Recommended for any fantasy fans, but particularly high-fantasy. 4 out of 5 stars.
I picked this up as a random freebie, and just kind of slotted it into the TBR pile. I’ve now devoured it in the last day, mostly because it could very well win SPFBO and become ‘cool’. Well, take that other guys, I read it first!
Tl;dr
Hugely imaginative, great world building. If you’re a high-fantasy lover who’s looking to get lost in the details of a magic-system and how it affects the fictional world, this is the book for you. And that’s coming from a guy who much prefers low-fantasy. Easy recommend.
Main Review
This is a unique story. You get exactly what the book description promises: a kind of re-imagined, fantasy version of the American civil war. Presley has likely wisely stripped out the slavery aspect, so it’s more of a war over culture and theology. And I’m not American so some of this is lost on me, but I also suspect civil-war/American history buffs will find additional treats in the names/places/battles.
On the negative side, I didn’t feel particularly attached to the protagonist Marta (who is at least 90% of the pov), and because of the jumps back and forth through time there’s a certain feeling of inevitability. The story of Marta the child is a tragic one, and the story of Marta the woman is not about character development, so the past sections can feel more like exposition than experience.
On a more neutral note, the writing style does its job and is not intrusive, though with the occasional oddity. There’s some info dumping, and some pretty obvious string pulling, but I found these to be small flaws and not barriers to enjoying the book.
Ultimately – I rarely read high fantasy, I’m not particularly interested in American history, and I enjoyed this book anyway. That says something. A great debut from a young author, and a perfect demonstration of why indie publishing is awesome. The second book in the series is now available (for pre-order, I believe).
https://www.amazon.com/Woven-Ring-Sols-Harvest/dp/1520615108
Author Website: https://www.mdpresley.com/
Leave a Reply