A review by marimoose
Hidden Magic by Majanka Verstraete, Tiffany Shand, Lee French, Erik Kort, L.C. Ireland, Anela Deen, H.M. Jones, Joynell Schultz, Stephen Wallace, Alesha Escobar, Barbara Letson, H.B. Lyne, C.S. Johnson, A.R. Johnston, C.K. Rieke, Devorah Fox, Leah W. Van Dinther, Krista Ames, Toasha Jiordano, Melinda Kucsera, William C. Cronk, Raven Oak, Gwendolyn Woodschild
3.0
This review is for "Six Hooves" by Stephen Wallace, which I had the opportunity to read through Reedsy Discovery in exchange for an honest review.
It's difficult for me to get into an epic fantasy without the backdrop of worldbuilding behind it. I think this is because many of the epic fantasy authors I've read in the past have over 100,000 words in their first book arsenal, so a short story of epic proportions had me suspect. Seriously, how do you fit so much of a world in one novella anyway?!
That being said, I think "Six Hooves" does its job surprisingly well, even for a short story epic fantasy.
The story is part of the Hidden Magic anthology, and works in a magic system based on religion and belief. It revolves around two interesting characters, Al'rashal (a centaur) and Urkjorman (a minotaur), a wife-and-husband monster duo out to protect a set of Wayfarers on a pilgrimage. It takes place in a land of desert sands, and honestly, the author paints well enough a picture that you could almost see the setting itself.
I liked the premise of the adventure. I liked that the two main characters (and Eihn, the third minor POV) were monsters and thus shunned from regular human society. Even the gnomes had their misgivings over hiring Al and Urk as bodyguards, but they found the necessity considering both are pretty much powerhouses. They were both pretty darn indestructible throughout the story, you almost wish there was a weakness to them. (I mean, there was...but I won't get into that...)
My only caveat was the magic system itself. I know it was based on a sort of religion that was mentioned and returned to throughout the story (a marriage of powers between the monsters and the...gnomes? Or humans?), but it definitely had holes to the workings of the actual magic. Did the magic work on blind faith? Did the magic only work on gnomes and monsters? Then where did the spellcaster get his magic and why can't he get his power off of the same source? What are the rules of this magic? Too many questions, I suppose, could have been answered in a longer epic.
All the same, "Six Hooves" was a good read, and not too taxing as far as the plot goes. It wasn't the most riveting adventure I've come across, but worth reading for Al and Urk's numerous quips to each other, if nothing else.
It's difficult for me to get into an epic fantasy without the backdrop of worldbuilding behind it. I think this is because many of the epic fantasy authors I've read in the past have over 100,000 words in their first book arsenal, so a short story of epic proportions had me suspect. Seriously, how do you fit so much of a world in one novella anyway?!
That being said, I think "Six Hooves" does its job surprisingly well, even for a short story epic fantasy.
The story is part of the Hidden Magic anthology, and works in a magic system based on religion and belief. It revolves around two interesting characters, Al'rashal (a centaur) and Urkjorman (a minotaur), a wife-and-husband monster duo out to protect a set of Wayfarers on a pilgrimage. It takes place in a land of desert sands, and honestly, the author paints well enough a picture that you could almost see the setting itself.
I liked the premise of the adventure. I liked that the two main characters (and Eihn, the third minor POV) were monsters and thus shunned from regular human society. Even the gnomes had their misgivings over hiring Al and Urk as bodyguards, but they found the necessity considering both are pretty much powerhouses. They were both pretty darn indestructible throughout the story, you almost wish there was a weakness to them. (I mean, there was...but I won't get into that...)
My only caveat was the magic system itself. I know it was based on a sort of religion that was mentioned and returned to throughout the story (a marriage of powers between the monsters and the...gnomes? Or humans?), but it definitely had holes to the workings of the actual magic. Did the magic work on blind faith? Did the magic only work on gnomes and monsters? Then where did the spellcaster get his magic and why can't he get his power off of the same source? What are the rules of this magic? Too many questions, I suppose, could have been answered in a longer epic.
All the same, "Six Hooves" was a good read, and not too taxing as far as the plot goes. It wasn't the most riveting adventure I've come across, but worth reading for Al and Urk's numerous quips to each other, if nothing else.