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trueperception's review against another edition
3.0
A thinly veiled metaphor for Christian faith, and the "necessity" thereof.
fieldofhats's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Because I had never known trust, or what it means to fight with comrades who would defend me to the death, until I came here.”
This is one of the weirdest books I have ever read. I don’t mean that derogatorily, the weirdness aides the novel, but it is undeniably wacky. I read this because I loved Jaleigh Johnson’s prequel to the new D&D movie, The Road to Neverwinter, and thought I might enjoy her other Forgotten Realms novels. I did enjoy this one quite a bit, but it was much darker than I expected. Unbroken Chain is an adult dark fantasy, and the content can be gruesome. I’ll get into that later, but this novel does seem to tow the slightly-problematic-but-well-meaning line that many Forgotten Realms novels do, and that’s the main reason this book is 4 stars and not 5. TW: self harm and torture.
Firstly, the writing is beautiful. The prose are incredible, the fights are dynamic, and the dialogue can be witty, cunning, and full of tension. When describing the nightmare for the first time Johnson writes, “A black, equine shape towered over him, its hooves striking bronze sparks against the metal. But there were no shoes on the beast to make the fire. Its flame came from within.” That tells you everything you need to know about the physical description and inner nature of the creature, wrapped in stunning writing. The milieu and setting is also fantastic; seeing the underdark in the Drizzt series was so much fun, but seeing the shadowfell was such a unique experience.
Ashok is a fantastic main character. His arc is clear and concise, and we see it through his eyes. We meet Ashok exactly where he’s at — if he doesn’t want to reveal something, we don’t get to know it. We know his feelings and thoughts in the present moment, but nothing more. If he’s thinking or talking about the past or future we see that, but only from the perspective of where he is right now.
We get to know many other characters, but the central conflict surrounds Ashok, Vedoran, and Uwan. The relationship between Ashok and Vedoran is heartbreaking because they could have been wonderful friends, if it weren’t for Vedoran’s misguided jealousy and rage. That’s what makes him such a great villain. Uwan’s unwavering honor to what he believes ends up harming those around him, which is why it’s so satisfying when he rectifies his beliefs at the very end of the novel after nearly being killed.
The theme progression in this novel is nothing short of phenomenal. There are two main themes: community and inner demons. Watching Ashok find community in Ikemmu was heartwarming, and the conflict that rages between wanting to be free and wanting camaraderie in his companions is an incredible internal struggle. The scene where he tamed the nightmare was intense, but it was indicative of his journey — he longs to be free, so he identifies with the creature. He befriends it, but does not dominate it. The nightmare is free, unlike Ashok. Or perhaps, Ashok is free; perhaps friendship and community is what he has needed to be free all along. The latter idea is further proven to light in the aftermath of that scene, when he’s plagued by nightmares. He wants his life in Ikemmu to be real, but he doesn’t know if it is, or if he deserves it. Johnston writes, “Ikemmu—his deepest desires given form—all of it couldn’t have been just a dream.” And before Ashok accepts the rescue mission from Uwan, he thinks, “the enclave was his nightmare. He couldn’t go back to it.” That is the turning point of his character arc. Even when he thinks about leaving in the latter half of the book, he only wants to leave to escape judgement from his friends, and later on to protect the city.
The second theme is about the darkness within humanity (or, shadar-kai). The shadar-kai of Ikemmu channel their “darkness” into service of Tempus and training to defend the city. They do all they can to keep their dark nature in control, unlike others. As Uwan says, referring to the shadar-kai of Ashok’s previous enclave, “The line we walk … That thread is so delicate as to be terrifying, Ashok. We could become them so easily—without order, without discipline to govern our passions.” This speaks to human nature and the battles we fight, and how moderation is key in everything.
There are a few things about the Forgotten Realms that this book doesn’t explain well, if at all. If you weren’t familiar with certain races (specifically the “dark ones”, which is vague and never explained) you may be very confused. They give decent explanations for the underdark, shadowfell, and the shadar-kai, but not nearly enough. Furthermore, the placement of Ikemmu itself was confusing. Because humans, dwarves, halflings, etc. lived there I thought it was in the underdark. After they passed through the veil I realize that there are two versions of the city and the one we follow is the the Shadowfell, but that wasn’t well explained enough before.
Now, there were aspects of this novel that were weirdly problematic. A whole race of beings who have to inflict pain upon themselves to feel alive? I get that escaping one’s dark nature is a strong theme, but that just wasn’t needed. Although it must be said that this isn’t necessarily all the author’s fault; she was working with a pre-established world and race with gimmicks and cultures that were already set in stone. That doesn’t excuse it, but it does lift the weight from the author, at least a little. The torture scene, however, where Johnson goes way in-depth about the injuries and horrors, wasn’t necessary at all. The same thing could have been conveyed in a much less gratuitous fashion.
Overall, this was a VERY strong Forgotten Realms novel covering a setting and race that isn’t explored much in the lore. If you love adult fantasy, dark fantasy, themes of found family and community, themes of overcoming darkness, definitely give this one a read. However, proceed at your own caution with the heavy content.
This is one of the weirdest books I have ever read. I don’t mean that derogatorily, the weirdness aides the novel, but it is undeniably wacky. I read this because I loved Jaleigh Johnson’s prequel to the new D&D movie, The Road to Neverwinter, and thought I might enjoy her other Forgotten Realms novels. I did enjoy this one quite a bit, but it was much darker than I expected. Unbroken Chain is an adult dark fantasy, and the content can be gruesome. I’ll get into that later, but this novel does seem to tow the slightly-problematic-but-well-meaning line that many Forgotten Realms novels do, and that’s the main reason this book is 4 stars and not 5. TW: self harm and torture.
Firstly, the writing is beautiful. The prose are incredible, the fights are dynamic, and the dialogue can be witty, cunning, and full of tension. When describing the nightmare for the first time Johnson writes, “A black, equine shape towered over him, its hooves striking bronze sparks against the metal. But there were no shoes on the beast to make the fire. Its flame came from within.” That tells you everything you need to know about the physical description and inner nature of the creature, wrapped in stunning writing. The milieu and setting is also fantastic; seeing the underdark in the Drizzt series was so much fun, but seeing the shadowfell was such a unique experience.
Ashok is a fantastic main character. His arc is clear and concise, and we see it through his eyes. We meet Ashok exactly where he’s at — if he doesn’t want to reveal something, we don’t get to know it. We know his feelings and thoughts in the present moment, but nothing more. If he’s thinking or talking about the past or future we see that, but only from the perspective of where he is right now.
We get to know many other characters, but the central conflict surrounds Ashok, Vedoran, and Uwan. The relationship between Ashok and Vedoran is heartbreaking because they could have been wonderful friends, if it weren’t for Vedoran’s misguided jealousy and rage. That’s what makes him such a great villain. Uwan’s unwavering honor to what he believes ends up harming those around him, which is why it’s so satisfying when he rectifies his beliefs at the very end of the novel after nearly being killed.
The theme progression in this novel is nothing short of phenomenal. There are two main themes: community and inner demons. Watching Ashok find community in Ikemmu was heartwarming, and the conflict that rages between wanting to be free and wanting camaraderie in his companions is an incredible internal struggle. The scene where he tamed the nightmare was intense, but it was indicative of his journey — he longs to be free, so he identifies with the creature. He befriends it, but does not dominate it. The nightmare is free, unlike Ashok. Or perhaps, Ashok is free; perhaps friendship and community is what he has needed to be free all along. The latter idea is further proven to light in the aftermath of that scene, when he’s plagued by nightmares. He wants his life in Ikemmu to be real, but he doesn’t know if it is, or if he deserves it. Johnston writes, “Ikemmu—his deepest desires given form—all of it couldn’t have been just a dream.” And before Ashok accepts the rescue mission from Uwan, he thinks, “the enclave was his nightmare. He couldn’t go back to it.” That is the turning point of his character arc. Even when he thinks about leaving in the latter half of the book, he only wants to leave to escape judgement from his friends, and later on to protect the city.
The second theme is about the darkness within humanity (or, shadar-kai). The shadar-kai of Ikemmu channel their “darkness” into service of Tempus and training to defend the city. They do all they can to keep their dark nature in control, unlike others. As Uwan says, referring to the shadar-kai of Ashok’s previous enclave, “The line we walk … That thread is so delicate as to be terrifying, Ashok. We could become them so easily—without order, without discipline to govern our passions.” This speaks to human nature and the battles we fight, and how moderation is key in everything.
There are a few things about the Forgotten Realms that this book doesn’t explain well, if at all. If you weren’t familiar with certain races (specifically the “dark ones”, which is vague and never explained) you may be very confused. They give decent explanations for the underdark, shadowfell, and the shadar-kai, but not nearly enough. Furthermore, the placement of Ikemmu itself was confusing. Because humans, dwarves, halflings, etc. lived there I thought it was in the underdark. After they passed through the veil I realize that there are two versions of the city and the one we follow is the the Shadowfell, but that wasn’t well explained enough before.
Now, there were aspects of this novel that were weirdly problematic. A whole race of beings who have to inflict pain upon themselves to feel alive? I get that escaping one’s dark nature is a strong theme, but that just wasn’t needed. Although it must be said that this isn’t necessarily all the author’s fault; she was working with a pre-established world and race with gimmicks and cultures that were already set in stone. That doesn’t excuse it, but it does lift the weight from the author, at least a little. The torture scene, however, where Johnson goes way in-depth about the injuries and horrors, wasn’t necessary at all. The same thing could have been conveyed in a much less gratuitous fashion.
Overall, this was a VERY strong Forgotten Realms novel covering a setting and race that isn’t explored much in the lore. If you love adult fantasy, dark fantasy, themes of found family and community, themes of overcoming darkness, definitely give this one a read. However, proceed at your own caution with the heavy content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Blood, and Self harm
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