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kevinscorner's review
5.0
In Ellasia, the precious metal Isyr rules all. It is by which great weapons are made by kings, treasures are valued by the wealthy, and rituals are performed by the temple. When its purity is lost, only its impure form Isyrium remains, controlled by mining syndicates to whom even kings become beholden. And all around the borders of the kingdom of Lankara, a mysterious new illness is ravaging and their entire world is threatened.
The Many Shades of Midnight circles around three men. Alyas is a disgraced Duke with a secret, called back by his King to help contain the plague. At his side is Esar, his ever-loyal foster brother who wants for nothing but to save his brother from those who would harm him, even from Alyas himself. When they meet Brivar, an apprentice surgeon from the temple sent to investigate the nature of the plague, these three men will discover a conspiracy so great that destruction is guaranteed whether it is kept secret or brought to light.
This book is dark, gritty, and impossible to put down. The story unfolds beautifully as each piece of the puzzle is revealed, unraveling layer upon layer of an intricate plot that will leave you bracing for the inevitable fall. There’s action, suspense, and endless intrigue that I was constantly on the edge of my seat, breathless with anticipation.
A standalone fantasy, it builds a complex and textured world while telling an intimate story through three compelling men. In Brivar, we see a somewhat naive and idealistic young man who just wants to serve and is taken in by a charismatic man he isn’t sure he can trust. In Alyas, we get a man at the end of his ropes, who carries on his shoulders a responsibility he never wanted. And in Esar, a man full of fraternal love and unquestionable loyalty. There could not have been more perfect characters to show both honor and moral grayness.
The Many Shades of Midnight is one of the best indie fantasies I have ever read and possibly one of my favorite standalone fantasies ever. I cannot recommend this enough.
The Many Shades of Midnight circles around three men. Alyas is a disgraced Duke with a secret, called back by his King to help contain the plague. At his side is Esar, his ever-loyal foster brother who wants for nothing but to save his brother from those who would harm him, even from Alyas himself. When they meet Brivar, an apprentice surgeon from the temple sent to investigate the nature of the plague, these three men will discover a conspiracy so great that destruction is guaranteed whether it is kept secret or brought to light.
This book is dark, gritty, and impossible to put down. The story unfolds beautifully as each piece of the puzzle is revealed, unraveling layer upon layer of an intricate plot that will leave you bracing for the inevitable fall. There’s action, suspense, and endless intrigue that I was constantly on the edge of my seat, breathless with anticipation.
A standalone fantasy, it builds a complex and textured world while telling an intimate story through three compelling men. In Brivar, we see a somewhat naive and idealistic young man who just wants to serve and is taken in by a charismatic man he isn’t sure he can trust. In Alyas, we get a man at the end of his ropes, who carries on his shoulders a responsibility he never wanted. And in Esar, a man full of fraternal love and unquestionable loyalty. There could not have been more perfect characters to show both honor and moral grayness.
The Many Shades of Midnight is one of the best indie fantasies I have ever read and possibly one of my favorite standalone fantasies ever. I cannot recommend this enough.
inkoffallenstars's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Overall I thought it was a lot of excellent ideas, but not the best execution.
I loved the main characters, particularly Brivar—in the first section, he was honestly the only reason I kept reading—and the way their arcs were handled. The characters are flawed and are portrayed as such, but are incredibly relatable. The complexity of the cast, their backstories, and their relationships was gripping and made this a fascinating read.
The world-based conflict was also fascinating. While the setting is a rather standard medieval fantasy, the illness the plot is based around is such an interesting topic. I love the way it is set up and developed, though I wish this had been more consistently paced throughout. There were some things I as a reader would have liked to learn more about, particularly the religious side. And as much as I loved the illness, the book is a book about a fantasy disease with a doctor as a main PoV, so I was anticipating delving into that a little more. (This may just be because I was raised by a doctor and am going into medical editing if I can, so take this with a grain of salt.)
This book is very slow to get going, however. The beginning drags due to a combination of several things:
Consistently throughout the book, there are places where events are summarized rather than written out in scenes. In the beginning (and somewhat at the end), these summaries are events that would have been less confusing if written out as scenes, or omitted entirely. There's also places where it's the inverse—scenes that dragged and would have been more effective as summaries. This mostly happens in the beginning, and I was considering DNFing at several points until I hit part two.
After part two, things look up pacing-wise. This section acts on the setup of the first part (which was too long, in my opinion) and starts solving the problem. So the plot takes an incredibly long time to get moving, though once it's moving it's exciting. (I was up late for several nights in a row reading it.) The end felt like it could have been expanded on, and there were some parts that were too fast for me to keep up with, but it wasn't critical.
Some of the thematic elements of the story felt heavy-handed to me. Not exactly overemphasized, but not as well integrated as they could have been. Especially in the third section, honestly where I started feeling like things were rushed. There were also some plot points that felt like they were there for shock value, which rubbed me the wrong way. They certainly increased the stakes and forwarded the plot, but they didn't necessarily sit well with me personally.
Overall I enjoyed it! Would read another book by this author, especially to see if the problems are because of when this book was written (don't know if it's early or late in writing career or is a one-off), but probably not going to be a favourite any time soon
I loved the main characters, particularly Brivar—in the first section, he was honestly the only reason I kept reading—and the way their arcs were handled. The characters are flawed and are portrayed as such, but are incredibly relatable. The complexity of the cast, their backstories, and their relationships was gripping and made this a fascinating read.
The world-based conflict was also fascinating. While the setting is a rather standard medieval fantasy, the illness the plot is based around is such an interesting topic. I love the way it is set up and developed, though I wish this had been more consistently paced throughout. There were some things I as a reader would have liked to learn more about, particularly the religious side. And as much as I loved the illness, the book is a book about a fantasy disease with a doctor as a main PoV, so I was anticipating delving into that a little more. (This may just be because I was raised by a doctor and am going into medical editing if I can, so take this with a grain of salt.)
This book is very slow to get going, however. The beginning drags due to a combination of several things:
Consistently throughout the book, there are places where events are summarized rather than written out in scenes. In the beginning (and somewhat at the end), these summaries are events that would have been less confusing if written out as scenes, or omitted entirely. There's also places where it's the inverse—scenes that dragged and would have been more effective as summaries. This mostly happens in the beginning, and I was considering DNFing at several points until I hit part two.
After part two, things look up pacing-wise. This section acts on the setup of the first part (which was too long, in my opinion) and starts solving the problem. So the plot takes an incredibly long time to get moving, though once it's moving it's exciting. (I was up late for several nights in a row reading it.) The end felt like it could have been expanded on, and there were some parts that were too fast for me to keep up with, but it wasn't critical.
Some of the thematic elements of the story felt heavy-handed to me. Not exactly overemphasized, but not as well integrated as they could have been. Especially in the third section, honestly where I started feeling like things were rushed. There were also some plot points that felt like they were there for shock value, which rubbed me the wrong way. They certainly increased the stakes and forwarded the plot, but they didn't necessarily sit well with me personally.
Overall I enjoyed it! Would read another book by this author, especially to see if the problems are because of when this book was written (don't know if it's early or late in writing career or is a one-off), but probably not going to be a favourite any time soon
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, and Suicide
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Genocide
Deals with themes of classism and epidemic control. Surgery mention. A main point of view character is a doctor who treats injuries (mostly minor) and the fantasy illness that the book is about. A character is pregnant and gives birth. A point of view character experiences mental illness. Elements of this mental illness are close to addiction, but externally are briefly described similarly to psychosis. A significant backstory character committed suicide, which continues to affect the characters. Contains a moderate amount of cursing. Sex is mentioned and implied, but not shown.nathans_fantasy_reviews's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Disclaimer: I recieved a free copy of this book from this author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This review was originally posted at The Fantasy Review
On the surface, The Many Shades of Midnight is exactly what the blurb promises. A deadly plague is spreading across Ellasia, killing most people and turning others into horrendous monsters. The plague seems to be appearing near the mining operations of the most important substance in the land – Isyr, a rare substance that is as powerful as it is beautiful. King Raffa sends a team to a self-isolated duke Alyas to ask for help on how to stop this deadly disease. This ultimately results in a huge magical conspiracy, involving the crown and the powerful mining syndicates who control the extraction and sale of isyrium.
The first chunk of The Many Shades of Midnight is standard fantasy fare. We are introduced to a medievalesque fantasy world, there are kings, queens, nobles, soldiers, etc., magical creatures, magical weapons, and lots of talking about politics. I’ll be completely honest that the book didn’t initially hook me in this first half. The plot seemed to spin in circles as characters talk-yelled at each other about the plague, isyrium, and the syndicates. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and the story because it seemed to be conversations for the sake of worldbuilding rather than feeling like natural character interactions. Debell dedicated a significant page count to stating what was a pretty simple plot, and nothing was really happening. The beginning of this book is not bad by any means, but I was considering a DNF at a couple of points.
However, everything changes when you move into the second portion of the book. What went from a kind of sloggy, circle spinning narrative turned into one of the most fascinating and beautifully told stories I have read in a long time. Things started to really click into place as the characters stopped talking about the problem and instead actually started solving the problem – because the solutions were often contradictory and rife with conflict. This is what drew me in and turned this book from a considered DNF to one that kept me up at night needing to see what happens next. It is not that the plot gets any more complicated, but the characters deepen to a degree that I couldn’t get them out of my head. They felt real, three-dimensional, and heavily flawed in the best of ways. The characters who had previously did nothing but talk worldbuilding at each other had meaningful conversations, ripe with their own complicated histories and pasts.
The Many Shades of Midnight turned from a standard plot based story to a character based one, and this made all of the difference.
Debell offers us multiple POV characters in her book, and the number only grows as the story progresses. But rather than turning the book in an expansive disaster like many fantasies, Debell uses her POVs to create tightly plotted book that explores all of the different dimensions of the same problem. Alyas wants to do anything to get rid of the plague; Tersa is a young political agitator; Ovisia has the economic interests of the syndicate to watch out for; and Esar just wants to keep the kingdom from crashing down around him. All of these characters are tied to each in these political and economic games, but the are all running away from each other in opposite directions.
As the book accelerates after the halfway point, we see the ropes connecting the characters start to unravel and tear apart. We can see the shaky foundation everyone is standing on start to crumble. It becomes evident pretty early on that know one can win in this conflict, and as the reader we are just waiting for the dust to settle. It becomes a story of not who is going to win, but who is going to lose the least. When dynastic political regimes, economic powerhouses, and the will of the people all clash, there cannot be a victor. And when certain people start to get it in their heads that they should take on the role of some kind of savior (noble in theory but foolish in practice), things can only get worse.
Through the conflict, and through the building dread as we know things are only moving towards utter disaster, we have Brivar, a young doctor who only wants to help the sick. He gets ensnared in the political and economic games of his superiors, and in the process is a wonderfully constructed reader stand-in. While Brivar is an important player in the political machinations within The Many Shades of Midnight, he is also a quiet observer, standing just enough outside of the political hierarchy to reflect on everything swarming around him. While Alysas was definitely the most interesting character in the bunch, I always enjoyed returning to a Brivar chapter to think, breathe, and get a slightly wider, less tunnel-visioned view of what was going on.
All in all, The Many Shades of Midnight is a powerful story about the failures of institutions to protect people. I’m not sure if this book was explicitly influenced by the disaster of the global COVID-19 response (particularly what we had where I live in the U.S.), but the book explores how responses to global ills are never focused on the benefit of the everyday person. They are intimately entangled in the needs of the rich and powerful – to make money, to keep power, and to not shake the boat. Whether this is denying a problem, minimizing a problem, or finding scapegoats in the “Other”, this is a structural problem that cannot easily be solved by one man with a hero complex.
I do think that The Many Shades of Midnight would be massively improved with some major changes to the pacing, mainly by cutting material from the first 1/3 of the book to expand the middle section to allow it to breathe more, but I still highly recommend this book to anyone looking for great character work and using fantastical worlds/situations to comment on the modern world.
Before wrapping up this review, I want to also point out that this is how you do a standalone fantasy story. There is a fully realized world here, but the worldbuilding eventually takes a back seat to the central conflict. I can honestly say that I don’t want any other books with these characters, and not because I didn’t fall in love with them but because Debell completed their arcs. This was their story and nothing else needs to be said. This was a satisfying experience, and that is so rare in speculative fiction.
Concluding Thoughts: Despite a slow first chunk, The Many Shades of Midnight is a beautifully complex character study that has some of the best drawn characters and character interactions I have ever read. Simultaneously a dread inducing tragedy and a commentary on modern politics, I highly recommend this book. As a standalone it is satisfying and complete, while also accomplishing so much in its 350ish pages. This is not only indie fantasy near its best, but speculative fiction in general.
This review was originally posted at The Fantasy Review
On the surface, The Many Shades of Midnight is exactly what the blurb promises. A deadly plague is spreading across Ellasia, killing most people and turning others into horrendous monsters. The plague seems to be appearing near the mining operations of the most important substance in the land – Isyr, a rare substance that is as powerful as it is beautiful. King Raffa sends a team to a self-isolated duke Alyas to ask for help on how to stop this deadly disease. This ultimately results in a huge magical conspiracy, involving the crown and the powerful mining syndicates who control the extraction and sale of isyrium.
The first chunk of The Many Shades of Midnight is standard fantasy fare. We are introduced to a medievalesque fantasy world, there are kings, queens, nobles, soldiers, etc., magical creatures, magical weapons, and lots of talking about politics. I’ll be completely honest that the book didn’t initially hook me in this first half. The plot seemed to spin in circles as characters talk-yelled at each other about the plague, isyrium, and the syndicates. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and the story because it seemed to be conversations for the sake of worldbuilding rather than feeling like natural character interactions. Debell dedicated a significant page count to stating what was a pretty simple plot, and nothing was really happening. The beginning of this book is not bad by any means, but I was considering a DNF at a couple of points.
However, everything changes when you move into the second portion of the book. What went from a kind of sloggy, circle spinning narrative turned into one of the most fascinating and beautifully told stories I have read in a long time. Things started to really click into place as the characters stopped talking about the problem and instead actually started solving the problem – because the solutions were often contradictory and rife with conflict. This is what drew me in and turned this book from a considered DNF to one that kept me up at night needing to see what happens next. It is not that the plot gets any more complicated, but the characters deepen to a degree that I couldn’t get them out of my head. They felt real, three-dimensional, and heavily flawed in the best of ways. The characters who had previously did nothing but talk worldbuilding at each other had meaningful conversations, ripe with their own complicated histories and pasts.
The Many Shades of Midnight turned from a standard plot based story to a character based one, and this made all of the difference.
Debell offers us multiple POV characters in her book, and the number only grows as the story progresses. But rather than turning the book in an expansive disaster like many fantasies, Debell uses her POVs to create tightly plotted book that explores all of the different dimensions of the same problem. Alyas wants to do anything to get rid of the plague; Tersa is a young political agitator; Ovisia has the economic interests of the syndicate to watch out for; and Esar just wants to keep the kingdom from crashing down around him. All of these characters are tied to each in these political and economic games, but the are all running away from each other in opposite directions.
As the book accelerates after the halfway point, we see the ropes connecting the characters start to unravel and tear apart. We can see the shaky foundation everyone is standing on start to crumble. It becomes evident pretty early on that know one can win in this conflict, and as the reader we are just waiting for the dust to settle. It becomes a story of not who is going to win, but who is going to lose the least. When dynastic political regimes, economic powerhouses, and the will of the people all clash, there cannot be a victor. And when certain people start to get it in their heads that they should take on the role of some kind of savior (noble in theory but foolish in practice), things can only get worse.
Through the conflict, and through the building dread as we know things are only moving towards utter disaster, we have Brivar, a young doctor who only wants to help the sick. He gets ensnared in the political and economic games of his superiors, and in the process is a wonderfully constructed reader stand-in. While Brivar is an important player in the political machinations within The Many Shades of Midnight, he is also a quiet observer, standing just enough outside of the political hierarchy to reflect on everything swarming around him. While Alysas was definitely the most interesting character in the bunch, I always enjoyed returning to a Brivar chapter to think, breathe, and get a slightly wider, less tunnel-visioned view of what was going on.
All in all, The Many Shades of Midnight is a powerful story about the failures of institutions to protect people. I’m not sure if this book was explicitly influenced by the disaster of the global COVID-19 response (particularly what we had where I live in the U.S.), but the book explores how responses to global ills are never focused on the benefit of the everyday person. They are intimately entangled in the needs of the rich and powerful – to make money, to keep power, and to not shake the boat. Whether this is denying a problem, minimizing a problem, or finding scapegoats in the “Other”, this is a structural problem that cannot easily be solved by one man with a hero complex.
I do think that The Many Shades of Midnight would be massively improved with some major changes to the pacing, mainly by cutting material from the first 1/3 of the book to expand the middle section to allow it to breathe more, but I still highly recommend this book to anyone looking for great character work and using fantastical worlds/situations to comment on the modern world.
Before wrapping up this review, I want to also point out that this is how you do a standalone fantasy story. There is a fully realized world here, but the worldbuilding eventually takes a back seat to the central conflict. I can honestly say that I don’t want any other books with these characters, and not because I didn’t fall in love with them but because Debell completed their arcs. This was their story and nothing else needs to be said. This was a satisfying experience, and that is so rare in speculative fiction.
Concluding Thoughts: Despite a slow first chunk, The Many Shades of Midnight is a beautifully complex character study that has some of the best drawn characters and character interactions I have ever read. Simultaneously a dread inducing tragedy and a commentary on modern politics, I highly recommend this book. As a standalone it is satisfying and complete, while also accomplishing so much in its 350ish pages. This is not only indie fantasy near its best, but speculative fiction in general.
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