Emergent Realms

01/09/2025

Looking for some steampunk with action, romance, and a sharp sense of humor?

23/08/2025

I’ve spent months inside this part of the story, and now I’m at its final movement. The climax. But instead of feeling triumphant, I found myself drowning in...

02/08/2025

I started my re-read of the sixth installment in The Wheel of Time Series, Lord of Chaos with a lot of hope. Honestly, it has been so long since I read this book that I don’t remember almost anything that happened within it. But perhaps I read it too quickly in my youth. So I took my time this time.

Lord of Chaos continues the epic tale of Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, as he struggles to unite the world against the growing threat of the Dark One. Political intrigue, rising tensions among the Aes Sedai, and the emergence of new players in the battle for control of the One Power drive the story forward. Meanwhile, Rand’s friends—Perrin, Mat, and Egwene—embark on their own journeys, each grappling with personal challenges and their roles in the larger conflict. As the stakes rise and alliances are tested, the delicate balance of power threatens to crumble under the weight of betrayal and ambition.

One of the things that I wanted from the previous novel that I got in this one was more development with Nynaeve, Egwene, and Siuan. It was great to see their growth and Siuan’s big cathartic moment. Egwene really came into her own in this book, while Nynaeve’s abilities are outpacing her good sense.

I can’t tell you how much I missed having Perrin and Loial in the story. Perrin’s relationship with Faile continues to be complicated (and possibly frustrating for some readers), but I appreciate how the worldbuilding established by Jordan in this volume explains a lot of Faile’s behavior. It may not be enough for some readers to enjoy her, but a character being likable as a person isn’t what draws me to a character in general. Loial, on the other hand, is a character I enjoy specifically because I like him as a person, and I can relate to his plight as a character, even if it isn’t a driving force of the novel.

Of course, Rand, the dragon reborn himself, is a more interesting character than ever. Watching him navigate various political forces and the forces within his own mind is fascinating. He feels isolated in his power. No one quite understands him, and while there are those who want to help him, there are many more who can’t wait to take advantage of him… or worse. But let’s not get into spoilers. Rand no longer feels melodramatic as he may have felt in earlier installments.

While so much of the middle was needed to move each character to their next step in their stories, I can’t help but think it could have been done much more efficiently, especially since we’ve lost a bit of the wonder in this novel because of the relative lack of new worldbuilding to explore. Additionally, the ending wasn’t as epic as the previous installments. The final battle was a climactic moment, but it lacks the emotional weight and grandeur of earlier books in the series, especially books 4 and 5.

Because of its weaknesses, it’s hard to recommend Lord of Chaos to someone who isn’t already loving the series. However, I have the foresight to know that there are great moments I want to re-experience. If this is your first read, and you’re lukewarm on the story, there is a radiant light at the end of the tunnel.

20/07/2025

When my wife left to be with her family after the sudden loss of her father, everything went quiet. The house. My writing. Myself. I tried to keep things mov...

20/06/2025

17/06/2025

K.E.Andrews is one of those authors who continues to prove that they’re not a one-trick-pony, and Wild Skies is an expansion on the evidence of that. But just how successful can one author be writing from multiple styles and genres?

Dale is a scrappy bounty hunter who, with his dragon, Bean, is always in search of his next bounty, hoping that his next lead will help him find what happened to his long-lost parents. But the Melted Lands are as dangerous as they are arid, and his latest bounty leads him to his most dangerous criminal yet—one who may just give him the answers he’s always wanted.

Wild Skies is a fantasy story that greatly benefits from the fact that it adopts many of the tropes and expectations we want and crave from a Western while infusing them with fun, fantasy elements. Anyone with experience with Western novels or films will easily feel at home here without the need for lengthy explanations to establish the world we find ourselves in.

Its classic, Western canon setting also allows for its quick-pacing novella length. The story doesn’t overstay its welcome. Instead of layering in complex plot lines, the story is focused and streamlined, allowing you to feel like you’re watching a movie.

Dale isn’t an entirely unexpected character, and because the story moves along briskly, Dale isn’t as fully rounded as he could be in a longer entry. That doesn’t mean he is a character you won’t enjoy, but I love the idea that he could be fleshed out even more with subsequent entries if Andrews delivers more stories in this world. Andrews gives us the broad strokes here so that we’re invested.

Thematically, the Western genre is often occupied with a white-hat, black-hat dichotomy. It’s actually a trope in Westerns that is generally beloved. Here, Andrews takes a card from the modern fantasy landscape, and steps into the gray. Dale is forced to reckon with a world that’s not quite what he thought, and the consequences of the new paradigm could shatter his perception of why he is who he is.

Wild Skies is wide open for a sequel. In fact, I’m expecting it. We’re left with some unanswered questions and so much more to explore.

Of course, we can’t ignore the fact that there are dragons in this world. From Bean, who is a fantastic animal companion to our protagonist, to the many subspecies of dragons presented and hinted at in this world, I find myself wondering what other types of dragons exist in the Melted Lands and, indeed, the other fantastic creatures that can be found in a potentially unique ecology.

Wild Skies is an excellent romp, that doesn’t take itself so seriously that it exactly matches the typical Western tone (I mean, it’s called a Yeehaw Dragons book!), but it doesn’t swerve into the realm of comedy. And I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories like Mistborn Era 2, but wouldn’t mind a shorter, more focused story. Or if you’re just looking for something to read as a palate cleanser between much longer reads, you probably won’t go wrong here.

02/06/2025

This isn't the setup I started with. It's the one I have now-functional, creative, full of tools I've collected over time. But for years, I worked in imperfe...

14/05/2025

I had 14 days to finish everything.With a film job fast approaching, the pressure was on to write, wrap freelance projects, and keep the creative work alive....

06/05/2025

Last year, I lost a lot of income. I took on odd jobs to stay afloat, but they slowly ate away at the one thing I care most about-my creative work. This mont...

02/05/2025

21/04/2025

You can now get E. R. Ellis III's debut novella in paperback! 🥳
Add it to your collection today! https://www.emergentrealms.com/books

14/04/2025

I picked up The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie in the aftermath of a natural disaster in my area, that led to a power outage for nearly two weeks. I don’t need a power outage to get me to read, but I found myself with a bit of extra time on my hands, so I could fit this one into my normal reading schedule.

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the story despite how many glowing reviews there are, but I quickly realized that this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting from one of the most popular grimdark novels on your local bookshop shelf.

The novel drops readers into a grimdark world where Logan Ninefingers, an infamous warrior, finds himself entangled in the political web of a world devoid of honor. Inquisitor Glokta and Captain Jezal are among the grey characters he encounters when the wizard Bayaz retrieves him for a mysterious task that will reshape the world as they know it.

It took me a while to figure out what direction this story was taking. Really, I still didn’t know.

The novel takes a strong “character first” approach, focusing on building up the characters before establishing the throughline of the rest of the trilogy. The number of times I stopped to ask myself “why am I reading this?” was astounding, but nevertheless, I read on, continuously intrigued by the characters and their journeys. Honestly, I really don’t care what the plot is now.

But that actually might be a problem for a lot of readers. Characters are important, but some readers really need the plot as a skeleton to hang the story’s progression on. So it’s possible that this may make you put the book down halfway or even a quarter through because you just lose interest without the proper signposting.

It’s difficult to say that any one of the characters is more memorable than the others. They are all now living in my head, rent-free. Often, I find that one character or another in a cast such as this is much more interesting. But I’m equally interested in their futures. If pushed, I might make the controversial statement that Glokta is the character I’m least interested in. Crazy. I know. He’s probably the one I hear most when people talk about this series. But this isn’t at all a blow to the character at all. Glokta is well-realized and compelling. But, like I said, this is if I’m pushed to give some sort of hierarchy of interest. I do like Ardee, but I would like to see more female characters in future installments who add more dynamics to the story.

It feels like worldbuilding takes a strong backseat in this novel. While many secondary-world fantasy novels attempt to satisfy fantasy readers with their breadth of lore or scope, Abercrombie almost refuses and doggedly sticks to his core strength: strong characterization and tone.

Speaking of tone: grimdark is often how I see this novel presented. While I would tend to agree that it falls into this category, the term often makes me shy away from the subgenre of fantasy storytelling. However, I didn’t find the story to be too dark for my liking. So if you’re one of those people who worry that the label means you won’t enjoy it, you may be pleasantly surprised. However, I wouldn’t at all say that the tone is lighthearted in the least.

So what was the point of this story?

Honestly, right now, I don’t even know. All I know is that I kept reading it purely off of the strength of the author’s ability to write compelling characters, and I’m not sure that this trick will carry me through the second installment.

But it’ll be interesting to find out if it will, now won’t it?

If strong characterization is your number one requirement when choosing what fantasy fiction you read, I have no issue recommending The Blade Itself. But if you’re the kind of person who enjoys a strong plot as the primary or even a secondary need in your fantasy, I wouldn’t recommend this one unless you’re looking to stretch what you’re compelled to read. I, for one, will continue to see if Abercrombie’s characters will continue to draw me in.