Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Reviewer: Tony
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About The Book
Vael stole magic from the gods for Her people and put an end to centuries of unrest.
Now magic is gone, and the battle for the Witchlands’s soul begins
After a millennium of prosperity and magic, one catastrophic night undoes the realm of Yvaelen. Magic has fallen, and prayers to Vael the Giver go unanswered.
Jal Riago knows when it’s time to move on from a con. She can’t maintain her false refugee heiress story forever, and her benefactors grow weary of playing host. Just when she’s about to confess and cut ties, a deadly raid sets Jal’s life on a collision course with a powerful entity reckoning with its own madness.
The young, steadfast King Thealys Vorrine inherited the throne of Dynestra after her parents’ deaths at Spellfall. But sparks of unrest flare all too quickly into the unpredictable wildfire of rebellion, and King Vorrine must forge headlong into unknown territory.
Royal knight and notorious rake Ember Carrado is trying his best to get fired. Instead, when he’s paired with a judgmental paladin and sent on a mission to hunt down a rampaging mythical beast, he finds himself face-to-face with the past he’s been running from since Spellfall.
Beacon Wylda Lorcanthas wields a sharp tongue and the second-highest office in the Church of Vael. When the head of the Faith dies, Wylda must seek out a biddable successor. Unfortunately, the clergy’s clear favorite is a charismatic priest who promises the restoration of magic—for those willing to partake of a bloody cost.
The dark betrayal behind Spellfall, and the very fabric of Yvaelen’s faith, will be hidden no longer. What began with a thief’s touch will end with a reckoning. And salvation for some may be a waking nightmare for others.
The Review
The Heresy of Thieves (Spellfall Book One) is an unexpected joy. It’s a busy, multi-character point of view saga, sprinkled with recipes and excerpts from ‘historical’ and ‘social’ documents relating to the Spellfall universe. There are heroes and villains vying for victory in a world once full of magic and now full of steampunk inventions, trying to fill the gap left by magic’s absence. A ‘fake’ prophet / dictator has his work cut out subduing the populace, while the ‘mother god’ is waking up, and not at all happy about what she finds.
It is a beautiful tale, full of light and darkness, love and loss, and greed and compliance. The characters are fallible, scheming and realistic. This is not a world where gender or sexual orientation has any bearing on standing. It’s also a story about a dubious decision made long ago that is now coming undone. It’s not all about wicked people being called to account, though there is definitely one character that will need to account for their actions. Instead, it’s about people trying to do the best they can and maybe failing.
There are a lot of misguided people here paying the ultimate price, alongside quite a few innocents. Book One ends on a cliff hanger, and asks an important question.
This meandering story begins like a collection of amusing vignettes that are rapidly woven into a dark tale of loss, and hopes for redemption. I loved it. I need book two now!
The Reviewer
Tony is an Englishman living amongst the Welsh and the Other Folk in the mountains of Wales. He lives with his partner of thirty-six years, four dogs, two ponies, various birds, and his bees. He is a retired lecturer and a writer of no renown but that doesn’t stop him enjoying what he used to think of as ‘sensible’ fantasy and sf. He’s surprised to find that if the story is well written and has likeable characters undergoing the trails of life, i.e. falling in love, falling out of love, having a bit of nooky (but not all the time), fending off foes, aliens and monsters, etc., he’ll be happy as a sandperson who has just offloaded a wagon of sand at the going market price. As long as there’s a story, he’s in. He aims to write fair and honest reviews. If he finds he is not the target reader he’ll move on.
