Lord's Dome

by E.D.E. Bell

Gu Non couldn’t stop thinking about the magic. They’d lied to her about it. They’d lied to everyone.

No one lied to Gu Non.

Lord’s Dome is a slipstream fantasy about a girl who refuses to believe that the fate of her family is to suffer, the mining elder who must suddenly decide whether to trust this lone girl, and their search for the truth of an enigmatic god while the unyielding everstorm rages overhead.

Genres: Fantasy

176 pages, Paperback

Published August 11, 2020

About the author

E.D.E. Bell (she/her or e/em) is a writer, global editor, and pro-expression organizer in Ferndale, Michigan. Eir works are quiet and queer and often explore conceptions of identity and community, including themes of friendship, family, and connection. You can follow Emily's adventures at edebell.com.

Reviews

[Tessa]

I really enjoyed reading this. I really liked the way the worldbuilding is done, you form an image of how things are, and you slowly learn more and more and keep adjusting/expanding it that way. (This may sound very 'Yes, Tessa, that is how worldbuilding works, you get information and you adjust what you know with it' but I promise it doesn't feel standard!)
I liked the characters, the way their circumstances changed how they view things and how that is described and the storyline itself ^^

[E.D.E. Bell]

This is my surprise 2020 book, thanks to a group of friends and readers who encouraged me to release it and then helped me do that. I know many people are having a hard time focusing right now - this is a short novel, not a lot of characters, and keeps moving. I'm really hoping it will offer that joy of reading - and provide a distraction, or a burst of power, or whatever else it is that we need right now. I hope that you enjoy this odd little story. : )

[P.L. Stuart]

Link to my YouTube interview of the author on my YouTube channel, including my thoughts on the book, below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-m54...

[Minerva]

This novella is fast-paced, full of hope and resistance, and with very strong worldbuilding. I was so drawn into the thrilling events that at time it took my breath away, and the characters became dear friends as the book progressed. The language flows naturally, not polished to become standard but instead suiting the characters and their respective backgrounds. The story is much grander than one would expect from the size of the book.

[Kella Campbell]

This is one of the most joyful book endings I've read in a while, just what I needed with everything going on.

After romance, fantasy is probably my second-favorite genre. And I love that there's even a subtle little love story in this book for two characters who definitely deserve that happiness. So, not romance exactly, but the ending gives me all those fuzzy HEA feels.

[Clara Ward]

The young protagonist asks, “If all of us want this to be better, why do I still have to hide?” An older character calls the question naïve, but what stood out to me as a reader was that no one within the society of Lord’s Dome could offer a truly well-informed perspective. They were all trapped within the same insular society, a literal dome filled with lies and propaganda.

This experience may ring true to readers from a variety of backgrounds, which makes the story a conversation, shared between author and reader, in the best way. For other readers, this may offer a challenge to consider out-of-the-box perspectives (or out-of-the-dome, as the case may be). In either case, the story is written with respect for all neurotypes and walks of life, inviting each reader to question and explore, within the story and beyond.

[Jordan]

Excellent stuff, with some great world building. At only 175 pages or so, it's a quick and streamlined read that makes the details matter. Words, lore, character development all matter that much more. And the imagery comes to life with an economy of description.

[Matthew Villeneuve]

What happens when an ordinary person learns something terrible and does something extraordinary?
That is question I found myself asking while reading E.D.E. Bell's novel Lord's Dome.
The story centers around a young mining clan member named Gu Non, repressed by her lot in life and forbidden to ask questions or think of those she's lost, she learns the secret of the Mages that keep her people safe from the never ending Everstorm, a terrible event happening outside their protective magic dome that threatens to wipe out life as she knows it.
Using this new information to her advantage, she befriends the Chief of her clan, and together they set off to find the truth behind the mysterious Lord, the magic, and everything they've been indoctrinated with all their lives.
E.D.E Bell spins an engrossing tale of survival, identity and wonder in Lord's Dome, and from the first page to the very last, I was hooked. I love the magic system developed for this world, which plays heavily into the plot line (so no spoilers!), and how easily I accepted that it was a natural part of this world. I also really loved the way emotion and colour wove their way through the story, ultimately cumulating in a rainbow of feelings.
If you're looking for a quick read filled with excitement, magic and wonder, then I highly suggest reading Lord's Dome.

[Julie]

Gu Non of clan Mine discovers that the blue rock fragments her people slave to free from the mountain don't power the Lord's Dome protecting them from the Everstorm, but are instead a magic that could free them all. Fierce and determined, Gu Non doesn't waste a moment because her brother is about to become a miner and she knows the labor will kill him.

The syntax of this book is compelling; clipped and simple, it captures the sound of an old soul trapped in a young body. It's almost dialectic, and makes for swift and satisfying reading.

While the A plot moved quickly, I wish there'd been some lingering with the B plot as I could have used a soft place to rest between the rapid and intense revelations and rebellion. Plus, it was sweet.

The world-building is held at a narrow beam of focus, which I hope means Bell plans to come back to this sandbox and write more in what she's created. This was a good snack of reading for hard times.

[Laura]

I am a fan of E.D.E in general, but I especially enjoyed this book. I picked it up on a whim during an ebook bundle because it's one of the few books by this author that I don't own. I read it in two sittings--that is, I absolutely devoured it. I love dystopian literature and Gu Non's journey was a delight to follow. I hope we will see future stories in this world (i.e., beyond the dome). I think there is a lot of potential to explore here.

[Alexander Davidson]

This is the last of the novels I read to help prepare for October’s #BanThisBookFest panel on reading and writing subversively that I moderated. I enjoyed the chance to read something from a smaller press that would not have come across my radar without this opportunity.

“Gu Non couldn’t stop thinking about the magic. They’d lied to her about it. They’d lied to everyone.”

What Worked: I liked the lore behind the story. There is some deep background about feuding gods that becomes pivotal to the story. A group of found family individuals end up banding together to reveal the truth and change the world they are living in for the better. There was a good theme of needing to question which stories are told, who is telling them, and which stories might be getting silenced. It’s important to ask these questions and seek all the information you can.

What Didn’t: This is a complex world that the characters are living in, and there is very little world-building. The names are hard to get used to, and readers are seeing some chapters through the point of view of an innocent child. If she doesn’t know what’s going on, then neither does the reader, and it takes a beat to try and figure everything out and put it all together. It seems like there could have been a little bit more exposition to make the process easier on readers so we can sink in the adventure a bit more easily.