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A review by barb4ry1
The Skald's Black Verse by Jordan Loyal Short
3.0
In The Skald’s Black Verse, Jordan Short crafts an ambitious dark fantasy novel.
The novel’s protagonists, Brohr, has a violent reputation. When a sinister creature murders a conqueror‘s soldier he becomes the prime suspect. After miracoulously surviving the odds, Brohr sets off on a quest to save his people and uncover the truth about a war stretching back into the ancient past. With time, he discovers his fits of rage are, in reality, moments of possession by the ghost of his rage-fuelled twin-brother.
Fans of dark fantasy will enjoy Short’s rich description and the horror-nuanced tone throughout. However, the novel’s grand-scale nature—coupled with a slowly developing storyline—negatively impacts momentum in places. Short offers great detail regarding many of the main characters’ back stories; while this adds depth, the pacing slows markedly in places, and the story could use trimming.
While the premise is intriguing, the writing has some failings. In places the story has too little focus on tension and narrative intensity. In a large cast of characters who get screen time, only Brohr stood out as a memorable one. I didn’t care at all about Henrik, Anders or Lyssa.
Short has a knack for the detail and complexity. His writing is straightforward and thorough, the dialogue is varied, and he shines in the action sequences. He is dedicated to his imagined world, and even through its denser stretches, his attention to detail makes his text come to life.
The book ends with significant questions unanswered, but I expect nothing else from a book one in the series.I would say it’s an interesting debut that could use some trimming and additional editing focused on engaging the reader in the narrative more effectively.
The novel’s protagonists, Brohr, has a violent reputation. When a sinister creature murders a conqueror‘s soldier he becomes the prime suspect. After miracoulously surviving the odds, Brohr sets off on a quest to save his people and uncover the truth about a war stretching back into the ancient past. With time, he discovers his fits of rage are, in reality, moments of possession by the ghost of his rage-fuelled twin-brother.
Fans of dark fantasy will enjoy Short’s rich description and the horror-nuanced tone throughout. However, the novel’s grand-scale nature—coupled with a slowly developing storyline—negatively impacts momentum in places. Short offers great detail regarding many of the main characters’ back stories; while this adds depth, the pacing slows markedly in places, and the story could use trimming.
While the premise is intriguing, the writing has some failings. In places the story has too little focus on tension and narrative intensity. In a large cast of characters who get screen time, only Brohr stood out as a memorable one. I didn’t care at all about Henrik, Anders or Lyssa.
Short has a knack for the detail and complexity. His writing is straightforward and thorough, the dialogue is varied, and he shines in the action sequences. He is dedicated to his imagined world, and even through its denser stretches, his attention to detail makes his text come to life.
The book ends with significant questions unanswered, but I expect nothing else from a book one in the series.I would say it’s an interesting debut that could use some trimming and additional editing focused on engaging the reader in the narrative more effectively.