Arkad's World

by James L. Cambias

Adventure and Excitement on an Alien World. Packed with exotic world-building and amazing characters, Arkad's World is a rollicking adventure story about growing up and the things we share that make us human, from celebrated author James L. Cambias.

CROSS A MAD PLANET FOR TREASURE AND FREEDOM

Young Arkad is the only human on a distant world, on his own among beings from across the Galaxy. His struggle to survive on the lawless streets of an alien city is disrupted by the arrival of three an eccentric historian named Jacob, a superhuman cyborg girl called Baichi, and a mysterious ex-spy known as Ree. They seek a priceless treasure which might free Earth from alien domination. Arkad risks everything to join them on an incredible quest halfway across the planet. With his help they cross the fantastic landscape, battling pirates, mercenaries, bizarre creatures, vicious bandits and the harsh environment. But the deadliest danger comes from treachery and betrayal within the group as dark secrets and hidden loyalties come to light.

Praise for Arkad's World :
“Far-flung adventure . . . Cambias offers up an entertaining coming-of-age novel filled with action and surprises. His aliens are suitably non-human in mannerisms, attitudes, and objectives, and his worldbuilding suggests a vast universe ready for further exploration. Readers . . . will find this hits the spot.”— Publishers Weekly

“. . . a classic quest story, a well-paced series of encounters with different folk along the way, building momentum toward a final confrontation with Arkad's past. . . [with] a delicious twist to the end.”— ALA Booklist

"Cambias has achieved a feat of an expansive, believable setting with fascinating aliens, compelling mysteries, and a rich sense of history."— Bookpage

"Drop a teenage boy into a distant planet chock full of colorful aliens--with troubles all their own. Stir, flavor, apply heat. A tour de force in the field, and great, quick fun."—Gregory Benford

Praise for the work of James L.

"Beautifully written, with a story that captures the imagination the way SF should."— Booklist, Starred Review

“An engaging nail-biter that is exciting, fun and a satisfying read.” — T he Qwillery

''An impressive debut by a gifted writer.''— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

''An exceptionally thoughtful, searching and intriguing debut.''— Kirkus, Starred Review

"James Cambias will be one of the century's major names in hard science fiction.''—Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Red Planet Blues

'Fast-paced, pure quill hard science fiction.... Cambias delivers adroit plot pivots that keep the suspense coming.''—Gregory Benford, Nebula Award-winning author of Timescape

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

I grew up in New Orleans, was educated at Chicago, and currently live in New England.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baen Books often touts itself as a purveyor of old-school sci-fi, but James Cambias’ new novel is the first I’ve read in a long time that could actually pass for something written four or five decades ago. Teenager Arkad is the lone human on a diverse world populated by star-faring races from all over the galaxy. Arkad’s expertise in navigating the planet’s physical and cultural terrain comes in handy when four people from Earth show up looking for the ship Arkad arrived on as a child. They think the ship contains artifacts important to Earth’s resistance to an alien occupation force, and though Arkad’s memory of the ship and its location is fuzzy, he believes he can help them find it.
Cambias’ world-building is breathtaking in its depth and detail, right down to the unique psychological makeup of each alien race. With each passing sentence the scope of this universe expands from a planetary adventure to a galactic epic. The plot is episodic, with cliffhanger-style suspense and heroics, though it’s not as straightforward as it first appears: little inconsistencies and contradictions pop-up throughout, leading to a perception-altering twist. With its memorable characters and setting and lightning-fast pacing, Arkad’s World is the first great sci-fi treat of the new year.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Has several examples of why you should show and not tell, which along with some other poorly handled bits made a potentially good book to be mediocre. Examples, the Pfifu don't cooperate well with others versus the maximum number of Pfifu that have cooperated together is 17? And this is a species capable of spaceflight? Another fun one, enemy species, let me tell you in detail how you could control us via the movies versus don't give our offspring media please. Hmmm... authors don't share too much of that carefully crafted world.

It also suffers from the Seafire syndrome, why are all these asshole pirates running around with flamethrowers and glue sprayers when a couple of riflemen could permanently deal with these killers?

While the characters had potential, it felt at times like there were no adults present even though some characters were seniors. That combined with some heavyhanded foreshadowing and other bits made for a tragically flawed book that could have been better with a bit of editing.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

I managed to snag an ARC of this before it was published. I spent the first fifty pages thinking "This really needs an editor." I decided to wait until it was published and see if the final version was better, but no such luck.

James Cambias has a skill for world building and culture building, and he has a talent for having different characters interpret the same event differently. And he flexes those abilities here, mixing multiple alien cultures, creating a local culture, and then having individuals with different personalities.

But it's written in a stream of consciousness, without proper emphasis between major and minor details, or things like page breaks to break up time passing. Kind of like the way a child tells a story without structure or pausing for breath. There's the foundation for a good story here, but like I said, it needs another revision or two for polish.

[Marcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have given this one star, except the world-building was exceptional. I wish the plot had been the same. The story started off wonderful and then went off the rails. I saw who the bad guy was quite early, and I'm usually surprised by these things. The ending left me disappointed I had wasted a couple of hours of my life reading this story with no end.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After about a month, I was stuck at about 40%, it just wasn't motivating me.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was.... a mixed bag. Boring. But with pretty interesting aliens. And very intentional, but annoying to read, use of language. Unbelievable characters. And a bit too obvious villains. It all eventually made sense. Much of the book felt like an inept author with poor editing. But in the end I believed it was all choice to serve the story. But it wasn't enough. I came close to giving up on this book multiple times, and I almost never give up on a book. There is a better book here clawing to get out. So if you read it, read it for the use of language and aliens. Perhaps accept it will make sense eventually. Or just skip it as not worth the effort.

[Shaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing about this book is all the aliens and the planet we are on and get to explore through the episodic plot as we travel across the planet to a vaguely known destination. But the plot itself is not especially engaging, and I wasn't particularly attached to the characters. I mostly enjoyed Arkad's viewpoint but I kind of dislike the ending and what it does in one particular respect. But seriously great aliens.

[Ernest · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Classic YA Quest Until It Falls Apart

I'm pretty sure the author ran out of time time and ideas after trekking his motley collection of humans across the alien landscape for most of the book because all of a sudden he starts killing people off and finding shortcuts for the questers.

Arkad is the only human on a planet when the sun never sets and numerous alien races have built homes amidst the ruins(?) Of earlier alien artifacts. When he learns that other humans have come he's desperate to meet them and find a way off world to where he can be with others like him. It turns out that the three humans have come to find a missing starship that's filled with human art and historical treasures, which they want so that they can preserve and hopefully fan into flame, the spark of humans that an alien master race is determined to wipe out. They've already taken over Earth and the last free humans live in space habitats, at least for now.

It turns out that Arkad arrived on the missing ship, and his mother carries him as an infant from it to the city he now lives in as a scavenger and thief. He's not sure where it is, but the ebook he's carried all his life has pictures of the journey, and he hopes to use it to lead the party by backtracking on the condition that they take him with them when they go.

After that, it's a road trip through alien wastes with many amusing aliens, all of which Arkad can talk to in pigdin. The alien conversations are actually some of the most fun parts of the book.

His companions are not always what they seem, and the author telegraphs clues with a heavy enough hand that the reader will get it early on even if it all comes as a surprise to the hero in the end.

That end is a bit rushed, and though there is room for more it doesn't seem likely. I really liked Cambias' first book, A Darkling Sea, mostly like his second, Corsair, and am sorry to say that the downward slope continues with Arkad's World, though it's still decently readable, if not enthusiastically recommendable.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun read! Arkad is a resourceful orphan living on the streets of a city where several alien species live and work alongside each other, but Arkad hasn't seen another human since his mother died. So he jumps at a rumor that a group of humans have been spotted in the city. When he finds them, and they explain that they are on a (rather dubious) quest to locate a missing spaceship, Arkad makes himself useful on the understanding that they will take him along when they return to a human settlement.

This has great aliens, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way Arkad communicates with the different species. The action takes place on a mysterious terraformed world full of ancient alien technology that people don't really understand, and I love settings like that.

The plot is, as I said, dubious, and there is rather a lot of walking (to fulfill the quest) but I even enjoyed that. However, I really dislike it when books end by revealing a godlike alien who has been manipulating events. The ending didn't ruin the book, though.

[Debrac2014 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the beginning, Arkad's friendships with the different alien species, and the world building! The rest of story line just didn't keep my interest. And the betrayer was obvious early in the story!

[drowningmermaid]

Can we just talk for a second about how breathtakingly terrible this cover is?

I love Baen. I grew up with Baen. This is the first of their covers that made me not sure I’d want a novel contract with them. I have honestly seen much better self-published cover art, and fiver will find you a half dozen better custom artists for under fifty bucks. If I were given this back as a galley, I would ask if Baen was trying to break up with me.

I’m just venting because I’m offended on Cambrias’s behalf and what is the Internet if not a repository for unsolicited offense on others’ behalf?

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt that I kept going around and around in this and then ended up where I started. Certainly Arkad had many adventures, kept getting into danger and was surprised when he found out who and what he was. The world building and the back story were complex and interesting. I enjoyed meeting the different aliens who populated Arkad's World. They added a different element to the story. As entertaining as all of that was the ending left a lot to be discovered. I was left wanting more as Arkad woke remembering only the need to find one person who he barely remembers.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

[Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it's often understood that sci-fi books can sometimes get away with weaker characters and interactions if they have a sufficiently interesting setting, though the best (like Becky Chambers' A Closed and Common Orbit) of course have both.

Arkad's World has an interesting world and explains enough to be compelling while not dwelling too long on irrelevant details. I was particularly impressed with alien speech styles/patterns that were different to English without being annoying or tedious to read (except one exchange that I kind of skimmed over). The protagonist, Arkad, makes his way with smarts and conversation, which is a pleasant way to explore the world with him, even in the face of various dangers. I like Arkad, for a 14 year old teenage boy.

His human companions don't get quite as much time to shine, and they're entertaining enough, but not super deep. The many incidental characters along the way also don't get much depth, but it's understandable given how long we're with them for, and I still found many of them more interesting (and maybe even more memorable) than the humans.

I think what prevents me from giving the book 4 stars rather than 3 is an issue of foreshadowing - namely, too much of it. I'll throw the next part behind spoiler tags, just in case someone would be surprised... but typically I am not good at spotting twists etc. in advance. I've seen people complain about things I never saw coming.

One character, Ree, is part genetically engineered to revere a race of aliens called the Elmisthorn, who have taken over Earth. This is highly relevant because the quest the humans are on is to recover human artefacts that could galvanize resistance to the Elmisthorn occupiers. Both humans and Elmisthorn have a clear interest in controlling these artefacts. We're told early on that despite this conditioning she started feeding information to the resistance movement, and was eventually smuggled off the planet to live with the remaining free humans. Her character appears to be a bit standoffish, and she quite often defends the living practices of the alien occupiers (less humans total, no meat eating, more areas of Earth allowed to return to nature). I'm not sure if we're meant to think these are automatically bad things, but the more likable Jacob does go on a rant about how consumerism was at least better than the highly controlled Elmisthorn way of life, so take from that what you will.

Ree then does a bunch of blatantly suspicious things - going to be alone in her room with little justification, Arkad overhears her speaking Elmisthorn (she later claims this was 'for language practice') and she generally seems a bit cold and not very committed to human freedom. When someone close to the humans dies, she doesn't do a very convincing job pretending to care. Then, later, we discover she has a hidden laser tool (basically a gun) in her bag, a mysterious device, and that she's been sending messages in secret to a ship in space. So yes, when she bretrays them it did not come as a shock. It works slightly, in that I figured it must be a double bluff and she'd actually turn out to be innocent, because otherwise it was laying it on way too thick.

There are so many ways this could have been handled better to give at least some plausible deniability. Make her seem super enthusiastic about the resistance (maybe almost too enthusiastic). Give some better reasons for the suspicious behaviour, like she claims a health condition that requires peace and quiet sometimes, or that she reports to some resistance member that explains her transmissions, or she has an actual good explanation for why she was speaking the Elmisthorn language in secret. I guess it also bothers me more because it spoils the final showdown of the book as well - knowing she's an agent for the Elmisthorn making transmissions to a ship nearby makes it obvious what the conflict will be, removing some of the tension in the final moments.

So yeah, too much foreshadowing even for me. The ending was decidedly average, with an odd kind of post-script that I'm not convinced added anything. I don't really mind that though, because the expedition that makes up the bulk of the book was itself far more engrossing than the reason for Arkad to undertake it. All in all, an interesting world and cultures to meet on a fun journey, with rather flat characters and ending, slightly spoiled by a baffling amount of foreshadowing.

[Healing Toolbox Bruce Dickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not mentioned by other reviewers here, Arkad also embodies how many members of younger generations feel on Earth in the 2020s, living in the shadow of earlier "alien" generations, the Boomers and Depression-WWII generations. Many younger folks feel like they are the only ones of their kind. Like Arkad they are similarly challenged to "find the others like them." From the outside, from the p.o.view of older generations readers, this may sound self-serving, small-minded, in-curious and ignorant. Nevertheless Cambias embraces the loneliness of our current youth and makes it into art.

I have now read a good fraction of early 2000s British sci-fi, updating, refreshing and better-written space operas, many of which I enjoyed immensely. Also, I consider N.K. Jemison's Stone Sky trilogy a masterpiece, where sci-fi meets literature to become great (can't say as much for her other books). Cambias' Arkad's World leaves these behind. As I describe above, he creates metaphors for how today's youth view the world. Arkad's World is NOT beholden to US sci-fi-1930s-1990s, NOT beholden to the just-passed(?) British sci-fi renaissance. Not entirely beholden to the history of well-crafted mystery stories like the Murderbot series (I also recommend).

If you disagree Arkad represents how youth see things today, please explain the death of a main character in one paragraph midway thru the book. Also, please explain why Arkad's World isn;t jsut another young adult (YA) romp. So how do the youth of today view Earth today?

The narrative style here is called "picaresque": "an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero." While Arkad's quest has a McGruffin, a single thing all the characters want and chase after, there is no strong, driving narrative. The story is a succession of incidents. Many incidents introduce us to one more new alien species. Despite this, each incident is handled in a naturalistic way, factually what did and did not happen emotionally, morally, ethically and the local interplanetary historical background. Impressive. The significant amount of physical action keeps this from boring us. The most memorable incident for me was the story of the two Pfifu working on a planetary protection device. It's resolution has ZERO to do with the plot.

Like Larry Niven's first Ringworld novel, this is episodic, picaresque, basic world-building. By the third act of Arkad's World, readers have a good sense of the interplanetary backdrop so the third act makes sense.

Also raising Arkad's world above familiar YA sci-fi romps is Cambias' English translation of alien speech. English syntax makes how the speaker and a conversational partner feel about themselves and each other pretty obscure. Cambias fixes this by affixing a new adjective to both speaker and listener in every sentence as meaning shifts:
"Dirt-encrusted Arkad should bathe more often."
"Poverty-afflicted Arkad cannot afford luxurious baths."
"Cost-conscious Arkad could take a free dip in the cleansing sea."
"Warm blooded Arkad does not want to take life-threatening dip in the icy ocean. Fastidious Tiatatoo should not complain about adequate hygiene of the generous friend who is hiding him."

The only glaring flaw a new edition could fix is pictures of each of the alien races. So many are introduced, as they come and go it's challenging to visualize them.

[Rob Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cambias’ latest novel feels a bit like a throwback to some of YA SF adventures of the 70’s and 80’s, like Foster’s Flinx series. The book follows a character - the only human living on a world of interstellar refugees - as he’s contacted by off-world humans to help them locate an old starship wreck that holds some artifacts that could be sociopolitical dynamite against the current alien occupiers of Earth.

The planet-based adventure is structured in a way that allows Cambias to introduce his readers to the many aliens sentients of this universe in a focused way. His alien creations were probably the highlight for me. They feature both creatively diverse physiologies as well psychologies and cultures that allow him to reflect back on contemporary issues, from the media-fueled cult of personality, holistic/natural ways to regard death, shuffling gender roles, the challenge of dealing with global warming, and more.

I enjoyed the full sweep of the book, looking back, but the middle of the book reads a bit like a series of challenges from an on-going RPG session. It started to get a little tedious fro me, but it picks up near the end where the focus of the book shifts back to its larger themes and scopes.

While the book does open the door to future stories with the main character, it does wrap up the key story elements in a fairly satisfying way. No “cliffhangers” that have to wait until book two! I welcome Cambias’ continuing the story and examining this universe in greater detail, but if this is the only book in that universe, that works just fine too. I was not left wanting.

[Brian Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit I felt the initial couple of chapters were slow going until I fell into the pace and world of the book. Cambias is weaving together a lot of threads here - a good old fashioned quest adventure, a YA coming of age story, exquisite world building, waiting for the gang to turn on one another tension. Each stop on the way may seem unconnected but each stop advances every thread a little. All told it was good, solid fun in the old school SF adventure where the rules are clear enough to make the puzzles fair.

Some complaints about one plot element being too telegraphed are missing the mark, in that yes, it is telegraphed to the older reader but not the younger one and they are also constructed to move from shock to suspense - as an adult you should be reading this as if you were watching Hitchcock's _Rope_ where you know what's going on but the tension comes from whether the character will figure it out. Plus, the focus and tension coming from that allow for some real shocking moments throughout the narrative in places you wouldn't expect.

IN the end I'm not 100% sure Cambias sticks the landing. The endgame felt a little rushed, which unfortunately flattened things out enough to not get a 5th star. Still, the book knows what it wants to be - a SF love letter to the classic boys own adventure stories - and it does that very well.

[Ymar Solamo · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a slight departure from Cambia's earlier work Arkad's World is still the same sort of reinterpretation of classic sci-fi themes; it's just a more conventional sci-fi story. It's not like space pirates on the moon, but they're hijacking helium shipments. It's the story of a lone human boy on a planet of aliens with a little alien earth invasion thrown in to taste.

I enjoyed it despite the primary antagonist being foreshadowed far too early, and by the time she's revealed it's far too late to push the plot in a different direction. Yes she's the bad guy and you've wasted so much effort ruling her out or considering other possibilities that when it's revealed you'd expect a shift in the plot or something. Instead it just ends.

Still the universe of Arkad's World has such great breadth that it leaves me hungry for more stories set there. Unfortunately Cambias doesn't seem interested in sequels and that hunger may never be filled. All in all Arkad's World feels just a bit too short to be satisfying so I'm less interested in Cambias next project, unless it's a follow up to this one.

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young human alone on an ungoverned planet populated by diverse and implausible aliens and mysterious ancient machines sees others of his species and joins them in a quest. I can't honestly say I enjoyed this story much. The prose was sometimes painful. One small thing that quickly became annoying was that the author called upon the word "which" far too often and frequently put it in places it did not fit. The setting makes little sense (even for science fiction). From the start, I wondered about the possible origins of the various aliens (both biological and mechanical) and never had that elephant in the room explained. It is difficult to see how the alien species presented could have evolved sentience, let alone technologically advanced civilizations, on their own. (This would be fine if the story was meant to be humorous, but there isn't a smile waiting on any of almost 300 pages.) I bumped my rating up to 3 stars because the human characters, although they lack much depth, are interesting enough to follow for the length of the story.

[Moomin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible worldbuilding! The aliens are so different and their habits are so clearly written that it's easy to fall headfirst into it all.

The plot is very much a traditional quest story, with lots of side stops and random encounters (a couple of which went on for a hair too long).

It's a fun, fast story that I really enjoyed. The ending is surprising and exciting. I read it all in one sitting--very cool!

I've read some other works by cambias and he often has a pattern of writing really amazing settings and superb aliens but his human characters sometimes fall a little flat. Arkad and his human companions are a touch underwritten, and they rely a little on adventure tropes for the audience to get to know them. But this is such a plot-driven novel that in the end I didn't care that much.

[Henry Lazarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Syavusa is an ancient tidal-locked planet with still working machines that has been settled by numerous intelligent species and remains lawless. Arkad’s World (hard from Baen) has only one fourteen-year human orphan until three strangers arrive looking for a crashed human ship, the Rosetta, that contains human treasures sent off for safety before the Elmisthorn conquering of Earth. James L. Cambias tells of the Quest for the Rosetta across a world in continuous daylight, filled with fun alien species, each with their own societies. The journey is fun, filled with odd characters, and his fellow humans are also strange. I wasn’t as happy with the somewhat predictable ending with an odd twist. Fun.Review printed by Philadelphia Free Press

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

All sorts of things to love. Old-school vibe, mystery, gang of interesting misfits, aliens who are more different than wrinkled brows or pointed ears. The biggest problem I have is that I cannot visualize any of the aliens or the geography (and there is a quest/expedition, so there should be a map).
---
Done. Took awhile, as it was difficult to pay attention to every creative detail and immerse myself at the same time. Lots about it is original, and I did not see the ending coming. The epilogue is something to think about, too.

I probably would have liked this even more a few decades ago, when even the tropey aspects would have seemed fresher to me.

I can't figure out how to say more about it, what to be more specific about. Sorry.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting world building, for sure. The author developed different cultures masterfully, and did a fantastic job of exploring the world through a limited viewpoint.
Where the book lacked was a particularly interesting plot. The overall story reminded me of two things: a D&D campaign where the characters are after a macguffin and various things get in their way here and there-the end goal is really just a direction with gives reason for them to keep adventuring. Secondly, it also felt a bit like a TV show with each episode having stand alone qualities. A little like the traveling hobo, there wasn't a ton of reason for each individual little difficulty aside from making the story longer.

[Pedro L. Fragoso · Rating 4 out of 5]

For all practical purposes, this adventure felt like a "Heinlein juvenile", which from me is highest praise (N. B.: it does turn out that the juvenile is not a youth after all, or maybe he is; that is ambiguous up until after the ending -- the narrative does go on after the end).

A sequel is in order, James L. Cambias is great (as in fantastic, interesting, riveting, true "classic"), I can't understand how TOR came to loose him, the cover is typical Baen (I'll refrain from commenting), what an adventure, such good characters, amazing aliens, The Initiate is dully pre-ordered.

[Colin Mattson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tons of fun to read despite having the worst cover art I’ve ever seen. Definitely skews young-adult with the young protagonist on a grand adventure, but fun for older readers nonetheless. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the way Cambias writes conversations involving non-humans; he’s done a great job (as he did in A Darkling Sea) of developing rich, meaningful customs for the different cultures in the book and it makes reading their interaction a real treat.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the cultural differences between the different species that inhabit this world. The overall arc of the story feels predictable, as it's a coming-of-age quest, more or less, with regularly scheduled periodic setbacks and betrayals. However, I wasn't sure which way it was going to go at the end, and found myself sort of ruefully surprised by something that's not all that surprising in hindsight. Worth a read!

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good example of why scifi is my favorite genre. It has aliens, space ships, cyborgs, great world building, and of course, the ever present struggle to better one's self.
Baen almost always manages to put out great stuff, and this book is no exception. If you're a scifi fan, then you don't want to miss this one.

[Beth Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a high three stars, rounded up to four. The book was rather slow starting, but eventually it drew me in and I read the last half in one day. Excellent worldbuilding. The viewpoint character is (for good reasons) a bit of a cipher, but the main character really is the world and the races that inhabit it.

[H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book I'd give 3.5 stars if I could, why no 1/2 stars?

Anyway it wasn't amazing but it wasn't awful either.
As someone else says, the best bits were the conversations with the Aliens. I especially like the Itooti.

The ending is a bit , well then what, but it was ok.

I don't regret reading it. And I would read more about Akady.

[Kevin Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting journey with two plot twists. The first about the villain I saw coming from a mile away. The second about the main character's hidden backstory caught me by surprise. Although there are indeed hints about its possibility sprinkled here and there in the story.

[Duncan Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

It could have been a 4/5. The book is held back by choppy writing that sometimes makes it feel like small annoying bits of narrative are left out. World building is fantastic. Ending is poor. Other than that, a really fun read.