DNF at 50 pages.

This one wasn't quite the book for me! I didn't connect with the writing and couldn't manage to get into the story. I would, however, recommend this book to other fantasy lovers.

I found this book to be dreadfully boring and over complicated.

Wouldn’t rush to purchase the next in the series

The Godblind Trilogy by Anna Stephens is one of my all time favourite series, so I was incredibly intrigued to pick up the first in a new duology from the author. Set in the land of Ixachipan, this multi-perspective tale tells the story of people from two very different nations – those from the Empire of Songs and those of the free tribes, determined to resist the rule of the empire. Every other tribe has fallen to the Empire of Songs and the magical music that weaves through everything and everyone. The Empire will stop at nothing to make the Tokob and Yalotlan fall in line, but will they be able to resist where everyone else has failed?

This is such a compelling story and one I could not get enough of. Despite being over 600 pages, I raced through this book and Stephens does a magnificent job of weaving the plot together. The story is well paced, giving the reader a chance to get to know this fascinating world that’s full of compelling characters. One of the things I loved most about Godblind was the level of worldbuilding and The Stone Knife is just as well developed. I loved learning about the magic in this world, about the song that envelopes everything and the magic of the tribes. The drowned were also completely fascinating and I can’t wait to learn more in book two.

The story has plenty of action scenes and there are more than a few dark and gruesome moments that fans of Godblind have no doubt come to expect. Stephens does a brilliant job of writing battle scenes that leap off the page, each one creating a tense atmosphere that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat. Where the story shines most is the captivating characters – there are a number of POV characters who are on opposing sides and seeing these characters and their beliefs clash made for some very compelling reading. All the POV characters felt incredibly well developed, each with their own motivations. Generally, I find when I read a big epic fantasy story like this there are particular characters that I am most interested in, but with The Stone Knife I felt invested in all of them and I cannot wait to see where the story takes them. I absolutely loved Xessa and Tayan and while she’s a bit terrifying, I was completely fascinated by Enet.

The Stone Knife is a brilliant, unputdownable epic fantasy story. It was an immediate five star read and I cannot wait to read more from Anna Stephens in the future.

I adored the Godblind trilogy and so was really looking forward to picking this one up however sadly it was not for me and I DNFed it at 50%. The premise for this was really interesting however it just did not work for me it was extremely slow to get into and I honestly just didn’t care for the characters or anything that was happening to them.

I can definitely tell this one is going to be a hit with many many others but unfortunately for me it just didn't land, I just couldn't get into it enough to feel invested and want to read so it took me what felt like forever to read. I will absolutely still pick something uo from this author though in the future

While I thought this was well written and the world an interesting one, it just wasn't for me. I couldn't connect to any of the characters and I wasn't invested in the plot. I would still recommend checking it out, if the synopsis interests you.

An utterly brutal fantasy story that has themes of colonialism throughout and is dark, dense, and filled with gore. I personally don't mind this but I can see that some might be put off by this much darkness.

There must be a trilogy coming from this as I felt that this book was set up for a sequel. Despite that and the fact that it took me over a month to read this I really did enjoy it. I loved the magic system and the world building was varied and colourful. There are a lot of POVs in this book but I love having multiple characters because it gives you a wider lens with which to view the world. I really liked that there was deaf rep in this story - I know of only one other book that has this - Deeplight by Frances Hardinge. It was done well.

Thank you for allowing me access to a free eARC of this.

This was a great epic fantasy novel with monsters and gods and I thought the world was very complex but also described to the reader very well and we didn’t have any information drops it was all very cohesive with the text which I very much enjoyed and I would love to read more from this author

Wow. This is such a unique fantasy novel. It is told from multiple points of view and is set in the forests of Ixachipan where battle for land had waged as the empire of songs tries to take control of everyone. Monsters live in all bodies of water and attack the villagers in some areas, while they are worshipped as gods in other areas. It has a main character who is deaf which I don’t think I have ever found in any other fantasy novel. All of the characters are likeable and there are several different m/m, f/f, m/f relationships though romance is definitely not the focus of the story. There was so much suspense throughout the book and during some of the battle scenes I don’t think I breathed for whole chapters.

This book is not for the faint of heart. It does have some very violent, bloody and descriptive battle scenes and deaths. Some parts are quite horrifying. I loved it, so I don’t know what that says about me. It’s uncertain which side is good and which side is ‘evil.’

This book is big at 600 pages but at no point did I feel it was too long. For me, it was epic and I look forward to the second book in the series coming out.

This was sent to me through netgalley and I am so glad I had the opportunity to read from this author.

Not my normal type of book but after hearing other reviews I wanted to read it. I found it very engaging with a complex plot which I was absorbed into and great characters who were robust, diverse and had depth to them. Plenty of twists and drama that keep you going and interested. The imagination used in creating the story and worlds is great. I look forward to the next in the series.

The book synopsis:
For generations, the forests of Ixachipan have echoed with the clash of weapons, as nation after nation has fallen to the Empire of Songs – and to the unending, magical music that binds its people together. Now, only two free tribes remain.

The Empire is not their only enemy. Monstrous, scaled predators lurk in rivers and streams, with a deadly music of their own.

As battle looms, fighters on both sides must decide how far they will go for their beliefs and for the ones they love – a veteran general seeks peace through war, a warrior and a shaman set out to understand their enemies, and an ambitious noble tries to bend ancient magic to her will.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an Arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

I received an eARC from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

This book and I was not a match, at all. Few chapthers in and I'm allready deadly bored and felt like it turned into a duty to read it. The sheer length of the book is just too much and to chaotic for me.

therefor i give 2 stars, cause I did not enjoy this book, but I'm sure some will love it.

Not for me. I got 30% of the way in but there's been no twist to the plot to make me go "ooh, what'll happen next", or any facet to the characters that's really got me going "Yes!" other than maybe Xessa. If you're invested in the struggle then I think the straight-forwards rhino-like charge will appeal but instead I just thought of other books that did the "standing for our culture vs the seemingly unstoppable oppressors" and did it better.

Sometimes you know a book is perfect for you, but it just isn’t the right time for reading it. That’s what happened with The Stone Knife. I adored the author’s Godblind trilogy and was very excited to pick this up late last year. Unfortunately, with the chaos of the world, it wasn’t the moment for starting a new epic fantasy such as this, so I ended up putting it on hold until moods shifted and the stars aligned for me and this book. And I am very glad I did.

This is a multi-PoV story told from two sides of a conflict: the free tribes of Ixachipan and the massive, ever-expanding Empire of Songs. Not only that, but the waters of the land are plagued with the Drowned, deadly beings that can lure you to your death with song. The different perspectives allow us to explore the war from multiple fronts, from the scheming heart of the empire to the battlefields, to the lives of the people fighting off the onslaught. There are epic moments, quiet moments and shocking moments. There were even moments where I was tearing up so much, my cat came investigating to see what was wrong.

The world-building is always incredibly well crafted in Anna Stephen’s books, but it’s the characters who are truly the heart and driving force of the book. Xessa, a deaf warrior who battles the Drowned, easily became a favourite from the very first chapter. Even those characters which are easy to hate are also fantastic to read about. We see their ups and their downs, their strengths and their flaws, all threaded into the story in a way that only drives the reader’s connections to the characters.

As ever with these kinds of books, the start is always a touch slower as pieces are set, the world is established and the story begins the slow build up to the final confrontation, of this book at least. It is impossible to tell which direction the book goes in, especially as no character is truly safe, and this is just the beginning of a new series. And now, I must wait in anticipation for the sequel to release, because The Stone Knife had quite an ending.

This is the first instalment in The Songs of the Drowned series.

Two tribes are all that remain of the free people residing in the forests of Ixachipan, but they may soon cease to do so when just to survive through each day is such a struggle. On one side they are hunted by the empire's melody, which seeks to trap them into servitude, and on the other they are haunted by the song of the drowned, which infects the mind before the creatures kill the body.

This was such a unique fantasy novel. I loved exploring the rocky geographical and political terrain of this kingdom, as well as learning to understand the monsters that dwelt there. There was much horror present here, which the blood-soaked pages could attest to, and the dark deeds were inflicted by and upon almost every character, at some juncture in this narrative. There was also much intrigue surrounding whether the persecutors were the saviours and if those that opposed them were rebels or anarchists, which was just as interesting to explore as the frequent action scenes.

Whilst I highly appreciated the ingenuity of all Stephen's inventions, I sometimes did find them a little overwhelming. The multiple perspectives granted the reader insights to all sides of the war and I was, on times, confused about who was where and why. This may well be more to do with my sleep-deprived brain struggling to comprehend this masterpiece rather than any structural flaw, and it certainly didn't hamper my enjoyment or dissuade me from being excited to continue on in this world, either.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Stone Knife is Anna Stephens’ new foray into the world of epic fantasy and it’s as different from her previous trilogy in terms of her world, characters, and darkness. I had enjoyed her Godblind trilogy but with this new trilogy focusing on Pseudo-Central/South American culture, I was very, very excited to read it.

This new book starts out with a people in disarray and running from a rapidly expanding empire. The main story is set in the peninsular lands of Ixachipan. The Empire of Songs has conquered everything and everyone in these lands with their powerful musical magic. However things haven’t gone entirely dire as two forest tribes are still resisting the empire’s ambitions. The Tokoban and Yalotlan tribes are feeling the encroachment as well as the refugees who are slowly trickling in from the conquered lands. The book’s first third portion further expands on this setup and we are then treated to a start of a magnificent epic story.

What’s really striking about this story is by now if you think this is going to be a simplistic good tribes versus empire story then you will be sorely wrong. The story first three four chapters focus exclusively on the Tokob tribe and again as we are lulled into a singular way of life and the characters. The author brilliantly and quickly shifts the spotlight directly into the Empire camp via Etne & the Singer. Then quickly we learn that Empire of Songs aren’t necessarily all that evil as we might have imagined them to be (though they are championing slavery). We find that the invaded tribes have a strange and brutal method of honouring their gods. The empire's Gods are very much abhorrent to these forest tribes as is their way of living. So in some way, the Empire is trying to bring a change (of sorts) however it's left up to the readers to decide what's good and bad. Such complexity and more is inherently jampacked in this EPIC fantasy story opener.

Why I loved this story so much because of three things that Anna Stephens did superbly:
- Plot
- World
- Characters

The plot of the story is complex, mired in grey morality and gives us both sides to a conflict that will shake the known world in its entirety. I can’t thank Anna Stephens enough writing such a fantastic story that’s as epic as among the annals of fantasy literature but also complex enough to rival the famous stories written by Messrs.’ Martin, Abercrombie & Mses' Friedman, Bear. Since this is book one, we are given a fantastical opening into a conflict that will bedazzle and frighten all the same. Plus the way the book ends, it sets up the future books really strongly.

The worldbuilding done in this opening volume is stupendous to say the least. I commend Anna for giving us a non-European setting. This subtropical world is one of dense foliage, damp watery marshes, and weird, dangerous creatures. Beginning with the descriptions of the swampy and forest foliage, then to the attire as well the cultures that are open to differing sexualities and physical abilities. All in all, this world is new, strange and entirely enticing for a worldbuilding junkie akin to myself. In every chapter, Anna Stephens gives us some new information about the people, the flora and fauna and it all builds up as the climax approaches. Lastly I want to give another shout to her for creating such disturbing monsters which inhabit this world and using them sparingly to increase the terror in the story.

Lastly going on the characters, this story has a multi-POV structure and it lends itself beautifully to the story as we get in-depth looks from both side of the struggle. We get to see the lives of the following characters Xessa, Tayan, Etne, Lilla, Pilos, and The Singer. They are a complex lot with differing views on life, battle and conquest. There’s also a whole host of secondary characters as well as the animal kind who don’t share the same sentience but are cool nonetheless. I enjoyed how the author explored both cultures from the eyes of these characters and even though some are noble like Pilos, they have their blinders on horrid things like slavery. This and more dichotomies are very keenly explored by Anna thereby causing the readers to be further enmeshed within the characters' lives and the struggle that's ongoing.

This story builds up the conflict by layering the story with enough details and quite detailed POVs which help in providing context and give us a rich storyline where neither side is the clear cut heroes. They both have differing shades as is true in most geopolitical shindigs. The book is also quite grim and dark in many places as it doesn’t shy away from showcasing aspects of cannibalism, torture, violence towards both human & animal kind. This is not to say that all of it just to throw the readers’ sensibilities askew. It’s presented within a very realistic world and it’s never meant to titillate.

The only thing which prevented this story from being a five star read for me was the pace of the story. As I previously mentioned, this is a big book and the first third of the story has quite a buildup wherein the pace is sacrificed for the sake of excellence in characterization and worldbuilding. For me, this wasn’t such a bad thing, however for many readers, the slow start might dampen their enthusiasm for the book. This is a sad thing as the plot is really a terrific one.

CONCLUSION: The Stone Knife is a unique story that combines epic fantasy, distinct new cultures and world building on a scale that is hitherto unseen so far. Anna Stephens has given us a dark gift that heralds her as one of epic fantasy’s newest and most acclaimed writers. Don’t miss out on this opener in a new saga, it promises to get darker and more violent but you will be thrilled all the way along.

First of all, thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book (I also bought myself the Goldsboro edition).

I'm sad to say that this is not the book for me. It's a chonker at just over 600 pages long and not enough happened for me to remain interested in the story. Usually I will only give a book 50-100 pages to see whether I will DNF or not and I have given this one over 200 and I'm just not interested.

There are a lot of POVs in this book, at least 6 of them and most of these don't really add anything to the story. I found that I was skimming a lot of the chapters to get to the ones following the Shaman, I think there were 3 chapters following this perspective and the rest I just didn't care about.

By the 200 page mark, I would have expected something to happen to kick off the main storyline and while a few small things happened, nothing bit happened that made me hooked and my interested just declined.

I have also read Godblind by this author and had the same issues with that book so I think she just isn't an author for me

My express and gratitude to Jamie at Harpervoyager for allowing me to access an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts only.

This is a a dazzling triumph of a new fantasy novel set in one of the most mystical civilizations of this world and I for one, applaud this. Very well written. Exactly the perfect book needed for this time of year. And it is completely different from a Medieval European settings, its Mesomamerica! Finally! This novel has excellent written female protaganists that you will come to love. I loved Xessa a lot more, than Enet for that matter. I tried to sympathise with Enet, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t. You will see why.

The entire continent of Ixachipan became an ever torment mass of fire, fighting and blood. I watched, as an observer, witnessing the events of a fight that would soon engulf everyone. Wars fought for religion. Conflicts started because empires must expand. The cost of innocent lives. War is brutal. And a religion that demands sacrifice to our esteemed Singer and the Song is no less than an evil cult from what I have seen of the Singing City and the Pecha. I like how Anna has described a city of perfection in this novel, and you will witness its unraveling in front of you. You will witness fighting in the Sky City, witness ambushes you have never seen before, and blood will run through this novel.

And never have I felt so much sadness in one book. The shackles of royalty create a growing dark feeling within the Singer himself. That is the only clue I will give. He is a character that you will despise but somewhat sympathize with. Because the most truly evil people weren’t evil in the first place. Circumstances, events, and time presented itself. You may say that the reason the Gods don’t appear anymore in this world, is because of humanity’s free will. Everything is a consequence of human will. If this structure of a story was put in sci-fi and historical fiction, it would fit very well.

That said, I did feel the pacing of the novel could have been a bit faster. I would have had wanted more native-style words of swearing. That would have added a little more immersion in my opinion. The Empire of Songs is a perfect example of what happens when a cult is developed around one figure called the Singer, and that Godhood slowly reveals the madness that the people living in the Empire of Songs are witness to. It is not a perfect empire. It is not an honorable empire. Eventually, all the benefits for their slaves will go to waste at some point. The Empire has a fanatical ability to believe that spreading the Song will bring peace. The people of Tokoban and Yalotan want to be left in peace, but their Council is very arrogant. Very arrogant indeed not to realize the impending threat that the Empire of Song is doing.

And to the characters of this story, I think they are mature enough to understand that they live in a world that is inherently grim-dark to an extent. Mesoamerican society, however, is interpreted from the viewpoint of Monks and not very favourable viewpoints come often. However, there was a Spanish Monk named Bartolomé de las Casas, who arrived in New Spain at the time when the Aztec Empire had ceased to exist. It was he that opposed the coloniser’s brutal efforts of committing atrocities over the local natives of Mexica. An entire story can be written on this hero himself. He owned slaves and then seeing the atrocities that Cortes’s administrators were inflicting, he freed them. He was ahead of his time and it brought the wrath of the Church on him.

Bartolomé often argued in favour of the Native Peoples that were now under Spanish rule, and during a debate in 1550, Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, a theologian, philosopher, and an active opponent of anti-slavery, argued that the Indians were less than human and they needed the full might of Spanish civilization to master and subjugate them. In this book, you will see a lot of this when it comes to the Empire of Songs believing that they are superior.

Back to this tale, however, Las Casas argued that the Indians were free, fully human, and that subjugation was not only unjustifiable, but it also was immoral and against the word of God. Las Casas would go on to fight 50 years to stop the atrocities inflicted on indigenous peoples, trying to persuade the Spanish Court to adopt the human policy of colonization, and he opposed those priests who sought to destroy the indigenous people’s native books. I have no doubt there were many other prudent administrators, soldiers, priests that supported Las Casas in this endeavor, and hence we still have the preservation of Aztec and Mayan manuscripts and Anna did a lot of research when it comes to the worldbuilding of this culture.

We don’t have enough viewpoints from the Mesoamericans because the Spanish did order their holy texts to be burned. Temples raised to the ground. The Romans destroyed Carthage and razed it to the ground. Often, we get a viewpoint that has to be interpreted from the winner’s point of view. The loser’s viewpoint is harder to study. Does no one remember the valiant efforts of the Gauls against Julius Ceasar? Who is celebrated more, tell me? Julius Ceasar or his Gallic enemies? Julius Ceasar of course. The reason I bring this to attention is the fact that Anna has done a very good attempt at creating an authentic immersive world that is very free of this bias. The themes of colonialism are rife and the theme of subjugation is ever-present in this novel.

And there is the presence of good vs evil. Of good and evil co-operating with each other. The character I began to sympathize with was the Singer. A man that has a tragic crisis in terms of identity. I don’t wish to spoil what happens. Enet was truly, the most despicable character that I hated. She’s a true politician at heart and a wretched soul. You will discover the reasons why. Xessa was a true dragon at her heart. Along with her lover, Toxte. Tayan and Lilla are the central characters and I liked their viewpoints. Tayan because his mystical viewpoint as a Shaman allowed more exploration into the Drowned and who they were. I felt the story detracted from this very exciting character arc, as it had to focus on other viewpoints. In book 2, I would like to see more of this happening. As for Pilos, he’s a man fighting for the wrong side. He is! The fool should realize that the Empire of Songs is crumbling and it will do no good for him! None! None whatsoever! And there’s an enormous cast of characters that you will come to love and despise. You will learn love, loss and revenge very quickly.

For many years, I have wanted a fantasy novel that was set in Mesoamerica. It seems HarperVoyager and the Gods listened to my prayers. This is truly part of an epic novel. It has the hero’s journey to an extent. But it is more than that. It is about the freedom of people from tyranny. The freedom of a free life is crushed by tyrannical rule by those who think they are doing right. Often, we think of ourselves as heroes. Never for once, do we see ourselves as villains? Human nature is fickle. That’s what I felt from this story. Is humanity so fragile that it cannot stop to think for a second that war is pointless? That love, loss, suffering, and grief are the same? That’s what made me think in this novel. Tragic stories but a hint of hope as well.

This was an excellent novel. I give it a 10/10 and I cannot wait to see what happens in book 2!

I had high expectations. Having devoured Anna Stephen’s Godblind trilogy, I already knew I liked her writing style and character development. The book not only delivered on its promise, but swept me into a new world. I couldn’t put it down, and can’t recommend it enough for any fantasy fan.

Let’s face it, one strong protagonist is good. But multiple heroes you’re rooting for? Even better!

The Stone Knife is told through several points of view. From the faithful but innocent Tayan and his warrior husband, Lilla; Pilos – leader of an army – and Enet, a concubine with an appetite for power.

There’s too many to go into detail. You connect with each personality, their emotions and the complex relationships guiding their choices. You either love them, or love the fear of what they’ll do next. Stephens presents each character with strengths and vulnerabilities, making them easy to empathise with.

The Stone Knife is set in a world where individual tribes fall to an expanding empire. It’s a story of war and love; freedom and slavery, where fighting for your loved ones isn’t the highest price you could pay.

It drew me into the world from the start. The many fantastical names of tribes and people gave me pause, but it didn’t take long to get my head around.

The multiple viewpoints keep the pacing steady as perspectives shift, but the tension is undeniable right from the outset. As the characters are drawn deeper into danger, so are you.

Anna Stephens is a master of creating suspense. Her world-building draws you into a complex system of warring factions while her character development keeps your heart racing over what may befall them. Having read her previous work, I know no one is safe, and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

Several elements are at play at any one time. From familial relationships to the corruption of the very magic that keeps the empire standing. It’s not a light read, but you’re drawn so deep into this world you won’t be able to put it down either.

The Stone Knife is a dark fantasy. It’s battles and sacrifices, which, occasionally, made me squirm. You have to enjoy the darker side of fantasy to appreciate this book, otherwise you’ll be lost in the complex names.

But for those that do like this genre, I can’t recommend this enough.

I have read one of Anna Stephens books before, darksoul (without reading the first one) and so this is only my second exposure to her works. It was an interesting book and I would recommend it

The Empire of Songs has been assimilating the surrounding clans for generations. Now the last two clans must fight for their freedom.

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

The story is split between several of the characters.
The last free clans are in danger. The Pechacan (the Empire) has stolen their homelands, and forced them to the edge of civilisation.
On one side, the Empire's army nips at their heels, building roads and pyramids that relay their song, building their strength for a final push.
On the other, as the wet season rolls in, the danger from the Drowned increases. These are water-predators. They are humanoid, but more beast than human. They are violent, focussed on the kill, and have the ability to hypnotise their prey with song.
Setting up the pipes and pumps to provide the village with water is a very dangerous job. The Eja train for this, and are honoured to sacrifice their lives for this important task.
I really enjoyed following Xessa. She was born deaf - which in her community is a gift, not a disability. She is one of the best, she fights monsters every day, and keeps going back out there.

A last-ditch attempt at a peace treaty introduces the Empire, as the peace-weavers head the the very heart of the city.
On the surface, everything looks idyllic. Everyone is entranced by the Song, they are all connected by it, and can't live without it. The city provides advancements, comforts, and riches that are beyond the clans' simple lives.
When you look closer the cracks appear. The Empire enslave and brainwash the clans they capture, to serve them in any way they see fit. To be sold as a slave, or to be sacrificed to the gods.

They all worship the Singer, the leader of the Empire, a man so powerful that he transcends humanity and is viewed almost as a deity.
After a lifetime as being treated like a god, the Singer is a dangerous man. He is spoilt, and his mood quick to darken, with terrible results.
Around him, his Council are all rich and powerful people, driven by their own interests rather than what is best for the city and their citizens.

I really enjoyed the world-building, and I thought it was a very original take on the fantasy-fight-against-oppression; with the song infecting the masses. The Drowned are also suitably scary monsters, and how they are viewed differently by the free clans and the Empire.

The story and tensions are slow-building, a little bit too slow sometimes; but it was all worth it in the end.
There are very high stakes, and violence throughout.

I really enjoyed this introduction to the series, and look forward to the next installment.