Thank you Netgalley and Rebellion publishing for providing me the arc in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads excerpt
One of Mira's most powerful elementals, Ig, works secretly as an enforcer for the corrupt Magnate Sorrelo Adriann but is cursed with flesh-binding magic — magic that will kill him at the first sign of disobedience. So his days are spent hunting down anyone who would oppose the magnate, a shell of his old self who clings to old memories and his budding friendships with the magnate's son and daughter.

When Sorrelo is overthrown in a coup, and the country is thrown into chaos, Ig quickly learns he can do far worse than what Sorrelo has asked from him so far.

Review
Firstly, I would like to appreciate the cover of this book. The intricate detail on the cover is incredible. Secondly, the book's best and most vital point is the magic and the worldbuilding. In this book, we basically follow two POVs- Ig and Princess Efadora. The way that the author created the magic system was fantastic. Exploring the powers of Ig and watching him fight was unlike anything I’ve ever read. This book is a page-turner and keeps the readers on the edge of their toes. Exploring the city of Mira and knowing about this underground city was fascinating. Also, this book gets dark fast, and I liked it.

Despite this, I had trouble connecting with the character of Efadora. Furthermore, there were times when info dumps were given and not in a subtle way, hindering my enjoyment.

Despite its shortcomings, this book will appeal to those who want to read a fast-paced unique fantasy book with fantastic magic.

This is a debut novel, and the start of a series. It's dark, epic fantasy, set in a complex fantasy world where cities are built below the surface of a volatile planet. A rebellion is brewing, and Magnate Sorrelo's hold over the city is at breaking point. The story is predominantly from Ig's point of view, Sorrelo's flesh bound slave, who has to do his bidding or his binding will kill him.

Ig is an interesting character, with very complex feelings towards the family who enslaves him. He goes through some great character development as the novel progresses. I also really liked the chapters from Efadora's perspective (one of Sorrelo's children).

The book started very strong, fell a little flat around the middle, and then picked up again towards the end. It's pretty gory and very dark at times, and I think it was just too dark for me, but YMMV. If book two has more Efadora then I will probably continue with the series, but perhaps when I'm in a better headspace and can handle how dark everything is.

Liked the political aspects of this book. Characters are unique and fresh. I did have a little problem with pacing of this book other than that it's a good read. Looking forward to the sequel.

There is something I realized through my years of reading fantasy:
If I am really lucky, I like the world, the plot and the characters and the book sparks joy.
If the plot is somewhat predictable or not interesting, but I like the world building and the characters, I can still enjoy the book.
If the world-building is weak, but plot is engaging and I like the characters, I can still enjoy the book.
But if I don't like the characters, it's doomed.
It's like if characters don't work, nothing works.

And that's what happened with Flames of Mira and me.

-Many reviews are praising the world building Clay Harmon created and I can only add mine to that. Because of the freezing temperature of the planet, people live under the ground. Subterranean world with magma bubbling all ove the place contrasted by ice surface is an incredibly interesting setting and you immediately have a wish to see concept art or something.
Magic system that comes straight from the Sanderson's school of magic systems is complicated, and the most simple explanation behind elemental magic of Ra'Thuzan is that people are bound to a certain element which makes them able to work in a certain field: Cartographers of the Archive are bound to quartz, Smiths of the Foundry are bound to iron, etc. But, this magic system is connected to science and entirely dependent on chemistry and laws of physics, which complicates the matter further and makes rules about magic not as clear as characters previously believed. For example, in order for our hero Ig, to manipulate rock or magma, he had to be bound to every chemical component of it. And, yes, some of the explanations on how magic works are a bit info-dumpy, but it's also very interesting since it opens up a lot of possibilities and makes you ask how would something else work, especially with ice/magma dichotomy of the setting.
I'll be honest: I really had a hard time envisioning the geography of Mira and how it came to be (I really hope they'll include some kind of map in final version of the book), but as I understood (and please, correct me if I'm wrong) constant seismic activity of the planet Ra'Thuzan created The Rift, a giant fissure, that separates Mira from rest of the world. This land was previously consisting of 6 independent territories who are under Sovereign turned into Mira. Each of the territories is ruled by a magnate and they act as vassals to the Sovereign and his primordia, incredibly powerful individuals who literally arrive as falling meteors from the sky.
-Considering how intricate the world building of Flames of Mira is, plot is thankfully pretty straightforward and simple. Ig is flesh-bound servant of the magnate of Augustine. That means he has to obey every command he gives him, no matter how despicable it is or how opposed he is to doing it. Magnate Sorrelo is a very paranoid man fearing for his position and once his fears proved to be real Ig is bound by his final command- to help his children. The story than diverges following each of the Sorello kids- Emil, Sara and Efadora until they meet and reclaim the Augustine again. A bit predictable, but I didn't mind it. Considering the series is called The Rift-Walker I imagine the story will open further and the stakes will be much higher than petty skirmishes between individual territories of Mira in future instalments.
-Which brings me to characters. Despite the fact there are two pov characters, Ig and Efadora, I'd say there is only one main character and that's Ig. Technically this books is flawless, it's like every box on how the book should be written is ticked, but I was so detached from characters, no matter how invested in world or plot I was and wanted to be. Characters felt robotic- with Ig it's because he's constricted due to the fact he has no free will and others use him, so he has to do it and you read from his pov he doesn't want that and he is disgusted, but does it anyway because he has no choice. This is entirely subjective, but I don't like to read "Get Out" premise; I don't like to read from point of view of controlled character who is aware of that control. On the other hand, I never understood why Efadora had pov chapters and I got the feeling she was necessary to tie in the Emil's and Sara's/Ig's arcs. All Sorello kids are perfect- Efadora is this precocious child who is incredibly observant and capable. Emil is perfect paragon with heroic tendencies and kind heart, Sara is beautiful and dangerous, but actually Robyn Hood. And I was surprised that by the end the bonds between Ig and each Sorello were highlighted, like it's something there worth all of his struggles and sacrifices and I saw nothing. Every interaction they had with Ig didn't endear them to me at all, it felt plot-driven, not because it deepened their relationship and I wasn't invested in their revenge/reclaiming the Augustine at all. Hence, I didn't particularly care what happens to them and since Ig has no free will, he has no control of what happens.
I liked Mateo. Primordia are also interesting characters- they are all individual with their own agenda, secretive and intriguing, but they appear as side-characters, not always directly involved. That final battle was the best part of the book for me. I hope next book will focus on Ig (who will, I hope, become someone who makes things happen, instead of just things happening to him). I think the mission he goes to at the end of the book to be considerably more important that Sorellos, so I want to see what Jakar'll do with Black Depths. Plus, if primordia are this powerful, what can Sovereign do? I do want to find out.

I am sad this one didn't work for me, but it did bring my attention to new author with incredible talent. :)

A gripping read, worth checking by readers interested in intriguing worldbuilding, solid characterization, and clever plots. Recommended.

As soon as I saw the cover of this book I was immediately attracted to it and wanted to find out more. After reading the synopsis, I was totally hooked and couldn't wait to snag an early copy. Rebellion was kind enough to provide one and with that, I eagerly jumped into this fascinating story. Part of what made this such a great read for me was the tight world-building and the uniquely cool magic system. A magic system that includes dipping your entire arm in molten lava (in the case of Ig) to smite your enemies. The results are pretty devastating and quite a firestorm to say the least. But that's just one of the super original and dazzling forms of magic that permeate throughout this book.

Getting back to the world-building, Clay Harmon has created one of the more interesting settings for FLAMES OF MIRA and it is almost a character unto itself. It's always rewarding when an author imagines a world with such depth that it becomes an integral part to the story. Those are some of my favorite stories in fact. A subterranean volcanic world that exists underneath a frozen wasteland above is about as good as it gets for me, and there were many moments that I found myself getting lost in this setting as much as I was sucked into the characters' lives and backstory.

Luckily the characters are in no way overshadowed by the off the charts world-building and magic as the intrigue and treachery are hot and heavy in this one, making for tons of tension and action. I mean, this is a book with so much going for it and the pages turn so quickly and easily. I found the pace to be pretty breakneck, this is not a novel where there are many lulls or dead spaces. In that respect it reminded me a lot of say a Jeremy Szal or Mike Shackle book, plenty of in your face fights and assassins looking to take out their targets at the easiest opportunity.

I would just like to wrap up by saying just how glad I was to be able to get a chance to read FLAMES OF MIRA. It ticked off so many boxes of things that I love in a satisfying read. The dark tone, expansive world-building, sensational magic, and characters who are defintely of the morally gray variety, this is a book and series that I feel will make some big waves. If you haven't read this one yet, I highly recommend that you do so at the first opportunity. It was so much fun (in a grimdarky kind of way). Clay Harmon is a new author on the scene, but has already given us so much in FLAMES OF MIRA. I supect he still has much much more up his sleeve and I honestly can't wait to see how this story evolves and where he takes The Rift Walker series from here.

Flames of Mira was a really promising debut novel from Clay Harmon. This book had a setting that is very different from those you tend to see in most fantasy novels, it was set in and around volcanoes. In my opinion the Characters and World Building really shine through in this one. My favorite perspective was Jakar, and whenever it would switch to Efadora I would try to get back to the main character's POV as soon as possible. But my biggest criticism of this book was how little the magic system is actually explained, that is fine when it is a soft magic system but when it is a hard magic system like it seems like it is in this one, I would like a more in depth exploration of it.

I received an eARC come of this book via NetGalley.

I have to say I am incredibly impressed with this book. To start my rating is actually 4.5/5. I really enjoyed the subterranean world that we explore within this novel. Additionally, the magic system and what a character has to go through to obtain that power were a delight to read.

However, this book is a BRUTAL dark fantasy. Not just in its violence but also in its underlying themes of slavery, toxic relationships, rage, broken families, murder, and war. If any of these topics bug you then this may not be the book for you. That said I do feel the book is excepted with care and finesse.

The characters themselves are dynamic and really entertaining to read. They are not good people and are incredibly damaged in more ways than one. Learning about Jakar, Emil, Sara, Mateo, and Efadora kept me constantly on the edge of my seat.

One of my few criticisms here is the acronym POW starts randomly appearing in later chapters and get used quite a bit. This is an Arc copy so that could be addressed for the final release. Also because the characters are so damaged they struggle with who they are. What they want and what they are
Willing to do to achieve their goals. It can get a bit exhausting towards the end of the book. That’s not necessarily a con more of just an observation. Overall the author has achieved something really great with this book and I cannot wait to read more from him.

Things I liked about this book: The worldbuilding, especially. The entire world seems to be underground, which means a lot of new plants and animals for everyone to be able to survive down there. There's also a cool elemental magic system, which uses *actual elements* like oxygen or silicon.

What I didn't like: the characters. It was hard for me to relate to anyone in this book. Our main character murders someone in chapter one, because he was forced by his master, but we later find he doesn't actually want to be free either. Sorry, that's neither admirable nor relatable to me. The other characters are the leading family of this city-state, most of whom appear to also be terrible people. I did like the youngest sister, but the book primarily focuses on other people.

There's plenty of tension and action and gory fighting. That's not so much my thing, but many fantasy lovers will like it, I think.

What a fantastic fantasy read!
I really enjoyed this novel.

Clay Harmon did an incredible job combining three key components namely authentic characters, an interesting magic system and a rather special underground world. While I am not a regular reader of this type of fantasy, I found the story development and world building to be surprisingly good.

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and to Solaris for proving me an eArc of one of my most anticipated release in exchange of a honest review.
My opinions here are my own.

First thing first, let's talk about thr worldbuilding. I think it is the main strength of this book.
The world that has been made by the author was very original. And the magic system really intriguing and fascinating. You take some time to understand it though but really I love the originality of it.
I liked the atmosphere, the feel of this world. Prepare a winter jacket lol
However, I feel like a map of the world is very missed. I struggled sometimes to spatially visualise some events. Something that I really need to enjoy even more the books. For example, I just know that Radavich is far from Augustin lol and you need to take The Granit Road to move from city to city ? Really, it was difficult to have a kind of 4d vision of what was going on.

The characters: I really liked our main character Ig and really easy to connect to. And you're just rooting for him because his life is not that easy. Some moments I was frustrated by his choices and then you see his growth.
Some characters, you really really hate. You'll know who I promise lol

The Plot: Opposite to the worldbuilding the politicking, the intrigue was simple, familiar. Nothing out of the ordinary really but is you enjoy political intrigues, rebellions and power struggles set in a unique world. You'll enjoy it. Moreover, Clay Harmon's writing style is very easy for the eyes.
At moments, tough, it fell flat for me making my loosing my interest for the story but I kept going because of the characters. And I'm glad I did.

Overall, 3.5/5 is pretty solid for a fantasy debut. I can't wait to see how the story evolves and where our heros are going from there. I feel like this series can get better as there's a solid foundation.

I think this book is a good debut book for an author who loves fantasy genre.

The author took some time to explore the world, background and the magic in this book and since this is a chunker, he had a lot of time to do this. The magic system is very complex and based on earth and kind of elemental in some ways. The worldbuilding is also interesting, a world filled with fire and water and a magic revolving them is different to read. The character work is also very good and memorable.

The flaws in this book is mostly about the author being a debut author. The book was very chunky and the magic system and the world building is very complex so that it felt like he was still showing us the magic at the end of the book too. It felt like he was still withholding many informations and waiting to show us them on the next books. Every author does this when they write a series but this one felt like he is doing them just because he has to explore them in the future, Experienced authors does this seamlessly.

Final thoughts: I think anyone can read this book for interesting world building and Magic Systems but i need the other books in the series to say for sure that this series is the best.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. I will update Netgalley once I read & review a physical copy.

My review will be based on the physical ARC I read.

Flames of Mira was an interesting concept but I felt that was all it was. The plot felt light and lacking of growth and depth for some arcs. The POV was lost within side characters and the information felt like a dump at points. The world-building was unique and epic in scale but sometimes so much information can be too much and it really took me out of the story more times than I would have liked for the first in a series.

Okay, this is a hard one to review. The world building and magic system was really cool and well thought out. It feels like there is a lot more to explore, and that this could potentially turn into a really big universe of stories.

The execution of the actual story and plot in this book was a different story though. I found it hard to get through, mostly because of unlikable characters and confusing storylines. However, I still might pick up a sequel as I'm excited to see where the author takes the magic system from here.

This was an excellent debut. It has a very unique world, which is set underground. The magic system is also very interesting and complex. It reminded me a bit of the magic systems in Mistborn and The Fifth Season in its complexity and the way it uses the earth as its source.
The character work also doesn't disappoint with some memorable characters.
The plot kept me interested and I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
The things I didn't like as much, was that it took me a while to understand how the magic works (and I still can't say I 100% get it) and the action scenes, though not bad in any case, could have been better I think.
This is a remarkable debut and truly one of the best I've read. Mr. Harmon is one to watch..

A powerful and thought provoking first instalment to the Rift Walker series.

Ig who is rescued after his captivity within a horrific cult. His life is one of struggle and pain. Perhaps his rescuers can change his life for the better, perhaps not.

Creative world building. A world full of stone and fire, the whole time I was envisioning a hell on earth. Pyremoss filters through tunnels, lighting the ways through the cold, icy stone walls. Pools of red hot lava litter the smiths working areas. I definitely haven’t read anything similar and it was great to read about.

Characters where both charming and hateful. Ig goes through a horrible journey, his flesh binding him to the will of his master, forcing him to do any horrible deed they deem necessary. Abusive relationships are paramount in this story, showing you the evils in which people will go to, in order to control and use someone to their benefit.

The plot did slow down quite considerably at points. I don’t want to say a lot about the plot, it’s best if you RAFO. It did keep me going. A lot of battle scenes, which were really cool when they included the magic system..oh the magic system, wait until you see what Ig can do! A lot of battle intrigue. The plot is Ig and the gang who are trying to reclaim the throne and that’s all I’ll say.

4/5 stars. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys their fantasy with a dash of BrandoSando and Pierce Brown. You can catch me on Twitter - @readsgavin

I got this book from Netgalley and these opinions are my own. There was a lot of really cool world building with this one, which I enjoyed! I think I sometimes struggle with books that are more complex and that have a lot going on so I got lost in it at times. And I of feel like there was information that wasn't completely discussed in the book! Seemingly these will be expanded on in future books... it was still really good though and I think for people who are avid fantasy readers this book is perfect for you!

Clay Harmon’s debut is a fantastically written dark fantasy set in a subterranean world where the cities are made in giant fissures. Surrounded by ice above and magma below Mira is a harsh world rife with grotesque monsters, morally gray characters or out right villains.

And yet with the main POV Ig a character forced to committing atrocities for his masters. The overall theme is redemption. And it asks the question can someone who’s forced to commit evil acts redeem himself.

The Flames Of Mira has some of the best world building you could ever ask to read in a fantasy series. And the magic system that Clay Harmon created is a must read for fans of hard magic systems. If you like reading writers such as Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Nick Martell, Jeremy Greathouse and others than you’ll love reading the Flames Of Mira.

I received an ARC for an honest review and so thank you to Rebellion Publishing. Highly recommended and I can’t wait for the equal to the Rift Wars Saga.

Thank you Mr. Harmon for providing me ARC copy of this one

Epic fantasy with incredible world building and innovative magic system, but the constant shifts between characters POVs somehow made the plot difficult to follow so I hope in the future the author will work on this. Nonetheless, great start for his first book!