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_marianal_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Falmes of Mira just broke me.
This book started off strong and stayed that way until the very end.
With a detailed magic system, a great world building and dark themes been explored.
If you like morally gray characters, this is the book for you. I loved Ig/Jakar and the fact that we get to know about his past and how he got his elemetal powers are just great.
Cannot wait to be able to read the next book.
This book started off strong and stayed that way until the very end.
With a detailed magic system, a great world building and dark themes been explored.
If you like morally gray characters, this is the book for you. I loved Ig/Jakar and the fact that we get to know about his past and how he got his elemetal powers are just great.
Cannot wait to be able to read the next book.
hijodelsol14's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
fermqs's review
1.0
What a huge disappointment. My main problem with it was the characters since the plot is paper thin and really simplistic. The characters don't act as people especially as people that want to survive or to achieve their goals. Every single decision from every main character is one that leads them predictably to more danger and further away from what they want. Multiple times characters are advised to do/not do something that the reader knows is a good advice and the character does the wrong thing every time. And why? To be convenient for the plot to move along otherwise it would be impossible for the plot to go on. Without that, there would be no tension and no story. Since the characters didn't care about their own goals and lives, why should I? There is no development, everyone is the same throughout the whole book and they have no personality whatsoever. And I really did not like how one of the characters is basically a deus ex machina.
Regarding the world building and the magic, the world seemed really interesting but the amount of info dumps in the middle of the story really took me out of it.
Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.
Regarding the world building and the magic, the world seemed really interesting but the amount of info dumps in the middle of the story really took me out of it.
Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.
bookish_benny's review
3.0
Enjoy fantasy and sci-fi books but no-one to talk to? Come join The SFF Oasis, an amazing book discord! We have buddy reads, trilogy reads, live author Q&As, virtual badges to collect, Dungeons & Dragons, writer's cafe and much much more! It's completely free and very welcoming. If you'd like to talk about books with future friends you can join here: http://discord.gg/c2hXSP5MsX
What a cover. The level of detail on the skin being burnt is really high plus it's a really cool cover that can be a theme across The Rift Walker series with each cover either featuring the same hand but maybe more and more damaged or potentially instead of burning, the next fist could be frozen. Lots of potential to help it stand out from the shelf and it will be interesting to see how this is done as the books are released.
When I got an arc for this book I read the first couple of pages and was immediately pulled into this new world Clay had created. Unfortunately, I had to put it off for a few months because I was busy reading some of the trilogy reads in The SFF Oasis discord and didn't want to fall behind on them. Well I finally managed to get around to it this week and I have some thoughts.
FoM primarily follows the story of a man called Ig (Igneous Rock?). Ig is a servant to the ruler of the city of Augustin and he controls Ig using word magic. If Ig disobeys a command he will eventually die from pain in his head so he is forced to do his master's bidding. That is until something goes wrong and thus kickstarts the story.
Ig isn't alone on this story as there are other characters. People like Emil, Mateo and Sara to name just a few and they each have their own chapters, personalities and goals but for me Ig was my favourite. I think because he has to follow his master's orders, and some of these involved killing people, Ig was stuck doing the dirty work. Add onto that the fact that no-one else knows about this word magic and Ig becomes an unpopular figure quickly. He actually faced so many moral dilemmas it's hard not to feel sorry for him.
I liked the roles of the other characters and each felt like they played their own part but I just found the overall character depth lacking slightly in parts, which prevented me from connecting to some of them deeply which is something I really like getting from a story. This is potentially because it's in first person and I prefer third person.
The magic in this book is definitely something I would class as magic. However, it is not magic in the sense of wands and spells. It's more raw than that and to be fair, it really fits the setting so it isn't one of the issues I had. The word magic and without spoiling anything, the Imbibing, work really well. I only wish there was a slightly clearer explanation about the Imbibing mechanics so I could fully immerse myself. It shares some mechanics with Mistborn and I felt that Mistborn had little info drops that helped. This isn't to say that Clay hasn't explained it but I found the nitty gritty specifics hard to grasp (might just be me, I do have ADHD).
The worldbuilding is where I would say that this story really sets itself apart. Set in a fully fictional world underground the planet's surface where the lower levels in Augustin are warm and for the rich, the higher, colder levels are for the poor. Don't even think about going onto the surface or you will freeze to death, literally. There is a lot of potential to have this turn into a story whereby humanity has had to move into the Earth's core over thousands of years and maybe a radioactive war on the surface has created the various creatures that feature in the story. The giant insects and other creatures were well imagined and I really enjoyed when the giant insects made their appearance as I felt it really fit the story well and provided another level of fantasy immersion.
This is a good debut by Clay Harmon but for me personally I felt that a couple of things prevented me from loving it. Firstly this is written in first person, so each chapter is a re-telling of events by the MC of their own chapter. Secondly, this is a plot driven story. The whole story revolves around an action point which generates the plot for the MC which then drives the individual characters to react and choose their personal goals. Personally I much prefer third person stories that are character driven with a small plot but big emphasis on character growth.
So, if you enjoy plot driven or first person fantasy stories, I expect you will enjoy Clay's debut. It features an underground world, giant insects, betrayal, magic, lava, sellswords and more. I'll go further and say that this feels like a hybrid of Mistborn+Red Rising+Clay Harmon so if you enjoyed either of those franchises I expect you'll enjoy this.
The book is out in July and you can pre-order this now in physical, eBook and audiobook formats.
What a cover. The level of detail on the skin being burnt is really high plus it's a really cool cover that can be a theme across The Rift Walker series with each cover either featuring the same hand but maybe more and more damaged or potentially instead of burning, the next fist could be frozen. Lots of potential to help it stand out from the shelf and it will be interesting to see how this is done as the books are released.
When I got an arc for this book I read the first couple of pages and was immediately pulled into this new world Clay had created. Unfortunately, I had to put it off for a few months because I was busy reading some of the trilogy reads in The SFF Oasis discord and didn't want to fall behind on them. Well I finally managed to get around to it this week and I have some thoughts.
FoM primarily follows the story of a man called Ig (Igneous Rock?). Ig is a servant to the ruler of the city of Augustin and he controls Ig using word magic. If Ig disobeys a command he will eventually die from pain in his head so he is forced to do his master's bidding. That is until something goes wrong and thus kickstarts the story.
Ig isn't alone on this story as there are other characters. People like Emil, Mateo and Sara to name just a few and they each have their own chapters, personalities and goals but for me Ig was my favourite. I think because he has to follow his master's orders, and some of these involved killing people, Ig was stuck doing the dirty work. Add onto that the fact that no-one else knows about this word magic and Ig becomes an unpopular figure quickly. He actually faced so many moral dilemmas it's hard not to feel sorry for him.
I liked the roles of the other characters and each felt like they played their own part but I just found the overall character depth lacking slightly in parts, which prevented me from connecting to some of them deeply which is something I really like getting from a story. This is potentially because it's in first person and I prefer third person.
The magic in this book is definitely something I would class as magic. However, it is not magic in the sense of wands and spells. It's more raw than that and to be fair, it really fits the setting so it isn't one of the issues I had. The word magic and without spoiling anything, the Imbibing, work really well. I only wish there was a slightly clearer explanation about the Imbibing mechanics so I could fully immerse myself. It shares some mechanics with Mistborn and I felt that Mistborn had little info drops that helped. This isn't to say that Clay hasn't explained it but I found the nitty gritty specifics hard to grasp (might just be me, I do have ADHD).
The worldbuilding is where I would say that this story really sets itself apart. Set in a fully fictional world underground the planet's surface where the lower levels in Augustin are warm and for the rich, the higher, colder levels are for the poor. Don't even think about going onto the surface or you will freeze to death, literally. There is a lot of potential to have this turn into a story whereby humanity has had to move into the Earth's core over thousands of years and maybe a radioactive war on the surface has created the various creatures that feature in the story. The giant insects and other creatures were well imagined and I really enjoyed when the giant insects made their appearance as I felt it really fit the story well and provided another level of fantasy immersion.
This is a good debut by Clay Harmon but for me personally I felt that a couple of things prevented me from loving it. Firstly this is written in first person, so each chapter is a re-telling of events by the MC of their own chapter. Secondly, this is a plot driven story. The whole story revolves around an action point which generates the plot for the MC which then drives the individual characters to react and choose their personal goals. Personally I much prefer third person stories that are character driven with a small plot but big emphasis on character growth.
So, if you enjoy plot driven or first person fantasy stories, I expect you will enjoy Clay's debut. It features an underground world, giant insects, betrayal, magic, lava, sellswords and more. I'll go further and say that this feels like a hybrid of Mistborn+Red Rising+Clay Harmon so if you enjoyed either of those franchises I expect you'll enjoy this.
The book is out in July and you can pre-order this now in physical, eBook and audiobook formats.
mirkilly's review
3.0
Thank you Mr. Harmon for providing me ARC copy of this one
Epic fantasy with incredible world building and innovative magic system, but the constant shifts between characters POVs somehow made the plot difficult to follow so I hope in the future the author will work on this. Nonetheless, great start for his first book!
Epic fantasy with incredible world building and innovative magic system, but the constant shifts between characters POVs somehow made the plot difficult to follow so I hope in the future the author will work on this. Nonetheless, great start for his first book!
cat_book_nook's review
4.0
I've read Flames of Mira by Clay Harmon, and I've really enjoyed it!
I've had this book on my tbr for ages and when I've seen it on Netgalley, I've snatched it.
I've had this book on my tbr for ages and when I've seen it on Netgalley, I've snatched it.
beelovesreading's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an arc.
I really wanted to enjoy this, but unfortunately it just didn't hit the right spot with me. That isn't to say the book was bad, it wasn't, it just seemed to drag a lot for me personally.
I really wanted to enjoy this, but unfortunately it just didn't hit the right spot with me. That isn't to say the book was bad, it wasn't, it just seemed to drag a lot for me personally.
jerusar's review
4.0
I was a little hesitant cause the whole lava world doesn’t really appeal to me. When I play BOTW Goron is always my least favorite part and I have to wear that stupid suit. BUT… this book is so not Goron City and I am really happy I decided to pick this up. I started it last night and I could not put it down. I kept thinking I knew exactly where the story was going and I was wrong every time. The “magic” system is really interesting though I’m not sure if the author meant it as magic per se but it was interesting nonetheless. The characters are great, decent battle scenes, lots of blood, some heartbreak, and I laughed out loud a few times… all the things that make a book a winner for me. I hope more and more people pick this up and I will definitely be suggesting it as an Indie feature for my book club. Can’t wait for the next one to come out.