Slags & Embers

The Soulscape Code #1

by Brian Lindow

Think Avengers + Inception colliding in Assassin's Creed with a Narnian glaze and you've just about got it...

What if you discovered a metaphysical realm inside you — much like the physical world — where everything you did transformed the real world around you in real time? In the supernatural world of Cupél, this realm — called The Soulscape — is a powerful reality that has given rise to Twinmark Abilities, Soulstone Engineering, and Blood Alchemy.

700 years ago, three men sold their souls for a throne, becoming neither dead nor alive. Heroes have risen, armies have assembled, and nations have combined to destroy them. All have failed. Those who brought light, life and truth into the world – Forges – have been hunted into hiding or extinction by those who bring darkness, death and deceit – Rifters – and now the Immortals are bored. Dividing the world, the Immortals use their subjects as pawns in chaotic games, but a single event has threatened their rule.

Four young renegades have chosen to stand against them.

Garyk

A resurrected assassin with a new mind and old reflexes, who’s past may kill him before he eliminates his target.


Sarai

A caged princess bent on escaping the lies in which her parents have swaddled her, but the truth she seeks is not the truth she wants.


Rase

A cunning spy who believes he knows how to end the Immortals, but his desire to replace them blinds him to what it may cost.


Daeden

A peaceful blacksmith turned bounty hunter to unravel the life of the very Immortal he works for.

In this decaying world, their collision could have only been orchestrated by gods or demons and their success will require them to go deeper inside themselves than they have ever gone before.

446 pages, Paperback

First published July 13, 2015

About the author

What we achieve inwardly changes outer reality and words have the power to inspire and empower great inner achievements. With this in mind, I choose to write books that are clean, unique, and compelling.

Reviews

[Kayce Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read any fiction books in a long time, and a friend recommended this book to me. I bought it for my kindle and a few days later decided to try it. The beginning was a little confusing, but as I kept reading, the more I was sucked into this world, and the more I understood. It's beautiful in its simplicity, and I couldn't believe how much I wanted to keep reading. I love the dual nature of every character, that their choices and actions take them from one side to the other. It's an amazing book, one I will absolutely read again, and I cannot wait for the rest of the series. I'm actually a little sad that the book is over, that there isn't more. But it ended perfectly, with enough of me wanting more that I will definitely buy the next, and be transported back to the world of light and dark.

[Brian Lindow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugh Howey has said that every writer should look at their bookshelf and write what they feel is missing, and so I have :)

I grew up when the Young Adult genre was just beginning to emerge and now I teach Young Adults and so my goal is to reach as many Young Adults with my stories as I can. If my writing was music, it would be somewhere between Skillet and Owl City. If it was cinema, it would be somewhere between Inception and The Chronicles of Narnia. If it was food, it would be somewhere between Zupas and Tucanos. I've started my verbal restaurant chain and can't wait to share the flavors I love!

The greatest compliment I could ever receive would be for a parent to recommend my books to their children because he or she can trust that what I write is clean and uplifting while their son or daughter can rest assured that my books will be as well written as I can manage and as exciting, stretching and compelling as I can muster.

I LOVE writing and I LOVE storytelling! And I am writing for those who want clean, exciting and thoughtful stories.

I can't wait to see what you think and to give you as much of what I want to see on my bookshelf as I can write in my lifetime.

[Billie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As fantasy novels go this one has a lot going for it. It's almost as if the author decided that the current Fantasy genre needed a good shaking and he was going to do it up right.

He has succeeded in a fresh approach to fantasy that is engaging and rewarding at the same time.

A free book that I would have gladly paid for.

Worth investigating

[Dane Strader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Lindow has created something special here. A world with thousands of unique worlds within. Slags and Embers was truly a fun read filled with characters that will take you on a roller coaster of emotions and thoughts. I look forward to reading more and would suggest this book to anyone bored of the same old fantasy so present in today's market.

[Bam Jam · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Every soul that comes into this world is Twinmarked...From the moment they draw their first breath they are mixed up in the wars of the gods. Their choice of which Mark to favour is in their hands. The rest is up to them." - Thero; Slags and Embers, B. Lindow

[I won this book through the Goodreads giveaway. Thank you to the author and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to delve into such a rich world.]

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally finished! This will be less in depth than my previous reviews but it contains enough of what I wanted to say.


What I Liked

The world building, while still utterly confusing to me, was pretty incredible, and one of the most intricate I've seen in awhile from a fantasy. The world they live in is so vast and complicated, and the rules are so well thought-out; it’s very evident what kind of effort and care Lindow put into his work. He was also kind enough to put more explanation at the back of the book, but try as a might, I just couldn’t wrap my head around all the rules (I guess that’s what I get for reading a book so slowly). This, though, did not stop me from appreciating the depth of the world and how much the author wanted to convey this world to his audience. The characters were greatly diverse personality-wise, and the descriptions of the settings were very intricate and detailed. I thought the whole time that Rase would be among the heroes so imagine my (pleasant) surprise when he takes on (at least from what I can tell) the main antagonist against the protagonists. I wonder if he’ll become an anti-hero (though I’m not sure how I’ll forgive him for killing Timo!) since he's been chosen.. I think Daeden is my favourite so far, and Wink is so cute!

What I Didn't Like

I felt like the dialogue most of the time was awkward; I just couldn't believe the words, however emotional they were, coming out of the characters mouths. Everything seemed to be overly dramatic all the time and it lost is vigor very early on. Also I felt like everyone cried a little too much? Or like, they cried during moments that didn't make sense. I'm forever bothered by the fridging trope so having Rachel die for Garyk's character advancement was not all-together pleasant to me. The book moved a little slow for my taste, too. In terms of diversity, other than Daeden and Cassie being PoC and Cis being mixed race, there wasn't much other than The Typical, which is not a huge clip for me as this is only the first book in the series, and thus, it's hard for me to poke at this issue until the whole series is released. The only discrimination featured was that against slaves.

What I Hope to See in the Future

I can't wait for the four characters to really meet up and to see how their chemistry builds. There were a few women, though only Sarai got some real action; her mother, a powerful Immortal, was killed (even the Shadow Master was allowed to live in the end), Rachel was fridged, as was Tam and Celeste, and Cassie and Sis were used as bargaining chips. We got a whiff of some interesting femmes--Neva and Alyxx—so I’d like to explore them, and since this is only the first book, I hope Lindow fleshes out Cassie more, especially, as an emotionally strong character (no need for a sword and fighting skills to be tough) and less as a piece of Daeden's development. More diversity, as usual, and more explanation of the world that they live in and this other world mentioned right at the end, this other realm of Illander.

You can find my review for this book, and others, on my blog: Sweaters and Raindrops

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book due to a goodreads drawing.

I found Slags & Embers confusing at the beginning but as the story progressed the plot became clear and the action picked up. Mr. Lindow is a good writer with the ability to evoke emotions from the characters and the reader. I found the story complicated due to the good and evil each person has inside them. This fight between good and evil in the main characters gives just enough unpredictability to the story to make the reader want to continue reading. I will definitely read the second book.

[SALLY WHITE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Goodreads for sending me this book. This is not a genre I would normally have chosen to read. However, I did enjoy it. It is the author’s debut novel and a fantasy one. Initially, I found it difficult to get in to, but I persevered and I began to understand the characters and the battles between lightness and darkness, or light and shade..