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The Vyshivka Trilogy #1
Daughter of the Beast
When her sleepy village is raided by the Vulkari, the fearsome warrior women of the Ancient Wilds, only Zyntael Fairwinter is taken.
Claimed as a daughter by their infamous matriarch, Zyntael is trained to hunt, to fight, and to kill—all for a purpose, which remains ever out of her grasp.
In the company of their unruly young, she might find sisterhood. In their unique customs and beliefs, she might find beauty. And in the violence of their raids, she might even find glory.
But it is the reason for her capture that Zyntael truly seeks. It is a truth that must be earned from the very Spirits of the dead; a future paid for in the blood of those Zyntael once called her own. It is a purpose that promises the liberation of not just she, but of all the Ancient Wilds, from an evil far greater than any marauding warrior women.
Warrior or no, however, the Vulkari are not like other women. The Vulkari are monsters.
And sometimes, only the truly monstrous have what it takes to save the world.
Steeped in Slavic Myth, and appealing to adult and young adult readers alike, Daughter of the Beast is a rich and unique fantasy coming-of-age story. It is the first in an exciting debut trilogy by E C Greaves, which blends action and adventure, with themes of belonging, identity, destiny, and a girl's place in a harsh and uncaring world—built by men, and built for men.
Claimed as a daughter by their infamous matriarch, Zyntael is trained to hunt, to fight, and to kill—all for a purpose, which remains ever out of her grasp.
In the company of their unruly young, she might find sisterhood. In their unique customs and beliefs, she might find beauty. And in the violence of their raids, she might even find glory.
But it is the reason for her capture that Zyntael truly seeks. It is a truth that must be earned from the very Spirits of the dead; a future paid for in the blood of those Zyntael once called her own. It is a purpose that promises the liberation of not just she, but of all the Ancient Wilds, from an evil far greater than any marauding warrior women.
Warrior or no, however, the Vulkari are not like other women. The Vulkari are monsters.
And sometimes, only the truly monstrous have what it takes to save the world.
Steeped in Slavic Myth, and appealing to adult and young adult readers alike, Daughter of the Beast is a rich and unique fantasy coming-of-age story. It is the first in an exciting debut trilogy by E C Greaves, which blends action and adventure, with themes of belonging, identity, destiny, and a girl's place in a harsh and uncaring world—built by men, and built for men.
374 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 4, 2022
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768 people want to read
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April 15, 2024
My SPFBO9 finalist review of Daughter of the Beast is published at Before We Go Blog.
“I awoke in an uncaring darkness. Cold, bruised and sore, I hung from metal manacles—my bare feet just able to touch the floor beneath me.”
Daughter of the Beast, the SPFBO9 finalist by E.C. Greaves, is a strikingly imaginative story of self-discovery and found family.
The story is told from the first-person perspective of Zyntael Fairwinter, a young Kikimora girl who is kidnapped by the monstrous Vulkari during a raid of her quiet forest village:
“The stench of their damp hides and rancid breath made me gag, and brought water to my eyes. I told myself that this was why my vision swam and my cheeks were wet, but I was simply afraid. No matter how much I tried to choke back the fear, to abate the flow of tears, and to still my trembling limbs, I could not.”
Zyntael becomes the adopted daughter of the Vulkari matriarch and is indoctrinated into their culture. She doesn’t understand why she is being treated so much better than the other kidnapped Kikimora:
“I had never been so exhausted, never felt so lost, alone, and miserable as I did during those first weeks that we travelled east. But I was the luckiest of my kind.”
The worldbuilding in Daughter of the Beast is a triumph of imagination. There are no human characters, just different races inspired by Slavic mythology.
E.C. Greaves excels in delivering a coming-of-age story as Zyntael grows within her new culture and builds bonds with her found family:
“Karthak idly played with my hair and sang to herself in her own language. The yapping and howling of the Vulkari speech was ill-suited to song, but I dared not tell her so, the many times she asked me what I thought of her tune.”
Daughter of the Beast is written in six parts called Stitches. I found the writing in Daughter of the Beast to be rather inconsistent, and I could not connect at all with the first Stitch. But E.C. Greaves pulled me into the story in the second stitch as he settled into a calmer and more accessible writing style.
There were several truly touching moments later in the book, especially related to building understanding across cultural boundaries:
“I looked up at his eyes—a deep purplish colour, almost black. If I could see through them, I would have liked to. If only to understand how he saw me. I was a savage, or so he said, but those eyes saw me as so much more.”
However, the plot felt a bit aimless at times, lacking a central conflict to drive the story forward.
Overall, Daughter of the Beast was a mixed bag for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the innovative worldbuilding and themes of belonging and cross-cultural understanding. At the same time, I’d have preferred a story with more overarching direction to keep me engaged over the full span of the novel. The journey continues in Sister of the Dead, the second volume of The Vyshivka Trilogy.
“I awoke in an uncaring darkness. Cold, bruised and sore, I hung from metal manacles—my bare feet just able to touch the floor beneath me.”
Daughter of the Beast, the SPFBO9 finalist by E.C. Greaves, is a strikingly imaginative story of self-discovery and found family.
The story is told from the first-person perspective of Zyntael Fairwinter, a young Kikimora girl who is kidnapped by the monstrous Vulkari during a raid of her quiet forest village:
“The stench of their damp hides and rancid breath made me gag, and brought water to my eyes. I told myself that this was why my vision swam and my cheeks were wet, but I was simply afraid. No matter how much I tried to choke back the fear, to abate the flow of tears, and to still my trembling limbs, I could not.”
Zyntael becomes the adopted daughter of the Vulkari matriarch and is indoctrinated into their culture. She doesn’t understand why she is being treated so much better than the other kidnapped Kikimora:
“I had never been so exhausted, never felt so lost, alone, and miserable as I did during those first weeks that we travelled east. But I was the luckiest of my kind.”
The worldbuilding in Daughter of the Beast is a triumph of imagination. There are no human characters, just different races inspired by Slavic mythology.
E.C. Greaves excels in delivering a coming-of-age story as Zyntael grows within her new culture and builds bonds with her found family:
“Karthak idly played with my hair and sang to herself in her own language. The yapping and howling of the Vulkari speech was ill-suited to song, but I dared not tell her so, the many times she asked me what I thought of her tune.”
Daughter of the Beast is written in six parts called Stitches. I found the writing in Daughter of the Beast to be rather inconsistent, and I could not connect at all with the first Stitch. But E.C. Greaves pulled me into the story in the second stitch as he settled into a calmer and more accessible writing style.
There were several truly touching moments later in the book, especially related to building understanding across cultural boundaries:
“I looked up at his eyes—a deep purplish colour, almost black. If I could see through them, I would have liked to. If only to understand how he saw me. I was a savage, or so he said, but those eyes saw me as so much more.”
However, the plot felt a bit aimless at times, lacking a central conflict to drive the story forward.
Overall, Daughter of the Beast was a mixed bag for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the innovative worldbuilding and themes of belonging and cross-cultural understanding. At the same time, I’d have preferred a story with more overarching direction to keep me engaged over the full span of the novel. The journey continues in Sister of the Dead, the second volume of The Vyshivka Trilogy.
September 8, 2023
I read this book for Team Bookborn as part of phase one of SPFBO9. As such, my rating will be withheld until my semi-finalist is announced.
* You can find my full video review here: https://youtu.be/BZeJ-W33n4s *
Daughter of the Beast is billed as being steeped in Slavic myth and appealing to both adult and young adult readers. I would say that some of the themes are typically linked with young adult titles but I think I would personally call it an adult fantasy that is accessible to younger adults, rather than labelling it as actually being young adult.
And the Slavic myth and folklore is definitely visible and is one of the highlights of the book—I don’t think there’s a single human in here, all the characters are known but perhaps lesser-seen species, at least as far as main characters go in fantasy books.
The story is told from the first-person perspective of Zyntael Fairwinter, a young Kikimora—or Kimora, as they are generally called in this world. When the monstrous Vulkari raid her village, she is taken prisoner and is basically indoctrinated into the culture of the strange wolf-women. From there, she learns about the Sacharri Legion of Hobgoblins, and the threat posed by the Merchant Combine.
The book is split into six parts, called Stitches. The series title, Vyshivka, roughly translates as “embroidery” and in this world, the Vyshivka, and adding stitches to your Vyshivka, are important parts of the Vulkari culture that Zyntael comes to learn about.
The book starts off at a pretty fast pace with Stitch One being a collection of short, sharp chapters detailing Zyntael’s capture and an attempted escape. There’s no real time here for scene-setting, but we still learn a decent amount through Zyntael’s eyes and through the shared knowledge of the kickass gnome she is trying to escape with.
Given that Zyntael is only ten summers old at this point, I like how this is done—she hasn’t been able to experience the world outside of her village to that point, so just as we are seeing things for the first time, so is she, and so we are able to learn as much as we need to know in the moment.
The pace does slow down after the first Stitch, giving us more time to get our heads around the world Zyntael finds herself in, and I think this gives a nice balance to temper those frenetic opening chapters.
The book takes place over the course of several years, and so we are able to see Zyntael grow into a young Kimori woman. We see her grow close to her captors, and as she becomes a raider herself, those who raid with her become her sisters.
This kinship is quite interesting to see develop, and although it’s slightly abbreviated with the swift passing of years early on, I like that we get to see the initial animosity gradually turn into acceptance and eventually trust and friendship.
The interaction between Zyntael and her Vulkari sisters is another highlight of the book for me. I like the bond that they form, and how it doesn’t seem forced. I like the differences that are always apparent, but don’t come between them—the sisters using each other’s strengths to offset their weaknesses—and I just like some of the little things you see between them, such as the continued use of the term “horse-son” that stems from an initial misunderstanding (because no, it’s not “sausage path horse’s son…”)
Outside of that, the worldbuilding is solid and very interesting. It’s light on the magic, although there are elements of the mystical here at least, with strange visions and the potential for a sort of eldritch horror in the later books of this series.
There are plenty of strange and wonderful creatures here that you might recognise if you have any familiarity with Slavic myth, or other works that have featured them. Again, I don’t think there’s a single human in the story. Instead, this world is filled with the Kimori and Vulkari, you have gnomes, and there are hobgoblins, which, in their own tongue are the Domovoi of myth. There are also creatures like the Vodnik to look out for as we continue to explore this world.
This exploration allows us to see the different cultures of some of these races, primarily the hobgoblins, and of course the matriarchal Vulkari. There’s also the wondrous city of Azure, which is a real eye-opener for our younger characters.
It’s a really interesting world that I think is put together very well. I also think it’s a very accessible setting, with no prior knowledge required before you dive in. Everything you need is given to you within the pages, although I feel it manages to avoid the often-dreaded info dump in doing so.
There is plenty of action here, with raids, skirmishes, and sieges. There’s plenty of intrigue as well, with, I would say, some light politicking, and there’s plenty of heart too. I think all of the main elements I look for in a fantasy were well done, with interesting characters, a great setting, good story building, and nicely balanced pacing throughout.
Overall, this is a definite recommendation for anyone looking for something a little bit different. For those who love epic fantasy like I do, chances are you’ll also have a great time here.
* You can find my full video review here: https://youtu.be/BZeJ-W33n4s *
Daughter of the Beast is billed as being steeped in Slavic myth and appealing to both adult and young adult readers. I would say that some of the themes are typically linked with young adult titles but I think I would personally call it an adult fantasy that is accessible to younger adults, rather than labelling it as actually being young adult.
And the Slavic myth and folklore is definitely visible and is one of the highlights of the book—I don’t think there’s a single human in here, all the characters are known but perhaps lesser-seen species, at least as far as main characters go in fantasy books.
The story is told from the first-person perspective of Zyntael Fairwinter, a young Kikimora—or Kimora, as they are generally called in this world. When the monstrous Vulkari raid her village, she is taken prisoner and is basically indoctrinated into the culture of the strange wolf-women. From there, she learns about the Sacharri Legion of Hobgoblins, and the threat posed by the Merchant Combine.
The book is split into six parts, called Stitches. The series title, Vyshivka, roughly translates as “embroidery” and in this world, the Vyshivka, and adding stitches to your Vyshivka, are important parts of the Vulkari culture that Zyntael comes to learn about.
The book starts off at a pretty fast pace with Stitch One being a collection of short, sharp chapters detailing Zyntael’s capture and an attempted escape. There’s no real time here for scene-setting, but we still learn a decent amount through Zyntael’s eyes and through the shared knowledge of the kickass gnome she is trying to escape with.
Given that Zyntael is only ten summers old at this point, I like how this is done—she hasn’t been able to experience the world outside of her village to that point, so just as we are seeing things for the first time, so is she, and so we are able to learn as much as we need to know in the moment.
The pace does slow down after the first Stitch, giving us more time to get our heads around the world Zyntael finds herself in, and I think this gives a nice balance to temper those frenetic opening chapters.
The book takes place over the course of several years, and so we are able to see Zyntael grow into a young Kimori woman. We see her grow close to her captors, and as she becomes a raider herself, those who raid with her become her sisters.
This kinship is quite interesting to see develop, and although it’s slightly abbreviated with the swift passing of years early on, I like that we get to see the initial animosity gradually turn into acceptance and eventually trust and friendship.
The interaction between Zyntael and her Vulkari sisters is another highlight of the book for me. I like the bond that they form, and how it doesn’t seem forced. I like the differences that are always apparent, but don’t come between them—the sisters using each other’s strengths to offset their weaknesses—and I just like some of the little things you see between them, such as the continued use of the term “horse-son” that stems from an initial misunderstanding (because no, it’s not “sausage path horse’s son…”)
Outside of that, the worldbuilding is solid and very interesting. It’s light on the magic, although there are elements of the mystical here at least, with strange visions and the potential for a sort of eldritch horror in the later books of this series.
There are plenty of strange and wonderful creatures here that you might recognise if you have any familiarity with Slavic myth, or other works that have featured them. Again, I don’t think there’s a single human in the story. Instead, this world is filled with the Kimori and Vulkari, you have gnomes, and there are hobgoblins, which, in their own tongue are the Domovoi of myth. There are also creatures like the Vodnik to look out for as we continue to explore this world.
This exploration allows us to see the different cultures of some of these races, primarily the hobgoblins, and of course the matriarchal Vulkari. There’s also the wondrous city of Azure, which is a real eye-opener for our younger characters.
It’s a really interesting world that I think is put together very well. I also think it’s a very accessible setting, with no prior knowledge required before you dive in. Everything you need is given to you within the pages, although I feel it manages to avoid the often-dreaded info dump in doing so.
There is plenty of action here, with raids, skirmishes, and sieges. There’s plenty of intrigue as well, with, I would say, some light politicking, and there’s plenty of heart too. I think all of the main elements I look for in a fantasy were well done, with interesting characters, a great setting, good story building, and nicely balanced pacing throughout.
Overall, this is a definite recommendation for anyone looking for something a little bit different. For those who love epic fantasy like I do, chances are you’ll also have a great time here.
March 13, 2024
The coming of age trope has always walked in step with fantasy storytelling, and Greaves wields it with fresh enthusiasm in a brutal world without a single human character. This coming of age tale is not quite the story of a young hero who learns to master the shiny sword and shield and runs off to fight evil (and somehow wins despite it all).
Zyntael Fairwinter, our young female protagonist, is mercilessly ripped from her life in a village and enslaved by a race of warriors called the Vulkar. The Vulkar are wolf hybrids with a pragmatic tribal culture, and Zyntael must learn to adapt quickly to survive. Zyntael's story is told through first person narrative, which allows the reader to delve into the detailed world that Greaves has created with a first-hand view. However, despite the first person narrative, Zyntael's personality and characterization still felt distant, which made it difficult for me to immerse as much as I would have liked. My favorite parts of her narrative were the moments focused on the relationship between Zyntael and her two Vulkar sword sisters, Sarga and Mazgar.
Where Greaves really excels in this book, I think, is in the details of the culture and world he's created for these characters. The culture of the Vulkar was well thought out and nuanced. The way he integrates us as readers into the world of these visceral warmongering creatures alongside Zyntael had an authentic progression of tension and slow build of depth.
I think many of the side characters in the story were also well thought out and brought a lot of added layers to Zyntael's perspective, despite not having their own. I would have liked to feel more immersed in Zyntael's perspective, and there were some parts of the story where the pacing or progression of tension felt a bit jarring.
There are a lot of elements to enjoy in this story, and I loved the fresh take on fantasy utilizing non-human characters entirely. It feels almost as if the atmosphere of a Brian Jacques novel was turned into an adult-level fantasy, which I really enjoyed.
Zyntael Fairwinter, our young female protagonist, is mercilessly ripped from her life in a village and enslaved by a race of warriors called the Vulkar. The Vulkar are wolf hybrids with a pragmatic tribal culture, and Zyntael must learn to adapt quickly to survive. Zyntael's story is told through first person narrative, which allows the reader to delve into the detailed world that Greaves has created with a first-hand view. However, despite the first person narrative, Zyntael's personality and characterization still felt distant, which made it difficult for me to immerse as much as I would have liked. My favorite parts of her narrative were the moments focused on the relationship between Zyntael and her two Vulkar sword sisters, Sarga and Mazgar.
Where Greaves really excels in this book, I think, is in the details of the culture and world he's created for these characters. The culture of the Vulkar was well thought out and nuanced. The way he integrates us as readers into the world of these visceral warmongering creatures alongside Zyntael had an authentic progression of tension and slow build of depth.
I think many of the side characters in the story were also well thought out and brought a lot of added layers to Zyntael's perspective, despite not having their own. I would have liked to feel more immersed in Zyntael's perspective, and there were some parts of the story where the pacing or progression of tension felt a bit jarring.
There are a lot of elements to enjoy in this story, and I loved the fresh take on fantasy utilizing non-human characters entirely. It feels almost as if the atmosphere of a Brian Jacques novel was turned into an adult-level fantasy, which I really enjoyed.
Read
September 27, 2023I've not read this yet, but it's the 4th finalist for SPFBO 9, one of 10 finalists to be chosen from the 300 entries this year.
That's got to mean it's good - so give it a go.
Check out this year's contest here:
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
See this year's finalist table here:
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Read up on the SPFBO in general here:
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
.
That's got to mean it's good - so give it a go.
Check out this year's contest here:
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
See this year's finalist table here:
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Read up on the SPFBO in general here:
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
.
June 20, 2023
4.5 (rounded up)
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I don't often read books where there are no human main characters. The characters in this book are brilliant.
Told in the first person, it's a coming of age tale, a journey of self discovery, identity and sisterhood. Found family and friendships, politics, battles, and great humour.
The world is steeped in slavic folklore that I really found interesting, as are the characters which are based in creatures from those stories.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable read, and one that I will definitely be continuing the series and recommending.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I don't often read books where there are no human main characters. The characters in this book are brilliant.
Told in the first person, it's a coming of age tale, a journey of self discovery, identity and sisterhood. Found family and friendships, politics, battles, and great humour.
The world is steeped in slavic folklore that I really found interesting, as are the characters which are based in creatures from those stories.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable read, and one that I will definitely be continuing the series and recommending.
March 28, 2024
Had I known that seeing one specific character's name would make my mind loop the Lepa Brena song of the same name (coincidentally my fav song by her) every time they showed up, I would've read this a lot sooner.
The character is Janos, by the way and the song Janoš with a š, you're welcome for that masterpiece. Janos is a side character and we don't get to see that much of him, but he's definitely one of my faves because he was kind to Zyntael.
I also really liked Phobos, Karthak, Star-Star, Anra, Lleyden, Mazgar (whose name was funny to me because it means mule/donkey herder in my language) and of course Zyntael. I don't think it took me long to warm up to them.
The book is split up into six parts, the first four with nine chapters each while the last two had eight and seven. They're all fairly short and make for a fast reading pace.
Zyntael starts the story as a ten year old, and we watch her grow into a warrior/raider by the time the book ends. We see her struggle with the idea of accepting her new normal when she's captured by the Vulkari, but as time goes on she becomes ready to embrace her destiny (and sisterhood, awoooo).
I was so curious which Slavic myths and/or creatures would be woven into the story, as a Slavic person, and I was happy to see a number of them made the cut. I was expecting a bit more though, hopefully we'll meet even more creatures in the next two books.
I like that the embroidery was such a big deal to the Vulkari, even more so because it's nearly a forgotten art where I'm from. So few people do it, and it's something I want to learn to keep the tradition alive.
There was a bit of romance in the story, I ship it (for now). I like the way it was handled, it felt realistic for Zyntael & Anra's ages. Their puppy love at the start was sooooo cute, I really hope they can stay together throughout the series and make it out alive.
The ending was a cliffhanger, and a really good one at that. It made me want to jump into the next book immediately, but I gotta wait a few days before I do. Really glad I finally picked this up though, it was about time.
*Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
The character is Janos, by the way and the song Janoš with a š, you're welcome for that masterpiece. Janos is a side character and we don't get to see that much of him, but he's definitely one of my faves because he was kind to Zyntael.
I also really liked Phobos, Karthak, Star-Star, Anra, Lleyden, Mazgar (whose name was funny to me because it means mule/donkey herder in my language) and of course Zyntael. I don't think it took me long to warm up to them.
The book is split up into six parts, the first four with nine chapters each while the last two had eight and seven. They're all fairly short and make for a fast reading pace.
Zyntael starts the story as a ten year old, and we watch her grow into a warrior/raider by the time the book ends. We see her struggle with the idea of accepting her new normal when she's captured by the Vulkari, but as time goes on she becomes ready to embrace her destiny (and sisterhood, awoooo).
I was so curious which Slavic myths and/or creatures would be woven into the story, as a Slavic person, and I was happy to see a number of them made the cut. I was expecting a bit more though, hopefully we'll meet even more creatures in the next two books.
I like that the embroidery was such a big deal to the Vulkari, even more so because it's nearly a forgotten art where I'm from. So few people do it, and it's something I want to learn to keep the tradition alive.
There was a bit of romance in the story, I ship it (for now). I like the way it was handled, it felt realistic for Zyntael & Anra's ages. Their puppy love at the start was sooooo cute, I really hope they can stay together throughout the series and make it out alive.
The ending was a cliffhanger, and a really good one at that. It made me want to jump into the next book immediately, but I gotta wait a few days before I do. Really glad I finally picked this up though, it was about time.
*Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
March 12, 2024
Read for SPFBO9 as part of team Fantasy Book Critic. This is just my personal opinion, group verdict may differ widely.
5.5/10
Brimming with Slavic folklore and legends, Daughter of the Beast is a dark, unique, and monstrously maniacal coming-of-age fantasy that deftly straddles the line between the YA and Adult age range.
After a surprising (or maybe surprisingly stupid) act of bravery during a devastating Vulkari attack, the young Kikimora Zyntael Fairwinter is the only one taken captive by the dog-like warrior women. Soon, she is claimed as a daughter by the notorious and fearsome matriarch of the clan, and she will have to learn to adapt if she is going to survive the brutal Vulkari way of life. Though no level of unexpected camaraderie and sisterhood will ever stop Zyntael’s desperate search for answers: why was she taken, and what is her destiny?
In many aspects, Daughter of the Beast delivers exactly what it promises. The Slavic-inspired world building feels fresh and alluring, Zyntael’s coming-of-age journey is harrowing yet powerful, and the exploration of identity, belonging, destiny, sisterhood, and female empowerment are all skillfully done.
Yet as intriguing as this story sounded on paper, the execution just fell a bit flat for me personally. I so badly wanted to like Zyntael as a character, but for some reason I just felt like I couldn’t get a good grasp on her personality, which made it hard to feel compelled by her first-person narration. If she was intentionally written to be such an enigma of a character, then kudos to the author for pulling that off so well. Though for me, the lack of strong voice combined with the rocky pacing and seemingly directionless plot honestly just made for a bit of an uncomfortable reading experience.
That said, I do think Greaves did an exceptionally fine job of portraying realistic (young) female characters. Zyn might have felt a bit oddly mature for her age, especially when she is only 10 years old at the start, but overall I was quite impressed with how accurately he depicted the struggles of a teenage girl. Moreover, I liked the unexpected friendships that Zyn developed along the way, and the banter between these unhinged girls was quite amusing.
Also, I found it interesting to read a story without any human characters, though I do find myself wondering if that might have added to my sense of emotional disconnect. Regardless, I was fascinated by the Vulkari way of life and I liked soaking up all the intriguing bits of culture and lore through Zyn’s outsider perspective. There’s an innate sense of wonder, bewilderment and slight fear to her narration that added such a compelling and mystical air of intrigue to the story, so that definitely kept me turning the pages.
Ultimately, I suspect this was mostly a "it's not you, it's me" situation. All the unique and bold narrative choices might not have been to my personal tastes, yet I still think that Greaves pulled off his vision quite well. Daughter of the Beast shows a lot of ambition and promise, and I'd highly recommend it if you want a unique take on a coming-of-age fantasy story full of weird critters, strong women, and brutal action!
5.5/10
Brimming with Slavic folklore and legends, Daughter of the Beast is a dark, unique, and monstrously maniacal coming-of-age fantasy that deftly straddles the line between the YA and Adult age range.
After a surprising (or maybe surprisingly stupid) act of bravery during a devastating Vulkari attack, the young Kikimora Zyntael Fairwinter is the only one taken captive by the dog-like warrior women. Soon, she is claimed as a daughter by the notorious and fearsome matriarch of the clan, and she will have to learn to adapt if she is going to survive the brutal Vulkari way of life. Though no level of unexpected camaraderie and sisterhood will ever stop Zyntael’s desperate search for answers: why was she taken, and what is her destiny?
In many aspects, Daughter of the Beast delivers exactly what it promises. The Slavic-inspired world building feels fresh and alluring, Zyntael’s coming-of-age journey is harrowing yet powerful, and the exploration of identity, belonging, destiny, sisterhood, and female empowerment are all skillfully done.
Yet as intriguing as this story sounded on paper, the execution just fell a bit flat for me personally. I so badly wanted to like Zyntael as a character, but for some reason I just felt like I couldn’t get a good grasp on her personality, which made it hard to feel compelled by her first-person narration. If she was intentionally written to be such an enigma of a character, then kudos to the author for pulling that off so well. Though for me, the lack of strong voice combined with the rocky pacing and seemingly directionless plot honestly just made for a bit of an uncomfortable reading experience.
That said, I do think Greaves did an exceptionally fine job of portraying realistic (young) female characters. Zyn might have felt a bit oddly mature for her age, especially when she is only 10 years old at the start, but overall I was quite impressed with how accurately he depicted the struggles of a teenage girl. Moreover, I liked the unexpected friendships that Zyn developed along the way, and the banter between these unhinged girls was quite amusing.
Also, I found it interesting to read a story without any human characters, though I do find myself wondering if that might have added to my sense of emotional disconnect. Regardless, I was fascinated by the Vulkari way of life and I liked soaking up all the intriguing bits of culture and lore through Zyn’s outsider perspective. There’s an innate sense of wonder, bewilderment and slight fear to her narration that added such a compelling and mystical air of intrigue to the story, so that definitely kept me turning the pages.
Ultimately, I suspect this was mostly a "it's not you, it's me" situation. All the unique and bold narrative choices might not have been to my personal tastes, yet I still think that Greaves pulled off his vision quite well. Daughter of the Beast shows a lot of ambition and promise, and I'd highly recommend it if you want a unique take on a coming-of-age fantasy story full of weird critters, strong women, and brutal action!
April 29, 2024
I read this for SPFBO. To find out more about the SPFBO contest and to see the participating bloggers/authors and reviews follow the links below
This was my second book based on Slavic myth that I’ve read recently and the cool thing about it is the tone, story, and lore could not have felt any more different from Noble’s Dagger in the Winds (my previous read).
I wasn’t sure about this one at first. It felt like it was going to be young, and it’s rare I read stories where the characters are all non-humans. It just isn’t something I lean towards. But this story has a nice style to the narrative, and grew as it went in a true coming-of-age kind of feel.
Daughter of the Beast is told in six stitches- which is a neat way of presenting it in parts while staying true to the lore. Each stitch shows us the important times of Zyntael’s life- from her capture and learning to survive in her new surroundings- to her growth into a young warrior and acceptance of her new life while finding a place for herself among the Vulkar.
Because Daughter of the Beast is told through Zyntael’s pov a lot of the world building, at first, is through conversation with the people around her. I enjoyed this way of world building; it gave it a bit of a slice of life feel- which suited it very well. It was light and it also helped that Zyntael has a great voice! She’s plucky, curious, and funny and I just enjoyed her at all times. For that reason, I felt this read very quickly with just a few up and down moments in pacing- which probably were mostly scenes I wasn’t as interested in.
I also enjoyed that instead of growing up and wanting revenge on her captors it became a story of acceptance-of finding your place, a new life and friends, family etc. Sometimes it’s just nice to see a character with a great outlook learning to roll with what life throws at them.
Daughter of the Beast was a great little feel-good story. I enjoyed this one a lot.
spfbo score 8 0r 4 stars
Learn more about the contest here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Finalist board is here
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
October 31, 2023
My goodness this was an amazing book. A mix between a dark Slavic fairy tale and a true epic fantasy novel, Greaves has woven a story that feels so much more like the books I grew up with than today’s brand of fantasy.
First off there are no humans in the tale. We have Kimori who are small and are described as the Faye. Vulkari who are 7’ tall wolf men who walk on two legs, goblins, who are the true military might of the land, and kobolds who like most tales are small and shifty forest dwellers.
Zyntael is a Kimori who is abducted from her village by the beastly Vulkari who initially terrorize her. They have kidnapped her because their leader has a vision that she would be their savior. As she grows up among them she begins to see herself as Vulkari, engaging in raising and bonding with her sisters among them. The story is rich and there’s clearly an overarching theme that will no doubt continue throughout the series. This is certainly not a book that you’ll be able to skip to continue the series as so many books seem to be today.
First off there are no humans in the tale. We have Kimori who are small and are described as the Faye. Vulkari who are 7’ tall wolf men who walk on two legs, goblins, who are the true military might of the land, and kobolds who like most tales are small and shifty forest dwellers.
Zyntael is a Kimori who is abducted from her village by the beastly Vulkari who initially terrorize her. They have kidnapped her because their leader has a vision that she would be their savior. As she grows up among them she begins to see herself as Vulkari, engaging in raising and bonding with her sisters among them. The story is rich and there’s clearly an overarching theme that will no doubt continue throughout the series. This is certainly not a book that you’ll be able to skip to continue the series as so many books seem to be today.
January 31, 2024
Read for SPFBO, this is only my personal opinion, group verdict might differ widely!
Daughter of The Beast by E.C. Greeves was a really fascinating read, which I devoured quickly.
I loved how the book "grew" right along with the main character. We're starting with a young girl, only 10 summers old, who gets kidnapped by the Vulkari, who are dog-like warrior women. As we see the whole story through the main characters eyes, we have no idea why she was taken, instead of killed.
Throughout the story she both grows up, and turns from a naive kid into a fearsome warrior. This fits the narrative extremely well, as we can easily learn about the world and different cultures along with her, and it just feels like a natural part of the story.
I really enjoyed how this allowed the book to combine a fast paced and quick start with a coming of age feeling, which then blends into a lot darker and deeper story.
The change from hating her captors, to slowly becoming part of their culture felt plausible and well done. I was hooked just seeing her change and adapt and find her way in her new sisterhood.
(Btw, this is not a spoiler, it's even in the blurb!)
This sisterhood was another bit that I simply loved. They are so very different by nature, and yet they are definitely like found family. While Zyntael might always be the weakest in physical aspects, she's strong willed and manages to stand her ground despite being so much less powerful. I loved the banter and dynamics forming. There are long running jokes and loyalties, which make the relationships feel very genuine and three dimensional.
There's a lot of Slavic mythology, and probably even a lot more than I even noticed, being not well versed in it at all. I absolutely love a book that has plenty of non-human characters, so this was a definite strength for me!
My one slight complaint is the pacing not always being super smooth. The switch between action scenes and the normal day to day life didn't always go perfectly.
It almost feels a bit Slice of Life at times, a quite bloody life to be sure, which I personally like a lot. Exploring different worlds and cultures, and learning along with the main character is a favourite bit of fantasy for me. The contrast between a matriarchal society and the typical "women are so important, men have to protect them" on the other hand was nicely done, and I liked the varying views throughout this world.
All in all this was a really engaging read, and I'll happily round up my 4,5 stars!
Daughter of The Beast by E.C. Greeves was a really fascinating read, which I devoured quickly.
I loved how the book "grew" right along with the main character. We're starting with a young girl, only 10 summers old, who gets kidnapped by the Vulkari, who are dog-like warrior women. As we see the whole story through the main characters eyes, we have no idea why she was taken, instead of killed.
Throughout the story she both grows up, and turns from a naive kid into a fearsome warrior. This fits the narrative extremely well, as we can easily learn about the world and different cultures along with her, and it just feels like a natural part of the story.
I really enjoyed how this allowed the book to combine a fast paced and quick start with a coming of age feeling, which then blends into a lot darker and deeper story.
The change from hating her captors, to slowly becoming part of their culture felt plausible and well done. I was hooked just seeing her change and adapt and find her way in her new sisterhood.
(Btw, this is not a spoiler, it's even in the blurb!)
This sisterhood was another bit that I simply loved. They are so very different by nature, and yet they are definitely like found family. While Zyntael might always be the weakest in physical aspects, she's strong willed and manages to stand her ground despite being so much less powerful. I loved the banter and dynamics forming. There are long running jokes and loyalties, which make the relationships feel very genuine and three dimensional.
There's a lot of Slavic mythology, and probably even a lot more than I even noticed, being not well versed in it at all. I absolutely love a book that has plenty of non-human characters, so this was a definite strength for me!
My one slight complaint is the pacing not always being super smooth. The switch between action scenes and the normal day to day life didn't always go perfectly.
It almost feels a bit Slice of Life at times, a quite bloody life to be sure, which I personally like a lot. Exploring different worlds and cultures, and learning along with the main character is a favourite bit of fantasy for me. The contrast between a matriarchal society and the typical "women are so important, men have to protect them" on the other hand was nicely done, and I liked the varying views throughout this world.
All in all this was a really engaging read, and I'll happily round up my 4,5 stars!
November 15, 2023
Review originally on
JamReads
Daughter of the Beast is the first book in the Slavic inspired Vyshivka trilogy, written by E C Greaves, and has been recently declared as SPFBO9 finalist. Inside this book, we will find a grin fantasy (intended), which blends in unique ways a coming of age story with a travel of self-discovery inside a group that was not the native one for our protagonist, Zyntael.
The story starts with Zyntael being kidnapped when the Vulkari (the warrior women of the mountain) raid her village; and surprisingly, she is claimed as a daughter by their matriarch. At her eleven-year-old, Zyntael has a long way in front, and as such, she is trained to hunt, fight and protect herself. However, a question always appears but is never answered: why was she chosen by the Vulkari?
A mystery that will be always flying around our main character, in a story where found family and growth become the key pieces on the narrative plot; Zyntael is different among those she's growing with, but she's a part of the group, even taking those details into account.
All the story is told using Zyntael's voice, an excellent decision that helps to give a layer of complexity to it, while at the same time, coating all with the innocence that comes from the lack of experience which progressively disappears at the same time her horizons broad.
Greaves has nailed the worldbuilding, imbuing it with complex politics between the different creatures that are part of it; personally I enjoyed how many of those become important pieces of Zyntael's story, especially the Goblins. You can guess the Slavic influences at many details.
Daughter of the Beast is an excellent debut, a book that can be loved by a wide audience, as there are points that will be enjoyed by different public. While first part of the Zyntael's journey is finished, can't wait to continue it on Sister of the Dead.
Daughter of the Beast is the first book in the Slavic inspired Vyshivka trilogy, written by E C Greaves, and has been recently declared as SPFBO9 finalist. Inside this book, we will find a grin fantasy (intended), which blends in unique ways a coming of age story with a travel of self-discovery inside a group that was not the native one for our protagonist, Zyntael.
The story starts with Zyntael being kidnapped when the Vulkari (the warrior women of the mountain) raid her village; and surprisingly, she is claimed as a daughter by their matriarch. At her eleven-year-old, Zyntael has a long way in front, and as such, she is trained to hunt, fight and protect herself. However, a question always appears but is never answered: why was she chosen by the Vulkari?
A mystery that will be always flying around our main character, in a story where found family and growth become the key pieces on the narrative plot; Zyntael is different among those she's growing with, but she's a part of the group, even taking those details into account.
All the story is told using Zyntael's voice, an excellent decision that helps to give a layer of complexity to it, while at the same time, coating all with the innocence that comes from the lack of experience which progressively disappears at the same time her horizons broad.
Greaves has nailed the worldbuilding, imbuing it with complex politics between the different creatures that are part of it; personally I enjoyed how many of those become important pieces of Zyntael's story, especially the Goblins. You can guess the Slavic influences at many details.
Daughter of the Beast is an excellent debut, a book that can be loved by a wide audience, as there are points that will be enjoyed by different public. While first part of the Zyntael's journey is finished, can't wait to continue it on Sister of the Dead.
June 8, 2023
4.5/5 stars
I was made aware of the book because the author entered the book in the newest SPFBO competition and the cover stood out to me immediately. I had to have it and had to read it cause I was so intrigued by the cover and the synopsis.
We follow Zyntael Fairwinter - taken as a young child in a raid by monsters. that what it says on the back and oh boy it is exactly that.
The story unfolds in the eyes of a young child - not knowing what is happening and why. We learn about the world and its inhabitants on the go, not as infodumps but very clever interwoven within the various situations, talks and adventures.
I loved the dynamic of the characters and the different races within the world. Showing that despite all differences there is love, friendship and even kinship possible.
Read like a thrilling and captivating fairytale, I came to love all the characters for various reasons.
Doom is still on the Horizon and I will see what happens to Zyntael and her friends in Sister of the Dead.
"Nobody chooses where they start, but only where they go."
Loved it and totally recommend for any fantasy reader (especially ones that love slawic, russian fairfolk).
I was made aware of the book because the author entered the book in the newest SPFBO competition and the cover stood out to me immediately. I had to have it and had to read it cause I was so intrigued by the cover and the synopsis.
We follow Zyntael Fairwinter - taken as a young child in a raid by monsters. that what it says on the back and oh boy it is exactly that.
The story unfolds in the eyes of a young child - not knowing what is happening and why. We learn about the world and its inhabitants on the go, not as infodumps but very clever interwoven within the various situations, talks and adventures.
I loved the dynamic of the characters and the different races within the world. Showing that despite all differences there is love, friendship and even kinship possible.
Read like a thrilling and captivating fairytale, I came to love all the characters for various reasons.
Doom is still on the Horizon and I will see what happens to Zyntael and her friends in Sister of the Dead.
"Nobody chooses where they start, but only where they go."
Loved it and totally recommend for any fantasy reader (especially ones that love slawic, russian fairfolk).
August 11, 2023
Dark adult fantasy is the main subgenre I read, but that covers a truly vast array of worlds, plots, and characters. Some niches in the subgenre are more appealing to me than others. This is the niche I want every time I pick up book: gritty, feral, dark, low magic.
After sampling the first chapter of this (don’t stop at the beginning of the first chapter or you may be misled, read it through!), I had a burning hope that this would be my niche. Anytime I get a burning hope about a book, it’s accompanied by a burning fear that it will disappoint me by taking a turn out of the gritty darkness and into the light.
This book exceeded my expectations in its plot/character direction and atmosphere though to the end.
I rarely talk about relating to MCs in my reviews, because I rarely do. But Zyn had the wild, bold, and vicious vibes of my absolute favorite sort of MCs that no one tends to write. Her character development from the start to the end of the book kept me anxious and resulted in me getting teary eyed toward the end it was so wonderfully and horribly done.
The atmosphere of this book was gritty and violent but never grim. Someone typoed grimdark to grindark recently in one of my book groups, and grindark seems an appropriate classification for this—just look at the wolf face on the cover, that’s the whole vibe of this book.
I dislike 99% of books written in first person—didn’t bother me at all here. The first person was exceptionally well done, never broke the fourth wall or made me feel like it was a diary. I dislike child PoVs 99% of the time—didn’t bother me at all here. Zyn has fire from the start. She doesn’t have any of the child-like qualities that I typically dislike. She isn’t a scared, helpless little whelp, she rolls with the punches, oftentimes literally. Though the book only got better as she got older.
This doesn’t stumble into any of the pitfalls of men-writing-women either. The best qualities of women are apparent in Zyn and the other female characters in the book. Though it touched on many topics I would usually advise men to avoid with a ten-foot pole, they were navigated with grace.
Nor do I like coming-of-age stories, but I loved that this wasn’t the typical, almost noblebright vibes with themes of innocence or other such things that typically detract from the gritty vibes. Many of the coming-of-age topics are handled with humor and have her simply growing fiercer and more competent as the book rolls on. The moral dilemmas faced by the MC also gave me anxiety. They felt authentic and suspense was built with foreshadowing at just the right moments.
I loved the low-magic worldbuilding here as well. I'm not a big fan of fireballs or other flashy magic. This has non-standard fantasy creatures instead, including the Kimora, the Vulkari, Ratlings, and Hobglobins. I felt so immersed in the raiding culture of the Vulkari, and I loved every second of it.
Overall though, it was the gritty atmosphere of this book that gripped me. My favorite read of the last few years at least, and I don’t think anything is going to top it for a long while.
After sampling the first chapter of this (don’t stop at the beginning of the first chapter or you may be misled, read it through!), I had a burning hope that this would be my niche. Anytime I get a burning hope about a book, it’s accompanied by a burning fear that it will disappoint me by taking a turn out of the gritty darkness and into the light.
This book exceeded my expectations in its plot/character direction and atmosphere though to the end.
I rarely talk about relating to MCs in my reviews, because I rarely do. But Zyn had the wild, bold, and vicious vibes of my absolute favorite sort of MCs that no one tends to write. Her character development from the start to the end of the book kept me anxious and resulted in me getting teary eyed toward the end it was so wonderfully and horribly done.
The atmosphere of this book was gritty and violent but never grim. Someone typoed grimdark to grindark recently in one of my book groups, and grindark seems an appropriate classification for this—just look at the wolf face on the cover, that’s the whole vibe of this book.
I dislike 99% of books written in first person—didn’t bother me at all here. The first person was exceptionally well done, never broke the fourth wall or made me feel like it was a diary. I dislike child PoVs 99% of the time—didn’t bother me at all here. Zyn has fire from the start. She doesn’t have any of the child-like qualities that I typically dislike. She isn’t a scared, helpless little whelp, she rolls with the punches, oftentimes literally. Though the book only got better as she got older.
This doesn’t stumble into any of the pitfalls of men-writing-women either. The best qualities of women are apparent in Zyn and the other female characters in the book. Though it touched on many topics I would usually advise men to avoid with a ten-foot pole, they were navigated with grace.
Nor do I like coming-of-age stories, but I loved that this wasn’t the typical, almost noblebright vibes with themes of innocence or other such things that typically detract from the gritty vibes. Many of the coming-of-age topics are handled with humor and have her simply growing fiercer and more competent as the book rolls on. The moral dilemmas faced by the MC also gave me anxiety. They felt authentic and suspense was built with foreshadowing at just the right moments.
I loved the low-magic worldbuilding here as well. I'm not a big fan of fireballs or other flashy magic. This has non-standard fantasy creatures instead, including the Kimora, the Vulkari, Ratlings, and Hobglobins. I felt so immersed in the raiding culture of the Vulkari, and I loved every second of it.
Overall though, it was the gritty atmosphere of this book that gripped me. My favorite read of the last few years at least, and I don’t think anything is going to top it for a long while.
May 7, 2024
Not only did E.C. Greaves undertake a huge risk writing a coming-of-age story from a female perspective, he also twisted the common conception that females are naturally caring, soft and harmless by default by making the Vulkari, the savage raiders, the ruling gender of the Vulkari, females. Vulkari come off the page as dog-like beings. Scraggy, shaggy kind of mutts who are rowdy, loud, murderous and cruel. Females are the ones that go raiding, the ones that live on the road, covered in dirt. This was a clever idea by Greaves. It challenges how we generally tend to see the female sex and their role in society at large.
Zyntael Fairwinter is a young girl at the start of the story, and she gets taken by the very Vulkari. At the start of her capture, she suffers from terrible abuse from the Vulkari leader and slowly, Zyntael finds that she is becoming one of them, one of the sisters, fighting and raiding with them, living their life with the traditions they hold. This could be reaching, unbelievable, hard to accept. But, when I think back to how Zyntael herself was portrayed to act towards her childhood friend, a boy, I think she had a bit of a mean streak in her all her life. A tiny mean streak. But every spark can be turned into an inferno when given the right amount of oxygen. I wonder if her tiny mean streak helped her adapt to the life on the road with the Vulkari, to overcome the ill-treatment, to live like them, to become a warrior. Or, it’s possible the motivations behind our main character actions are more psychological, in which case an additional layer of depth can be applied to the novel.
The plot of Daughter of the Beast is a good introduction, a solid start to a trilogy. It has set the scene, it has firmly solidified the various pieces in the game and sets up the reader to expect big things from the sequel. That said, there was also something big enough happening in this volume – because the Vulkari leader also had a vision, and Zyntael found herself a pawn in the midst. I am very curious to find out how this trilogy continues.
Greaves writes impressive descriptions. But I expected nothing less, because people who are talented with art, can somehow transfer their creativity with words, too. In that sense, I found the book enjoyable to read. In summary, Daughter of the Beast is a rather unique tale and it had plenty of action to keep me engaged. Most importantly, I think the story will only keep getting stronger and I intend to continue with the trilogy.
Zyntael Fairwinter is a young girl at the start of the story, and she gets taken by the very Vulkari. At the start of her capture, she suffers from terrible abuse from the Vulkari leader and slowly, Zyntael finds that she is becoming one of them, one of the sisters, fighting and raiding with them, living their life with the traditions they hold. This could be reaching, unbelievable, hard to accept. But, when I think back to how Zyntael herself was portrayed to act towards her childhood friend, a boy, I think she had a bit of a mean streak in her all her life. A tiny mean streak. But every spark can be turned into an inferno when given the right amount of oxygen. I wonder if her tiny mean streak helped her adapt to the life on the road with the Vulkari, to overcome the ill-treatment, to live like them, to become a warrior. Or, it’s possible the motivations behind our main character actions are more psychological, in which case an additional layer of depth can be applied to the novel.
The plot of Daughter of the Beast is a good introduction, a solid start to a trilogy. It has set the scene, it has firmly solidified the various pieces in the game and sets up the reader to expect big things from the sequel. That said, there was also something big enough happening in this volume – because the Vulkari leader also had a vision, and Zyntael found herself a pawn in the midst. I am very curious to find out how this trilogy continues.
Greaves writes impressive descriptions. But I expected nothing less, because people who are talented with art, can somehow transfer their creativity with words, too. In that sense, I found the book enjoyable to read. In summary, Daughter of the Beast is a rather unique tale and it had plenty of action to keep me engaged. Most importantly, I think the story will only keep getting stronger and I intend to continue with the trilogy.
January 10, 2024
"Daughter of The Beast" offers a distinct spin on the classic coming-of-age saga, featuring beast folks of all shapes and sizes instead of humans, which is pretty cool and sets a different tone from the start. It's not your usual fluffy tale since our lead gets snatched and tossed into the dark world of slavery. Watching her claw her way to freedom and earn her stripes among her chosen crew is a raw, real ride.
The writing? Solid. The author has this knack for painting a scene with words that's just... it pops. The armors, the cultures, and the beast peeps are all drawn out with the kind of detail that'd make any epic fantasy game artist tip their hat. It's like stepping into World of Warcraft or Elden Ring, but through words. I’m not usually a fan of first-person writing, and especially not in fantasy, but it was good enough that I got over it fairly quickly.
One thing to note is that because the first person does tend to make us feel closer to the character, I often forgot protagonist Zyntael was, indeed, a non-human. She is part of the Kimora tribe, which in my mind is some sort of dark-skinned, short-furred elf, but as I followed her journey in the first person, I kept feeling like she was a human who got dropped into this magical world.
Now, I've got to say, the start of the book is a bit clunky. It's like the author's warming up before hitting their stride. Those descriptions I'm raving about? They kind of bog you down at first, especially in those initial chapters. First impressions are key, and I'll be honest, it almost made me drop the book. The beginning's so meticulous—it's like you've got this dungeon master from a tabletop RPG laying out every single choice: left door, right door, window here, stairway there. It's a bit much when you should be feeling all that adrenaline and fear of being lost in a threatening place. In keeping with the video game analogy—it’s like a slow-paced, overbearing tutorial.
But hey, once you push past that, it's smooth sailing. You get to see Zyntael flexing her muscles, gaining bits of freedom here and there, and growing up physically and spiritually. It's about her finding her new tribe after losing her old one and digging into who she is and where she fits in this wild, untamed world the author’s whipped up.
The world-building is good, even though there’s this militarized nation that plays a significant role in Zyntael’s journey but doesn't get quite the same love as the others—it's like ancient Rome meets gym bros on Twitter, which is odd when you stack it against the other cultures that are fleshed out with serious care. The hyena-like Vulkari steal the show, but there are hints of something special about the fanatical, magic-wielding Combine.
However, this book was about the beautiful fleshing out of the world more than the characters. Apart from Zyntael herself, I did not find any other characters especially endearing or interesting, with perhaps the exception of Zyntael’s captor, the titular “beast.” The book also suffers from the lack of a stand-out antagonist. Of course, Zyntael is but a child at the start of the book, so there is little scope to develop such a character, but it would have been a bit more enticing to read on if there had been some sort of looming presence hanging over the characters. The Combine kind of sorta fits that role, but it’s all a bit too impersonal.
In the end, after trudging through the rocky start, "Daughter of The Beast" does deliver. Stick with it past the first few hiccups, and you're in for a memorable read, one that is at times fun, at times beautiful, but always interesting. One that pulls you through its pages. It is all that could be expected from a debut and more. While it didn’t get me to jump onto the next book immediately, it got me to buy it, and I will certainly follow E. C. Greaves’s author career for as long as he’s writing. You should, too.
The writing? Solid. The author has this knack for painting a scene with words that's just... it pops. The armors, the cultures, and the beast peeps are all drawn out with the kind of detail that'd make any epic fantasy game artist tip their hat. It's like stepping into World of Warcraft or Elden Ring, but through words. I’m not usually a fan of first-person writing, and especially not in fantasy, but it was good enough that I got over it fairly quickly.
One thing to note is that because the first person does tend to make us feel closer to the character, I often forgot protagonist Zyntael was, indeed, a non-human. She is part of the Kimora tribe, which in my mind is some sort of dark-skinned, short-furred elf, but as I followed her journey in the first person, I kept feeling like she was a human who got dropped into this magical world.
Now, I've got to say, the start of the book is a bit clunky. It's like the author's warming up before hitting their stride. Those descriptions I'm raving about? They kind of bog you down at first, especially in those initial chapters. First impressions are key, and I'll be honest, it almost made me drop the book. The beginning's so meticulous—it's like you've got this dungeon master from a tabletop RPG laying out every single choice: left door, right door, window here, stairway there. It's a bit much when you should be feeling all that adrenaline and fear of being lost in a threatening place. In keeping with the video game analogy—it’s like a slow-paced, overbearing tutorial.
But hey, once you push past that, it's smooth sailing. You get to see Zyntael flexing her muscles, gaining bits of freedom here and there, and growing up physically and spiritually. It's about her finding her new tribe after losing her old one and digging into who she is and where she fits in this wild, untamed world the author’s whipped up.
The world-building is good, even though there’s this militarized nation that plays a significant role in Zyntael’s journey but doesn't get quite the same love as the others—it's like ancient Rome meets gym bros on Twitter, which is odd when you stack it against the other cultures that are fleshed out with serious care. The hyena-like Vulkari steal the show, but there are hints of something special about the fanatical, magic-wielding Combine.
However, this book was about the beautiful fleshing out of the world more than the characters. Apart from Zyntael herself, I did not find any other characters especially endearing or interesting, with perhaps the exception of Zyntael’s captor, the titular “beast.” The book also suffers from the lack of a stand-out antagonist. Of course, Zyntael is but a child at the start of the book, so there is little scope to develop such a character, but it would have been a bit more enticing to read on if there had been some sort of looming presence hanging over the characters. The Combine kind of sorta fits that role, but it’s all a bit too impersonal.
In the end, after trudging through the rocky start, "Daughter of The Beast" does deliver. Stick with it past the first few hiccups, and you're in for a memorable read, one that is at times fun, at times beautiful, but always interesting. One that pulls you through its pages. It is all that could be expected from a debut and more. While it didn’t get me to jump onto the next book immediately, it got me to buy it, and I will certainly follow E. C. Greaves’s author career for as long as he’s writing. You should, too.
June 8, 2023
The story starts off with a bang. Our heroine, Zyntael Fairwinter, is captured by some creatures. But another prisoner, Phobos Lend a gnome, helps the two of them escape. However she is recaptured and is favored by the leader. She doesn’t understand why. Much of the story revolves around why Zyntael is chosen and what does it mean for the future.
As she is only eleven years old, she slowly learns to become one of these Raiders. She sees that they aren’t monsters at all. When you don’t know people, it’s easy to be afraid and hate them. But she has a tenacious nature and wants to be strong like them. There are positive depictions of females in the Vulkari society. They are the leaders and the males are subservient to them.
Zyntael has some good friends and other relationships. When she sees her own people again, she doesn’t feel like she belongs anymore even though it’s only been a few years. But these are very formative and influential years.
The plot moves along evenly and you wonder what will happen around each new corner. As she grows as a person and Vulkari, so much happens in this book. There’s even a bit of romance. But it fits. It’s not forced at all.
The last part is very exciting and leaves you wanting to know what will happen next.
As she is only eleven years old, she slowly learns to become one of these Raiders. She sees that they aren’t monsters at all. When you don’t know people, it’s easy to be afraid and hate them. But she has a tenacious nature and wants to be strong like them. There are positive depictions of females in the Vulkari society. They are the leaders and the males are subservient to them.
Zyntael has some good friends and other relationships. When she sees her own people again, she doesn’t feel like she belongs anymore even though it’s only been a few years. But these are very formative and influential years.
The plot moves along evenly and you wonder what will happen around each new corner. As she grows as a person and Vulkari, so much happens in this book. There’s even a bit of romance. But it fits. It’s not forced at all.
The last part is very exciting and leaves you wanting to know what will happen next.
April 18, 2024
This book made it through to the finals of the SPBO competition and Ive been reading some of the books that made the final I knew from the off that this one might not be my cup of tea and thought Id give it a go .
Now this book wouldn't be out in the world if it wasn't self published and it sort of promotes why self published books are important because a writer has more freedom and scope to write their own things whereas maybe sometimes you write to a rule book.
This one didnt work for me but some of the other finalists wouldnt either BUT just to contradict myself I do think E.C Greaves is a more than useful writer and does have an exceptional book in him.
Now this book wouldn't be out in the world if it wasn't self published and it sort of promotes why self published books are important because a writer has more freedom and scope to write their own things whereas maybe sometimes you write to a rule book.
This one didnt work for me but some of the other finalists wouldnt either BUT just to contradict myself I do think E.C Greaves is a more than useful writer and does have an exceptional book in him.
Read
March 20, 2024I think the idea behind this was really interesting. A traditional Slavic storytelling style about different types of creatures, and a girl taken in by monsters. Unfortunately, the execution didn't work for me. Our MC just felt too detatchedand I could never really feel emotions with her. I found the pacing to be a bit slow for me overall as well. Check out my full video review on my channel when I read this for SPFBO9! https://youtu.be/jmnJPrBtASE
April 21, 2024
Review originally posted on SFF Insiders website:
https://www.sffinsiders.com/blog/revi...
A book written completely on the phone? Check. A fantasy book with no human characters? Check. A finalist in SPFBO? Check. There are a lot of things that called me to this book and the story was something that really interested me as well. A kidnapped girl who is trained by a race that is completely different to hers, and then returns to hunt her own kind. This is set up really early and definitely sets up for a fast paced and intense type of journey for the character of Zyntael. There are a variety of nonhuman characters that play a big role and are very interesting to meet and see how they influence life as it progresses in a war band. There were several times that it took a turn from what I was expecting and this was done in a way that made me enjoy the story, keeping me hooked to find out what could possibly come next.
The strength of the novel is definitely the setting for this tale. The world of creatures that normally take a side role in many other novels stands strong and presents a unique world of politics and unions that are not normally seen. I eagerly looked forward to reading how they all interacted and the different ways that they would create a pact to work together that wasn’t “normal” for most thoughts of how this should work. It provided a layer of intrigue that wasn’t expressly mentioned but fleshed out the world in a very satisfying way. There were chunks of the novel that I felt were more told to me rather than allowing me to experience it through the eyes of the character. This did not happen through the whole novel, but the moments did interrupt what was a very enjoyable read for me.
The intrigue is built and definitely leaves a lot left to build upon for future novels. There are layers to the novel that will leave readers satisfied yet hungering for more answers to the questions that are dangled tantalizingly in front of them. The characters definitely are ones that will be staying in a reader's mind for quite a while, due to the unique nature of their races. The idea of a tapestry being woven through the story is something that has great symbolism and will be something that a reader can latch onto visually.
I recommend this novel to many readers, especially those who are looking for a unique world that still is based in a fantasy world. The races are unique and different from what is typically focused on and it wins in a big way. I hope that many readers do themselves a favor and entrench themselves in a unique tale of kidnapping and suspense.
Thank you for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!!
https://www.sffinsiders.com/blog/revi...
A book written completely on the phone? Check. A fantasy book with no human characters? Check. A finalist in SPFBO? Check. There are a lot of things that called me to this book and the story was something that really interested me as well. A kidnapped girl who is trained by a race that is completely different to hers, and then returns to hunt her own kind. This is set up really early and definitely sets up for a fast paced and intense type of journey for the character of Zyntael. There are a variety of nonhuman characters that play a big role and are very interesting to meet and see how they influence life as it progresses in a war band. There were several times that it took a turn from what I was expecting and this was done in a way that made me enjoy the story, keeping me hooked to find out what could possibly come next.
The strength of the novel is definitely the setting for this tale. The world of creatures that normally take a side role in many other novels stands strong and presents a unique world of politics and unions that are not normally seen. I eagerly looked forward to reading how they all interacted and the different ways that they would create a pact to work together that wasn’t “normal” for most thoughts of how this should work. It provided a layer of intrigue that wasn’t expressly mentioned but fleshed out the world in a very satisfying way. There were chunks of the novel that I felt were more told to me rather than allowing me to experience it through the eyes of the character. This did not happen through the whole novel, but the moments did interrupt what was a very enjoyable read for me.
The intrigue is built and definitely leaves a lot left to build upon for future novels. There are layers to the novel that will leave readers satisfied yet hungering for more answers to the questions that are dangled tantalizingly in front of them. The characters definitely are ones that will be staying in a reader's mind for quite a while, due to the unique nature of their races. The idea of a tapestry being woven through the story is something that has great symbolism and will be something that a reader can latch onto visually.
I recommend this novel to many readers, especially those who are looking for a unique world that still is based in a fantasy world. The races are unique and different from what is typically focused on and it wins in a big way. I hope that many readers do themselves a favor and entrench themselves in a unique tale of kidnapping and suspense.
Thank you for taking the time to read my review. As always, happy reading and Stay Great!!
November 13, 2023
I’d had Daughter of the Beast in my sights after watching a BookTube interview with the author, so when it reached the final of SPFBO 9 I had all the encouragement I needed to bring it to the top of my TBR and judge it for myself.
The prospect of a “rich and unique” story inspired by Slavic myth appealed to my desire for something a bit different and the book certainly delivered on that promise.
Although I’m not normally drawn to young adult fantasy, Daughter of the Beast proved to be adult enough for my taste and I think it successfully straddles the YA-Adult divide.
It does that by taking us inside the head of a young main character – Zyntael - and letting us experience her world and the events which happen through the language and mindset of a 10-year-old, and then evolving that character voice as the story evolves over the following years.
It’s an impressive achievement by the author. I can’t remember being that young (I can hardly remember my children being that young) but the first-person narrative seemed suitably authentic as a youngster dealing with everything which is thrown at her and trying to mature and find her new place in a world which has been turned upside down.
It’s a classic coming-of-age trope but with such a cool spin as Zyntael is captured and then gradually converted into the culture of the beast-like Vulkari after they raid her childhood village.
I was captivated by Zyntael’s transformation over several years, adopting the way of life of her “monstrous” enemy as she grows from determined resistance into acceptance and belonging.
The relationships between Zyntael and the wolf-women Vulkari are engrossing and the highlight of the book for me.
Against the backdrop of such an unusual world setting, featuring various non-human species, the internal and external conflicts and the character dynamics were executed perfectly.
The plot is fast-paced in places, including a dramatic opening and plenty of combat action, but slows down enough at other times to let the cultural immersion and character development take centre stage.
The book feels part-grimdark in its grittiness and brutality, but with beams of light from the great humour, and the Slavic folklore vibe adds a certain whimsy to the earthiness of the well-realised setting.
Overall, it’s a gripping, enjoyable, unusual read, subverting two of the most popular tropes in epic fantasy and making this coming-of-age and found family story an intriguing tale of identity, loyalty and duty as our MC grows from captivity to sisterhood as a warrior daughter of the beast-women.
Greaves has stitched together an imaginative world and story, with an engaging protagonist, a cast of interesting side characters, laugh-out-loud humour and an entertaining plot which I’ll be returning to with relish in the sequel Sister of the Dead.
The prospect of a “rich and unique” story inspired by Slavic myth appealed to my desire for something a bit different and the book certainly delivered on that promise.
Although I’m not normally drawn to young adult fantasy, Daughter of the Beast proved to be adult enough for my taste and I think it successfully straddles the YA-Adult divide.
It does that by taking us inside the head of a young main character – Zyntael - and letting us experience her world and the events which happen through the language and mindset of a 10-year-old, and then evolving that character voice as the story evolves over the following years.
It’s an impressive achievement by the author. I can’t remember being that young (I can hardly remember my children being that young) but the first-person narrative seemed suitably authentic as a youngster dealing with everything which is thrown at her and trying to mature and find her new place in a world which has been turned upside down.
It’s a classic coming-of-age trope but with such a cool spin as Zyntael is captured and then gradually converted into the culture of the beast-like Vulkari after they raid her childhood village.
I was captivated by Zyntael’s transformation over several years, adopting the way of life of her “monstrous” enemy as she grows from determined resistance into acceptance and belonging.
The relationships between Zyntael and the wolf-women Vulkari are engrossing and the highlight of the book for me.
Against the backdrop of such an unusual world setting, featuring various non-human species, the internal and external conflicts and the character dynamics were executed perfectly.
The plot is fast-paced in places, including a dramatic opening and plenty of combat action, but slows down enough at other times to let the cultural immersion and character development take centre stage.
The book feels part-grimdark in its grittiness and brutality, but with beams of light from the great humour, and the Slavic folklore vibe adds a certain whimsy to the earthiness of the well-realised setting.
Overall, it’s a gripping, enjoyable, unusual read, subverting two of the most popular tropes in epic fantasy and making this coming-of-age and found family story an intriguing tale of identity, loyalty and duty as our MC grows from captivity to sisterhood as a warrior daughter of the beast-women.
Greaves has stitched together an imaginative world and story, with an engaging protagonist, a cast of interesting side characters, laugh-out-loud humour and an entertaining plot which I’ll be returning to with relish in the sequel Sister of the Dead.
October 28, 2023
Loved my time with this book. A decent review will come later as I'll be judging this for SPFBO9. Rating still stands
(5 stars means a score between 8.25 & 10)
(5 stars means a score between 8.25 & 10)
November 3, 2023
I really wanted to love this, but I couldn't quite get into it. The main character is a chosen one with little to no agency, being swept along by other people's plans for her and some mysterious destiny, and that's simply not my thing. I also had a few beefs about the language - I find it jarring if the answer to a question posed in an almost archaic English is a blunt "okay", and I believe that there's nothing wrong with a correctly used accusative. Also, cliffhanger ending. But those are just my personal pet peeves, so might not affect another reader's enjoyment at all.
November 26, 2023
I thank the author for giving me a free ARC! I am trying to avoid spoilers as much as possible in my review, but be warned there could be some light ones.
Since this is an SPFBO finalist that won its slot from a very slim margin (its fallen competitor was deemed an equally good read but DotB has a more original plot which steered the judge's decision), I will be giving it a more critical review than I usually do for indie books.
Is this book good? Yes, without a doubt, it deserves to have earn a spot in the finals. The story is entertaining, a lot of characters are memorable and I never disliked the protagonist, Zyntael Fairwinter. I also give the author huge props for not feeling shy about the main character's first period while living among gigantic female wolf beasts that don't know much about bare-skin bodies. I think the way Zyntael's adoptive mother Kharthak offers her suggestions to make the experience more tolerable was extremely well handlled.
In fact, one of the big thumbs up for this book is the odd mother/captor relationship with her adoptive daughter/captive. At first it is characterized by brutality to slowly break Zyntael's spirit, and then later on becomes very nuturing and supportive when the protagonist accepts her lot in life and becomes another member of her tribe. It was very refreshing to experience a book starring an extremely matriarchal society where their female warriors head out into the battlefield pregnant and bisexuality is the norm.
Among the supporting characters, my favorites were Star-Star, Mazgar, Namod (uhh.. I think I spelled his name wrong) and the goblin governor's son named Anra. Even though he only appears in a few scenes, the Kimora blacksmith Feldspar was also memorable. Certainly, the book has a very diverse cast of characters. I also enjoyed the freshness of the sisterhood Zyntael forms with her fellow teenage Vulkar training partners. And I think the way this sisterhood dynamic makes a lot of sense because this is a matriarchal society where women are not socially conditioned to be catty because they are physically the strongest and have no need to engage in backstabbing behavior because it would ensure a dishonorable death. Their greatest goal in life is glory in the battlefield. Zyntael's initial moral qualms about her siblings' values and later on acceptance within this new culture is also the great high points of this novel.
Now, here comes the bad. If I have to hear the word "stuff" one more time in this book, I am going to throw my kindle against the wall. Ok, not really, but stuff seems to be the author's odd writing tic favorite word for describing everything. The author writes using New Zealand English, so I was mentally prepared to see a weird hodgepodge of American slang with British spelling dabbled everywhere. What I didn't expect is to see ultra modern words in the dialogue like: dunno, alien, meteorite combined with ye olde English types of phrases such as "you are with child." Metorite struck me as quite odd coming from Kharthak because she is essentially illiterate with very little interest in learning foreign languages or blending in. She is an intelligent military tactician, but she only cares about her own Vulkar culture, bad singing, spirituality and getting drunk every night.
In fact, I found it very weird that Zyntael never learns how to read even the most basic things during the entire novel. Especially since her birth father was a middle class merchant from an important city (the book hints Zyntael's father knows how to read). It makes sense she never had a chance to learn during her stint in the Hobgoblin city because her caretaker Janos was a common criminal turned servant. But it never made sense she didn't learn the written Vulkar language when their sacred temple has some kind of script on the walls. This is further compounded because there is one scene where their male assistant Namod is scribbling a list of food supplies he needs. That section of the book is filled with peaceful waiting in a military fortress where Zyntael would have had ample free time to learn at least the basics from not one, but 3 different male characters (I won't spoil who). While I do believe it is important not to create a Mary Sue protagonist, Zyntael's 5 foot tall body that is devoid of the claws and strength of her Vulkar allies along with her moral values is more than sufficient in my opinion. I would have also wanted Zyntael to have helped her peers birth a Vulkar pup. Given the way their social structure works, such an event would have been very normal for a bonded sisterhood. Pregnant Vulkars just "vanish" and then come back and that is it. Setting Zyntael aside like that when everyone accepts her as one of their people confused me a lot.
One recurring theme in the book is how Zyntael curbs her own path. But there is one problem: she is essentially a prisoner of fearsome beasts with heightened speed, strength, stamina and senses. She only initially tries to obey Kharthak's demands in the hopes they let their guard down and dreams to return home. I felt this aspect of the book clearly fell short. Sure, it is difficult to create a story where the prisoner has choices, but there are ways to make it easier. I would have liked a chapter where Kharthak tests Zyntael by letting her go in the middle of nowhere with minimal supplies as a test. And then Zyntael struggles to decide if she really wants to leave and somehow reaches the Vulkar pup temple and performs her initiation. In contrast, the way the initiation is done in the book felt very awfully anticlimatic to me.
In a nutshell, the book is entertaining despite the qualms I had. I would like to read the sequel sometime.
Since this is an SPFBO finalist that won its slot from a very slim margin (its fallen competitor was deemed an equally good read but DotB has a more original plot which steered the judge's decision), I will be giving it a more critical review than I usually do for indie books.
Is this book good? Yes, without a doubt, it deserves to have earn a spot in the finals. The story is entertaining, a lot of characters are memorable and I never disliked the protagonist, Zyntael Fairwinter. I also give the author huge props for not feeling shy about the main character's first period while living among gigantic female wolf beasts that don't know much about bare-skin bodies. I think the way Zyntael's adoptive mother Kharthak offers her suggestions to make the experience more tolerable was extremely well handlled.
In fact, one of the big thumbs up for this book is the odd mother/captor relationship with her adoptive daughter/captive. At first it is characterized by brutality to slowly break Zyntael's spirit, and then later on becomes very nuturing and supportive when the protagonist accepts her lot in life and becomes another member of her tribe. It was very refreshing to experience a book starring an extremely matriarchal society where their female warriors head out into the battlefield pregnant and bisexuality is the norm.
Among the supporting characters, my favorites were Star-Star, Mazgar, Namod (uhh.. I think I spelled his name wrong) and the goblin governor's son named Anra. Even though he only appears in a few scenes, the Kimora blacksmith Feldspar was also memorable. Certainly, the book has a very diverse cast of characters. I also enjoyed the freshness of the sisterhood Zyntael forms with her fellow teenage Vulkar training partners. And I think the way this sisterhood dynamic makes a lot of sense because this is a matriarchal society where women are not socially conditioned to be catty because they are physically the strongest and have no need to engage in backstabbing behavior because it would ensure a dishonorable death. Their greatest goal in life is glory in the battlefield. Zyntael's initial moral qualms about her siblings' values and later on acceptance within this new culture is also the great high points of this novel.
Now, here comes the bad. If I have to hear the word "stuff" one more time in this book, I am going to throw my kindle against the wall. Ok, not really, but stuff seems to be the author's odd writing tic favorite word for describing everything. The author writes using New Zealand English, so I was mentally prepared to see a weird hodgepodge of American slang with British spelling dabbled everywhere. What I didn't expect is to see ultra modern words in the dialogue like: dunno, alien, meteorite combined with ye olde English types of phrases such as "you are with child." Metorite struck me as quite odd coming from Kharthak because she is essentially illiterate with very little interest in learning foreign languages or blending in. She is an intelligent military tactician, but she only cares about her own Vulkar culture, bad singing, spirituality and getting drunk every night.
In fact, I found it very weird that Zyntael never learns how to read even the most basic things during the entire novel. Especially since her birth father was a middle class merchant from an important city (the book hints Zyntael's father knows how to read). It makes sense she never had a chance to learn during her stint in the Hobgoblin city because her caretaker Janos was a common criminal turned servant. But it never made sense she didn't learn the written Vulkar language when their sacred temple has some kind of script on the walls. This is further compounded because there is one scene where their male assistant Namod is scribbling a list of food supplies he needs. That section of the book is filled with peaceful waiting in a military fortress where Zyntael would have had ample free time to learn at least the basics from not one, but 3 different male characters (I won't spoil who). While I do believe it is important not to create a Mary Sue protagonist, Zyntael's 5 foot tall body that is devoid of the claws and strength of her Vulkar allies along with her moral values is more than sufficient in my opinion. I would have also wanted Zyntael to have helped her peers birth a Vulkar pup. Given the way their social structure works, such an event would have been very normal for a bonded sisterhood. Pregnant Vulkars just "vanish" and then come back and that is it. Setting Zyntael aside like that when everyone accepts her as one of their people confused me a lot.
One recurring theme in the book is how Zyntael curbs her own path. But there is one problem: she is essentially a prisoner of fearsome beasts with heightened speed, strength, stamina and senses. She only initially tries to obey Kharthak's demands in the hopes they let their guard down and dreams to return home. I felt this aspect of the book clearly fell short. Sure, it is difficult to create a story where the prisoner has choices, but there are ways to make it easier. I would have liked a chapter where Kharthak tests Zyntael by letting her go in the middle of nowhere with minimal supplies as a test. And then Zyntael struggles to decide if she really wants to leave and somehow reaches the Vulkar pup temple and performs her initiation. In contrast, the way the initiation is done in the book felt very awfully anticlimatic to me.
In a nutshell, the book is entertaining despite the qualms I had. I would like to read the sequel sometime.
December 1, 2023
A solid book with some really strong ideas and a good plot thread throughout! Sadly I didn't feel a strong connection to the writing style (prose, dialogue, etc.), so I didn't really get as invested in the characters and the overall journey as I would've liked.
March 13, 2024
Another spfbo9 finalist done! I wasn't sure what I expected from this book, but I heard it was basically a villain origin story with no human characters and I was intrigued. I loved the Vulkari and the romance between Zyntael and Anra. The prose was simple, but I was really invested in the story to see what mysteries would unfold. Phobos was also a really interesting character and I'm intrigued to see what role he plays in the next book. I think my biggest critique would be it was hard to understand the passage of time in certain areas of the story and during the last act I wanted a bit more of how Zyntael felt about so much death happening and thoughts of being a mother. Can't wait to see what happens in the second book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2024
Master of flow
Loved this book - I love EC's rich language and how the story pulls you along. I've started calling him the "master of flow" after reading DotB and I'm excited for what comes next.
Loved this book - I love EC's rich language and how the story pulls you along. I've started calling him the "master of flow" after reading DotB and I'm excited for what comes next.
September 1, 2023
Fierce and terrifying. The Vulkari arrive. Seizing their prize. Questions linger unanswered while escape remains futile. The inculcation begins.
Lots to love in this fast paced mesmerizing world. Loaded with combat, character connections & humour. Excellent! Flew through it.
Lots to love in this fast paced mesmerizing world. Loaded with combat, character connections & humour. Excellent! Flew through it.
September 25, 2023
“Fear not the beasts in your stories,” I told her. “For anything can be slain with a stout blade… and stouter heart.”
This was a really exceptional read. Best way I can describe it is a dark fantasy coming of age story, with several adult themes. The prose is solid the entire way, and I have to give credit for writing a first-person perspective of an eleven year old girl convincingly. More impressively, the narrative voice notably adjusts as the character ages. Descriptions are more apt to a teenager, and dialogue and character relationships match the mindset of someone who is starting to figure out this whole life thing.
The pacing is interesting. Stuff happens right off the bat (its a cozy village so take a guess) and the pace for the first 20% or so of the book flies by. It helps that most chapters end with a cliff hanger; something akin to, "Perhaps, if we had not been so naive, we wouldn’t have been taken so utterly by surprise when the Kobaloi attacked." Obviously can't put the book down after reading that, so chapter after chapter flies by. The second half of the book slows down considerably, which is not a bad thing, but a bit jarring after the wild pace of the intro. I enjoyed it, relationships are expanded upon, and characters sit around and discuss world building, races, cultures, traditions and all that.
I can't discuss the end chapters without spoilers, so I'll all say is that it ends on a very interesting note. Major events that were hinted at occurred much faster than I expected. Its a solid hook for the rest of the story. Bonus points for having gnomes be a major factor. Not enough fantasy utilizes gnomes.
This was a really exceptional read. Best way I can describe it is a dark fantasy coming of age story, with several adult themes. The prose is solid the entire way, and I have to give credit for writing a first-person perspective of an eleven year old girl convincingly. More impressively, the narrative voice notably adjusts as the character ages. Descriptions are more apt to a teenager, and dialogue and character relationships match the mindset of someone who is starting to figure out this whole life thing.
The pacing is interesting. Stuff happens right off the bat (its a cozy village so take a guess) and the pace for the first 20% or so of the book flies by. It helps that most chapters end with a cliff hanger; something akin to, "Perhaps, if we had not been so naive, we wouldn’t have been taken so utterly by surprise when the Kobaloi attacked." Obviously can't put the book down after reading that, so chapter after chapter flies by. The second half of the book slows down considerably, which is not a bad thing, but a bit jarring after the wild pace of the intro. I enjoyed it, relationships are expanded upon, and characters sit around and discuss world building, races, cultures, traditions and all that.
I can't discuss the end chapters without spoilers, so I'll all say is that it ends on a very interesting note. Major events that were hinted at occurred much faster than I expected. Its a solid hook for the rest of the story. Bonus points for having gnomes be a major factor. Not enough fantasy utilizes gnomes.
December 15, 2023
There were definitely things I enjoyed about this book. The first chapter, for example, had me hooked, but soon I started to lose interest. I was not able to connect with the characters at all. I am sad to say that I didn't care about any of them. Zyntael especially. Does this girl have any emotions at all? Why does she get attached to Phobos, or the Vulkari, or Anra? I have no idea.
I also found the world to be very confusing. A lot of cultural aspects were never explained. I mean, what's up with the pigment? Or what is the vyshivka actually all about? The significance of the stitches? What about the Magick? Is it the same as the spirits? Again, I have no idea. However, that might also be my fault, since my mind began to wander all over the place at some point.
On the same note, I also wondered about the plot. There didn't really seem to be one, until there was suddenly a war. A war for wich I didn't understand the stakes. I had no idea what was going on. Again, it might be because I wasn't invested enough to actually care🙈
I also found the world to be very confusing. A lot of cultural aspects were never explained. I mean, what's up with the pigment? Or what is the vyshivka actually all about? The significance of the stitches? What about the Magick? Is it the same as the spirits? Again, I have no idea. However, that might also be my fault, since my mind began to wander all over the place at some point.
On the same note, I also wondered about the plot. There didn't really seem to be one, until there was suddenly a war. A war for wich I didn't understand the stakes. I had no idea what was going on. Again, it might be because I wasn't invested enough to actually care🙈
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