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Death of the Multiverse #1
A Shard of Sea and Bone
The Infinity. Sea of Seas. A multiverse teeming with life and magic. Long have two species, humans and demons, subjugated one another within it, all while living beneath the might of hierarchies designed to protect them. Long have their masses worshipped elected deities—the Guardians—who serve the dimensions as saints, mercenaries, and officers of the law.
The Guardians are believed to be indomitable, but now, one by one, they're being murdered.
When three of them turn up dead—eyes and hearts ripped out, seemingly by their own hands—seven very different people are thrust into the mystery surrounding their deaths, a mystery that spans from the icy mountains of Lutana all the way to the dunes of Khajal and to the slaughtered bay city of Lindennacht.
Any hope of uncovering the culprit behind the Guardian murders now rests with those seven a street-fighting princess, an illiterate ex-slave, a libertine potioneer, a reluctant heir, a former royal dancer, a clan's queen, and a gunslinging spellcaster with nothing to lose.
The Guardians are believed to be indomitable, but now, one by one, they're being murdered.
When three of them turn up dead—eyes and hearts ripped out, seemingly by their own hands—seven very different people are thrust into the mystery surrounding their deaths, a mystery that spans from the icy mountains of Lutana all the way to the dunes of Khajal and to the slaughtered bay city of Lindennacht.
Any hope of uncovering the culprit behind the Guardian murders now rests with those seven a street-fighting princess, an illiterate ex-slave, a libertine potioneer, a reluctant heir, a former royal dancer, a clan's queen, and a gunslinging spellcaster with nothing to lose.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 30, 2018
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 6, 2019
Actual rating: 3.5/5
Engelmeier’s debut impressed me on many levels. It starts off with a strong voice, a wide cast of characters, and a distinct sense of place and setting. Not an easy task when the story encompasses the whole Multiverse and revolves around the possible end of the Infinity. Imaginative and unique world-building coupled with a solid plot and a healthy dose of twists and turns kept me glued to my e-reader. Sure, few things irked me and resulted in a lower rating but don’t let it fool you. Engelmeier is a writer to watch.
An order of Guardians (indomitable demons with god-like powers) protects the realms of the multiverse and uphold the law. Someone targets and murders them. It can mean only one thing - the return of a long-forgotten threat. A group of unlikely allies (conflicted royal family members, and their friends/crushes) risks all to uncover the mystery behind those gruesome deaths.
Engelmeier’s intricately-crafted world offers plenty to explore - various realms, histories, languages and more. To give you an example, the inhabitants of the Infinity use at least six languages: Osnata (used in the Realm of Black Waters), Anavene (spoken in the Guardian Realm of Fogs), Su’net (the language of the dead), Lu’va (the language of the light), Makvt (the language of the darkness), Common Tongue (widely spoken).
Various Realms give various, and distinct, vibes. There’s some deeper thought behind them. With such a complex world, a reader can expect some info-dumps. I expected less than I’ve got, but I’m not crazy about detailed world-building in general. At least the Realms of Infinity are interesting.
I appreciate the effort put into crafting fictitious languages, but lack of translations (in any form) of solid parts of the text irked me. I felt stumped by the use of incomprehensible sentences, like this one:
Which is interesting because in other places the author deftly translates the foreign language flavors:
A pity, because it took me out of the story and irritated me. I understand the desire to impart the flavour of the foreign tongues, but those languages don’t exist. A reader won’t be able to google and translate them.
And now, characters. There’s plenty of them. With six main POV characters, things get complicated. Handling such a large cast of characters isn’t easy, but Engelmeier brings them to life and makes their motivations and storylines clear. On the other hand, at times she can’t decide if she wants to tell a murder story or a demon royal love and family drama. Everyone has a crush on everyone - one of the leading characters secretly loves her friend who has a story with her brother, who, in turn, is interested in the incestuous relationship with his older brother who no longer knows what he wants. And that’s just the beginning of all the complicated affairs.
I have an issue with characterization. Let’s take Artysaedra Alayana Veiyel - the first daughter of the Infinite Royal Family, given by her parents to the Infinite Order to serve as the Guardian of Darkness. She’s a warrior through and through, she fights at the docs in her free time and runs head on toward danger. She hides her insecurity behind bravado and her swagger. It’s hard not to like her - she’s a rebellious gal drinking lots of whiskey and willing to fight for her future. Cool, except, she’s at least a few hundreds years old!
As much as I understand that demons don’t grow old physically I can’t buy into them remaining emotionally immature for hundreds of years of interacting with others and living their lives. Sure, Saedra’s qualities, anger, and bravado make her relatable for new adults but I would expect her to be well past this stage. The same is true for the rest of the characters. They’re cool, they’re likable and relatable. I totally see new adult and LGBT audience rooting for them, but when you think about it, their behavior versus their age is ridiculous.
I’m not sure how to conclude this review. A shard of Sea & Bone has plenty of awesome moments, and potential to entertain and engage readers. If only it could decide which story is more important. I would prefer the author to focus the narrative on the murder mystery and the threat to the Infinity, but her choice to thoroughly explore family and love dramas should appeal to the audience interested in such themes.
Despite my reservations, I think it’s a good book. Look at it this way - usually, when I hear about close to 600 pages of roaring fun, I turn and run in the opposite direction. Not that I dislike roaring fun, I just don’t like thick books. But I’ve finished this one in two days. It means something, right?
Engelmeier’s debut impressed me on many levels. It starts off with a strong voice, a wide cast of characters, and a distinct sense of place and setting. Not an easy task when the story encompasses the whole Multiverse and revolves around the possible end of the Infinity. Imaginative and unique world-building coupled with a solid plot and a healthy dose of twists and turns kept me glued to my e-reader. Sure, few things irked me and resulted in a lower rating but don’t let it fool you. Engelmeier is a writer to watch.
An order of Guardians (indomitable demons with god-like powers) protects the realms of the multiverse and uphold the law. Someone targets and murders them. It can mean only one thing - the return of a long-forgotten threat. A group of unlikely allies (conflicted royal family members, and their friends/crushes) risks all to uncover the mystery behind those gruesome deaths.
Engelmeier’s intricately-crafted world offers plenty to explore - various realms, histories, languages and more. To give you an example, the inhabitants of the Infinity use at least six languages: Osnata (used in the Realm of Black Waters), Anavene (spoken in the Guardian Realm of Fogs), Su’net (the language of the dead), Lu’va (the language of the light), Makvt (the language of the darkness), Common Tongue (widely spoken).
Various Realms give various, and distinct, vibes. There’s some deeper thought behind them. With such a complex world, a reader can expect some info-dumps. I expected less than I’ve got, but I’m not crazy about detailed world-building in general. At least the Realms of Infinity are interesting.
I appreciate the effort put into crafting fictitious languages, but lack of translations (in any form) of solid parts of the text irked me. I felt stumped by the use of incomprehensible sentences, like this one:
“Yuuli d’ğreskja ne olvi ti njel,” Oliver asked, his voice no more than a dry croak, “yag ol-ishi nda póveş ne njel i pyókett shema ol anoora? ”
Which is interesting because in other places the author deftly translates the foreign language flavors:
Fwexei og-vērijanji, her people called it. Child of the multiverse.
A pity, because it took me out of the story and irritated me. I understand the desire to impart the flavour of the foreign tongues, but those languages don’t exist. A reader won’t be able to google and translate them.
And now, characters. There’s plenty of them. With six main POV characters, things get complicated. Handling such a large cast of characters isn’t easy, but Engelmeier brings them to life and makes their motivations and storylines clear. On the other hand, at times she can’t decide if she wants to tell a murder story or a demon royal love and family drama. Everyone has a crush on everyone - one of the leading characters secretly loves her friend who has a story with her brother, who, in turn, is interested in the incestuous relationship with his older brother who no longer knows what he wants. And that’s just the beginning of all the complicated affairs.
I have an issue with characterization. Let’s take Artysaedra Alayana Veiyel - the first daughter of the Infinite Royal Family, given by her parents to the Infinite Order to serve as the Guardian of Darkness. She’s a warrior through and through, she fights at the docs in her free time and runs head on toward danger. She hides her insecurity behind bravado and her swagger. It’s hard not to like her - she’s a rebellious gal drinking lots of whiskey and willing to fight for her future. Cool, except, she’s at least a few hundreds years old!
As much as I understand that demons don’t grow old physically I can’t buy into them remaining emotionally immature for hundreds of years of interacting with others and living their lives. Sure, Saedra’s qualities, anger, and bravado make her relatable for new adults but I would expect her to be well past this stage. The same is true for the rest of the characters. They’re cool, they’re likable and relatable. I totally see new adult and LGBT audience rooting for them, but when you think about it, their behavior versus their age is ridiculous.
I’m not sure how to conclude this review. A shard of Sea & Bone has plenty of awesome moments, and potential to entertain and engage readers. If only it could decide which story is more important. I would prefer the author to focus the narrative on the murder mystery and the threat to the Infinity, but her choice to thoroughly explore family and love dramas should appeal to the audience interested in such themes.
Despite my reservations, I think it’s a good book. Look at it this way - usually, when I hear about close to 600 pages of roaring fun, I turn and run in the opposite direction. Not that I dislike roaring fun, I just don’t like thick books. But I’ve finished this one in two days. It means something, right?
October 8, 2019
Let me start by saying that I made it about 50% of the way through this book before I finally gave up. I’ve been working on it for a few weeks, but it feels like a chore. I was waiting for the promised plot to get going, but it’s just not there. It’s long, complicated, and disorganized.
I’m not sure where to start with this one. It’s so complicated, it feels like at least two different books that were kind of smashed together. It’s not just the fact that there’s a multiverse (with tons of characters, locations, languages, and cultures described in too much detail). The tone and pacing of this story are all over the place.
To begin with, the title sounds like it came from a fantasy book name generator. I can picture a bone shard, but what is a sea shard? And what’s a shard made of both sea and bone? Bones and the sea both appear in the story, but they hardly seem like important elements. Not since the video game Horizon Zero Dawn have I had this much trouble understanding and remembering a title. Off the top of my head, I would call it something related to the murder of the guardians. Even Spoiled Demon Royalty would be more descriptive.
Second, there is just too much. Too many characters, too many viewpoints, too many worlds, and too many passages written in fictional languages that aren’t translated at all. Every chapter opens with a quote from an in-world text (most of which seem to be irrelevant), then a long description of the location. Oh, and none of these chapters are properly linked in a ToC so I can’t find previous chapters easily in my e-reader. Sometimes, these varied characters do offer different perspectives on events relating to the main plot (which I think is the murder of the guardians). But sometimes, it spends time meandering about court politics, or the history of a clan, or a prince getting scolded by his mother for not having good manners, and the plot comes to a grinding halt. Characters are ignored for long periods of time before finally popping up again. Any kind of tension gets lost in the constant hopping to yet another location.
Third, I didn’t really like any of the characters. I might have liked Oliver, but after a few initial chapters, his POV got dropped and I don’t know what happened to him. The other characters mostly seem to be demons, with ages ranging from a few hundred years to thousands of years old, but they’re all petty and immature. Even when they realize there’s a threat, they still waste time arguing about stupid things and getting distracted by their sexual desires. If they’re our last hope to save all of existence, then the multiverse is screwed. The series title, Death of the Multiverse, promises to come true.
Fourth, I mentioned that another book I read, River of Thieves, had a lot of cursing and vulgar references without it feeling too gratuitous. It had a reason for being crude–the humor, which was executed well. A Sea of Shards and Bone (or whatever this book is called) feels like it’s crude just for the shock value. And although the author appears to be a woman, it’s written with some of the same cliches that you usually find being made fun of in r/menwritingwomen. I really don’t care what Saedra’s nipples are doing just because she’s outside and it’s cold. I don’t care that the person sitting three rows away from Naliah smells like sex because it’s absolutely irrelevant to the actual scene.
These are just the main issues that I had. There were a lot of smaller things that made me roll my eyes or switch to reading something else for a while, but it would take too long to list them all. The thing is, I really tried to get into this because it seemed like an interesting premise, and I usually enjoy detailed worldbuilding. But this is an example of detail gone wrong.
LGBT representation: some of the characters are LGBT. I think there might be a same-sex romance later in the book, but I didn’t get that far.
This book might be good for someone else, but I can’t recommend it myself.
I’m not sure where to start with this one. It’s so complicated, it feels like at least two different books that were kind of smashed together. It’s not just the fact that there’s a multiverse (with tons of characters, locations, languages, and cultures described in too much detail). The tone and pacing of this story are all over the place.
To begin with, the title sounds like it came from a fantasy book name generator. I can picture a bone shard, but what is a sea shard? And what’s a shard made of both sea and bone? Bones and the sea both appear in the story, but they hardly seem like important elements. Not since the video game Horizon Zero Dawn have I had this much trouble understanding and remembering a title. Off the top of my head, I would call it something related to the murder of the guardians. Even Spoiled Demon Royalty would be more descriptive.
Second, there is just too much. Too many characters, too many viewpoints, too many worlds, and too many passages written in fictional languages that aren’t translated at all. Every chapter opens with a quote from an in-world text (most of which seem to be irrelevant), then a long description of the location. Oh, and none of these chapters are properly linked in a ToC so I can’t find previous chapters easily in my e-reader. Sometimes, these varied characters do offer different perspectives on events relating to the main plot (which I think is the murder of the guardians). But sometimes, it spends time meandering about court politics, or the history of a clan, or a prince getting scolded by his mother for not having good manners, and the plot comes to a grinding halt. Characters are ignored for long periods of time before finally popping up again. Any kind of tension gets lost in the constant hopping to yet another location.
Third, I didn’t really like any of the characters. I might have liked Oliver, but after a few initial chapters, his POV got dropped and I don’t know what happened to him. The other characters mostly seem to be demons, with ages ranging from a few hundred years to thousands of years old, but they’re all petty and immature. Even when they realize there’s a threat, they still waste time arguing about stupid things and getting distracted by their sexual desires. If they’re our last hope to save all of existence, then the multiverse is screwed. The series title, Death of the Multiverse, promises to come true.
Fourth, I mentioned that another book I read, River of Thieves, had a lot of cursing and vulgar references without it feeling too gratuitous. It had a reason for being crude–the humor, which was executed well. A Sea of Shards and Bone (or whatever this book is called) feels like it’s crude just for the shock value. And although the author appears to be a woman, it’s written with some of the same cliches that you usually find being made fun of in r/menwritingwomen. I really don’t care what Saedra’s nipples are doing just because she’s outside and it’s cold. I don’t care that the person sitting three rows away from Naliah smells like sex because it’s absolutely irrelevant to the actual scene.
These are just the main issues that I had. There were a lot of smaller things that made me roll my eyes or switch to reading something else for a while, but it would take too long to list them all. The thing is, I really tried to get into this because it seemed like an interesting premise, and I usually enjoy detailed worldbuilding. But this is an example of detail gone wrong.
LGBT representation: some of the characters are LGBT. I think there might be a same-sex romance later in the book, but I didn’t get that far.
This book might be good for someone else, but I can’t recommend it myself.
June 4, 2018
As a grad student, I don’t get a lot of time to read for fun. I honestly can’t remember the last time I got to read something I enjoyed before this, but the second I got A Shard of Sea and Bone, I couldn’t stop reading. 530+ pages flew by in a matter of a few days. L.J. Engelmeier has a way with words, and here, that means that she’s managed to make them hook the reader so much that the amount of new character and place names don’t overwhelm so much as excite. With each new person, realm, or species introduced, I learned a little more about this intricate world and the deities—the Guardians and Council alike—who rule it.
It’s difficult to juggle multiple narrators and keep them all interesting, and that’s one thing this novel does superbly well. Every time I thought I had a favorite character, another did something to make me love them more. Artysaedra isn’t the typical princess; she’s a foul-mouthed, liquor-loving joy every time she shows up. Svahta and Nori-Rin are equally badass heroines trying to get the bottom of a series of murders that has put the entire multiverse in danger. Naliah and Oliver have each been through so much that I just want to hug them and see them get all the good things life has to offer. Draven and Kinrae are princes struggling to cope with the huge weight that being heirs to the multiverse puts on their shoulders, and though they each handle it in extremely different ways, I was rooting for both of them the whole way through. Though these characters all have magic and wield a huge amount of power, they’re all so human and complex that they make fantastic heroes. They’re flawed and accessible and real, and their relationships are what makes the book shine.
I was so excited about the pieces of the puzzle fitting together that I didn’t realize how close I was to the last page until I was there. If I’m mad about one thing, it’s that the book ended and that I have to wait for the next one to come out. If you like new, intricate, and fascinating worlds and enjoy the banter of a band of misfits working together to save the world (or life, the multiverse, and everything), please please read this. You won’t regret it.
It’s difficult to juggle multiple narrators and keep them all interesting, and that’s one thing this novel does superbly well. Every time I thought I had a favorite character, another did something to make me love them more. Artysaedra isn’t the typical princess; she’s a foul-mouthed, liquor-loving joy every time she shows up. Svahta and Nori-Rin are equally badass heroines trying to get the bottom of a series of murders that has put the entire multiverse in danger. Naliah and Oliver have each been through so much that I just want to hug them and see them get all the good things life has to offer. Draven and Kinrae are princes struggling to cope with the huge weight that being heirs to the multiverse puts on their shoulders, and though they each handle it in extremely different ways, I was rooting for both of them the whole way through. Though these characters all have magic and wield a huge amount of power, they’re all so human and complex that they make fantastic heroes. They’re flawed and accessible and real, and their relationships are what makes the book shine.
I was so excited about the pieces of the puzzle fitting together that I didn’t realize how close I was to the last page until I was there. If I’m mad about one thing, it’s that the book ended and that I have to wait for the next one to come out. If you like new, intricate, and fascinating worlds and enjoy the banter of a band of misfits working together to save the world (or life, the multiverse, and everything), please please read this. You won’t regret it.
June 4, 2018
As a grad student, I don’t get a lot of time to read for fun. I honestly can’t remember the last time I got to read something I enjoyed before this, but the second I got A Shard of Sea and Bone, I couldn’t stop reading. 530+ pages flew by in a matter of a few days. L.J. Engelmeier has a way with words, and here, that means that she’s managed to make them hook the reader so much that the amount of new character and place names don’t overwhelm so much as excite. With each new person, realm, or species introduced, I learned a little more about this intricate world and the deities—the Guardians and Council alike—who rule it.
It’s difficult to juggle multiple narrators and keep them all interesting, and that’s one thing this novel does superbly well. Every time I thought I had a favorite character, another did something to make me love them more. Artysaedra isn’t the typical princess; she’s a foul-mouthed, liquor-loving joy every time she shows up. Svahta and Nori-Rin are equally badass heroines trying to get the bottom of a series of murders that has put the entire multiverse in danger. Naliah and Oliver have each been through so much that I just want to hug them and see them get all the good things life has to offer. Draven and Kinrae are princes struggling to cope with the huge weight that being heirs to the multiverse puts on their shoulders, and though they each handle it in extremely different ways, I was rooting for both of them the whole way through. Though these characters all have magic and wield a huge amount of power, they’re all so human and complex that they make fantastic heroes. They’re flawed and accessible and real, and their relationships are what makes the book shine.
I was so excited about the pieces of the puzzle fitting together that I didn’t realize how close I was to the last page until I was there. If I’m mad about one thing, it’s that the book ended and that I have to wait for the next one to come out. If you like new, intricate, and fascinating worlds and enjoy the banter of a band of misfits working together to save the world (or life, the multiverse, and everything), please please read this. You won’t regret it.
It’s difficult to juggle multiple narrators and keep them all interesting, and that’s one thing this novel does superbly well. Every time I thought I had a favorite character, another did something to make me love them more. Artysaedra isn’t the typical princess; she’s a foul-mouthed, liquor-loving joy every time she shows up. Svahta and Nori-Rin are equally badass heroines trying to get the bottom of a series of murders that has put the entire multiverse in danger. Naliah and Oliver have each been through so much that I just want to hug them and see them get all the good things life has to offer. Draven and Kinrae are princes struggling to cope with the huge weight that being heirs to the multiverse puts on their shoulders, and though they each handle it in extremely different ways, I was rooting for both of them the whole way through. Though these characters all have magic and wield a huge amount of power, they’re all so human and complex that they make fantastic heroes. They’re flawed and accessible and real, and their relationships are what makes the book shine.
I was so excited about the pieces of the puzzle fitting together that I didn’t realize how close I was to the last page until I was there. If I’m mad about one thing, it’s that the book ended and that I have to wait for the next one to come out. If you like new, intricate, and fascinating worlds and enjoy the banter of a band of misfits working together to save the world (or life, the multiverse, and everything), please please read this. You won’t regret it.
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