Chalmach Chronicles - Book One

by Torbjørn Øverland Amundsen, Kim Brarud (illustrator)

Chalmach.
God’s Seat. The City Ever-Drowning. The Ascended Locus.
The capital is known by many names, some of which are shrouded in mystery. Even in a world full of wonders, Chalmach has no rivals, neither in form, beauty, nor power. For over a thousand years, it has witnessed the best and the worst of humanity. Stories of undying love and unforgivable betrayal, unfathomable power and unyielding sacrifice. Stories that have shaped the world, in every sense of the word.

CHALMACH CHRONICLES takes place in a world saturated with magic. The power of using alhmeir is available to everyone and everything. From a simple straw of grass to the ruler of Chalmach, alhmeir is everywhere and can be utilized by plants, animals, and humans alike. Most people have an affinity for it that translate into their profession, such as calling upon extra strength to lift cargo at the docks, infusing food with extraordinary tastes, or dance with exceptional grace. But a small number are born with the ability to do much more. They are called tal’Vor, and the strongest of them shape the world.

This is the first book of the CHALMACH CHRONICLES. It’s an illustrated collection of short stories, but also something more. Although the stories can be read as stand-alones, giving small glimpses of different lives in Chalmach, they are part of a bigger whole, all linked in ways that will be apparent throughout the series.

The Scent
Alanaine makes sentient scents. Her small vials conjure up fragrances thought long forgotten and lost, such as The Meadow Where You Met Your First Love, or The Smell of Fear. When her oldest and most enigmatic customer falls ill in her shop, she finally gets the chance to find out why he’s been coming for all these years.

Once Upon a Story
Silian sails the canals and makes a living of bringing Chalmach to life to visitors through sightseeing and storytelling. When a University historian asks him to show her the mostly forgotten Mother’s Trail at night, he accepts out of curiosity, but also out of respect to the old tradition. However, the historian hasn’t been entirely truthful about her intentions, and Silian soon has to decide if he wants to learn all the truths about his beloved city or not.

Under the Surface
After a long day at the library, Dendrik loves nothing more than to sit in his living room with an open view to the canal, a cup of tea, perhaps a slice of cake, and read. It is the only sanctuary he has to cope with life’s complexities, or people, as they are more commonly known. But not all problems are people, and Dendrik’s peace is about to be disrupted by something he didn’t even knew existed.

The Option
Aneea must venture into the Undertow, the infamous market that lies below the shoreline. She has to find a man she has only heard about, and convince him to give her something that might get them both killed.

Better the Beshrew You Know
Arani and his sister Biun have always been canal kids, but now they are really on the run. After the old man died, Arani thought that he could keep them safe on his own, but after a night of near-capture, he realizes that it’s only a matter of time before one of the canal gangs, the church, or something much worse will get them.

249 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2025

About the author

Torbjørn lives in Oslo with his family. He started writing bad poetry when he was 15 and loves story telling in every format.

He spent quite a bit of his childhood in the local library, devouring books and comics. Later followed movies and tv-series.

Some of his many favorites are Harry Potter, Malazan Book of the Fallen, Naruto, the Polity Universe, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe, West Wing, Altered Carbon, Ghost in the shell - anime, and many, many more.

He writes in both Norwegian and English.

Reviews

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this one and I'm afraid my review won't do it justice, but here we go.

Chalmach Chronicles is a collection of short stories set in the same world, and despite being "short" it has an impressive worldbuilding that really makes you visualize the surroundings. I always thought of of it like a mix of Arcane and the first Assassins Creed games.

I was super lucky to be a beta reader for these stories and it has been fun to see them grow. I was probably a lousy beta reader cause I loved it from the get go. The story, The Scent, was my favorite back then, and still is. It's just beautifully written, and I feel like it really sets the mood for the rest of the collection, even though the themes will change a bit. Some stories are slow, makes you reflect about gods, monsters, magic, and just really really good cake and a book. Others are a bit more fast pace, darker.
The character gallery is big, but they are each so memorable and well thought out that they will stay with you throughout the stories.

This book just gives me a good feeling, like it's not like anything I've read before.
As I said I can't do this book justice by writing about it so you should just pick it up and give it a read yourself.

Just... More Chalmach stories please.

[Suzanne Berget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a beta reader for this collection of short stories, and it's so fun to see it out in the wild and how the book has evolved since the last time I read it :D

The collection opens with The Scent, which showcases the big and small magics at work in this world, and the following stories do a great job of expanding upon the things we learn in The Scent. We get to meet a host of interesting and distinct characters, and visit a bunch of fascinating places, both high and low. In every story, Øverland leaves hints at there being bigger things at work, which builds up an interest and curiosity about the next story and the next book. I'm dying to learn more about the al'madi and the tal'Vor.

My favorite story, and the story where I think Øverland gets to flex his storytelling muscles the most, is Better the Beshrew You Know, where we get to see the darker side of Chalmach and the darker side of alhmeir. It's the best story to end the collection with, because it raises a lot of questions that make me want to read more.

Øverland has definitely created something special with the Chalmach Chronicles.

[Arild Amundsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slightly biased, but honest review

Biased because, well it’s my own brother, and honest because.. if I gave anything less than five stars the christmas dinners would get awkward. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think he deserves it, and I will tell you why.

Anyway first things first, in order to give a review you obviously have to get to the end of the book. The thing is, I have already read the book multiple times as it became the book it is today. So naturally when I got the book on my Kindle for the umpteenth time I diligently re-read it like the good little brother I am, right?

Nope! I was standing like fish in a barrel on the subway on my way to work, skipping ahead the pages with my thumb like a madman. I am pretty sure a man took my photo with his mobile thinking I wouldn’t notice. But then something interesting happened.
I stopped skipping.

Because I recognized a passage of text towards the end of the first story. And the reason why was because in my head I was thinking, ‘..oh this part is cool!’. Even though I had read it multiple times as mentioned. I ended up reading the rest of that story like normal. And it wasn’t until afterwards that I stopped to think about why.

And the best way I can describe it is that feeling when you are on Youtube and some clip or video from your favorite movie or tv show appear and you click it like you have done so many times before. Or when that reel of a sitcom you like, show up on your Instagram and you watch it again and again.

And I think that is the best compliment and review I can give my brother for writing something that makes me pause, and want to read something again even though I know exactly whats gonna happen. Because I want to get pulled into that world again, even if just for a little while.

As for what the book is about, I will let my brother tell you about that. But I do enjoy this little highlight (the first!) that I made in the first story which I find fitting.

«Some epicness, a pinch of romance, a dash of nostalgia, mix it with some action and the occasional scare, lace it with a layer of mystery, and that was the recipe to satisfy most clients.»

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy books that take things in different directions, try new things, and, well, experiment a bit. Chalmach Chronicles is definitely one of those books, complete with some illustrations for each story. While not the most unique one I’ve read, it’s certainly different, and I get why the author decided to start out his fantasy series, which is based on a role playing game he developed, this way.

Chalmach Chronicles offers five stories following five different characters or sets of characters whose lives will start to intersect in later books. It has a bit of a feel of a short story collection, but also feels like a more typical fantasy story; the different POVs are just not braided together the way we’re used to seeing. It feels bold, but I think it really worked here since each story is both contained and set to merge with others. Through these stories, the city of Chalmach and its history are explored, which is fantastic as the characters range from orphans to highly talented persons. Between all of them, while the story itself is obscured, the reader can begin to understand this world, how it functions, and formulate ideas for what might come next for all of the characters.

Chalmach Chronicles opens with The Scent. This is probably the best of the five stories, but I loved how it started small, with just two characters, one of whom has become a sort of living historical figure. Alanaine runs a very special shop where scents have been bottled, but they don’t work quite the way we might think. One of her frequent customers is an old man who takes her to his estate one day, introducing him to his secrets, including who he really is and what he needs her bottled scents for. This feels like a quiet story, one with just two primary characters. The writing feels equally quiet, almost reverent in the way it handles its story. I found something very beautiful about it, and I loved meeting these two characters. Their relationship lacks any depth considering Alanaine had no idea who he was, but there’s a special bond that’s developed between them, and I loved the way the events of this story unfolded. It’s a powerful start to the book.

Once Upon a Story is a fascinating world building focused story. Chalmach was inspired by Venice, Italy, and really took its canals to heart. It spans three tiers complete with waterfalls and, as we’ll see in a later story, a whole section of the city that’s essentially underwater. The present story follows gondolier Silian, who is hired to take tourists around the city while also telling them stories of the city’s history, something he prides himself on. Until he meets historian Anfvia, who is intent on doing something called the Trial of the Mother, but not the way Silian knows it. This was probably the most unnerving of the five stories as it delves into a figure from the city’s history whose actual history is shrouded and seemingly partially erased. Unsettling things happen during the course of this trial, things that spooked Silian, and me. And yet I couldn’t look away. While I had my ups and downs with this one since it’s long and maybe a little too drawn out, especially in the beginning, I really loved the world building that was done in this one. It just grew the world for me and I wanted to know more.

The third story, Under the Surface, hints at the world outside of Chalmach, introducing a chef Dendrik enjoys getting food from. This one was also very sweet because Dendrik also happens to really like this chef, and Laylin seems fond of him, too. Dendrik is a supervisor at the city’s library with a fascination for vestige sites, and a form of anxiety that causes him to overthink things and worry about them, virtually immobilizing him. Thanks to a mischievous creature, he gets himself into a spot of trouble with Laylin, who hails from another part of this world, and finds himself with a very special creature companion, also from another part of the world. On the surface, this story is a fairly quiet one with some surprises. It was lovely to meet Dendrik, and I adored his relationship with Laylin, especially since they’re quite different. But there’s also some fantastic world building in this one that’s not directly related to the city itself. It was great to get hints of the outside world, and I really loved this creature companion and what it does for Dendrik.

The Option is probably the story that I was least keen on. There are some great things it does, and I really liked getting to know the part of the city that’s basically underwater but magic holds the water like walls so people can live and work. This is where the unsavory things happen, and it’s just the place where Aneea can find what she needs. It was great getting to know this seedy part of the city, but I struggled a little more with this one. It’s slow and prolonged, and I never really got to know Aneea. I loved getting to know all the characters in the first three stories, but I felt like Aneea was holding back, which proved true as her story concluded and I felt like I didn’t really know her at all. I have no idea where her story is going, but it definitely startled me, and I am curious about what’s next for her. But this story failed to really capture my imagination, probably because of all the questions it left me with.

Better the Beshrew You Know is the last story. It follows brother and sister Arani and Biun, orphans who were raised and trained in magic, called alhmeir, by an old man. But, when the old man dies, they’re sent to the orphanage where they’re, more or less, protected from the gangs that roam the city. Worse, the old man wasn’t exactly honest with them about their magic, creating all sorts of trouble for them as the story unfolds. I loved the world building, and I loved getting a deeper look into the seedy parts of Chalmach and how it functions. This one felt like a deep dive into the underbelly of the city, the darker things that happen. I also loved Arani and Biun, and the mother in me just wanted to scoop them up and hug them. But they hold some surprises they didn’t even know were in them, and having to come to terms with that in just a short time span was almost mind boggling. These kids go through so much, and the end of their story hints at even more trials. I’m intrigued to see what happens to them.

Overall, I really enjoyed Chalmach Chronicles. The stories were varied, but all held fantastic world building nuggets. It did make it feel like this first book was all about world building, but, considering its start, I thought it was probably warranted. I would have loved a glossary, though, because there are so many terms everyone takes for granted but I haven’t the foggiest idea what they mean within this world and story. I sometimes felt like I was scrambling to catch up or just so confused it was easier to just go with the flow. I feel like I probably missed a few things, and maybe an entire layer of meaning, but I still had fun meeting these characters and reading their stories. I’ve never read a book based on a role playing world, probably because I’ve also never played a role playing game so have no idea how they actually operate, but I had a lot of fun with this book. I flew through it faster than I expected, and was sad to see it end. I look forward to seeing how their stories intertwine.

Chalmach Chronicles is a fascinating set of short stories with the promise of a greater interconnected story to come. This world is big and fascinating, and clearly very well thought out and detailed. I loved that it was inspired by Venice, and absolutely took those canals and ran with them. While it took me a little bit to really get settled in this book, I ended up feeling disappointed when I reached the end of the last story and realized that was it. The writing and the characters really drew me into this world, and I loved the care given to crafting each of them. It’ll be interesting to see how their stories start to merge and to see the overarching story emerge.

Thank you to the author for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, what a great way to restart my reviews of Indie books! When Amundsen reached out to me with a sample of Chalmach Chronicles, I immediately knew this was something that I would want to dive into. Within these pages lies a series of short stories that all take place in the same beautifully rendered world. Chalmach is a place buzzing with magic, where what we believe to be impossible is commenplace. People can generate fire, can weave magical stories, and even recreate memories. This is a place where nothing at all is quite what it seems. In other words, these are the types of stories that this reader finds utterly fascinating. I couldn’t wait to see what Amundsen had in store for me, and I was not disappointed. Solid four star read right here.

Read on for mini reviews of each story!

The Scent
This was, hands down, my favorite story in this book. Alanaine has the power to create scents that take the user back to memories that felt long forgotten. What a beautiful thing that would be, to have to the ability to go back to specific moment in time with a whiff, don’t you think? For Alanaine’s most loyal customer though, the aim is a little more lofty than just conjuring up a simple memory and she’s coming along for the ride. Alanaine was a lovely character, and her kindness radiated off the page. This story was so warm, and lush. It was so full of emotion. No spoilers here, but you’ll probably tear up. I know that I did.

Once Upon A Story
We meet Silian, whose daily life is sailing the canals and sharing his deep knowledge of Chalmach lore with his riders. When a curious historian asks him to take her on a tour of the “Mother’s Trail” at night, he is a little taken aback. No one asks for that story, and yet he knows that it’s an important part of the old world that he grew up in and so he accepts. What ensues is a journey into uncertainty and admittedly a bit of darkness. I really, really enjoyed this story. Silian’s stories were full of beauty and a deep love for his home. Even he wasn’t ready for where the Mother’s Trail takes them though. Fun fact, the sample that hooked me on wanting to read this book was from this particular story! Trust me, you’ll want to see what happens at the end of this one.

Under the Surface
As a fellow bibliophile, Dendrik immediately stole my heart in this story. Not the best with people, his favorite past time is to sit quietly in his home, admiring the view and reading his beloved books. Unfortunately for him, on this particular day his peaceful plans are upset by a mysterious visitor. Dendrik is thrown into a series of events that both push him out of his comfort zone, and show him how strong of a person that he truly is. I can’t deny, this story made me smile a lot. I felt so sorry for our poor protagonist whenever he was misunderstood, or uncomfortable, but with a bit of unexpected help he kept rising to the occasion. I adore a growth arc!

The Option
In this story, we find Aneea as she is making her way into the Undertow. Here, where the rules can be bent and broken, she hopes to find a man that will help her with her very specific problem. A problem that only a very special item can solve. Oh, friends. This story threw me for a loop in the best way. I can’t say much more because I don’t want to give anything away, but the ending of this one was just stellar. I’m still thinking about it, if I’m being honest. All I’ll say is that I really hope that Aneea found what she was seeking.

Better the Beshrew You Know
Arani and his sister Biun are canal kids. As long as they can remember, they’ve been barely getting by. But now their caretaker is gone, and things are even bleaker than they were before. All Arani wants is to find a way to protect his sister, whatever it takes. Full transparency, this was the story that I liked the least and I’ll explain why as best I can in a short review.

Now the magic in this one was one of the things that I did love. Seeing a bit deeper into how alhmeir was harnessed and used was very cool. Getting to see the darker parts of the city was also very appreciated, because up to this point most of the stories take place in the nicer parts of the city. What didn’t quite work for me though was all the information that was thrown out at once. Gangs, caste systems, magical tenets, dark unknown forces, it all felt like quite a lot to take in at once in such a short story. I wish this one was actually a full novel, so I could have much more backstory and time to get my footing. The ending was so fascinating, but I have so many more questions. I hope they get answered!

[Eirik Arnesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened to be at the book store where Torbjørn and Kim had a stand promoting this book. I was immediately drawn to them, much thanks to the big poster with the cover on it. I'll take the opportunity to commend Kim on the art he has made for this book; the pieces are amazing. The poster with the 4 pictures I got while I was there is framed on my wall. My mind was almost already made up that I'd buy it when I saw the two guys promoting the book - it's important to support local authors and artists! Aquick chat with Torbjørn and I was sold.

As for the book itself, I loved it! This is a book with 5 short stories all set in the great city of Chalmach, where everything seems to be a little bit magical. Bit by bit the lore of the world, and the city, is revealed to us through the characters of the stories. _The Scent_ intrigued me. I got very invested in the lore while reading _Once Upon a Story_. While reading _Under the Surface_ and _The Option_ I was almost in the city myself as I was reading. But _Better the Beshrew you know_ is by far my favorite of the stories. When I finished this story I just wanted more, and was already checking when the next book would be available.

At the moment I give the whole thing a strong 4 star, but I would not be surprised if I change that to 5 after I reread it with my girlfriend (thanks for the suggestion, Torbjørn), when I've been able to takr it in even more. Absolutely amazing book.

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great collection of stories!

I love the Venice vibes, and that the world gives the same sense of wonder as when you read Morgenstern and Laini Taylor. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the people in these stories. How could I not love characters who are willing to do anything to bring loved ones back from the dead, or a librarian who just want to read a book in peace and eat cake (spoiler: he doesn’t get to).

The world is so richly realized that it feels like you’re reading a later instalment in the series, rather than the first one. Amundsen is also great at not giving too much away at once. There are no info dumps. He's just giving you a few slivers of information as you drift down the canals in your gondola. And it leaves you curious for more.

I was lucky enough to read these stories while they were still inn progress. But reading them again now, polished and collected, the synergy really shines. I can’t wait to find out what else he has planned for this world.

Just send me to Silian and give me more of these stories, please.

[Melissa Widmaier · Rating 4 out of 5]

The worldbuilding in this collection of stories is something else! I adored the many levels of the city canals Amundsen introduces us to. The stories range from mysterious to terrifying to cozy and everything in between. My favorite story was of the librarian and the shark-cat creature, but all of the characters spoke to me in deep ways. I look forward to reading more of this unique city and its inhabitants.

[Anette Øverland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, how I really CAN’T wait for these stories to continue and to eventually melt together. Fantasy is a genre I usually stay clear of, but I am SO invested in all of these characters. Bring it on!