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A review by ankonyx
Cry, Voidbringer by Elaine Ho
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
“You read our lives because you want to be entertained. But it’s the same story. Of death, and tyranny, and the banality of it all.”
Cry, Voidbringer weaves together three perspectives, that of Hammer, Viridian and Naias to tell a story of anger, loneliness, anti-colonialism and found family.
Hammer was wretched from her home and culture as a child to serve as a Faceless, a second-class citizen soldier (little more than a slave) in Ashvi. Her years as a Faceless and the seeming endlessness of the war against Tevu has hardened her heart.
Viridian is a child that Hammer accidentally saves during a mission. She was predicted by Tevu’s prophet queen to have a power that could change the fate of the war and the world.
Naias is the commander of the Faceless, having been raised from the same fate by becoming the lover of the queen, Khall. Khall is a nervous and new queen, not yet sure of how to operate the throne with the fresh memory of her father’s death on her mind. Perhaps it’s thankful then that Naias can be such a helping hand.
~*~*~
4.75/5 stars
I absolutely ate this and up. This was absolute excellence.
This is a dark story, and the characters don’t always make the “right” choice. They are complex and grey, but the author does a good job of establishing their characters so it could not have gone any other way.
It should be noted that you are dropped right into the world - it is expected of the reader to pick up the world as you go, since they don’t stop and explain anything. This is my preferred style of world building, so I really appreciated this. On the topic of world building, I really enjoyed it. Even if we didn’t see the entirety of the world, I liked the bits we did. It felt solid and realistic. I liked the different gods/religion and how the magic system was divine in nature (a particular favourite of main as a cleric main <3).
I found the entire really engaging and provoking, though it did drag at some points (though this was purposeful. It is hard to explain without spoiling, but I promise it was a creative choice. While I agree with the choice, it didn’t stop me from getting through that section much slower than the rest).
There were some choice use of second person narration, and I felt they really added to the story. I enjoyed the choice of which characters to follow - it would’ve been a different story if we followed other ones, and I don’t think the message would have been as impactful.
The world was queernormative, and a large majority of the characters were casually queer, which I deeply appreciate. There is a prominent f/f relationship, a bisexual main character and an important non binary side character, none of which is challenged (ie: homophobia or transphobia) by the narrative.
All in all, a fantastic story that I highly recommend you pick up when it comes out in October (2025), especially if you’re a fan of Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse and The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco.
~*~*~
Content warnings: Gore/descriptions of violence, genocide, drug use (opium), slavery, child abuse and death, colonisation
Disclaimer: I received this as an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books (via Left Unread).
Cry, Voidbringer weaves together three perspectives, that of Hammer, Viridian and Naias to tell a story of anger, loneliness, anti-colonialism and found family.
Hammer was wretched from her home and culture as a child to serve as a Faceless, a second-class citizen soldier (little more than a slave) in Ashvi. Her years as a Faceless and the seeming endlessness of the war against Tevu has hardened her heart.
Viridian is a child that Hammer accidentally saves during a mission. She was predicted by Tevu’s prophet queen to have a power that could change the fate of the war and the world.
Naias is the commander of the Faceless, having been raised from the same fate by becoming the lover of the queen, Khall. Khall is a nervous and new queen, not yet sure of how to operate the throne with the fresh memory of her father’s death on her mind. Perhaps it’s thankful then that Naias can be such a helping hand.
~*~*~
4.75/5 stars
I absolutely ate this and up. This was absolute excellence.
This is a dark story, and the characters don’t always make the “right” choice. They are complex and grey, but the author does a good job of establishing their characters so it could not have gone any other way.
It should be noted that you are dropped right into the world - it is expected of the reader to pick up the world as you go, since they don’t stop and explain anything. This is my preferred style of world building, so I really appreciated this. On the topic of world building, I really enjoyed it. Even if we didn’t see the entirety of the world, I liked the bits we did. It felt solid and realistic. I liked the different gods/religion and how the magic system was divine in nature (a particular favourite of main as a cleric main <3).
I found the entire really engaging and provoking, though it did drag at some points (though this was purposeful. It is hard to explain without spoiling, but I promise it was a creative choice. While I agree with the choice, it didn’t stop me from getting through that section much slower than the rest).
There were some choice use of second person narration, and I felt they really added to the story. I enjoyed the choice of which characters to follow - it would’ve been a different story if we followed other ones, and I don’t think the message would have been as impactful.
The world was queernormative, and a large majority of the characters were casually queer, which I deeply appreciate. There is a prominent f/f relationship, a bisexual main character and an important non binary side character, none of which is challenged (ie: homophobia or transphobia) by the narrative.
All in all, a fantastic story that I highly recommend you pick up when it comes out in October (2025), especially if you’re a fan of Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse and The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco.
~*~*~
Content warnings: Gore/descriptions of violence, genocide, drug use (opium), slavery, child abuse and death, colonisation
Disclaimer: I received this as an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books (via Left Unread).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Colonisation