Obsidian: Awakening (Book one of Obsidian Series)

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It’s hard to describe the exact plot, largely because it’s mostly setting up the multiple character arcs for future books. Make no mistake, the cast features a writhing nest of deadly vipers who will sink their fangs into anyone who gets in the way of their goals. There are some dark and brutal elements to every character arc presented, and this is not a story with a happily ever after. These characters are not just resolved – they are relentless, as implacable as the heat of the Black and White Desert that beats down upon them.

It came up out of her without thinking, thrown together by the shame of having allowed herself to be played by her enemy––the response she would have considered unwise had she been more calm and composed, only now she found she couldn’t stop, “You are just as foul and as despicable as your men, that is what I think of you. So I was very much surprised to enjoy reading it as much as I did and find that it did not do to me what I expected from something labeled “grimdark” – and rightfully.Thrown as a child into a prison of depravity and torture, none of the atrocities this man who rode with his troops to conquer the Vilarhiti, commands or commits with his own hands rival the things he saw, suffered, feared, endured. On June 8th, I began a project to read the first chapters of all 300 entries to the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO), a competition run since 2015 to raise awareness of high-quality self-published fantasy books. I picked this book up originally as a filler of time, and hoped for "good enough" - and instead found a well developed plot, believable and relatable characters and a story i couldn't wait to keep reading. But there are circles within circles at play and not everything in this world – like the characters - is black and white.

It was actually the high quality of Natalie’s book that encouraged me to investigate SPFBO9 further. And all the slower build up is already proving to be so worth it by the end of this book, so I can only imagine how rewarding and impactful the final end result will be. I couldn’t understand why Muradi never seemed to get bored of her game playing either, when he has twenty years and plenty of other women. Im going into spoilers straight away below, but if you love epic fantasy and great writing, pick this up immediately.

That’s because everything about this magnificent book makes it a fertile oasis for waxing lyrical about it. This was particularly noticeable with Hasheem, a Shakshi who'd lived most of his life in Rashawri, but who seemed to adjust remarkably quickly to living in Djari's White Desert Kha'gan. Now, as this is the first instalment in an epic fantasy series, I do have to say that there is a lot of slow set-up, and especially the first half of the book requires a lot of trust and patience from the reader. As the only description you’re getting of this man is from her own perspective, she doesn’t 100% hate his guts. And Muradi tells Ghaul to leave him … ostensibly to get food, water, and firewood, but everyone knows it’s to let Zahara kill him.