Eleventh Cycle (Mistland Book 1)

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Though its shaping comes naturally from the higher being, talented mortals have also shown a proclivity for being able to mould it into equipment or magical objects. John also loves cooking international cuisine and kayaking the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. By making it a matriarchal society, there is a subtle (or perhaps not so subtle) commentary on humanity's own sexism and how our hubris holds us back as a species. I know there is so much that I missed just situating myself in the plot, and I cannot wait to explore this world further through rereads and into the sequels.

Kian N. Ardalan (Author of Eleventh Cycle) - Goodreads Kian N. Ardalan (Author of Eleventh Cycle) - Goodreads

If there's another aspect that is at the same level with worldbuilding, is how in contraposition with the darkness of the world, we are given characters we get to connect with them. At its core, Eleventh Cycle is a character-driven fantasy featuring four mortal protagonists living in a land that is indifferent to their struggles. Something about the way they stood with interlocked branches and leaning trunks made them appear in mid-dance.Inspired by Beserk and the Dark Souls games, you can feel the influences throughout the book – especially in the tone and atmosphere. It’s especially rewarding to see how everything comes together in the latter part of the book, as many of the subtle connections become clear. Eleventh Cycle is a gritty, grimdark fantasy novel with a huge list of trigger warnings (provided by the author), so not for the faint of heart!

Eleventh Cycle – Signed Bookplate - Inkstone Books Eleventh Cycle – Signed Bookplate - Inkstone Books

I deeply felt all of the character’s successes and failures; personally, I was most drawn to Delila and Chroma. While imperfect, this book read differently than any other fantasy book I have picked up, and I recommend to readers looking for their next chonky book.This isn’t the brand of grimdark that suggests that “everything sucks and that’s it”, but its ethos is more akin to “everything sucks, but maybe if we work hard enough we can make it 1% better”. Despite the glorious prophecies, the Eleventh Seed is just an innocent child trying to understand human emotions and make sense out of this complex, violent world. I want to give special mention to how James so respectfully adapted native American culture into his story, to the point that it even included non-binary individuals!