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A review by libra17
Firehurler by J.S. Morin
5.0
I stumbled across The Twinborn Chronicles as a set that was on sale, and picked it up mostly for the cover and because it looked liked a good value for a decent story. With that in mind, I am pleasantly surprised that Firehurler was excellent!
To be fair, the story was a bit confusing at first. We follow four different characters, and it is only about halfway through the book that the we, the reader, discover how they are connected to one another. That aside, however, the characters practically leap to life as persons in their own right and the worldbuilding for each place they inhabit is a masterwork of pointed detail. I also liked the contrast of the two worlds - one a world that is clearly high fantasy (knights, goblins, sorcerers, dragons) and one that is clearly not (belief in magic is considered superstition right up until the 'burn the witch point,' pirates, importance on trade/crafts/apprenticeship) - for both storytelling and practical purposes. And, for all that the main characters and their interactions are complex, I also liked that the secondary characters - such as Rashon and Julianna - are given backstories, scenes, and importance in their own right and it's implied that they will go on to play ever more important roles in the story.
I look forward to reading the rest of the set that I purchased and, if it continues to be this good, I will likely go on to read the other books of the series.
To be fair, the story was a bit confusing at first. We follow four different characters, and it is only about halfway through the book that the we, the reader, discover how they are connected to one another. That aside, however, the characters practically leap to life as persons in their own right and the worldbuilding for each place they inhabit is a masterwork of pointed detail. I also liked the contrast of the two worlds - one a world that is clearly high fantasy (knights, goblins, sorcerers, dragons) and one that is clearly not (belief in magic is considered superstition right up until the 'burn the witch point,' pirates, importance on trade/crafts/apprenticeship) - for both storytelling and practical purposes. And, for all that the main characters and their interactions are complex, I also liked that the secondary characters - such as Rashon and Julianna - are given backstories, scenes, and importance in their own right and it's implied that they will go on to play ever more important roles in the story.
I look forward to reading the rest of the set that I purchased and, if it continues to be this good, I will likely go on to read the other books of the series.