AUTHOR: Marie Brennan
PUBLISHER: Tor.com
PUBLISHING DATE: September 13, 2016
FROM GOODREADS: The sound of the horn pierces the apeiron, shattering the stillness of that realm. Its clarion call creates ripples, substance, something more. It is a summons, a command. There is will. There is need.
And so, in reply, there is a woman.
At the beginning—no—at the end—she appears, full of fury and bound by chains of prophecy.
Setting off on an unexplained quest from which she is compelled to complete, and facing unnatural challenges in a land that doesn’t seem to exist, she will discover the secrets of herself, or die trying. But along the way, the obstacles will grow to a seemingly insurmountable point, and the final choice will be the biggest sacrifice yet.
This is the story of a woman’s struggle against her very existence, an epic tale of the adventure and emotional upheaval on the way to face an ancient enigmatic foe. This could only spun from the imagination of Marie Brennan, award-winning author and beloved fantasist, beginning a new series about the consequences of war—and of fate.
MY THOUGHTS:
I'm trying to read a little outside of my comfort zone this year and I thought this novella from Tor.com was a perfect place to start. A woman wakes up surrounded by a clan of people whom she doesn't know. She doesn't remember her past or her name but suddenly she is given the task of obtaining a few drops of blood from an ancient entity who lives on an island in the middle of basically nowhere. During the way she encounters threats and forges a new alliance. As she struggles to complete her task, she also struggles to figure out who and perhaps what she really is.
I have to admit I've never read any other works by Brennan but now I really want to do so. I loved her writing style and the novella kept me interested from start to finish. I believe there may be more to this series and I seriously hope there is because I can't wait to find out more. I possibly could have even went with 5/5, but I have to admit I sometimes struggle with novellas because I love character and world building and I often think these aspects take longer to develop. However, in a limited amount of time, Brennan does a pretty bang-up job. I'm sure the people who already love her will devour this upcoming release and people who haven't been introduced to her will probably want to learn more after reading "Cold Forged Flame."
I was provided this from Tor.com in exchange for an honest review.
RATING: 4 PAWS
I've never read this author either and I have a copy of Cold Forged Flame, so I'm happy to see you enjoyed it. I'll probably be reading this next month since I'm totally unorganized and can't seem to read books earlier than their pub date. Go Barb!
ReplyDeleteOhh great review Barb! Now this is the first time I heard about this book and author, but it does looks and sounds absolutely amazing. I am very intrigued too check out this novella as well. Thank you for the awesome post my friend.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a novella reader myself, but this sounds interesting. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've never heard of the author before either.
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