Received from little.Brown book co and Netgalley for honest review. Thoroughly enjoyable story ,but left me.feeling a bit flat at the end.

Dragons? Check
Vikings? Check
More than two genders? Check.
Same-sex marriage accepted? Check.

The Black Coast was almost, almost the perfect fantasy novel for me. I greatly enjoyed reading this books; I loved the characters, the writing, the storyline - however, there were a couple of this that resulted in me cutting a star off the raiting.

Firstly, the fact that the characters referred to themselves in the third person - not really a reason, just an observation, but I can't say it really bothered me. It was unusual at first, but after a couple of pages you get used to it.

Point two, which really bothered me: I wanted more of The Reader, whose first name I do not dare to spell because I am vertain I will be doing it wrong. He is the God-King, after all, and then he's being reduced to some short mention during the prologue? Sad, really sad...

Point three, the too similar names of Sannah and Zhanna. At least give it some different pronounciation.

Point Four - was it really neccesary to throw two knew POVs in the final part of the book? I was quite comfortable with the existing cast of characters, thank you very much...

Nontheless, a great, great book which I will return to while keeping an axious lookout for book two!

I received a free copy by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In Science Fiction and Fantasy, I have visited a multitude of different worlds. In some cases, it feels like all the people on the planet have similar sensibilities, but how is this possible? Even within our own country you get people from the North who are different from the South, never mind the rest of Europe or even another continent. Part of good world building is giving it a sense of eons hidden in the past, of pages of history unread. In The Black Coast by Mike Brooks, we travel to a land divided by centuries of conflict, but can the people put aside their differences when a larger evil threatens them all?

Daimon is the adopted son of a Sar who owns Black Keep, a piece of land far from the beating heart of Narida. For over a decade they have avoided attack by the warriors coming from the sea. Today things are different as the Black Eagle clan, led by Saana, have not come on one or two ships, but seven, easily enough to overwhelm the Keep. Meanwhile, in the rich city, Tila sister of the God-King, is on a mission to exterminate the only other family with a claim for the throne. Her actions will unknowingly involve the petty thief Jeya. Four vastly different people, with different attitudes, all unaware of the evil that is lurking.

Low Fantasy like Black Coast is often about conflict and this novel has a lot of that, but it is also about compromise and finding a common goal. When the Black Eagle Clan land on the shores of Black Keep, they are not looking to invade but are refugees. The like of Daimon must overlook decades of raids that have left many friends and family dead at the hands of these ‘savages.’ The honour code that the Sars live under means that they would rather die than break bread with the enemy, it takes Daimon’s courage to break the cycle of violence and try to bring peace. This is all at the cost of his honour.

This storyline between the two peoples dominates the book and is an interesting read, especially in a fantasy setting as it is unusual. Brooks does not fall into the trap of making the alliance between them easy, there are years of resentment and history to work though. Although Daimon and Saana are willing to bend, others are not. Tension is bubbling along beneath the surface throughout.

In Black Coast, Brook is intelligently using the genre of fantasy to explore how people with different attitudes can work together. This is true in Black Keep and also in Tila’s parallel storyline. This is Book 1 in The God-King Chronicles and, as of yet, the two narratives are splintered and do not seem to impact one another. We spend less time with Tila and Jeya, and they do not even interact with one another yet. It was enjoyable to see how some of the more cosmopolitan people live, but the Black Keep part of the book was far more compelling for now.

The theme that does run through all the characters is their different attitudes to gender and how it effects language in various parts of the world. Depending on which of the four characters you are following, the reader sees different language used. One land has five genders that are chosen the individual, one refers to their role in life and those of others, whilst another is simpler but has damning views on how others live. Brook handles the use of subtle language changes well and it give the book a sense of the alien in places, more akin to a Science Fiction novel. What is interesting is that these differences are a minefield that have the potential to start a conflict should someone use the wrong inflection. Perhaps people will begin to search for more of the similarities among one another when they find out about the larger evil that the book hints at towards the end.

At over 600 pages and only being Book I, Black Coast has plenty of room to breathe and it spends time world building. The entire book feels like it is setting the scene for a larger conflict in subsequent outings. This is not to say that this book does not have a lot going for it. The tale of Daimon and Saana in particular is well written and intelligent. By concentrating on how two diverse cultures marry, Brooks has created a Fantasy book that still has fighting and dragons, but also feels unique by concentrating on communities and compromise.

THE BLACK COAST | MIKE BROOKS

The Black Coast from Mike Brooks is the first in the The God King Chronicles trilogy and it is an impressive start. In some respects it reminds me of when I first read Game of Thrones, there is a lot to take in, a lot of characters, multiple primary plotlines and plenty of secondary sub plots, all of which I am a fan of. I was also really impressed how the book wove into its narrative really important issues on gender stereotypes, class, homosexuality and sexism and how these imagined cultures dealt with these issues. What’s more the use of gender pronouns was pretty impressive. I love books that embrace diversity and have the guts to fuel the debate.

These things aside, the book has everything you would want from an epic new fantasy, a rising darkness, dragons, ancient Gods, bloody battles, strange new lands, devious machinations and betrayals – you definitely won’t be bored.

A bold and bloody new fantasy that’s worth checking out ⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five stars.

Really strong book that I found really enjoyable and much like the Brandon Sanderson Novels, there was a lot there to like and substantial build up to the grand finale, my only negative would be not being able to see a future past the end scene for the characters. It's a bit like the 'happy ever after' trope but with war. It would be great to see things prepared for the next book or closing off cleanly.

Rating: 3.5/5

“When the citizens of Black Keep see ships on the horizon, terror takes them because they know who is coming: for generations, the keep has been raided by the fearsome clanspeople of Tjakorsha. Saddling their war dragons, Black Keep’s warriors rush to defend their home only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all. Driven from their own land by a daemonic despot who prophesis the end of the world, the raiders come in search of a new home...”

Thank you to @netgalley and @orbitbooks_uk for my copy of this book :)

As a big fan of fantasy, I was not disappointed by this book! There are different lands, cultures, languages... and dragons🐉
I am easily scared by big books but this one turned out to be an easy/quick read for me which shows how much I enjoyed it. (643 pages read in less than a month is impressive for me😅)
The themes of love, gender and acceptance of differences are a big part of the book and I thought they were very well dealt with (well explained, expression of different opinions...).

You follow the story through different point of views, which makes the plot more interesting and immersive in my opinion, and keeps you wondering when you’ll get back to a specific character and their thoughts. The 2 main characters take a lot of space but clearly the other point of views help us see what the following books will have to offer in terms of plot and world building.

The language used bothered me at times as it could be seen as “rude” words that don’t seem to fit the characters and the world they live in. A different approach to this would have made the reading experience easier for me, but it was only a small inconvenience.

This is the first book of The God-King Chronicles and the ending made me look forward to the following book!

What a rollercoaster of a book.

You want to read this book. It has a knife-throwing princess secretly running a patriarchy, and honourable young men caught between duty and pragmatism, and a fierce warrior chief and her dragon taming daughter trying to do a peace, and frigging dinosaurs (don’t @ me, that dragon’s a velociraptor), and a society with 5 genders where mine is none of your fucking business, and while the narrative is familiar epic fantasy tropes it is coming for epic fantasy social expectations because it has had enough of that shit. The god-kings, demon possession, and street rats saving hidden heirs? Basically subplots (although I assume they'll be highly relevant in future, they just weren't as interesting as the social fantasy in full bloom) .

To be honest, I was sold on the concept of this new series by the phrase 'war dragons', it would have to go hideously wrong to have me not slap a 5 star review on this bad boy. And in his debut novel (one of the Orbit stars for 2021, go check them all out!) Mike Brooks doesn't skip a beat.

Immaculately plotted, dunking you head first in the action from the very beginning, this is a wonderful high fantasy novel set in the country of Narida. The Black Coast is guarded by the Black Keep and the story is told from 3 vantage points-pickpocket Jeya who is a citizen of Narida, Black Keep watchman Daimon and chieftain Sanaa from Tjakorsha.

Daimon is the one who alerts his 'law father' to the imminent arrival of 17 warships (the presence of the Black Keep is to protect the exposed parts of the Black Coast from the occasional ferocious marauders who intermittently launch raids on Narida) Sanaa is pinning her hopes on a native Naridan who has spent many years with her people to negotiate a safe passage and settlement far away from their home lands.

Their arrival is a portent for a country that is poised precariously on the brink of war, run by a royal family headed by the Splinter King, survivor of many assassination attempts, but with no visible face due to his, and his family's, tradition of wearing intricately jewelled masks. Jeya is the anchor of the story, the one who gives the reader the inside scoop on what life is like in Narida including the creeping specualtion that the royal family are not all they seem.

With these three perspectives, you feel that there is a rounded and, more importantly, grounded story line with characters who you can relate to and root for. No one is where they are 'supposed' to be , they are victims of circumstance as well as political machinations, ruled over by a family whose real faces have not been seen in some time. The allegory between these masks and showing your true face is so stark and relevant to these times-on the one hand we need leaders to be figure heads to give us focus, link us to our history and remind us of a commonality, yet, at the same time, the masks represent a disconnect from the realities of every day life, a system which is supported by a tradition which is not understood by most of the populace, and a physical barrier between the classes.

That this book has been written as a reaction to the Brexit vote does not surprise me-it made the intricacies of the plot and restlessness of the people, caught between tradition, moral compasses and an old world order which feels threatened by the new, so seeks to isolate itself and protect its own interests in the face of coming together and being stronger for that, so valid and grounded to me.

The seamless weaving of plot and dialogue brings to life a world which is so welcome, a world in which you can switch off and dive into, I read this through my breaks on night shifts and reluctantly dragged myself back to reality each and every time I put it away. At a time when we cannot physically travel, books have become so vital to so many for their ability to transport you away from a time and place which makes you feel trapped.

The dedication of this novel says -

''I don't know exactly who this book is for,but whoever it is,I hope they find it.''

And I , for one, am thankful for the people who put this copy into my hands, I am so excited to delve further in Book 2, which is coming not soon enough! Look out for part 2 of the 'God-King Chronicles,'The Splinter King', from Orbit Books!

Sorry Not for me, I found it a complex story that I didn’t engage with, no doubt a brilliant read fir others

The Black Coast is the first novel in an original Fantasy series from Mike Brooks, a writer previously best-know for Sci-Fi and Warhammer tie-in fiction. It tells the story of a diverse cast of characters from across the new world that Brooks has created: some will find their paths crossing over the course of the story, whilst others will have their own story-lines to follow, with the potential to encounter each other in later volumes.


There are 3 main groups of people for the readers to familiarise themselves with: Naridans are an incredibly structured society, where rank and station mean everything, and people are expected to follow a strict honour code which dictates all manner of behaviour and ensures that everyone knows their relative rank and position, all the way from the descended-from-an-ascended-hero monarchy, down to the lowest peasant: amongst other things, this involves Naridans constantly referring to themselves as “this man” “this lord” “your brother” and soforth, which I’ll admit bugged me to begin with, but feels a lot more natural once you get used to it, and helps define that Naridan identity quite clearly – obviously Naridan notions of station and rank include clear stipulations on what it is appropriate for a woman to do, and mostly this seems to boil down to “what her husband/father/brother tells her,” although thankfully those norms are challenged both from without and within over the course of the book.

The Tjakorshi are a Viking-type culture: living on hard islands, making their living from the sea. Chiefs are chosen on merit, and men and women are equal. Whilst there’s definitely more to them than that 1-sentence description, they are the group who I think best benefit from the reader finding out about them gradually rather than needing a big exposition.

Lastly, come the Alabans. Alaba, a place which feels more like a melting-pot than a monoculture, where everyone is free to be who they want, although there is still an elite, seemingly determined by money more than anything (mention is made of some ruling “hierophants” although we get little on them in this first volume).

Perhaps fittingly, given the book’s title, I felt that the Black Keep (the main location actually on the Black Coast, as far as I can work out) storyline was the strongest, with complex interactions between characters, and a genuinely meaningful exploration of disparate groups trying to come together. Dairon and Saana carry most of this story line, representing the Blackcreek natives and the Tjakorshi settlers respectively, and it was great to be able to see the insider perspective from both cultures as this story developed, both through the main players and those who just briefly appear as point-of-view characters. Look our for Nalon, Tavi, and Evram, each of whom provide a great additional level of flavour and sometimes a touch of humour to the setting, making it all feel that much more fleshed-out and 3-dimensional.

Of the other major storylines, Tila and Jeya’s storylines both left me wanting a bit more. Tila in particular is set up as a very interesting character, with multiple layers to her personality and her actions, but feels a bit boxed in by events in this first book, something which I’m hoping will open out in later volumes. Jeya’s storyline felt the most meandering, more there for set-up and exposition that anything, but again, I can see the story for hér and hér companions developing in a future instalment, and there’s lots of ways that the story could be taken.

Despite fitting neatly into the Fantasy default “medieval but with a bit of magic” the Black Coast has some very clear 21st century sensibilities behind it, and through the interactions of different cultures, is able to challenge the preconceptions that various characters have about the role of women in society, homosexuality, and even gender itself.

The main medium for exploring gender was the city of Alaba, where every character’s speech and narration is littered with additional diacritic marks to denote their gender [the book gives the example of the pronoun referring to self as variously mè (high masculine) mê (low masculine) me (gender-neutral), mé (low feminine) mē (high feminine) and më (no gender)]. Whilst this obvious serves a purpose in conveying a unique society and providing a sharp contrast with the visiting Nardians who view such an approach as “lacking in morality” I’ll admit that I found it quite tricky to keep track of, and was constantly having to flick back to a bookmarked page to double-check which one was meant. Perhaps the central point here was simply “don’t assume someone’s gender unless they indicate it themselves,” but I would have liked a bit more elaboration on exactly what “high/low” masculine or feminine actually meant, as this would feel like the next logical step after the snide comments and thoughts that the Naridans and Albans made about the other group and how stupid they were in using/not using such a system. Again, hopefully book 2 will develop this in a more interesting way.

Reading in Brooks’ post-script that he was driven to write The Black Coast at least in part as a reaction to the Brexit vote made a lot of things suddenly make sense: a huge part of this first book is about culture shock, and there is a none-too-subtle message throughout that people are stronger together if they can learn to put aside their superficial differences and focus on the things that really matter. Of course, this is easier said than done, and I particularly liked the way that the book shows the personal costs being paid, alongside that determination to keep pressing on because the collective goal is worth the personal sacrifice.

Overall there’s a lot to like about The Black Coast, the cultures and characters are distinct and interesting, and the book does a good job of world-building whilst providing enough action and character development to ensure that your interest is sustained by things actually happening. There are certainly elements that feel a bit trope-y and if you’ve read a lot of contemporary fantasy (or even just seen a few series of Game of Thrones,) then you’ll definitely recognise a few archetypes, but Brooks manages to put a unique spin on most of them. At least one relatively major character died despite having what looked like a fairly solid suit of plot-armour in place, and for every predictable beat there was an unexpected twist. Ultimately, I do think that the Black Keep story ends up carrying the others a little bit, but it’s good enough that it’s worth reading just for that strand, and hopefully the other settings will deliver on their promise some time in the future.

Much like Game of Thrones, The Black Coast is a novel that portrays a relatively low-magic setting (if you ignore the dragons) and eases you into the world with a strongly character-based story, whilst hinting at grander, more world-shattering events to come. I’ll eagerly await the next instalment, and hope that Brooks can retain the level of interest with the sequel.

The Black Coast was one of my most anticipated reads for 2021 and it didn’t disappoint. I loved this book, I loved that it took epic fantasy and challenged it to be something new, and there were so many details and nuances to the writing, to the world and the characters that you can’t help but believe in everything this book is trying to do. This isn’t a shy book, it knows exactly what it is and what it’s trying to do, and what it wants to confront, and it dives into so many issues and confronts them head on, and even better it does it in a way that is believable at all levels of society. It also features the unusual situation of two cultures trying to settle and find common ground, and I loved seeing that explored.

The worldbuilding was spot on – and there are dragons (need I say more?), I especially enjoyed how gender was used and represented in this world, the different capacities were fantastic, and it was great to see in this kind of fantasy setting and it worked beautifully. Against this backdrop the characters were vivid and real, although I will say I found myself enjoying some of the secondary characters more than the main POV characters, but that was just personal preference.

I will say that I did struggle a little with some of the language choices, and I had to reread more parts than usual to try and adapt to the different ways people would refer to themselves and their gender. However, it was well worth the extra work, because Brooks has used language to add another level to his world and cultures, and it is a fantastic, believable way to establish cultural differences although it could put some people off. However, outside of this, I found the writing to flow well, and the action was well-written and gripping and this was a book that I couldn’t get enough off.

Absolutely fantastic, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

The use of different genders was refreshing to see as this isn't featured in many epic fantasy books but the referring to yourself in the third person was really jarring for me. I found that I pulled me out of the story as it was sometimes difficult to figure out who was talking.

I'm interested enough to try out the sequel but I'm not sure if this writing style is for me

(Review)

Dragons , Raiders, Warlords… reading this book was always a given. He’s also a new author for me and so an unknown, but Petrik Leo has a bad habit of shoving new books under my nose and adding to my already massive TBR. (cheers Leo).

As a read i started with that new author trepidation and also some reticence about the very original approach to non gender specific pronouns and their use depending on culture, it took a little getting used to. That approach mixed with a raider culture that was very Norse and a mainland culture that’s very Japanese, with the Sars taking the role of Samurai, it was a veritable hodgepodge of a cast and culture.

But it was a cast and culture set that became more and more interesting, with lots of other questions raised, raised well and covered brilliantly esp sexuality. I’ve found in fantasy there are quick reads, the action adventure fun with a fairly prescriptive cast just set in a different landscape, and there are books that while they entertain they make you think, and i’m a fan of both in their right time (thats my reading mood). This book is certainly in the latter, make you think category, one that immerses you in a new brilliantly imagined culture and land, where the throwing away of societal norms is easier, allowing an author to shine a light on prejudices without offending people who might normally instantly put up walls about a subject, and through that process the author educates the reader as well as entertains. I may be wrong, but that’s my view of the book and the coming series, and its all wrapped up in an amazing story, one i hugely enjoyed and really want to dive into again.

Highly recommended

(Parm)

Really enjoyed this book...completely different to the crime drama, police procedurals and psychological dramas I normally read, but a very engaging story with great characterizations throughout...4.5/5. Many thanks to Netgalley.co.uk, the Publisher and the author for the chance to read this ARC, and leave an honest comment.

Good fantasy stories always make me happy.
This book is full of rich characters, all with their own stories and backgrounds and emotions and all, who merge together into what makes a world of interesting cultures forced to merge together by circumstances. I had a little difficulty keeping the places and people from each other at the start, because the story switched between quite some of them, but I ended up caring about them all.

At first I found it hard to get into due to so much taking place but as time went on I found myself engrossed! The 3rd person perspective was hard to get used to at times but don't let this put you off reading the book! The author has a great imagination and its a world I would definitely consider living in if it was real. For anyone who is into the sea, pirates or fantasy this is a great read!

The Black Coast is the start of a new fantasy series from Mike Brooks, whose sci-fi work I’ve previously enjoyed. This is something of a departure, though. Fewer sarcastic found family spaceship crews, more terrifying, dragon riding knights, Viking-esque warriors and imperial politics-by-assassination.
Some things have remained the same though. The complex weave of detailed, lovingly constructed worldbuilding. The rock solid characterisation, which makes the characters seem like, well, people. And the story, which grabs hold of you and won’t let go until it’s done - in my case, leaving me turning pages at 2AM when I should’ve been asleep instead.


The world is a sprawling one, filled with different, fascinating cultures. Perhaps the most familiar seeming is a feudal hierarchy, dominated by “Sars”, armoured knights who dominate and protect their local polity with martial prowess, and whose behaviours are theoretically circumscribed by an elaborate honour code. We catch some of the different rungs of their society - the aristocratic rulers, of course, but the reeve and the guardsmen and the master of hounds are all here, along with field workers - each with a set position in society. That said, that society is also surprisingly socially egalitarian. People may be defined by their rank, but who they choose to love, for example, is entirely in their own remit. And while the Sars seek to define themselves by the code of honour, it’s possible that their personal honour and the code may conflict, or that there may be interpretations that are more controversial than others. And they live under the aegis of a religion devoted to a God-King, whose demise generations before was followed by prophecies of his return. That faith is explored in some detail, and provides valuable context and depth to the characters


Oh, and the Sars, er, ride dragons into battle. Well, they seemed more like dinosaurs to me, lumbering, armoured behemoths that could crush individuals underneath them, or lash out with a tail and shatter a shield wall. But, yes, armoured men riding dragons. It’s just cool.


A cultural opponent of the Sars, are those they call Raiders. Those raiders are from a space where arable land seems to be relatively scarce. Where the climate is a lot colder. And with a tradition of taking to the seas, under the unforgiving eye of an uncaring god. The raiders have their own magic, and their own problems - from intra-clan infighting to demons walking the earth in the bodies of the dead. If they don’t have the armour of the Sars, they have a society which calls for each individual to be martially competent. And that society feels far more egalitarian in terms of rank - chiefdoms aren’t hereditary, and each individual has far less of a deferential attitude to their leaders. On the other hand, they seem far more socially restrictive than the lands of the Sars, a study in similarities and contrasts.


And then there’s lands outside the control of the God King, a sprawling mercantile empire filled with the energy of trade. It also hides claimants to the throne of the God-King, a savvy political move which is one of the central threads of the text, as the God-King’s descendants would rather that there weren’t any competing branches of the family tree. This is a space which seems to contain both staggering, opulent luxury and brutal, uncaring poverty, where authority is backed by money, or by brutal violence. It’s a land where people are thriving, but also one where it’s very easy to fall.


In any case, as you can see, it’s a diverse world, packed with histories and details and, well, fun.


Onto the boards step our players; a leader of Sars, a leader of Raiders, and, in the background, a political mastermind, and those she’s hunting.


The heart of the story, to me, is the relationship between the leaders of the Sars and the Raiders, Daimon Blackcreek and Saana Sattistutar. Thrown together as the heads of a joined community by happenstance, they’re struggling to make things work. To do that, they need to fight not only the prejudices and histories of their communities, but also their own personal biases. The people of the coast see the raiders as bloodthirsty savages, and the raiders see the people of the Sars as weirdly deferential, sources of wealth and renown. Neither group really feels like the other is, well, anything but an Other. That hurts them, as the story begins, and part of the narrative journey is watching those communities close ranks around each other, rather than against each other. Credit for that can go to Saana, whose brusque, no-nonsense style is a joy. She’s an experienced warrior, a chief who led her clan in escaping a dark and brutal danger at home, throwing them across the sea to an uncertain fate. And yet, even as she takes the greatest leap her people know, still Saana struggles ot understand Daimin and his people. What makes them so tolerant of things she finds repugnant, and what makes them react so strangely to basic common practises? I say struggles, I think something the book does well is portray Saana’s struggle with this. She knows that they have one chance to get the community to work together, to see each other as people, and if she (and indeed, Daimin) react poorly sometimes, they’re trying ot learn from each other as much as they can, trying to look past their own minds and into the eyes of a stranger. Saana’s a joy to read, especially when she is just done taking everyone’s crap. But a shout out too, to her relationship with her daughter, which has a complexity, a layered depth to it which speaks to an unheard history, whispered in the margins, and helps shape both of them on the page into more rounded people.


I also have a small delight for her interaction with the clan herbalist, but I’ll leave you to find that one out yourselves.


Daimon is younger, perhaps more impulsive, and driven to do the right thing. Maybe not the right thing by the code he lives for, but the right thing by the people he is sworn to protect. That there can be differences between the two is, itself, interesting. Still, he’s a man growing up fast, facing Raider axes of obsidian with hard steel and the help of a rampaging dinosaur. But his real bravery is in recognising what needs to be done, in thinking rather than opening his mouth immediately, in recognising his limitations, and strengths, and trying to do the right thing. They’re both good people, trying to herd a swarm of cats who are on the razors edge between just having a cuddle, and throwing down in a mix of bloody fur. Also, the cats are people, and are heavily armed with generational grudges. But if there are shades of grey here, they’re only as much as regular people, trying their best; not as grimdark as all that, and ot paladins, no, but real, grubby people, trying their best to stand up, be better than they are, and lift their people up with them. Watching the two clash and learn and clash again, and argue and scrabble toward an understanding is, really, a wonder - and it helps show that we are, in fact, better together.


There’s some equally interesting stuff happening with Tila, the God King’s sister, who is delightfully ruthless, pragmatic, and frustrated by the demands of a society which keep her from a throne that even her brother, sat upon it, thinks she would be better suited for. Tila is concerned for her family, and for her Empire, and won’t brook threats to the unity and survival of either - which is probably all I can say without spoiling things. I will add that we also get a viewpoint from Jeya, an orphan, whose own ruthlessness is rather more small scale, and whose compassion is, perhaps, rather more immediate. Jeya is young, but has had the soft edges knocked off of her by a hard life on the street - quite what she’ll do with an opportunity ro two which fall in her lap, is an open question.


In any case, each of these characters comes with their own drive, their own agenda, their own wants and needs, their own personality, voice and agency. In sum, they’re convincing as people, and you want to see them succeed - even when they’re not at all on the same page!


Speaking of which, the plot is an absolute firecracker. There’s multiple threads, as each of the viewpoint characters tries to push forward with their goals, and runs afoul of the others. But each thread is compelling in itself. I must admit to a preference for the scenes between Saana and Daimon, but it all works.. There’s the quiet, intimate moments here, and some flashes of genuine sorrow and joy, which may make you well up, or cheer along with our protagonists. There’s blood on the ground at scales ranging from close-in street fights to rampaging-dinosaur-bloodbath. There’s magic, quiet and flashy, and a sense of strangeness and wonder. And there’s that hook, that need to see what our heroes do next, which catches at you and drags you along, until, like me, you’re still reading at 2AM, because you want to know how it ends, and don’t want it to end.


This one is great, folks. Give it a read.

From Good Reads:
I was hooked at the mere mention of dragons - war dragons!
Two different warring cultures trying to find a way to live at peace with each other - with all the trials, tribulations and politics that entails.
Interspersed with this we have a royal family in crisis and a child thief - looking forward to seeing how this develops in future books
Brave world building and a diverse list of characters with room to develop
Epic fantasy that also tackles gender roles and homophobia in a clever and interesting way.

I really like the premise of "The Black Coast": A nation seeking a new home. Two cultures collide in this epic fantasy tale and need to try to work together. Unfortunately I DNF'd this one, because the writing didn't vibe with me. I am very sorry and thankful for the arc, but I personally cannot get through 700 pages of a book when I'm not enjoying the prose. But I can really see other readers liking it. The themes were interesting. The seafarer people that land on the Black Coast are really reminiscent of the Vikings and the people, who live there, of the Britains in the time before there was a united Britain. Also there is another storyline that plays in a culture which uses lots of different pronouns to represent different genders. For me the discussions of feminism, for example in the question of female leadership in the northern inspired culture, where a little too on the nose. I personally prefer more subtle references to such themes. But again I really can see other readers enjoying the exact same thing very much. The use of different diacritical marks on the pronouns is a very unique take on a fictional language that has the goal to include everyone.

Unfortunately I couldn't get past the first few chapters. I found the language and the story just a bit confusing and if a book is difficult to read at the start I don't usually carry on. I think some people will love the instant (if confusing) story but not for me.