magic system, which involves blood magic that controls the oceans, souls being transferred through selkie pelts, a dream-walking purgatory state and more—a frankly surreal mixture that somehow feels compellingly authentic.

But this swashbuckling sequel is also a wickedly dark and fun ride across the ocean, with huge ship battles, terrifying soulless selkies made of mist riding salt-spray death horses, gruesome torture and scene-stealing twists. Scrimgeour consistently raises the stakes and the set pieces—daring rescues, naval skirmishes and twisted magic are all painted in lucid prose which is never far away from a quotable line or a haunting description.

But most impressive about Mists of Memory, even among all the ship chases and sea magic and sea bird-bonding (so much sea bird-bonding) is the first-rate character work. Scrimgeour has this ability to create realistic characters with sympathetic motivations who you desperately want to work it all out—and then pitch them against each other to torture the reader, while never sacrificing the realism.

Indeed, some of the best scenes are simply quiet conversations: the utter relief you will feel when one character gives a subtle hint they’ve not yet given up on the other, only to be devastated when fate pitches them against each other again. Oh and when these characters are hurt… getting to the end of this book requires nerves of steel and your heart constantly in your mouth so much you fear you’ll spit it out onto your bookmark.

Mists of Memory is a non-stop, deliciously dark white-knuckle ride across waters perilous that somehow finds time to stop and give us character moments that make you and break you, sometimes on the same page. To ride the waves with this crew is to experience the genre at its best—put simply, this is one of the must-read fantasies of the year.

Read Mists of Memory by N. C. Scrimgeour

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: Mists of Memory by N. C. Scrimgeour appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Silo Season 2

Silo S2 continues the tale of survivors living in huge silos in the middle of what they believe to be an unliveable wasteland. The first season of Silo ended with Rebecca Ferguson’s (Dune, Doctor Sleep) Juliette Nicholls leaving the silo and discovering that all is not as it seems. With the inhabitants she left behind threatening to tear the carefully built society apart, Juliette faces a race against time to uncover the secrets of the silo and return to the world she left behind.

As with the first season, Silo S2 is all about a simple premise and the unravelling of a mystery. Juliette spends the season in another silo with the anxious, lonely Solo – a mysterious man who struggles with his past and is nervous about helping Juliette and losing his one human connection to the world. As she learns more about Solo’s past and the history of the adjacent silo, back home, a rebellion is stirring with the potential for war as many believe that Juliette lives and that secrets are being kept by those in charge.

There’s a slow pace to this season and the scenes in the original silo sometimes feel as though they are lacking the presence of Ferguson’s Juliette. Without her as a focal point, there is something missing as the rebellion grows although others in the cast do step up at times and grab your attention, refusing to let go. Mayor Hollands, played by Tim Robbins, and security chief Sims played by Common are two of the standout performers as they struggle to hold onto their power and control of the silo. They deliver powerful performances and it is always interesting to see the ways they attempt to manipulate those beneath them and maintain their control as the flames of rebellion burn around them. For me, it is a lack of formidable foe for them that makes the season fall slightly short of the expectations and it had me wishing that Juliette would make it back as soon as possible to the silo.

Whilst more grounded than fellow dystopian tale Fallout, Silo S2 is a visual triumph. The world feels lived in and real and brings a sense of claustrophobia that makes you feel a part of the silo. The action scenes are well shot and while it feels like there needs to be more of a leader for the rebellion, there is a sense of hope to the scenes as the civilians fight back knowing that the odds are stacked against them. Whilst there were a few issues with the season, it finishes with one of the best episodes in the entire show and left me wanting more.

Silo S2 builds on a successful first season with more of the mystery of the silos revealed. Strong acting and a realistic dystopian world is brought to life and has you rooting for the rebels to win over those in power who are holding onto all the secrets. With a strong ending, viewers will be eagerly awaiting the third season and a fourth and final one has already been confirmed!

The post REVIEW: Silo Season 2 appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: She Who Waits by Daniel Polansky

There’s a new drug in Low Town, and it’s creating horrors. After witnessing the all-too-familiar results of it, The Warden investigates in book three of the Low Town trilogy, She Who Waits. All the while his relationship with his best friend Adolphus continues to strain, heading towards a secret that could end twenty years of friendship, of war survival, of relying on each other in their own ways, and of brotherhood for better or worse. Wren has also breached the cusp of manhood, his powers growing and the risk to his freedom and safety with it. The end has arrived for our antiheroes, and it’s all going to fall apart.

The Warden has gone up against many things: the Black House, the Association, gangs, and nobles … and this time it’s the very worst of Rigus: the religious zealots of the Steps.

Key to She Who Waits–and The Warden’s humanity–is The Warden’s relationship with Wren, his adopted son. The son wants to stop being treated like a boy, like any 18-year old young man bursting from his father’s shadow does. The father wants better for his son other than being enslaved by the king in a military magic school or inheriting an illicit drug distribution business. Both lives would likely end in a violent and early death, and The Warden doesn’t know what else he can do for him other than ship him out of the empire. The two are at an empasse. However, that empasse and that relationship, as always, take second fiddle to The Warden’s selfishness and his obsession with getting back at The Old Man—Rigus’ top spy responsible for thousands of murders and more, and also the man who taught The Warden all he knows about manipulating and playing the brutal, ruthless smart hand.

She Who Waits is beautiful for it’s complexity beneath the brutality. It’s certainly one of those experiences where readers will pick up on the things that matter to them, running the full gamut from the cynical, snarky, self-depricating, violent Warden going about his brutal business story arc, to the at-times quite horrible and at-other-times quite touching and self-sacrificial relationship between The Warden and Wren, to exploring the damage between Adolphus and The Warden as we find the last threads of their relationship to reveal and unpick. If you can enjoy all three of those arcs, She Who Waits is simply un-put-downable.

Once again, Low Town and its surrounding areas are beautifully depicted. The people are desperate, the population a powder keg, the guard and gentry utterly useless and uncaring, and the big factions are winding up to take their swing for the fences. Long story arcs started in The Straight Razor Cure and built on in Tomorrow, The Killing are brought to beautiful, gritty conclusion, with scores settled, plays unveiled and countered, double crosses, and more all delivered at the kind of pace and addictiveness that makes you miss your bus stop.

She Who Waits is a magnificent ending to the Low Town trilogy. It’s brutal, morose, hopeless, and hopeful. It’s punching up as hard as you can when you’re pretty sure you’ll lose. It’s using other people’s horrible fallacies and manipulating mostly rubbish people and crushing their spirits to do what you think is right, and to do right by yours, no matter how wrong the layperson would say you are. It’s everything you want in a book as a grimdark fan, and more. Polansky is an absolute master of the dark stuff and I will read literally anything he releases until one of us goes to meet She Who Waits, clenching our fists until we can’t anymore.

Read She Who Waits by Daniel Polansky

Read on Amazon

The post REVIEW: She Who Waits by Daniel Polansky appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.

REVIEW: Sea of Souls by N.C. Scrimgeour

It took me just about one page of reading Sea of Souls to sink right into N.C. Scrimgeour’s soul-stirring storytelling, and by the end of the first chapter I realised that I had struck pure gold with this book. Drenched in Scottish folklore and mythology, this dark, emotional and mystical high seas fantasy adventure will strike you with equal parts awe and terror.

“The lapping of the waves on the sand filled her ears like a promise. The sea still called her; maybe it always would. But there was no running now. No ignoring what she had to do.”

If there is one thing I adore in my stories, it’s wayward women bucking against society’s expectations and trying to find their own place in the world. So, colour me not surprised when I immediately fell head over heels in love with Isla Blackwood. After spending the last seven years at sea searching for her calling, she is reluctantly drawn back to the Blackwood Estate by a mysterious letter from her dying mother. But upon arrival she finds more tragedy than she ever could have imagined, and soon she is plunged straight into a foolishly dangerous quest of survival, secrets, ancient magic and deadly promises together with her impetuous brother, their brooding swordmaster, and an exiled selkie.

Now, I am usually the type of reader who prefers a deliciously slow-burn start to my stories, but Scrimgeour proved to me that a skilled storyteller doesn’t need a slow start to establish world building, characters and stakes of the highest quality. The level of immersion that Sea of Souls offers is quite simply astonishing, and it’s almost like the visceral, atmospheric and emotionally evocative storytelling made my brain forget that I have aphantasia. Every single setting and character just came to life so vividly in my mind, which turned out to be both a good and a bad thing, considering the fact that zero punches are pulled in this gut-wrenching and horrifying tale.

“My people know better than most how the tides provide for us as much as they punish us. There is a balance to the sea, one which must be kept. That is the nature of the auld ways and the promise I made you. I cannot regret keeping to it.”

For me, there truly isn’t a single aspect of Sea of Souls that stands out as my favourite, because Scrimgeour has done such an incredible job of balancing and interweaving all the external and internal conflicts. I loved digging into Isla’s inner turmoil and her struggle with her identity; I loved all the deliciously complex interpersonal relationships, be they familial, antagonistic, romantic (DARCE!! swoon), or something altogether more complicated in between it all; I loved the dark mystical magic of this world, not just from the shape-shifting selkies and their tragic role in this tale, but also of the sentinels with their ancient magic and bonds of blood; and most of all, I loved that this is a story with a beating heart and a bleeding soul that explores humanity, generational trauma, grief, sacrifice, family, and love in all its devastating beauty.

“And there lies the truth too terrible to admit: the men are the monsters, and the monsters men. This violence belongs to all of us. It will continue as long as we let it.”

There simply wasn’t a single lull in the pacing for me, and the addictive air of mystery and looming sense of dread had me in a chokehold the entire way through. A few revelations and betrayals near the end were maybe not as shocking or surprising to me as they seemed to be for the characters themselves, but that didn’t take away from any of the heavy emotional impact and sheer brilliance of this story.

And the way that Scrimgeour brought home all the core themes with that boldly bittersweet ending just hurt oh so good and made me want to dive into the sequel immediately. If you like that type of atmospheric and folkloric storytelling in the vein of Shauna Lawless’ Gael Song series, Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy or Rebecca Ross’ Elements of Cadence duology and you don’t mind a splash of slow-burn romance in your dark fantasy, then Sea of Souls is an absolute must read; it more than earned my seal of approval. 

Read Sea of Souls by N.C. Scrimgeour

Read on Amazon

 

The post REVIEW: Sea of Souls by N.C. Scrimgeour appeared first on Grimdark Magazine.