Book Review: The Iron Children by Rebecca Fraimow

Title: The Iron Children

Author: Rebecca Fraimow
Genre: Science Fiction - Fantasy 
Publisher: Rebellion Publishing Ltd - Copyright 2023
Publication Date: February 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781786189882
Read: January 28-29, 2023
Disclaimer: I received a digital advance reader copy from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Publisher: Asher has been training her entire life to become a Sor-Commander. One day, she'll give her soul to the gilded, mechanical body of the Sor and become a commander to a battalion of Dedicates. These soldiers, encased in exoskeletons, with extra arms, and telepathic subordination to the Sor-Commanders, are the only thing that's kept the much larger Levastani army of conquest at bay for decades. 

But while on a training journey, Asher and her party are attacked, and her commander is incapacitated, leaving her alone to lead the unit across a bitterly cold, unstable mountain. Worse, one of the Dedicates is not what they seem: a spy for the enemy, with their own reasons to hate their mechanical body and the people who put them in it. 

To get off the mountain alive, Asher and her unit will need to decide how much they're willing to sacrifice -- and what for.

Review: The Iron Children is hard to categorize as a story. It's definitely a novella in length--less that 200 pages--and outstanding in the world building. It's part fantasy, part science fiction, part religious commentary, and all fascinating. 

I was blown away by Rebecca Fraimow's mastery of story craft. In the space of roughly half the length of most novels, Rebecca creates relatable characters, a complex world, high-stakes conflict, an established military hierarchy, and a complicated belief system. I've read (and enjoyed) novels with more pages and less substance that The Iron Children. Seriously, my hat's off to Fraimow.

Told in alternative points of view, the reader is given insight into the world via Asher, a Sor-Commander novice; Barghest, a Dedicate sergeant; and the unnamed spy among the troops. Asher and Barghest's points of view are written third person while the spy's is written as first person. This is a clever writing choice because it keeps the reader questioning the spy's identity and building suspense until the pivotal "big reveal." 

Overall, The Iron Children is an outstanding addition to both the science fiction and fantasy genres and is worth a read by anyone who enjoys blurring the lines between these genres.

Book Review: Into the Well by Bobbie R. Byrd

 

Title: Into the Well (Warlock Chronicles, Book 2)

Author: Bobbie R. Byrd
Genre: Science Fiction with Fantasy Elements
Publisher: Dragoncrest Publishing, LLC - Copyright 2021
Publication Date: September 8, 2021
Read: October 23-29, 2022
Disclaimer: I purchased a copy of this book from Amazon. All opinions are my own.

Trigger Warning: This book contains references to sexual assault, violence, and slavery.

Synopsis from Publisher: The Well is forbidden space. Dangerous, deadly, unpredictable, unforgiving. 

A forgotten planet. Dark secrets buried for millennia in dark magic. 

Not for much longer... 

INTO the WELL continues the treacherous journey of Bryanna D'Isaac, the warlock known as Lady Silver, and Admiral Devon Bastion deep into the Well in search of the lost homeworld of their ancestors. Convoluted space-time, dimensional rifts, and festering conflict brought the Cataclysm that took humans and warlocks to the brink of extinction millennia ago. 

History is about to repeat itself.

Review: Into the Well by Bobbie R. Byrd has been sitting on my To-Be-Read shelf for over a year. Not because I had no interest in continuing the story of Bryanna and Devon from the first Warlock Chronicles installment, Lady Silver, but because as often happens with readers/reviewers, I was distracted by other books. Some good. Some not so good. Some that made me question my life choices. And some that were life changing. Into the Well falls solidly in the "Very good" category.

As with the first book, there are some issues with minor typos, formatting (at least in the paperback copy I read--some of the pages had faded print that made reading a little challenging), and truly hardcore science fiction fans will find some of the science/engineering parlance a bit jarring. (Sticklers for science fiction grounded in science realism, even if theoretical, may want to skip certain bits or read them with a grain of salt.) The fantasy element dealing with the Warlocks and their magic is solid, however. The budding romance between Bryanna and Devon is in full swing, and the android T'Laan steals the scene more than once throughout the book. Overall, Into the Well is a nearly perfect compliment to Lady Silver.

While the ending of the book suggests there will be at least one more installment in the series, I've found no mention of the title or an estimated date of publication. I hope Byrd continues The Warlock Chronicles and continues expanding the unique worlds she has created.

Book Review: Lady Silver by Bobbie R. Byrd

 

Title: Lady Silver: Warlock Chronicles, Book 1

Author: Bobbie R. Byrd
Genre: Science Fiction with Fantasy Elements
Publisher: Dragoncrest Publising, LLC - Copyright July 2021
Publication Date: July 14, 2021
Read: August 27-September 7, 2021
Disclaimer: I purchased a copy of this book from Amazon. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Publisher: The multiverse is unraveling. 

When religious zealots resurrect the ancient technology that ripped open the dimensional barrier six thousand years ago, the galaxy faces another coming Cataclysm. 

Warlocks and humans, sister races of the same evolutionary tree, are divided by millennia of enmity and ancient animosity. It will take the magic of the warlocks and the humans’ technology to heal the breach between layers of the multiverse. 

Bryanna D’Isaac is an untrained, untried warlock with powerful magic who only wants to be left alone. Admiral Devon Bastion is career military, renowned for executing warlocks, who harbors secrets of his own. 

Deadly events indicate a derelict area of space called the Well is expanding. The threat of apocalyptic events forces the warlock and the soldier together. By joining forces, Bastion and D’Isaac can save the galaxy—if they don’t kill each other first. 

Can they learn to trust each other before the multiverse collapses?

Review: Lady Silver was an entertaining read. I loved the combination of science fiction and fantasy elements with humans using technology and warlocks using magic. The main characters, Bryanna D'Isaac and Devon Bastion, were a good match for one another in strengths and weakness, and even had a little romantic spark that may flame up in the second book. 

There were a few times when I thought the author could've slowed down just a tad and provided more world building elements, such as explaining The Flow--the mystical aetheric realms from which warlocks draw their power--a little more and how warlocks are able to manipulate their bonded realms. The universe of Lady Silver is unique, and I really wanted to feel immersed in it--and I did--but there were a few times when I felt the boundaries could've been pushed a little further with regards to setting the scene or character insight. 

Overall, I greatly enjoyed reading Lady Silver and can't wait to see what happens in the next book.