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Lords of Dyscrasia

S.E. Lindberg

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Nov 09, 2014 Markus rated it liked it

Shelves: 2014, fantasy, hanging-out-with-mrs-kholin, copy-from-author

Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

“Have you ever dreamt? At night, with your eyes closed?... Then you know that even with eyes closed, even in complete darkness, your mind can fill a frame for you, your soul, to observe and experience – a stage with color and atmosphere are as realistic as the visions you perceive while awake. This is how we Elders and the undead see, for we look at the world through an astral plane congruent with physical reality, where emotions are ta Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

“Have you ever dreamt? At night, with your eyes closed?... Then you know that even with eyes closed, even in complete darkness, your mind can fill a frame for you, your soul, to observe and experience – a stage with color and atmosphere are as realistic as the visions you perceive while awake. This is how we Elders and the undead see, for we look at the world through an astral plane congruent with physical reality, where emotions are tangible shapes, and hopes, fears, and regrets collect themselves into transparent auras.”

A deadly disease of the blood known only as dyscrasia is infecting the insectan elders inhabiting the Underworld. The only one who can save them is a golem necromancer by the name of Doctor Grave. By preserving the soul of his dead Queen and merging it with the souls of the lords of the Lysis clan, Grave buys himself enough time to complete the rituals and obtain the powers and skills needed to resurrect her. But as the time draws near, the last surviving lord, Endenken Lysis, embarks upon a quest of his own.

The world-building seems a bit hurried, and suffers from the fact that the book is very short. The setting itself, however, is remarkably interesting. From the depths of the Underworld Forge to the peaks of Gravenstyne Fortress, S.E. Lindberg has managed to create a world of insects and huge birds, of harrowing diseases and rampaging hordes of undead. I would have very much liked to see what this world be like if it were much larger and more developed. But based on what we get to see here, I am quite impressed by this particular aspect.

The characters are a bunch of strange folks. No heroes, no villains and no clichés. Here is Endenken Lysis, last surviving lord of the Lysis clan and on a desperate quest for vengeance. Here is Doctor Grave, the golem necromantic surgeon whose life is devoted to the revival of his monarch. Here is Dey the artist, his mother Maeve, and Cypria and Haemarr, the last Elders of the avian and insectan races. There are not many characters appearing in the book, and few of them are above average, but overall they are quite an enjoyable bunch.

The storyline itself is where the book suffers. It fails to engage the reader, at least in my case. I was and still am very interested in the setting, and occasionally in some of the characters and their motivations, but the story was unfortunately not quite enough to make the book as good as it could have been. At times it was interesting enough, but often it was a bit boring, and while the book as a whole was rather good, this pulls it down a notch.

Under the title on the cover of the book, it says 'Graphic Sword & Sorcery', and this is indeed something like a midway point between a novel and a graphic novel. The pages are filled with sketches vividly portraying the scenes already described in writing. None of the artwork is particularly remarkable, but it does add something to the book that it could not have achieved by itself.

What is left to say is that Lords of Dyscrasia is a very well thought-out, and surprisingly innovative book. It's difficult to find any works of fantasy to compare it with, mostly because it avoids common tropes, and instead works on finding a way of its own. The main theme is the exploration of choices made by mortals and gods alike, and the consequences they have, something that is very well executed. It is pulled down by elements of plot, characterisation and world-building, but in the end it was an enjoyable read which made me interested about reading more from this world and this author. I would recommend it to everyone who wants a different fantasy experience. ...more

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Feb 08, 2017 Andrew Weston rated it it was amazing

Know yourself.
Never has a saying been so profoundly true than in one man’s quest to find his place and that special “something” that will bring meaning to his life.
Endenken Lysis is lord of Clan Lysis, inheritor of a proud family lineage that will entail his blending to a godlike creature known as the Muse. Doing so will seal his fate and take away any control he has over his destiny, for only his family stand any hope of ending a blight that destroys the land – Dyscrasia – a disease that warps ...more

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Mar 24, 2016 Dan rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, dark-fantasy

This is kind of hard book for me to review. There was a lot I liked and a lot I thought could use improvement.

The story is strikingly original, pretty much completely incomparable to work from any other author I've read. The story uses some genre tropes well known to fantasy, like fairies, golems and sorcery etc. but even these are interpreted in a new light. The story ultimately revolves around a few specific themes, art, science, culture/religion and a twisted form of family devotion.

The stor This is kind of hard book for me to review. There was a lot I liked and a lot I thought could use improvement.

The story is strikingly original, pretty much completely incomparable to work from any other author I've read. The story uses some genre tropes well known to fantasy, like fairies, golems and sorcery etc. but even these are interpreted in a new light. The story ultimately revolves around a few specific themes, art, science, culture/religion and a twisted form of family devotion.

The story is generally dark, even horror influenced I would say, but it doesn't really remind me of dark fantasy works like those of Cook, Wagner or Erikson. What this story reminded me most of, almost on a subconscious level more than anything on the surface, was not another book but rather a video game; the original Diablo. The story was so dark, and nearly hopeless (I almost wonder if/how mankind is even in existence in this world) that it just felt like I was descending deeper and deeper into darkness and despair while reading it. I would say it has some gory aspects to it, but I felt very little shock while reading it. Which unfortunately was a bit of a detriment for me. I may be reading about dismemberment, infanticide or cannibalism, but it felt more like I was just being told about it instead of shown it. At times it made it hard for me to imagine a scene, though the art throughout did aid in that aspect. Nonetheless I think a stronger use of imagery I think would have aided in this aspect. The art itself is actually drawn by the author himself, and his art style succeeds in at once adding to the darkness, yet the impreciseness (and even the suggestion that these are quick sketches and not complete likeness) of his style doesn't detract from whatever imagined scene one has in their head.

Structurally Lords of Dyscrasia switched back and forth between first and third person. The third generally representing one character's story and the first representing another (though the stories are connected and analogous). Though I had no issues with this structure itself I found the first person view I worked best and added a certain extra emotional depth that I felt the third person parts were missing. I also felt like the story lacked a bit of tension, suspense and mystery. I rarely wondered what would happen next, I just kept reading more or less just accepting everything as I went, but not necessarily hungering for more.

The prose of Lords of Dyscrasia varied, I found some of it, especially the dialogue and discourse between characters to be somewhat wooden, yet at the same time the subject matter and themes (disease, chemistry, and art) added a beautifully dark aspect and a unique set of word choices not seen in any other fantastic works. I also appreciate the use of verse poetry and song smattered throughout the story, an aspect often missing in modern works of fantasy (and something I love from works of old).

I think was the greatest success of Lords of Dyscrasia is the complete ability to envelope it's reader in darkness. A bit of a bumpy ride at times, but surprisingly professionally executed for an author's first novel especially one independently published (very little grammatical, spelling or structure issues). I didn't love, but I did like it and especially appreciate it for it's uniqueness. 3/5 ...more

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Mar 05, 2015 Katrina rated it it was amazing

This book is not like any other I've read. It's weird and complex and graphic.....Seth Lindberg has an attention to detail that speaks volumes about his chosen profession and skills. You have to pay attention while reading it and for me, it was easier to read it in chunks rather than all the way through.

There is an interesting take on the concept of blood: the power in the blood, power of the blood, the Gods' need of it, and the inheritance that is passed through the blood from one generation to ...more

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Apr 16, 2021 Jeremy Maddux rated it really liked it

Almost five stars, but if I take away that impression from book 1, there's nowhere for it to go to absolutely blow me away in future volumes. This is a really strange fantasy book about dead, decaying and inbred gods, petrified gods, evil presences that use wasps to rob stone gods of their essence. We're talking a centuries long cold war of the gods. The language is flowery, but never to the point of excess. I've highlighted several of the best passages in previous entries here on this one. I di ...more

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