Review: A Sea of Cinders by Adam R. Bishop
Blurb:
In Cellagor—a land segregated between humans and Elves—fear, manipulation and war are inevitable. Nearly one hundred years have passed since the War of the Fallen, a cataclysmic battle between human and Elf which left both races teetering on the brink of extinction. Now, the Age of Tranquility is finally nearing its end, and the northern King of Havelmir is hungry for power and revenge.
The Elven peace of mind remains unchanged—that is, until the Kingdom of Rhan is threatened by unknown forces. Soon it becomes clear that the tranquil Elven existence is once again at risk of crumbling. However, even with the element of surprise, the road to victory is not as smooth as it may seem. Ulterior motives are afoot, ancient magic is resurfacing, and an unlikely friendship between two young men may just pose the biggest threat of them all.
Review:
A Sea of Cinders is a fun, imaginative, and intense debut novel from Adam R. Bishop. This is a fantastic, classic fantasy novel with echoes of nostalgia while maintaining a modern feel that flirts playfully with grimdark motifs.
The story hinges around a megalomaniac King with a desire to resurrect a near century old vendetta against the Elven kingdoms. He's allied himself with a pyromancer from across the ocean to burn down the Elven forest with the unwitting help of a handful of prisoners and our main characters, William and Baldric.
William and Baldric have fantastic back-and-forth banter which provides refreshing levity while this multi-POV story simultaneously assaults the reader with truly evil villains and horrific acts of war and brutality. This balance is so well done that I felt myself truly shocked by some of the grislier scenes in the book. Bishop takes your heart on an impressive tight-rope walk of emotions with a degree of skill that shouldn’t be permitted in a first-time author.
In my opinion, the strongest aspect of Bishop's debut novel is his worldbuilding. Baldric is a lover of history and peppers historical vignettes throughout his conversations, which I loved. It's obvious that Bishop has so much story to tell and such a rich, full world to explore.
This is a debut novel and there is some clunky prose. However, as I mentioned, the banter and quips between our main characters is fun and entertaining. In general, the dialogue throughout the novel is better than I expect for a debut novel. But for me, I always choose story over prose, and Bishop has story in spades.
In the end, I highly recommend this debut novel from Bishop. The story is engaging and complex with twists and turns, betrayal and brutal murder. Bishop brings the brutality of modern grimdark fantasy to what is, at its heart, a heroic tale of good vs evil, love over prejudice. There are scenes from this book that have written themselves into my heart and I am confident I will still be reflecting on them in the months ahead.
I can't wait to read his sequel, A Prophecy Unsung, and am confident this will be a series to follow moving forward! Adam has promised me the series is going to be massive and I'm here for it!
**Also, be on the lookout for some really fun Led Zeppelin and Dark Tower Easter eggs!
