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Dreams of Fire
Farris has the misfortune of being an elemental: born human but host to barely contained primal energies. He wants what any young person wants—the chance to live his own life. Yet the fiery forces within him make him a danger to those around him and a target for capture and study by the Science Guild. On the Lone Continent, humans thrive in their cities through the Guild's revolutionary technology while the forests are home to powerful wild magic. Farris must confront his fears—fear of capture, fear of the wild Fey in the woods, and above all, fear of his abilities—if he's to remain free.
- GenresFantasy
281 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2021
9 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 19, 2021
One of the goals which I have been attempting in 2021 is to read more self-published works, having done one in 2020 and this year I’m shooting for five. Dreams of Fire is the third self-published book (fourth if you count Theft of Swords) I have read this year and the second from a YouTuber. This one is from Nathaniel Wayne aka Council of Geeks, most well known for their Doctor Who content. This is also a fantasy novel that while not explicitly part of a series, once read it clearly ends on a point where there is going to be a sequel, however, Wayne doesn’t adequately fill the book with enough plot to keep things going. Dreams of Fire is essentially an extended prologue for whatever Wayne’s follow up will be, and when viewed through that lens it mostly works. The plot as a single installment does have some arcs based on the emotions of its characters, mainly the protagonist Farris and a character I can only describe as the main antagonist, Professor Raines. Farris is on the run while Professor Raines is chaing an escaped subject from her laboratory. They are our two major point of view characters for the novel which actually does work really well, though Wayne includes some other characters to flesh out the world, especially the Fey. It is these other points of view which doesn’t actually integrate well in the book, only really serving as worldbuilding for the rest of the book and setting up sequel material.
Wayne’s worldbuilding, however, is something that they excel at, taking several pieces of fantasy tropes and lore and putting them into a blender to develop a world that plays like a mix of classic and modern. Other reviews refer to the setting as electropunk, which is apparently a subgenre similar to steampunk, characterized by blending modern technology such as electricity and magic. As it is a subgenre that I am unfamiliar with, Dreams of Fire could easily be taking wholesale from other examples of the subgenre, but as far as I can tell it is at least putting its own spin by still having that classic, high fantasy setting with several guilds and obviously the fey. The Fey creatures which appear here are taken from other classic tales, with your traditional sprites and fairies, as well as the Morrigan, a figure taken from Irish mythology associated with war and crows. The magic system, or possibly two magic systems (it isn’t clear that the Fae magic is separate from the elemental magic), introduced here is presented as soft, though there are clearly rules that restrict it from being the softest of systems. There’s also some nice little cultural details like insights into the many constables throughout cities and some of the games that people play in the society as a reflection of the relationship between humans and the Fey.
Farris is an elemental, someone whose body builds up and expels the elements, with his being fire, and much of this story is about him trying to hide his abilities and survive. The survival aspect is fun though Farris is not a character who gets a whole lot of development, acting as a naïve person as a way to allow the audience a view into the world. He does learn and tries to make his own, with one confrontation with Professor Raines at the end of the book which is a good emotional climax. Professor Raines, on the other hand, is your classic determined academic, not entirely trusted due to the entirety of the book and going above her superiors to find a rogue elemental which escaped from her lab. Raines is a character who doesn’t seem to be entirely complex right until the end where Wayne pulls a great little twist that may be a little predictable, but does recontextualize many of her actions throughout the book while changing her in the eyes of the audience. There are other minor villains, including a mercenary determined to find Farris who is a lot of fun, if a little one note, and a matron who is the one person to show Farris genuine kindness and reappears at the end which is a lot of fun.
Overall, Dreams of Fire is an excellent first novel from a first time author with an interesting setting, some very fun characters, and the pace of a high speed chase from start to finish which is a lot of fun. The biggest issue with Wayne is not writing style, they have that developed quite well, or even the characters, but the fact that the novel is prologue for something bigger and includes some points of view that are only there to set up things in future books which doesn’t quite work. Though this is a series and author to watch and recommended. 8/10.
Wayne’s worldbuilding, however, is something that they excel at, taking several pieces of fantasy tropes and lore and putting them into a blender to develop a world that plays like a mix of classic and modern. Other reviews refer to the setting as electropunk, which is apparently a subgenre similar to steampunk, characterized by blending modern technology such as electricity and magic. As it is a subgenre that I am unfamiliar with, Dreams of Fire could easily be taking wholesale from other examples of the subgenre, but as far as I can tell it is at least putting its own spin by still having that classic, high fantasy setting with several guilds and obviously the fey. The Fey creatures which appear here are taken from other classic tales, with your traditional sprites and fairies, as well as the Morrigan, a figure taken from Irish mythology associated with war and crows. The magic system, or possibly two magic systems (it isn’t clear that the Fae magic is separate from the elemental magic), introduced here is presented as soft, though there are clearly rules that restrict it from being the softest of systems. There’s also some nice little cultural details like insights into the many constables throughout cities and some of the games that people play in the society as a reflection of the relationship between humans and the Fey.
Farris is an elemental, someone whose body builds up and expels the elements, with his being fire, and much of this story is about him trying to hide his abilities and survive. The survival aspect is fun though Farris is not a character who gets a whole lot of development, acting as a naïve person as a way to allow the audience a view into the world. He does learn and tries to make his own, with one confrontation with Professor Raines at the end of the book which is a good emotional climax. Professor Raines, on the other hand, is your classic determined academic, not entirely trusted due to the entirety of the book and going above her superiors to find a rogue elemental which escaped from her lab. Raines is a character who doesn’t seem to be entirely complex right until the end where Wayne pulls a great little twist that may be a little predictable, but does recontextualize many of her actions throughout the book while changing her in the eyes of the audience. There are other minor villains, including a mercenary determined to find Farris who is a lot of fun, if a little one note, and a matron who is the one person to show Farris genuine kindness and reappears at the end which is a lot of fun.
Overall, Dreams of Fire is an excellent first novel from a first time author with an interesting setting, some very fun characters, and the pace of a high speed chase from start to finish which is a lot of fun. The biggest issue with Wayne is not writing style, they have that developed quite well, or even the characters, but the fact that the novel is prologue for something bigger and includes some points of view that are only there to set up things in future books which doesn’t quite work. Though this is a series and author to watch and recommended. 8/10.
June 17, 2021
Electropunk, faerie magic, and elemental super powers? Yes, please!
*** Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this work in exchange for an honest review, though it was also so good, I bought my own hard copy. ***
Dreams of Fire follows the story of Farris, a young man running from his past. The story features a vibrant, well-rounded cast of characters, as well as a second POV character in the form of a main antagonist.
The author builds a lovely, rich fantasy world with fantastical electropunk elements that give it a sort of 80’s cartoon feel, with a heavy dose of anime vibes for good measure. The world is inhabited by fey, nature spirit creatures that possess seemingly random, chaotic magics.
Themes of the natural world vs. civilization run thick in this story. However, unlike most fantasy novels where the main characters are fighting to stop the end of the world, this story focuses into a smaller purview. However, the author works to make this smaller-scale conflict feel even weightier than many “save the world” stories, as the main character fights to salvage what he can of his world, which has been utterly turned upside-down.
The side characters feel so much like real people, and the dialogue is clearly the author’s forte. The book reads like an action-packed, heartfelt adventure show in the veins of X-Men, She’Ra, and Avatar: the Last Airbender.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot twists sent me reeling, and I re-read through this book multiple times, just to see what else I missed. The story was a veritable roller coaster of emotions.
The vivid descriptions and evocative imagery painted this truly unique fantasy world into life in a really skillful way. For anyone who likes fantasy, especially fantasy that does its own original twists on the genre, Dreams of Fire is a must-read.
*** Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this work in exchange for an honest review, though it was also so good, I bought my own hard copy. ***
Dreams of Fire follows the story of Farris, a young man running from his past. The story features a vibrant, well-rounded cast of characters, as well as a second POV character in the form of a main antagonist.
The author builds a lovely, rich fantasy world with fantastical electropunk elements that give it a sort of 80’s cartoon feel, with a heavy dose of anime vibes for good measure. The world is inhabited by fey, nature spirit creatures that possess seemingly random, chaotic magics.
Themes of the natural world vs. civilization run thick in this story. However, unlike most fantasy novels where the main characters are fighting to stop the end of the world, this story focuses into a smaller purview. However, the author works to make this smaller-scale conflict feel even weightier than many “save the world” stories, as the main character fights to salvage what he can of his world, which has been utterly turned upside-down.
The side characters feel so much like real people, and the dialogue is clearly the author’s forte. The book reads like an action-packed, heartfelt adventure show in the veins of X-Men, She’Ra, and Avatar: the Last Airbender.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot twists sent me reeling, and I re-read through this book multiple times, just to see what else I missed. The story was a veritable roller coaster of emotions.
The vivid descriptions and evocative imagery painted this truly unique fantasy world into life in a really skillful way. For anyone who likes fantasy, especially fantasy that does its own original twists on the genre, Dreams of Fire is a must-read.
July 8, 2021
I highly reccomend this book. Firstly, the world building was really good, it constructed its own fictional world reminding me of 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' (only a bit more western). what i really like is that this was done without stopping the story for exposition dumps, instead Nathaniel showed way the people and magic operate through actions instead. the characters were really compelling and felt really fleshed out, each feeling like a real person. The descriptions of things (specifically the mare and crows) was masterfull, at times even seeming Douglas Adams-like! the exiting narrative made this a really enjoyable read! Nathaniel Wayne did a really good job on this and i hope they write more in the future!
May 17, 2021
Received an advanced pdf copy for backing on Kickstarter. This was such an exciting and interesting read. Watching Farris on his journey to control both his elemental fire within, and his own life’s progress, making friends and narrowly escaping enemies was page-turning. The introduction of mythical creatures of the Fey was something I hadn’t known much about before but I loved the descriptions of everything. Definitely worth the read when it is officially released 😁
June 2, 2021
Dreams of Fire is the first novel to be produced by YouTube content creator Nathniel Wayne, also known as Vera Wylde, who runs the Council of Geeks channel. As their channel deals with geek culture such as Doctor Who, the MCU, and She-Ra it was to be expected that their book would be one that would appeal to fans of fantasy and science fiction, and it doesn't disappoint in that regards.
The story follows Farris, a young man on the run who possesses elemental powers, specifically those that relate to fire. Over time the energies inside Farris build and need to be expelled, though this can be dangerous to Farris and those around him. When the book begins he's making his way across The Lone Continent towards the lakeside city of Torvec. Whilst staying in a small outpost for the night, away from the dangers of the surrounding forests, the fires within Farris swell and he accidentally injures another traveller, forcing him to flee into the forest before he can be captured and detained by the guards.
The introduction very much drops readers into the middle of things, and it doesn't spend a huge amount of time setting up the world or the rules before we get tied into the story. This is something that becomes a pattern for the book, and instead of getting encyclopedia entries that explain the history of The Lone Continent, or the rules that govern magic, we learn this through the reactions of the people that inhabit it, and the direction the story takes. For example, there was no warning that the magics within Farris made him a target for fear and hate until we saw people either running from him or trying to hurt him, and we didn't know why the forests were dangerous until we're in them and we were seeing characters dealing with the dangerous beings that lived there. We don't get our hand held, and instead we're trusted to be able to figure out a lot of this and learn it as we go; and it works really well. We're not bogged down by long explanations or boring descriptions, and simply get to enjoy the story instead.
The story itself is an interesting one, and it's one where you think you know the kind of story it's going to tell a few times before your expectations are suddenly altered. The reader is given just enough information to think that it's going to go a certain direction before it shifts and takes you by surprise in delightful ways. More than once I ended up thinking that Farris would stick with certain characters, only for them to go away in different subplots, and I thought the main thrust of the story was going to be something completely different than it was. That all being said, the book isn't really a mystery story, and whilst there are twists and turns in the narrative you're not expected to try and figure out what they're going to be, and you shouldn't feel bad that you didn't see certain things coming.
One of the things I really liked about the book was these little subversion. I loved how the reader is led to believe that Farris is going to recruit a band of reluctant friends around him, other elementals that want nothing to do with each other at first but eventually come to see each other as friends and stick together; except that doesn't really happen and these people have their own stories and their own goals and don't just give that up to follow Farris around. I also liked how the main threat in the book is building in the background the whole time, and whilst it does involve Farris, it's only in a tangential way, and that he's nothing more than a pawn in the plans of the antagonists and not the centre of their goals.
With so many fantasy stories centring the entire plot on their lead, usually a young person who's barely more than an inexperienced child, to see a story where this doesn't happen, where our central character isn't a chose one, isn't going to have to save the day because some powerful villain is targeting them, is a really nice change of pace. There are certain parts of the plot where you could remove Farris altogether and things would still happen, and this makes it feel like a more realised and broader world, one where not everything revolves around one special teen.
Dreams of Fire also features a number of full colour illustrations. It has the fairly standard and expected world map and even a map of the city of Tovec, but it also has a number of illustrations scattered throughout the book, depicting some of the key moments from the story. The copy of the book I received didn't list any artist names for people working on the book other than Nathaniel Wayne, so I don't know who to credit for the work on the book, but they definitely make the project stand out as something a little different. There also seems to be more than one artist working on the book, or at least an artist working with a couple of different styles, as there's a variety to the artwork and how it looks; with some of the images looking like rougher illustrations that you'd expect to find within a fantasy world itself, whilst some of the others are a lot cleaner and bolder.
Overall I really enjoyed reading Dreams of Fire. I liked how it was a relatively small story in what felt like a big world. It focused on a couple of characters and their journeys and managed to avoid some of the expected tropes of the genre. It's the kind of book where you could easily see it being a one-off stand-alone adventure, or the beginning of a series, or even one of many completely different stories set within the same world and setting. I don't know if this is a world that Nathaniel Wayne intends to come back to in the future, but if they do I'd certainly be interested in seeing what they do next.
The story follows Farris, a young man on the run who possesses elemental powers, specifically those that relate to fire. Over time the energies inside Farris build and need to be expelled, though this can be dangerous to Farris and those around him. When the book begins he's making his way across The Lone Continent towards the lakeside city of Torvec. Whilst staying in a small outpost for the night, away from the dangers of the surrounding forests, the fires within Farris swell and he accidentally injures another traveller, forcing him to flee into the forest before he can be captured and detained by the guards.
The introduction very much drops readers into the middle of things, and it doesn't spend a huge amount of time setting up the world or the rules before we get tied into the story. This is something that becomes a pattern for the book, and instead of getting encyclopedia entries that explain the history of The Lone Continent, or the rules that govern magic, we learn this through the reactions of the people that inhabit it, and the direction the story takes. For example, there was no warning that the magics within Farris made him a target for fear and hate until we saw people either running from him or trying to hurt him, and we didn't know why the forests were dangerous until we're in them and we were seeing characters dealing with the dangerous beings that lived there. We don't get our hand held, and instead we're trusted to be able to figure out a lot of this and learn it as we go; and it works really well. We're not bogged down by long explanations or boring descriptions, and simply get to enjoy the story instead.
The story itself is an interesting one, and it's one where you think you know the kind of story it's going to tell a few times before your expectations are suddenly altered. The reader is given just enough information to think that it's going to go a certain direction before it shifts and takes you by surprise in delightful ways. More than once I ended up thinking that Farris would stick with certain characters, only for them to go away in different subplots, and I thought the main thrust of the story was going to be something completely different than it was. That all being said, the book isn't really a mystery story, and whilst there are twists and turns in the narrative you're not expected to try and figure out what they're going to be, and you shouldn't feel bad that you didn't see certain things coming.
One of the things I really liked about the book was these little subversion. I loved how the reader is led to believe that Farris is going to recruit a band of reluctant friends around him, other elementals that want nothing to do with each other at first but eventually come to see each other as friends and stick together; except that doesn't really happen and these people have their own stories and their own goals and don't just give that up to follow Farris around. I also liked how the main threat in the book is building in the background the whole time, and whilst it does involve Farris, it's only in a tangential way, and that he's nothing more than a pawn in the plans of the antagonists and not the centre of their goals.
With so many fantasy stories centring the entire plot on their lead, usually a young person who's barely more than an inexperienced child, to see a story where this doesn't happen, where our central character isn't a chose one, isn't going to have to save the day because some powerful villain is targeting them, is a really nice change of pace. There are certain parts of the plot where you could remove Farris altogether and things would still happen, and this makes it feel like a more realised and broader world, one where not everything revolves around one special teen.
Dreams of Fire also features a number of full colour illustrations. It has the fairly standard and expected world map and even a map of the city of Tovec, but it also has a number of illustrations scattered throughout the book, depicting some of the key moments from the story. The copy of the book I received didn't list any artist names for people working on the book other than Nathaniel Wayne, so I don't know who to credit for the work on the book, but they definitely make the project stand out as something a little different. There also seems to be more than one artist working on the book, or at least an artist working with a couple of different styles, as there's a variety to the artwork and how it looks; with some of the images looking like rougher illustrations that you'd expect to find within a fantasy world itself, whilst some of the others are a lot cleaner and bolder.
Overall I really enjoyed reading Dreams of Fire. I liked how it was a relatively small story in what felt like a big world. It focused on a couple of characters and their journeys and managed to avoid some of the expected tropes of the genre. It's the kind of book where you could easily see it being a one-off stand-alone adventure, or the beginning of a series, or even one of many completely different stories set within the same world and setting. I don't know if this is a world that Nathaniel Wayne intends to come back to in the future, but if they do I'd certainly be interested in seeing what they do next.
July 19, 2021
One of the goals which I have been attempting in 2021 is to read more self-published works, having done one in 2020 and this year I’m shooting for five. Dreams of Fire is the third self-published book (fourth if you count Theft of Swords) I have read this year and the second from a YouTuber. This one is from Nathaniel Wayne aka Council of Geeks, most well known for their Doctor Who content. This is also a fantasy novel that while not explicitly part of a series, once read it clearly ends on a point where there is going to be a sequel, however, Wayne doesn’t adequately fill the book with enough plot to keep things going. Dreams of Fire is essentially an extended prologue for whatever Wayne’s follow up will be, and when viewed through that lens it mostly works. The plot as a single installment does have some arcs based on the emotions of its characters, mainly the protagonist Farris and a character I can only describe as the main antagonist, Professor Raines. Farris is on the run while Professor Raines is chaing an escaped subject from her laboratory. They are our two major point of view characters for the novel which actually does work really well, though Wayne includes some other characters to flesh out the world, especially the Fey. It is these other points of view which doesn’t actually integrate well in the book, only really serving as worldbuilding for the rest of the book and setting up sequel material.
Wayne’s worldbuilding, however, is something that they excel at, taking several pieces of fantasy tropes and lore and putting them into a blender to develop a world that plays like a mix of classic and modern. Other reviews refer to the setting as electropunk, which is apparently a subgenre similar to steampunk, characterized by blending modern technology such as electricity and magic. As it is a subgenre that I am unfamiliar with, Dreams of Fire could easily be taking wholesale from other examples of the subgenre, but as far as I can tell it is at least putting its own spin by still having that classic, high fantasy setting with several guilds and obviously the fey. The Fey creatures which appear here are taken from other classic tales, with your traditional sprites and fairies, as well as the Morrigan, a figure taken from Irish mythology associated with war and crows. The magic system, or possibly two magic systems (it isn’t clear that the Fae magic is separate from the elemental magic), introduced here is presented as soft, though there are clearly rules that restrict it from being the softest of systems. There’s also some nice little cultural details like insights into the many constables throughout cities and some of the games that people play in the society as a reflection of the relationship between humans and the Fey.
Farris is an elemental, someone whose body builds up and expels the elements, with his being fire, and much of this story is about him trying to hide his abilities and survive. The survival aspect is fun though Farris is not a character who gets a whole lot of development, acting as a naïve person as a way to allow the audience a view into the world. He does learn and tries to make his own, with one confrontation with Professor Raines at the end of the book which is a good emotional climax. Professor Raines, on the other hand, is your classic determined academic, not entirely trusted due to the entirety of the book and going above her superiors to find a rogue elemental which escaped from her lab. Raines is a character who doesn’t seem to be entirely complex right until the end where Wayne pulls a great little twist that may be a little predictable, but does recontextualize many of her actions throughout the book while changing her in the eyes of the audience. There are other minor villains, including a mercenary determined to find Farris who is a lot of fun, if a little one note, and a matron who is the one person to show Farris genuine kindness and reappears at the end which is a lot of fun.
Overall, Dreams of Fire is an excellent first novel from a first time author with an interesting setting, some very fun characters, and the pace of a high speed chase from start to finish which is a lot of fun. The biggest issue with Wayne is not writing style, they have that developed quite well, or even the characters, but the fact that the novel is prologue for something bigger and includes some points of view that are only there to set up things in future books which doesn’t quite work. Though this is a series and author to watch and recommended. 8/10.
Wayne’s worldbuilding, however, is something that they excel at, taking several pieces of fantasy tropes and lore and putting them into a blender to develop a world that plays like a mix of classic and modern. Other reviews refer to the setting as electropunk, which is apparently a subgenre similar to steampunk, characterized by blending modern technology such as electricity and magic. As it is a subgenre that I am unfamiliar with, Dreams of Fire could easily be taking wholesale from other examples of the subgenre, but as far as I can tell it is at least putting its own spin by still having that classic, high fantasy setting with several guilds and obviously the fey. The Fey creatures which appear here are taken from other classic tales, with your traditional sprites and fairies, as well as the Morrigan, a figure taken from Irish mythology associated with war and crows. The magic system, or possibly two magic systems (it isn’t clear that the Fae magic is separate from the elemental magic), introduced here is presented as soft, though there are clearly rules that restrict it from being the softest of systems. There’s also some nice little cultural details like insights into the many constables throughout cities and some of the games that people play in the society as a reflection of the relationship between humans and the Fey.
Farris is an elemental, someone whose body builds up and expels the elements, with his being fire, and much of this story is about him trying to hide his abilities and survive. The survival aspect is fun though Farris is not a character who gets a whole lot of development, acting as a naïve person as a way to allow the audience a view into the world. He does learn and tries to make his own, with one confrontation with Professor Raines at the end of the book which is a good emotional climax. Professor Raines, on the other hand, is your classic determined academic, not entirely trusted due to the entirety of the book and going above her superiors to find a rogue elemental which escaped from her lab. Raines is a character who doesn’t seem to be entirely complex right until the end where Wayne pulls a great little twist that may be a little predictable, but does recontextualize many of her actions throughout the book while changing her in the eyes of the audience. There are other minor villains, including a mercenary determined to find Farris who is a lot of fun, if a little one note, and a matron who is the one person to show Farris genuine kindness and reappears at the end which is a lot of fun.
Overall, Dreams of Fire is an excellent first novel from a first time author with an interesting setting, some very fun characters, and the pace of a high speed chase from start to finish which is a lot of fun. The biggest issue with Wayne is not writing style, they have that developed quite well, or even the characters, but the fact that the novel is prologue for something bigger and includes some points of view that are only there to set up things in future books which doesn’t quite work. Though this is a series and author to watch and recommended. 8/10.
May 6, 2022
Let me open by saying that I purchased my copy of Dreams of Fire by Nathaniel Wayne because I am a fan of the author's other work, particularly her YouTube content on the channels Council of Geeks, Breakroom of Geeks, and Vera Wylde. I did this because I wanted to support them both financially with the purchase, and in media if I liked the book enough to review and put my review out there. I did and I'm doing that! Please trust when I say that my review is completely honest and I am not boosting my rating of this book because of my respect for the epic fellow she/they pronoun user who wrote it (though that respect is immense!) I have reviewed hundreds of books since launching my book review blog two years ago and often I do end up reviewing books written by authors whos content I have enjoyed in the past. As always, I try to review each book in as much of a vacuum as I can mentally achieve.
Good? Okay? Alright, let's get into the review!
To the extent of my knowledge, this is a debut fiction, and with that in mind, it is excellent! This does not read like a first effort at all. We have an expertly crafted double POV story from the perspectives of the protagonist Farris, an unlikely hero on the run, and the antagonist Professor Raines, a twist on the mad scientist archetype whose personal progress is currently being stunted by the administration of the university she works for.
Farris is a well-written, likable, realistically flawed coming-of-age hero character, I have no complaints at all, and I do think the target audience demographic are going to latch onto him exactly as intended. The character I really want to talk about is our antagonist, Professor Raines. Raines is unquestionably the villain of the story. This person is experimenting on people. Definition of evil! I don't think she thinks she's evil, though. She's a driven academic with blinders strapped on quite securely, and she simply doesn't have the time of day for anyone else. Early in the book she's meeting with her superior, receiving the news that her fumbles in the lab have made the university look bad and she's being suspended from research for a while. In the meantime, she's supposed to be building her reputation back up by teaching undergraduate students. Particularly first years. She quite bluntly tells her superior that she doesn't belong in a classroom working with students. This woman knows herself so well, she's so confident in herself, and she's not going to be pushed off course by anyone. It was in this moment that I recognized my own inner villain in Professor Raines.
In terms of world-building, I love the fact that this world is a blend of something entirely new and unique that could only come out of this author's head, but also calls back to a lot of familiar media. Farris is an elemental (and I'm not sure how intentional the name was but I love how similar it is to the Latin ferrom for iron, a hidden meaning that was definitely intentional when Kevin Hearne used it for an Earth elemental in Iron Druid) and many well know fey from real-world history and folklore such as the Morrigan make appearances. I also love the fact that the author has taken care to casually mention things like skin tones and accessible architecture to let us know that the population of this world is not uniform one ethnicity and all able-bodied. With that said I do want to note that more care should be taken in the future to consult sensitivity readers who will look for problems in language surrounding ethnicity. For example, one character is described as "chocolate-skinned." The majority of own voices opinions on describing more melanin-heavy skin tones say that food-based descriptors are anywhere from cliche to offensive and should be avoided. If I had been a beta reader or an editor on this manuscript my suggestion would be to look at common art pigment names if you want something that suggests the same colour to all readers, like burnt umber or red ochre.
I have taken a little look at other reviews now that I've finished reading, and one comment I've seen a couple of readers bring up is that the book doesn't read like a completely contained novel. It's very obvious that this is the first instalment in a series. That's not exactly a terrible thing as it is the start of a series, and it's not like we're struggling with middle book syndrome or jumping into a world that was established somewhere else. This is very clearly the start of a bigger story and no one will be lost here. Where some readers are feeling let down, and to an extent I agree with them, is that the ending doesn't feel like an ending. It feels like hitting pause. There's a very heavy "to be continued" sense. It would have been nice to have a stronger sense of a completed mini arch within this volume, even though there's a longer arch that naturally needs to continue.
Overall this was a really fun beginning in a fantasy world I want more of, and I highly recommend Dreams of Fire to all fans of YA fantasy and high fantasy in general.
Good? Okay? Alright, let's get into the review!
To the extent of my knowledge, this is a debut fiction, and with that in mind, it is excellent! This does not read like a first effort at all. We have an expertly crafted double POV story from the perspectives of the protagonist Farris, an unlikely hero on the run, and the antagonist Professor Raines, a twist on the mad scientist archetype whose personal progress is currently being stunted by the administration of the university she works for.
Farris is a well-written, likable, realistically flawed coming-of-age hero character, I have no complaints at all, and I do think the target audience demographic are going to latch onto him exactly as intended. The character I really want to talk about is our antagonist, Professor Raines. Raines is unquestionably the villain of the story. This person is experimenting on people. Definition of evil! I don't think she thinks she's evil, though. She's a driven academic with blinders strapped on quite securely, and she simply doesn't have the time of day for anyone else. Early in the book she's meeting with her superior, receiving the news that her fumbles in the lab have made the university look bad and she's being suspended from research for a while. In the meantime, she's supposed to be building her reputation back up by teaching undergraduate students. Particularly first years. She quite bluntly tells her superior that she doesn't belong in a classroom working with students. This woman knows herself so well, she's so confident in herself, and she's not going to be pushed off course by anyone. It was in this moment that I recognized my own inner villain in Professor Raines.
In terms of world-building, I love the fact that this world is a blend of something entirely new and unique that could only come out of this author's head, but also calls back to a lot of familiar media. Farris is an elemental (and I'm not sure how intentional the name was but I love how similar it is to the Latin ferrom for iron, a hidden meaning that was definitely intentional when Kevin Hearne used it for an Earth elemental in Iron Druid) and many well know fey from real-world history and folklore such as the Morrigan make appearances. I also love the fact that the author has taken care to casually mention things like skin tones and accessible architecture to let us know that the population of this world is not uniform one ethnicity and all able-bodied. With that said I do want to note that more care should be taken in the future to consult sensitivity readers who will look for problems in language surrounding ethnicity. For example, one character is described as "chocolate-skinned." The majority of own voices opinions on describing more melanin-heavy skin tones say that food-based descriptors are anywhere from cliche to offensive and should be avoided. If I had been a beta reader or an editor on this manuscript my suggestion would be to look at common art pigment names if you want something that suggests the same colour to all readers, like burnt umber or red ochre.
I have taken a little look at other reviews now that I've finished reading, and one comment I've seen a couple of readers bring up is that the book doesn't read like a completely contained novel. It's very obvious that this is the first instalment in a series. That's not exactly a terrible thing as it is the start of a series, and it's not like we're struggling with middle book syndrome or jumping into a world that was established somewhere else. This is very clearly the start of a bigger story and no one will be lost here. Where some readers are feeling let down, and to an extent I agree with them, is that the ending doesn't feel like an ending. It feels like hitting pause. There's a very heavy "to be continued" sense. It would have been nice to have a stronger sense of a completed mini arch within this volume, even though there's a longer arch that naturally needs to continue.
Overall this was a really fun beginning in a fantasy world I want more of, and I highly recommend Dreams of Fire to all fans of YA fantasy and high fantasy in general.
February 27, 2023
I really wanted to love the story, being a fan of Council of Geeks. It is competently written (apart from my problem with the perspective, more on that later), the climax was a page turner, even if our main character had only a passive role even in that.
I love the casual representation (and how naturally it feels to use they/them if you don't know a person) but I always flinched whenever the colour of the skin was described as honey, olive or chocolate. The discussion that food is not a respectfull way to compare BIPoC's appearances can't be only a German one, can it? An honest mistake without any ill will, no doubt. I am white and can't speak for anyone from the community but as a freelance editor I always direct my writers to the existing content from own voice people on that matter like: https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/p...
The one thing that kept me from really enjoying the story wasn't the slightly generic setup with the magical youth that can't control it's powers, but the way we kept sliding in and out of perspectives. Sometimes a character got introduced by describing the actions from the outside for several pages before suddenly getting spelled out their thoughts and motives (those that were plot-convinient, at last, while blending out the ones that would spoil the twist, more on that later). Sometimes we jumped into someone else had for just three sentences. To keep the cool Marshall figure as mysterious as possible we didn't even get more than a hint what was driving his actions even if we were in his perspective. That resulted in me not being able to really feel with anyone. The big Twist (that Farris is not the "subject" that destoyed the professors work but her son), even if it is set up decently, feels like cheating because we should have gotten hints about the emotional connections from the characters we followed for 200 pages from the inside.
The world and the story were interesting enough so I kept on reading in a decent pace. But when I'm not able to identify with the characters (even can't love to hate the villains) there is no lasting impression or real tension. I'd love to read more from this world but I'm always more for a good character story than twists and shock value and subverting expectations. Overall I think Poenas story would have been more insightful to follow from a science student to someone suddenly finding themselves on the other side of the fence. Well ... nearly everyone seemed to have made a better protagonist than Farris, I must confess.
All in all I might have rounded it up to 4 stars for the inventiveness and potential, but with the layout being uneven to downright irritating I land on 3 stars. Pity!
I love the casual representation (and how naturally it feels to use they/them if you don't know a person) but I always flinched whenever the colour of the skin was described as honey, olive or chocolate. The discussion that food is not a respectfull way to compare BIPoC's appearances can't be only a German one, can it? An honest mistake without any ill will, no doubt. I am white and can't speak for anyone from the community but as a freelance editor I always direct my writers to the existing content from own voice people on that matter like: https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/p...
The one thing that kept me from really enjoying the story wasn't the slightly generic setup with the magical youth that can't control it's powers, but the way we kept sliding in and out of perspectives. Sometimes a character got introduced by describing the actions from the outside for several pages before suddenly getting spelled out their thoughts and motives (those that were plot-convinient, at last, while blending out the ones that would spoil the twist, more on that later). Sometimes we jumped into someone else had for just three sentences. To keep the cool Marshall figure as mysterious as possible we didn't even get more than a hint what was driving his actions even if we were in his perspective. That resulted in me not being able to really feel with anyone. The big Twist (that Farris is not the "subject" that destoyed the professors work but her son), even if it is set up decently, feels like cheating because we should have gotten hints about the emotional connections from the characters we followed for 200 pages from the inside.
The world and the story were interesting enough so I kept on reading in a decent pace. But when I'm not able to identify with the characters (even can't love to hate the villains) there is no lasting impression or real tension. I'd love to read more from this world but I'm always more for a good character story than twists and shock value and subverting expectations. Overall I think Poenas story would have been more insightful to follow from a science student to someone suddenly finding themselves on the other side of the fence. Well ... nearly everyone seemed to have made a better protagonist than Farris, I must confess.
All in all I might have rounded it up to 4 stars for the inventiveness and potential, but with the layout being uneven to downright irritating I land on 3 stars. Pity!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2022
I love a good "outcast on the run" story, so when the author offered me a review copy, I was happy to accept!
Let's start with the worldbuilding. My feeling on it in general are mixed. I like the concept, directly clashing a kind of high fantasy medieval aesthetic with sci-fi-esque technological advancements. But it didn't quite blend together well. I could see the general idea, but it felt like the seams were still showing. The set up for Torvec was intriguing and I liked the reveals of it's power source. I just wish there was a little more blending of how the more rural high fantasy aspects meshed with the technology.
The plot's pacing was a bit touch and go at points. It would go very slowly at points, with characters held up in a single room without speaking to each other much for several scenes. But then there were rapid fire explosive scenes one right after the other. I would have liked to see the quieter scenes given some emotional gravitas and the bigger scenes drawn out, with more emphasis on the fall out after all the giant stuff from the climax has settled.
As for the characters, it was difficult to get a read on a lot of them. The dialogue was very pragmatic, more focused on plot-furthering than character-revealing, so there was a lot of reading between the lines. As a result, the protagonist's personal character arc felt muddy. While the world around him as changed drastically, he remains the same. And the big meet up with *that* character after *that* reveal felt very anti-climactic.
I did enjoy the various plot reveals. It set up expectations and diverted them well. There was a lot of great ideas around the characters. Like the motherly character that's friends with the grump that doesn't want to admit he cares, and a variety of morally gray characters. But the plot moves by them so fast, you don't really get a chance to sit with any of them. They come across more as devices meant to get the plot that much further forward than living, breathing characters.
There are also some themes regarding morality that I would love to see expanded. Exactly what are the experiments the science guild did and how does the professor justify the extent of the atrocities to herself? Does anyone that knows of the secret revolving around Torvec's energy source have conflicting emotions about it? In the nature vs. technology theme that the climax revolves around, had anyone in the world had thoughts about it previously? Maybe taken the side of the Fey or against them?
Over all, there are a ton of great ideas throughout the story. I just wish there had been more time to sit with them and delve into specifics.
Let's start with the worldbuilding. My feeling on it in general are mixed. I like the concept, directly clashing a kind of high fantasy medieval aesthetic with sci-fi-esque technological advancements. But it didn't quite blend together well. I could see the general idea, but it felt like the seams were still showing. The set up for Torvec was intriguing and I liked the reveals of it's power source. I just wish there was a little more blending of how the more rural high fantasy aspects meshed with the technology.
The plot's pacing was a bit touch and go at points. It would go very slowly at points, with characters held up in a single room without speaking to each other much for several scenes. But then there were rapid fire explosive scenes one right after the other. I would have liked to see the quieter scenes given some emotional gravitas and the bigger scenes drawn out, with more emphasis on the fall out after all the giant stuff from the climax has settled.
As for the characters, it was difficult to get a read on a lot of them. The dialogue was very pragmatic, more focused on plot-furthering than character-revealing, so there was a lot of reading between the lines. As a result, the protagonist's personal character arc felt muddy. While the world around him as changed drastically, he remains the same. And the big meet up with *that* character after *that* reveal felt very anti-climactic.
I did enjoy the various plot reveals. It set up expectations and diverted them well. There was a lot of great ideas around the characters. Like the motherly character that's friends with the grump that doesn't want to admit he cares, and a variety of morally gray characters. But the plot moves by them so fast, you don't really get a chance to sit with any of them. They come across more as devices meant to get the plot that much further forward than living, breathing characters.
There are also some themes regarding morality that I would love to see expanded. Exactly what are the experiments the science guild did and how does the professor justify the extent of the atrocities to herself? Does anyone that knows of the secret revolving around Torvec's energy source have conflicting emotions about it? In the nature vs. technology theme that the climax revolves around, had anyone in the world had thoughts about it previously? Maybe taken the side of the Fey or against them?
Over all, there are a ton of great ideas throughout the story. I just wish there had been more time to sit with them and delve into specifics.
December 4, 2022
Farris is a fugitive due to his nature as an elemental; humans with wild elemental powers. As he struggles to contain the fiery energies within himself, he seeks refuge in the city of Torvec, hoping to escape the hunters sent by the Science Guild to recover him. But Torvec is about to become the focal point of the tensions between humanity and the wild Fey that live in the nearby Everwood.
I've read a number of self-published first novels and usually, whilst they may have some genuinely compelling concepts, they tend to be distinctly amateurish (not that the work ethic it takes to complete a novel, even a bad one, should be sniffed at) and often a bit of a chore to get through.
I'm very glad to say that this is the book that bucked that trend. I've followed the author's YouTube channel for a number of years, enjoying their insightful takes on pop culture, so it was nice to see that their obvious wit and intelligence translated into their work with this book.
A lot of thought has clearly gone into the world-building here but, unlike some authors, Wayne doesn't feel the need to lay all of that work out in-depth here. It's a much better way of making a fantasy story immersive than, for instance, giving us a detailled history of every peripheral element simply because the writer doesn't want any idea they've had about their fantasy world go unspoken. Wayne gets the balance just right, giving us enough detail to get a sense of a wider world at work around the core story, without taking the focus away from the main characters and their (mis)adventures.
A particular element which I was at first nervous of but came to really enjoy was the Fey.
Often the idea of magical fairy-like creatures is mishandled by either making them too whimsical to be credible or, at the other extreme, too practical and mundane to retain a sense of wonder. Here Wayne uses them as a wild force of nature, with humans generally trying to avoid places where the Fey are strong. And although the main character Farris' journey is intrinsically linked to the goals of the Fey, he is not the focus of them in any way (the author has expressed distaste for the 'Chosen One' story motif in the past). Again, it's a fine balance but Wayne walks it generally pretty well.
So, whilst there are a few minor editorial problems here and there, this is absolutely the best self-published book I've read to date and genuinely just a very well-written and enjoyable fantasy novel.
(There's also a nice little Easter Egg in the book that hints at the author's love of Doctor Who, which made me smile).
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
I've read a number of self-published first novels and usually, whilst they may have some genuinely compelling concepts, they tend to be distinctly amateurish (not that the work ethic it takes to complete a novel, even a bad one, should be sniffed at) and often a bit of a chore to get through.
I'm very glad to say that this is the book that bucked that trend. I've followed the author's YouTube channel for a number of years, enjoying their insightful takes on pop culture, so it was nice to see that their obvious wit and intelligence translated into their work with this book.
A lot of thought has clearly gone into the world-building here but, unlike some authors, Wayne doesn't feel the need to lay all of that work out in-depth here. It's a much better way of making a fantasy story immersive than, for instance, giving us a detailled history of every peripheral element simply because the writer doesn't want any idea they've had about their fantasy world go unspoken. Wayne gets the balance just right, giving us enough detail to get a sense of a wider world at work around the core story, without taking the focus away from the main characters and their (mis)adventures.
A particular element which I was at first nervous of but came to really enjoy was the Fey.
Often the idea of magical fairy-like creatures is mishandled by either making them too whimsical to be credible or, at the other extreme, too practical and mundane to retain a sense of wonder. Here Wayne uses them as a wild force of nature, with humans generally trying to avoid places where the Fey are strong. And although the main character Farris' journey is intrinsically linked to the goals of the Fey, he is not the focus of them in any way (the author has expressed distaste for the 'Chosen One' story motif in the past). Again, it's a fine balance but Wayne walks it generally pretty well.
So, whilst there are a few minor editorial problems here and there, this is absolutely the best self-published book I've read to date and genuinely just a very well-written and enjoyable fantasy novel.
(There's also a nice little Easter Egg in the book that hints at the author's love of Doctor Who, which made me smile).
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
September 4, 2022
This book is self-published by a YouTuber that I have enjoyed watching critique geeky media and talk about LGBTQ issues on their channel Council of Geeks. I was excited for this fantasy novel from the bits that they shared about the writing and development process. Just wanted to say that upfront. This was an enjoyable and engaging fantasy adventure. Farris is a young human with fire elemental magic in a world where all Elementals are considered extremely dangerous and are captured for scientific study. Farris has escaped imprisonment by the Science Guild and is now fleeing from the authorities. The worldbuilding is intriguing and I really like the depiction of Fey. They are much more like the folklore and not cuddly or sparkly romance style at all. The story stays focused on Farris and his quest to evade capture and find a way to live his own life. There is a building conflict in the background between the humans in the city of Torvec and the Fey that is well developed and builds to an exciting climax. Farris is caught in the middle of that. There is definitely room for more stories to be told in this world, with or without some of the same characters. I have no idea if the author is interested in that. The strongest aspect of the writing for me was the atmosphere and the building tension. The characters were fine, but not especially complex or fleshed out. LGBTQ identities are represented and are fully accepted in this world.
June 14, 2021
For clarity I did received an advanced pdf copy of this, for being a backer on Kickstarter, however I waited and read the official published version.
For me this was a refreshing and unique fantasy story. It was definitely an exciting read and I really enjoyed meeting all these new characters, all of which felt like real people with a mixture of good and bad deeds.
My favourite parts of the book had to be the description of the different types of Fey! There wasn't a huge exposition section that just gave a list of the all creatures. They were introduced organically into the story and their description were really vivid. My favourite had to be the Morrighan! The illustrations throughout the book are also really pretty.
I highly recommend this book and fingers crossed we get to see more of Ferris, the Fey and this world.
For me this was a refreshing and unique fantasy story. It was definitely an exciting read and I really enjoyed meeting all these new characters, all of which felt like real people with a mixture of good and bad deeds.
My favourite parts of the book had to be the description of the different types of Fey! There wasn't a huge exposition section that just gave a list of the all creatures. They were introduced organically into the story and their description were really vivid. My favourite had to be the Morrighan! The illustrations throughout the book are also really pretty.
I highly recommend this book and fingers crossed we get to see more of Ferris, the Fey and this world.
May 31, 2021
This book is a great read for anyone who loves adventure-filled fantasy stories that don't have any info-dumping. Ferris's fight for survival and freedom is compelling. He runs into a lot of interesting characters along the way, all with the motivation to survive and stay free. The illustrations are quite helpful with adding a visual narrative to the story. I recommend this book for readers above the age of 10 (say those familiar with middle grade chapter books) as this is very safe for young teenagers to read.
June 2, 2021
This is a fantastic fantasy read for people who like character-focused books. We join Farris in his struggle to find his voice in the world as he deals with being an elemental who could unintentionally destroy everything he's trying to help. Hunted by a bounty hunter, Farris must figure out who he can trust--before it's too late. I look forward to seeing what comes of Farris, all the other characters (keeping this spoiler-free), and their world as his story progresses.
April 13, 2023
The plot was predictable and lacked originality, characters were one dimensional, and the pacing was criminally slow and boring. This was a forgettable and unremarkable book that failed to live up to its potential. It's a shame that such an intriguing concept was wasted on a poorly executed story.
February 2, 2022
Quite a good read. I am hoping for a sequel where the fae are explored more.
January 19, 2025
Listened on audible.
A great debut, with an interesting plot with some brilliant twists.
A great debut, with an interesting plot with some brilliant twists.
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