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The Brightest Shadow #0.5
Blades Falling Softly
Two families. Two species. One destiny.
Anyinn and Canumon are old warriors long past the adventures of youth, but destiny is coming for them all the same. One seeks to protect her ancestral homeland, the other to enter it. As they each become the representative of their nation and species, the conflict will draw their families together in a way they never imagined. Can their friendship survive the tides of history?
Anyinn and Canumon are old warriors long past the adventures of youth, but destiny is coming for them all the same. One seeks to protect her ancestral homeland, the other to enter it. As they each become the representative of their nation and species, the conflict will draw their families together in a way they never imagined. Can their friendship survive the tides of history?
- GenresFantasy
Unknown Binding
First published February 5, 2021
24 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Lin
38 books468 followersHello! I'm Sarah Lin and I write various kinds of fantasy. If you want to keep up with my work, feel free to check out the following:
Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/dMSw2A
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sarahlin
Blog: http://sarahlinauthor.blogspot.com/
Join either list to get immediate access to illustrations of all my characters, plus bonus content and previews. If you've tried my work, I'd be happy to hear from you!
Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/dMSw2A
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sarahlin
Blog: http://sarahlinauthor.blogspot.com/
Join either list to get immediate access to illustrations of all my characters, plus bonus content and previews. If you've tried my work, I'd be happy to hear from you!
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 8, 2021
5/5
I read this book as a beta/ARC reader. The following review is an honest impression of the book.
The Brightest Shadow is a series of epic fantasy/wuxia by Sarah Lin, telling the story of the prophesied Hero and their clash with the Dark Lord. However, the prophecy is severely muddled since different tribes and nations have their own version of the Legend. Some nations witness the Legend coming true with the coming of invading mansthein Empire, dubbed Deathspawn by some. Led by the mythical Dark Lord, clashes between humanity and the warlike race are inevitable across the countries, although some regions manage to establish an amicable relationship between human and mansthein.
While I personally love The Brightest Shadow series for its in-depth cross-cultural worldbuilding and excellent depiction of martial arts, I've seen comments saying that the first book is too hefty. In this case, I think Blades Falling Softly is an excellent standalone entry point for those who want to take a dip in the world of Myros.
An Unlikely Friendship
BFS is a standalone novella taking place at a different time and different place from the main series. In this novella, an army of mansthein is trying to enter Taynol Valley for its natural resources. However, this effort is barred by the human population of the valley, comprising of different schools of martial arts. To avoid needless bloodshed, both parties agree to settle the differences over a sanctioned duel between representatives. If humans win, themansthein should leave, but should the opposite happen, the mansthein is granted entry to the valley.
Anyinn, an expert martial artist in the middle of perfecting her techniques, is pitted against Canumon, a mansthein martial artist. Both fighters are mature individuals with families, and despite the differences, both of them become fast friends over several exchanges of blow prior to the fated day. Yet, despite this newfound friendship, they are required to clash sooner than later, and death is a possible outcome. Furthermore, the sinister bits of the Legend is peeking, slowly seeping to the story...
I found it cool that the main characters are mature martial arts on their mid-to-late stage of career. The platonic friendship between Anyinn and Canumon read as fresh but deep. Like I briefly mentioned above, one of the main strengths of TBS series is its deep, cross-cultural dialogue about ethics and values. This element is present throughout the book, both in exchange of ideals via duels and in intimate talks.
In the context of human vs mansthein, I love how this book addresses anthropocentrism and humanity. How using one's own group (the literal word of 'humanity') as the sole definitive word of morality and kindness is a big blindspot if not sheer hubris. While our two main characters are mature fighters with established values, their profound discussions give mutual and new understandings.
However, if you need more action than talk, this book also delivers strongly in that department. The duels depicted in this book is excellent, from mundane sparring, brief brawls, to epic duels between two masters.
Conclusion
Blades Falling Softly is an excellent entry point for The Brightest Shadow series. It features the best qualities of the main series in a small standalone package packing a lot of punches and bittersweet story, along with compelling cross-cultural discourse about value differences.
I read this book as a beta/ARC reader. The following review is an honest impression of the book.
The Brightest Shadow is a series of epic fantasy/wuxia by Sarah Lin, telling the story of the prophesied Hero and their clash with the Dark Lord. However, the prophecy is severely muddled since different tribes and nations have their own version of the Legend. Some nations witness the Legend coming true with the coming of invading mansthein Empire, dubbed Deathspawn by some. Led by the mythical Dark Lord, clashes between humanity and the warlike race are inevitable across the countries, although some regions manage to establish an amicable relationship between human and mansthein.
While I personally love The Brightest Shadow series for its in-depth cross-cultural worldbuilding and excellent depiction of martial arts, I've seen comments saying that the first book is too hefty. In this case, I think Blades Falling Softly is an excellent standalone entry point for those who want to take a dip in the world of Myros.
An Unlikely Friendship
BFS is a standalone novella taking place at a different time and different place from the main series. In this novella, an army of mansthein is trying to enter Taynol Valley for its natural resources. However, this effort is barred by the human population of the valley, comprising of different schools of martial arts. To avoid needless bloodshed, both parties agree to settle the differences over a sanctioned duel between representatives. If humans win, themansthein should leave, but should the opposite happen, the mansthein is granted entry to the valley.
Anyinn, an expert martial artist in the middle of perfecting her techniques, is pitted against Canumon, a mansthein martial artist. Both fighters are mature individuals with families, and despite the differences, both of them become fast friends over several exchanges of blow prior to the fated day. Yet, despite this newfound friendship, they are required to clash sooner than later, and death is a possible outcome. Furthermore, the sinister bits of the Legend is peeking, slowly seeping to the story...
I found it cool that the main characters are mature martial arts on their mid-to-late stage of career. The platonic friendship between Anyinn and Canumon read as fresh but deep. Like I briefly mentioned above, one of the main strengths of TBS series is its deep, cross-cultural dialogue about ethics and values. This element is present throughout the book, both in exchange of ideals via duels and in intimate talks.
In the context of human vs mansthein, I love how this book addresses anthropocentrism and humanity. How using one's own group (the literal word of 'humanity') as the sole definitive word of morality and kindness is a big blindspot if not sheer hubris. While our two main characters are mature fighters with established values, their profound discussions give mutual and new understandings.
However, if you need more action than talk, this book also delivers strongly in that department. The duels depicted in this book is excellent, from mundane sparring, brief brawls, to epic duels between two masters.
Conclusion
Blades Falling Softly is an excellent entry point for The Brightest Shadow series. It features the best qualities of the main series in a small standalone package packing a lot of punches and bittersweet story, along with compelling cross-cultural discourse about value differences.
April 26, 2021
I thought this was an absolutely beautiful story wonderfully written. I'm a little surprised to see some other people call it simplistic (though they're entitled to that opinion!) because I felt like it had a very deft touch dealing with some serious issues. I increasingly feel like a lot of fantasy hits you in the face with emotions and I welcomed this novella that invoked them so carefully.
April 13, 2021
2.75/5
It's an ok story with an intriguing plot and compelling characters. That said, I'm not a fan of simple (and sometimes bordering on simplistic) writing.
It's an ok story with an intriguing plot and compelling characters. That said, I'm not a fan of simple (and sometimes bordering on simplistic) writing.
February 7, 2021
First of all, I would like to thank the author for the ARC.
The following review is my honest opinion on the book.
"Blades Falling Softly" is a prequel to the events that occur in "The Brightest Shadow", the first book to "The Brightest Shadow" series. In comparison to the 800-page first book, "Blades Falling Softly" is far shorter as it is just a novella. The book tells of the friendship between a mansthein, Canumon, and a human, Anyinn, as well as their struggle to maintain that friendship amid clan politics. If you aren't familiar with the world of "The Brightest Shadow", mansthein is a sentient alien-like species that coexist and at times fight with the humans in the world of Myros.
The story takes place in Taynol Valley. The mansthein leadership needs to gain access to the unoccupied land of the Taynol Valley for their own goals. To do that they decide to invoke the traditional Taynol Valley rites of challenge and challenge the Tayn clan, who are local to the area. Anyinn and Canumon become representatives of each side for the rites and eventually become friends, but the situation doesn't end on a happy note.
The story is a tragedy and in case you are in a dark place currently or you just want to read something to cheer you up, I wouldn't recommend reading it. The story deals with themes of family, friendship, violence, hatred, prejudice, legends, and loss.
Canumon and Anyinn are complex and imperfect protagonists. Apart from their struggle to maintain their friendship, they also have to not give in to the hatred each side has for the other side as well as care for their families. I liked a lot the fact that Canumon and Anyinn are both mature adults, who are already long-term married and have children. This is something very uncommon to fantasy and I think it is a nice change. I enjoyed the interactions between the protagonists and their spouses as well as with their children as they are very sweet moments and a nice break from the situation with the Taynol Valley. Both spouses (Noreinu, Gowanisa) are very likable and interesting, too. My favorite scene from the book is the family meeting, where the two families spent some time together.
The writing was very good and at times the descriptions made me feel what the characters felt at the moment. If you are wondering about the fight scenes, the fight scenes aren't many due to the length of the book, but they are still enjoyable. The build-up to the ending, the ending, and the aftermath of the ending were very interesting and well-done. The writing style of the book is a bit experimental. The book includes an addendum and a postscript which are written in 1st person POV, but the main story is written in 3rd person POV and follows the same narrative style as the other books by the same author. The use of an addendum and a postscript is to give the feeling that you are reading a manuscript, which has been lost and found. By the way, the addendum and the postscript are written in such a way that made me question the authenticity of the events.
Regardless if you are new or "old" to the book series, in my opinion, this book is worth checking out. "Blades Falling Softly" is a nice introduction to a newcomer as it offers basic knowledge of the worldbuilding. Also, it is far shorter than the first main book so you can test if you like the writing, the lore, etc. As for people who already read the first book and are waiting for the second book to come out, "Blades Falling Softly" is still worth checking out, especially if you want to read a short tragic story with mature adults as protagonists.
*Like "The Brightest Shadow" (the first book in the series), "Blades Falling Softly" doesn't avoid describing dark and real-life situations. Two final trigger warnings: 1) Anyinn has lost a child. 2) In the long past, Canumon cheated once on his wife, Gowanisa; an act that happened in a moment of weakness and he immensely regrets doing. If these situations trigger you a lot, don't read this book.*
TL;DR: "Blades Falling Softly" is a prequel to "The Brightest Shadow", the first book in "The Brightest Shadow" series. The story isn't as epic in tone as the first main book in the series, but it is still very engaging and enjoyable. "Blades Falling Softly" is a short tragic story about friendship, war, and family. Fans of the first book should definitely check it out!
The following review is my honest opinion on the book.
"Blades Falling Softly" is a prequel to the events that occur in "The Brightest Shadow", the first book to "The Brightest Shadow" series. In comparison to the 800-page first book, "Blades Falling Softly" is far shorter as it is just a novella. The book tells of the friendship between a mansthein, Canumon, and a human, Anyinn, as well as their struggle to maintain that friendship amid clan politics. If you aren't familiar with the world of "The Brightest Shadow", mansthein is a sentient alien-like species that coexist and at times fight with the humans in the world of Myros.
The story takes place in Taynol Valley. The mansthein leadership needs to gain access to the unoccupied land of the Taynol Valley for their own goals. To do that they decide to invoke the traditional Taynol Valley rites of challenge and challenge the Tayn clan, who are local to the area. Anyinn and Canumon become representatives of each side for the rites and eventually become friends, but the situation doesn't end on a happy note.
The story is a tragedy and in case you are in a dark place currently or you just want to read something to cheer you up, I wouldn't recommend reading it. The story deals with themes of family, friendship, violence, hatred, prejudice, legends, and loss.
Canumon and Anyinn are complex and imperfect protagonists. Apart from their struggle to maintain their friendship, they also have to not give in to the hatred each side has for the other side as well as care for their families. I liked a lot the fact that Canumon and Anyinn are both mature adults, who are already long-term married and have children. This is something very uncommon to fantasy and I think it is a nice change. I enjoyed the interactions between the protagonists and their spouses as well as with their children as they are very sweet moments and a nice break from the situation with the Taynol Valley. Both spouses (Noreinu, Gowanisa) are very likable and interesting, too. My favorite scene from the book is the family meeting, where the two families spent some time together.
The writing was very good and at times the descriptions made me feel what the characters felt at the moment. If you are wondering about the fight scenes, the fight scenes aren't many due to the length of the book, but they are still enjoyable. The build-up to the ending, the ending, and the aftermath of the ending were very interesting and well-done. The writing style of the book is a bit experimental. The book includes an addendum and a postscript which are written in 1st person POV, but the main story is written in 3rd person POV and follows the same narrative style as the other books by the same author. The use of an addendum and a postscript is to give the feeling that you are reading a manuscript, which has been lost and found. By the way, the addendum and the postscript are written in such a way that made me question the authenticity of the events.
Regardless if you are new or "old" to the book series, in my opinion, this book is worth checking out. "Blades Falling Softly" is a nice introduction to a newcomer as it offers basic knowledge of the worldbuilding. Also, it is far shorter than the first main book so you can test if you like the writing, the lore, etc. As for people who already read the first book and are waiting for the second book to come out, "Blades Falling Softly" is still worth checking out, especially if you want to read a short tragic story with mature adults as protagonists.
*Like "The Brightest Shadow" (the first book in the series), "Blades Falling Softly" doesn't avoid describing dark and real-life situations. Two final trigger warnings: 1) Anyinn has lost a child. 2) In the long past, Canumon cheated once on his wife, Gowanisa; an act that happened in a moment of weakness and he immensely regrets doing. If these situations trigger you a lot, don't read this book.*
TL;DR: "Blades Falling Softly" is a prequel to "The Brightest Shadow", the first book in "The Brightest Shadow" series. The story isn't as epic in tone as the first main book in the series, but it is still very engaging and enjoyable. "Blades Falling Softly" is a short tragic story about friendship, war, and family. Fans of the first book should definitely check it out!
March 3, 2021
I'm not much a reviewer, but I had to say something on this one. I think it may be the authors best work (so far!), and leaves me wanting so much more from this world.
The emotional impact of the climax can't be understated, it left me ugly crying on my couch for 5 mins this morning.
The emotional impact of the climax can't be understated, it left me ugly crying on my couch for 5 mins this morning.
April 5, 2021
# Sword of Kaigen but in Roshar
Another amazing book by Sarah Lin. I was blown away.
This is short prequel novel set in "The Brightest Shadow" world.
The book is centered around two characters, Anyinn and Canumon.
They meet over and over for ritual duels and through them learning about each other the reader learns a lot about the greater world of The Brightest Shadow, the Human Nol culture, the Mansthein culture and the characters themselves. The book slowly builds up the plot and the character development until around 80% when there is the emotional climax and a plot resolution.
As in TBS the mansthein culture which is fascinating and I got string "First Contact" vibes in this book, in both Anyinn and Canumon's POV.
I was invested and rooting for both characters very quickly and having us learn about them through their own meeting and discussions felt really well executed.
I highly recommend this book to anyone. If you want well executed and interesting characters or a great world with different cultures this series has it all !
I loved TBS and I think Blades Falling Softly is even better.
2021 /r/Fantasy Bingo Squares :
* Book Club
* First Contact (In my opinion)
* Set in Asia
* Published in 2021
* Self-Published
Another amazing book by Sarah Lin. I was blown away.
This is short prequel novel set in "The Brightest Shadow" world.
The book is centered around two characters, Anyinn and Canumon.
They meet over and over for ritual duels and through them learning about each other the reader learns a lot about the greater world of The Brightest Shadow, the Human Nol culture, the Mansthein culture and the characters themselves. The book slowly builds up the plot and the character development until around 80% when there is the emotional climax and a plot resolution.
As in TBS the mansthein culture which is fascinating and I got string "First Contact" vibes in this book, in both Anyinn and Canumon's POV.
I was invested and rooting for both characters very quickly and having us learn about them through their own meeting and discussions felt really well executed.
I highly recommend this book to anyone. If you want well executed and interesting characters or a great world with different cultures this series has it all !
I loved TBS and I think Blades Falling Softly is even better.
2021 /r/Fantasy Bingo Squares :
* Book Club
* First Contact (In my opinion)
* Set in Asia
* Published in 2021
* Self-Published
April 10, 2021
I wanted to like this novella so I could get introduced to the world and move on to reading The Brightest Shadow afterward, but unfortunately almost all of it fell short for me. In the end, I felt that both the worldbuilding and the writing were clumsy and left me with more questions than answers.
In Blades Falling Softly, we follow two characters' points of views: Anyinn, a human warrior and teacher, and Canumon, a mansthein warrior, both living in the country of Nol. We learn that humans fear the mansthein, referring to them as "Deathspawn".
My first point of confusion comes from how Anyinn doesn't know who the mansthein are and has never seen one before, given that it's explained later that Canumon is from a village in Nol, where at least his family and a few other mansthein live, and has been living there for many years. I can only assume it was an attempt to have the reader see and understand what a mansthein is through Anyinn's eyes, but it made no sense how Anyinn was so clueless about the mansthein people.
Canumon's journey begins when someone he used to serve in the army with shows up at his door and demands that he aid them in the mansthein's mysterious political and mercantile goals, that happen to involve the valley where Anyinn lives and some mysterious rites via duels to gain entrance or land in the valley. These goals are never explained, and neither are the intricacies of the rites, therefore there is no weight or significance to the outcome for the reader. It seems there will be a war if the rites are not accepted or performed correctly, but why? What is special about that valley? What does Canumon gain by agreeing to get involved?
The magic system was also unclear to me. Sein seems to involve the warrior's soul, but how is it developed? Why do some people have the ability, and some do not?
I wish I could have liked this series, but this is where it stops for me.
In Blades Falling Softly, we follow two characters' points of views: Anyinn, a human warrior and teacher, and Canumon, a mansthein warrior, both living in the country of Nol. We learn that humans fear the mansthein, referring to them as "Deathspawn".
My first point of confusion comes from how Anyinn doesn't know who the mansthein are and has never seen one before, given that it's explained later that Canumon is from a village in Nol, where at least his family and a few other mansthein live, and has been living there for many years. I can only assume it was an attempt to have the reader see and understand what a mansthein is through Anyinn's eyes, but it made no sense how Anyinn was so clueless about the mansthein people.
Canumon's journey begins when someone he used to serve in the army with shows up at his door and demands that he aid them in the mansthein's mysterious political and mercantile goals, that happen to involve the valley where Anyinn lives and some mysterious rites via duels to gain entrance or land in the valley. These goals are never explained, and neither are the intricacies of the rites, therefore there is no weight or significance to the outcome for the reader. It seems there will be a war if the rites are not accepted or performed correctly, but why? What is special about that valley? What does Canumon gain by agreeing to get involved?
The magic system was also unclear to me. Sein seems to involve the warrior's soul, but how is it developed? Why do some people have the ability, and some do not?
I wish I could have liked this series, but this is where it stops for me.
June 17, 2021
The main characters of this book are likable ones who have situations and feelings that resonated deeply with me - especially Anyinn and her daughter. There is wisdom in the honest sharing of the characters as they make friends with others from different backgrounds. These serve to nourish growth for how we view our world. When taken into the personal situations readers find themselves in, they will be challenged to change some of their assumptions, get beyond stereotypes, and help make our world a better place for all.
May 3, 2021
I received an ARC of this book from the author, in exchange for a voluntary review.
This was overall an enjoyable short read, 3-3.5 stars.
The premise was quite interesting, and the twist at the end did surprise me.
I would have liked to learn more about the world and the different beings living there, but the length of the story did not allow much in depth exploration. I hope a longer book will satisfy my curiosity, so I will definitely read the novel set in the same world.
This was overall an enjoyable short read, 3-3.5 stars.
The premise was quite interesting, and the twist at the end did surprise me.
I would have liked to learn more about the world and the different beings living there, but the length of the story did not allow much in depth exploration. I hope a longer book will satisfy my curiosity, so I will definitely read the novel set in the same world.
December 13, 2022
this is the richest take on the brightest shadow yet
Heartwrenching. The inverted take on the fantasy genre that the brightest shadow is already; is perfected in this tender novella. I can only hope the main series resolves with such emotionality
Heartwrenching. The inverted take on the fantasy genre that the brightest shadow is already; is perfected in this tender novella. I can only hope the main series resolves with such emotionality
January 14, 2023
A fantasy series mostly about how cultural assumptions (in this case legends of The Hero versus The Monsters) can create mob behavior and how individuals can struggle to think for themselves and create relationships outside of their clans. Sarah Lin's best work.
April 27, 2021
This novella is an excellent companion to Lin's The Brightest Shadow series.
May 11, 2023
What an amazing story. The older than usual protagonists are a treat. Very well written setting and dialogue, as usual from Sarah Lin. Might even be a better entry point into TBS series.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews