A review by vinayvasan
Ashes of Onyx by Seth Skorkowsky
4.0
A difficult to classify genre book. It basically has elements from a bunch of fantasy genres - urban, epic, portal etc and manages to work it all well together. There is an undercurrent of darkness permeating through the book and the instances of violence are sudden and brutal
What makes the series really work is the lead character - Kate Rossdale when the story starts is at her lowest. Having lost her powers, killing her tower mates in the process, Kate Rossdale has become a junkie - sniffing magic powder. It is at this time a mysterious agent approaches her promising vengeance along with her magic powers
This kickstarts the adventure that spans not only multiple places on Earth but also multiple other realms - all the way towards a legendary mythical kingdom and an antagonist who wants nothing but power.
The book works for the most part - the pacing is fluid, the world building quite good and the team chemistry is fun. The burst of violence and Kate's loss and her instability brings that layer of darkness to the book. The only flaw being the antagonist - after all the buildup, its kind of does fizzle out
What makes the series really work is the lead character - Kate Rossdale when the story starts is at her lowest. Having lost her powers, killing her tower mates in the process, Kate Rossdale has become a junkie - sniffing magic powder. It is at this time a mysterious agent approaches her promising vengeance along with her magic powers
This kickstarts the adventure that spans not only multiple places on Earth but also multiple other realms - all the way towards a legendary mythical kingdom and an antagonist who wants nothing but power.
The book works for the most part - the pacing is fluid, the world building quite good and the team chemistry is fun. The burst of violence and Kate's loss and her instability brings that layer of darkness to the book. The only flaw being the antagonist - after all the buildup, its kind of does fizzle out