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The Ashes of Avarin #1
A Touch of Light
The worthy are immortal. To die is a sin. But in a tide of madness and ruin, life is a fragile thing.
Lynn, a rogue griffin rider, has uncovered a deadly madness that threatens to destroy the Domain. She can’t escape this enemy, but to fight it, Lynn must risk being found and branded a traitor by her old order.
Prince Adrian has never been pious or on good terms with his father. After losing those closest to him, however, he must either work with the king or convince the Church to deem his loved ones worthy if they are to have a chance at resurrection.
In the clanlands, where death is considered a necessity, Nasha fights to prove she belongs. A cursed hunter and a lifelong outcast, she has always struggled. But when the land itself begins to wither away, Nasha might be the only answer.
The Ashes of Avarin is a sprawling epic fantasy series where religion and politics are one, griffin riders roam the skies, and a looming blight threatens to tear everything down.
Lynn, a rogue griffin rider, has uncovered a deadly madness that threatens to destroy the Domain. She can’t escape this enemy, but to fight it, Lynn must risk being found and branded a traitor by her old order.
Prince Adrian has never been pious or on good terms with his father. After losing those closest to him, however, he must either work with the king or convince the Church to deem his loved ones worthy if they are to have a chance at resurrection.
In the clanlands, where death is considered a necessity, Nasha fights to prove she belongs. A cursed hunter and a lifelong outcast, she has always struggled. But when the land itself begins to wither away, Nasha might be the only answer.
The Ashes of Avarin is a sprawling epic fantasy series where religion and politics are one, griffin riders roam the skies, and a looming blight threatens to tear everything down.
454 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2022
About the author
Thiago Abdalla
6 books236 followersGet your FREE eBook copy of the prequel novella, A Prelude to Ashes, when you sign up for Thiago's mailing list: www.tabdalla.com
Thiago was born in Brazil but grew up in the fantasy worlds from the stories he kept in his mind. He has inhabited everywhere from Middle-Earth and Azeroth to the planes of Dominaria, Ravnica and Tarkir. No matter the medium, what kept him coming back was always his love for story.
He could never wait for the next world to dive into, so, after being (indirectly) urged on by the (printed) words of Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, Patrick Rothfuss, N. K. Jemisin and many, many others, decided to create his own.
Thiago was born in Brazil but grew up in the fantasy worlds from the stories he kept in his mind. He has inhabited everywhere from Middle-Earth and Azeroth to the planes of Dominaria, Ravnica and Tarkir. No matter the medium, what kept him coming back was always his love for story.
He could never wait for the next world to dive into, so, after being (indirectly) urged on by the (printed) words of Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, Patrick Rothfuss, N. K. Jemisin and many, many others, decided to create his own.
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July 31, 2023
My complete review is available at Grimdark Magazine.
Death is an unhealthy obsession in A Touch of Light, the debut high fantasy novel from Thiago Abdalla and the first entry in his new series, The Ashes of Avarin. The world of Avarin is divided into two clashing civilizations with diametrically opposed views on death. In the north, the Seraph blesses the people of the Domain with unnaturally long lives. To the inhabitants of the Domain, death is the ultimate sin against the Seraph herself, bringing shame to one's family. The bodies of the pure can be preserved, with the understanding that the Seraph can bring them back to life upon her return to Avarin. The others are burned and forgotten, never to be spoken of again.
While the Seraph is a goddess of life, in the south the people of the clan lands live in fear of Zala, the goddess of death. To prevent Zala’s return, they embrace death as necessary for keeping the earth alive and maintaining a healthy circle of life. However, the inhabitants of the clan lands are almost too eager to sacrifice people who show any sign of weakness.
A Touch of Light is told as an interwoven tale from three point-of-view characters. Adrian is a prince from the Domain, whose beloved brother Jovu has recently died under unknown circumstances in the clan lands. Nasha is a hunter from the clan lands who is beleaguered by a mysterious curse and is struggling to find her place in a hierarchical society. My favorite character is Lynn, a Sentinel warrior from the Domain who is fighting against the resurgence of a plague known as the Madness. For the death-fearing people of the Domain, the return of the Madness is an unspeakable horror. Those afflicted with the Madness become uncontrollably violent, even wearing the peeled-off skin of the dead as a type of necrotic mask.
The Sentinels enhance their physical powers by forming emotion-based bonds with griffins. Lynn’s bond with her griffin, Vedyr, is created through their shared anger. By combining her anger with Vedyr’s power, Lynn can gain superhuman strength and swiftness. However, Sentinels risk losing their minds if their powers are overused.
While fundamentally a character-driven fantasy, A Touch of Light also shines in its ambitious and detailed worldbuilding. Thiago Abdalla has created a boldly innovative world of clashing cultures and political intrigue, not only between the Domain and the clan lands but also among the various countries and ruling families within those civilizations.
Abdalla’s focus on opposing religious views and the interconnectedness of religion and politics reminded me of The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, another favorite of mine full of nuanced world-building and compelling point-of-view characters who reflect the values of different societies. But I would argue that A Touch of Light addresses these topics even more effectively than The Priory of the Orange Tree, while also creating a more compelling, well-balanced cast of characters. While female characters are often, unfortunately, given only minor roles in classic high fantasy, The Priory of the Orange Tree swung the pendulum in the opposite direction, presenting complex female characters but with rather two-dimensional male counterparts. In contrast, A Touch of Light does an excellent job developing both female and male point-of-view characters, all with realistic faults and strengths, without any objectification.
Thiago Abdalla is an excellent writer. The prose flows smoothly throughout the book, successfully transporting the reader to his carefully crafted world of Avarin. The physical book itself is remarkably high quality, with keen attention to detail from the beautiful cover designed by Alejandro Colucci to the meticulous editing throughout the text.
I should caution prospective readers that Thiago Abdalla does not engage in any handholding in A Touch of Light. There is no mentor character who explains everything to us as the reader. Rather, we are thrown directly into the world of Avarin and must piece together key elements of the world as the story progresses. Thiago Abdalla has constructed this world with great care, but it took me about 100 pages to get my bearings. After the first quarter of the book, the story takes off at an accelerated pace and never lets up till the last page. There is also a great setup for future sequels, which I look forward to reading.
A Touch of Light is highly recommended for fans of nuanced character-driven fantasy who wish to get lost in a richly detailed new world full of intrigue and action.
Death is an unhealthy obsession in A Touch of Light, the debut high fantasy novel from Thiago Abdalla and the first entry in his new series, The Ashes of Avarin. The world of Avarin is divided into two clashing civilizations with diametrically opposed views on death. In the north, the Seraph blesses the people of the Domain with unnaturally long lives. To the inhabitants of the Domain, death is the ultimate sin against the Seraph herself, bringing shame to one's family. The bodies of the pure can be preserved, with the understanding that the Seraph can bring them back to life upon her return to Avarin. The others are burned and forgotten, never to be spoken of again.
While the Seraph is a goddess of life, in the south the people of the clan lands live in fear of Zala, the goddess of death. To prevent Zala’s return, they embrace death as necessary for keeping the earth alive and maintaining a healthy circle of life. However, the inhabitants of the clan lands are almost too eager to sacrifice people who show any sign of weakness.
A Touch of Light is told as an interwoven tale from three point-of-view characters. Adrian is a prince from the Domain, whose beloved brother Jovu has recently died under unknown circumstances in the clan lands. Nasha is a hunter from the clan lands who is beleaguered by a mysterious curse and is struggling to find her place in a hierarchical society. My favorite character is Lynn, a Sentinel warrior from the Domain who is fighting against the resurgence of a plague known as the Madness. For the death-fearing people of the Domain, the return of the Madness is an unspeakable horror. Those afflicted with the Madness become uncontrollably violent, even wearing the peeled-off skin of the dead as a type of necrotic mask.
The Sentinels enhance their physical powers by forming emotion-based bonds with griffins. Lynn’s bond with her griffin, Vedyr, is created through their shared anger. By combining her anger with Vedyr’s power, Lynn can gain superhuman strength and swiftness. However, Sentinels risk losing their minds if their powers are overused.
While fundamentally a character-driven fantasy, A Touch of Light also shines in its ambitious and detailed worldbuilding. Thiago Abdalla has created a boldly innovative world of clashing cultures and political intrigue, not only between the Domain and the clan lands but also among the various countries and ruling families within those civilizations.
Abdalla’s focus on opposing religious views and the interconnectedness of religion and politics reminded me of The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, another favorite of mine full of nuanced world-building and compelling point-of-view characters who reflect the values of different societies. But I would argue that A Touch of Light addresses these topics even more effectively than The Priory of the Orange Tree, while also creating a more compelling, well-balanced cast of characters. While female characters are often, unfortunately, given only minor roles in classic high fantasy, The Priory of the Orange Tree swung the pendulum in the opposite direction, presenting complex female characters but with rather two-dimensional male counterparts. In contrast, A Touch of Light does an excellent job developing both female and male point-of-view characters, all with realistic faults and strengths, without any objectification.
Thiago Abdalla is an excellent writer. The prose flows smoothly throughout the book, successfully transporting the reader to his carefully crafted world of Avarin. The physical book itself is remarkably high quality, with keen attention to detail from the beautiful cover designed by Alejandro Colucci to the meticulous editing throughout the text.
I should caution prospective readers that Thiago Abdalla does not engage in any handholding in A Touch of Light. There is no mentor character who explains everything to us as the reader. Rather, we are thrown directly into the world of Avarin and must piece together key elements of the world as the story progresses. Thiago Abdalla has constructed this world with great care, but it took me about 100 pages to get my bearings. After the first quarter of the book, the story takes off at an accelerated pace and never lets up till the last page. There is also a great setup for future sequels, which I look forward to reading.
A Touch of Light is highly recommended for fans of nuanced character-driven fantasy who wish to get lost in a richly detailed new world full of intrigue and action.
April 24, 2023
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
A Touch of Light is a confusing and challenging character-driven fantasy debut.
Lately, The Ashes of Avarin by Thiago Abdalla is a self-published fantasy series that has acquired plenty of positive recognition. With my recent acquisition of A Shade of Madness, I’ve decided to read the series earlier than expected. A Touch of Light is the first book in the main series, but it wasn’t my first experience diving into this world. I started my journey by reading the prequel novella first, A Prelude to Ashes, and I am grateful for this decision. Not only it became one of my favorite novellas, but I personally feel it is necessary to enhance the experience of reading one of the main POV character storylines here: Adrian. I will elaborate on this later, but unfortunately, A Touch of Light was a mixed reading experience. Before I discuss the positives, I will get the things that did not click with me out of the way first.
How far would you go to resurrect someone you love? Would you change who you are to show you belong? A Touch of Light takes place in the world of Avarin. The Domain worships life, its leaders lead eternal lives, and death is a shame that must not be mourned. But, for the clans to the south, death is all that keeps the Earth alive. The story focuses on three main POV characters. Adrian, Lynn, and Nasha. Adrian is a prince of one of the Domain nations, and he will stop at nothing to return his loved ones to worthiness. Even if it means sacrificing his own. Lynn is a rogue elite warrior hiding from her past. But now, an old enemy is rising, and running is no longer an option. And Nasha, a gifted hunter hiding a terrible secret. As a lifelong outcast, she desperately fights to belong in the Ronar, a proud southern clan. Yet a changing world threatens more than just her status in the community. Religion, sacrifice, war, life, and death are some of the main themes of A Touch of Light. And on these themes, Abdalla succeeded in exploring and raising thought-provoking questions. Although I would love to wholeheartedly say I enjoyed reading this book, especially because I've chatted with Abdalla and think he's a good individual, I must always be honest in my review. And admittedly, I struggled with Abdalla's storytelling method longer than I preferred.
I wish I had read some reviews on A Touch of Light before I dived into it. It felt like I would be more prepared for the lack of exposition that became a big hurdle in my reading experience. From my experience, it was almost as if I was reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson for the first time. But personally speaking, the lack of exposition in Gardens of the Moon felt intentionally written to make readers sense the chaos and instant insane situations they’re plunged into. The Siege of Pale is an epic battle that happened very early in Gardens of the Moon, and I immediately felt the epic scope and terrifying situation of the conflict, even when I had no idea who the characters were and why they fought each other. However, in A Touch of Light, the lack of exposition decreased my enjoyment of the book. Except for Adrian, I spent around 65% of the book feeling confused and uninterested in the world—even though the airships and griffins were cool—and the character’s jeopardy. Unique and similar-sounding names and terms were being given rapidly without any explanation. And although this is a character-driven fantasy book, I could not find myself latching on to the characters. These were evident in Lynn and Nasha’s POV chapters. Especially Nasha; honestly, for Nasha, I did not feel engrossed in her story at all until the final two chapters.
Fortunately, these issues did not happen with Adrian’s POV chapters. The lack of exposition and handholding in the narrative still exists in Adrian's story, but it felt more absorbable. I believe most of this was because I did read A Prelude to Ashes first. I have become attached to Adrian because I read that novella prior. Seeing the relationship between Adrian and Myrra in that novella also strengthens his motivation in A Touch of Light. Unlike Lynn and Nasha, Adrian’s story has more focus, too. His mission and motivation were clear, and the sacrifices and struggles (internal and external) he encountered were more empathetic to me. Because of this, the battles and madness scenes in his chapters felt more tense and engaging. His final chapters, in particular, were so damn good. This is why I think it is necessary to read A Prelude to Ashes first before reading A Touch of Light. Without doing that, I doubt I would feel engaged in Adrian's mission.
At the end of the day, A Touch of Light was a mixed reading experience with promising potential for the rest of the series to be much better. Although I did have issues with it, they are subjective criticism. There are plenty of diehard fans of The Ashes of Avarin, and if you feel like a nuanced narrative with minimal exposition is suitable for you, you must give this character-driven novel a read. I am happy the hard work of wading through the confusion and barrage of names with no explanation is over now. After finding my bearings around the 70% mark, the book was a smoother ride, and I have a good feeling A Shade of Madness will bring me a more rewarding and immersive reading experience.
You can order this book from: Amazon US | Blackwells (Free International shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Aliysa, Anastasia, Andrew, Andrew W, Annabeth, Arliss, Barbara, Brad, Cade, Casey, Chris, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Elias, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jenn, Jesse, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Kristina, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Michael, Michael, Miracle, Nicholas, Norbert, Radiah, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shawn, Teri, Tori, Tracy, Wendy, Wick, Xero, Yuri, Zoe.
A Touch of Light is a confusing and challenging character-driven fantasy debut.
“Hypocrites. They wore the mask of piousness, but it was nothing more than fear of losing their so-called blessings. They’d be struggling just the same if their brothers were lying on the pyre.”
Lately, The Ashes of Avarin by Thiago Abdalla is a self-published fantasy series that has acquired plenty of positive recognition. With my recent acquisition of A Shade of Madness, I’ve decided to read the series earlier than expected. A Touch of Light is the first book in the main series, but it wasn’t my first experience diving into this world. I started my journey by reading the prequel novella first, A Prelude to Ashes, and I am grateful for this decision. Not only it became one of my favorite novellas, but I personally feel it is necessary to enhance the experience of reading one of the main POV character storylines here: Adrian. I will elaborate on this later, but unfortunately, A Touch of Light was a mixed reading experience. Before I discuss the positives, I will get the things that did not click with me out of the way first.
"That’s the thing about sacrifice. It always looks good when it isn’t your own. The ones paying the price, however, are easy to spot."
How far would you go to resurrect someone you love? Would you change who you are to show you belong? A Touch of Light takes place in the world of Avarin. The Domain worships life, its leaders lead eternal lives, and death is a shame that must not be mourned. But, for the clans to the south, death is all that keeps the Earth alive. The story focuses on three main POV characters. Adrian, Lynn, and Nasha. Adrian is a prince of one of the Domain nations, and he will stop at nothing to return his loved ones to worthiness. Even if it means sacrificing his own. Lynn is a rogue elite warrior hiding from her past. But now, an old enemy is rising, and running is no longer an option. And Nasha, a gifted hunter hiding a terrible secret. As a lifelong outcast, she desperately fights to belong in the Ronar, a proud southern clan. Yet a changing world threatens more than just her status in the community. Religion, sacrifice, war, life, and death are some of the main themes of A Touch of Light. And on these themes, Abdalla succeeded in exploring and raising thought-provoking questions. Although I would love to wholeheartedly say I enjoyed reading this book, especially because I've chatted with Abdalla and think he's a good individual, I must always be honest in my review. And admittedly, I struggled with Abdalla's storytelling method longer than I preferred.
“For a religion focused on life, its faithful sure enjoyed the ending of it.”
I wish I had read some reviews on A Touch of Light before I dived into it. It felt like I would be more prepared for the lack of exposition that became a big hurdle in my reading experience. From my experience, it was almost as if I was reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson for the first time. But personally speaking, the lack of exposition in Gardens of the Moon felt intentionally written to make readers sense the chaos and instant insane situations they’re plunged into. The Siege of Pale is an epic battle that happened very early in Gardens of the Moon, and I immediately felt the epic scope and terrifying situation of the conflict, even when I had no idea who the characters were and why they fought each other. However, in A Touch of Light, the lack of exposition decreased my enjoyment of the book. Except for Adrian, I spent around 65% of the book feeling confused and uninterested in the world—even though the airships and griffins were cool—and the character’s jeopardy. Unique and similar-sounding names and terms were being given rapidly without any explanation. And although this is a character-driven fantasy book, I could not find myself latching on to the characters. These were evident in Lynn and Nasha’s POV chapters. Especially Nasha; honestly, for Nasha, I did not feel engrossed in her story at all until the final two chapters.
“Death might be the curse of the unworthy, but the living were the ones who struggled in its grasp.”
Fortunately, these issues did not happen with Adrian’s POV chapters. The lack of exposition and handholding in the narrative still exists in Adrian's story, but it felt more absorbable. I believe most of this was because I did read A Prelude to Ashes first. I have become attached to Adrian because I read that novella prior. Seeing the relationship between Adrian and Myrra in that novella also strengthens his motivation in A Touch of Light. Unlike Lynn and Nasha, Adrian’s story has more focus, too. His mission and motivation were clear, and the sacrifices and struggles (internal and external) he encountered were more empathetic to me. Because of this, the battles and madness scenes in his chapters felt more tense and engaging. His final chapters, in particular, were so damn good. This is why I think it is necessary to read A Prelude to Ashes first before reading A Touch of Light. Without doing that, I doubt I would feel engaged in Adrian's mission.
“Show a man death, and he will quail in his boots; give him his life, and he will forever remember who holds it. Loyalty cannot be requested. He understood that now. Blood holds ties, and the spilled blood of traitors creates the greatest ties of all.”
At the end of the day, A Touch of Light was a mixed reading experience with promising potential for the rest of the series to be much better. Although I did have issues with it, they are subjective criticism. There are plenty of diehard fans of The Ashes of Avarin, and if you feel like a nuanced narrative with minimal exposition is suitable for you, you must give this character-driven novel a read. I am happy the hard work of wading through the confusion and barrage of names with no explanation is over now. After finding my bearings around the 70% mark, the book was a smoother ride, and I have a good feeling A Shade of Madness will bring me a more rewarding and immersive reading experience.
“They almost made you forget that fear is the true ruler of the battlefield. No one ever sings about the screams; no one tells you how they’ll echo in your mind. Except for that one bard—Boutros, was it? He sang it straight, shocked a few people, amused others, but it didn’t last. Truth is never popular. People are always asking for it, but it’s never what they want. Not really.”
You can order this book from: Amazon US | Blackwells (Free International shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Aliysa, Anastasia, Andrew, Andrew W, Annabeth, Arliss, Barbara, Brad, Cade, Casey, Chris, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Elias, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jenn, Jesse, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Kristina, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Michael, Michael, Miracle, Nicholas, Norbert, Radiah, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shawn, Teri, Tori, Tracy, Wendy, Wick, Xero, Yuri, Zoe.
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April 28, 2024 STOP PRESS: A Touch of Light is now an SPFBO finalist, one of 10 from 300 books!
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Thiago Abdalla was kind enough to send me a copy of his debut novel all the way from Brazil!
First things first. Physically, this is a lovely volume. Really high quality production - with the cover art on the hardcover too, under the dust jacket, which I like. Thick paper. Top notch. And through the whole thing I only spotted one typo which turned out not to be a typo at all! So if you're wavering between ebook and hardcopy ... get the object!
But enough of that?
What's in the book?
It's always nice when someone has gone through the effort and expense (not to mention the exercise in hope) to send me a book that I can open it and tell within a page that they can actually write. Writing prose that is not actively a chore to read requires skill.
Fortunately, Abdalla can write. He can write well. Clean, understandable prose, with some noticeably good lines. Here are two bits that I noticed.
"hit Adrian on the back of the head, and his words fell out of him"
"It takes from you, you know? This Madness. Till all that's left is the rage of losing who you were."
A Touch of Light is epic fantasy with three point of view characters who we cycle around, changing view every chapter.
There is a LOT going on in this book. A lot. And I think maybe Malazan is the closest to it in that regard. It doesn't have the sky-cracking super-powers and randomly injected last minute gods and demons of Gardens of the Moon but it does have that same throw-you-in-the-deep-end vibe along with explanations-are-for-the-weak thing going on. These are not bad things, just choices. Malazan is popular because of the many moving parts, not in spite of it.
One character is a 200 year old prince with all the intricacies of family and the politics of a good number of nations jostling for power to deal with, along with the church.
Another is an in-hiding ex-church enforcer with a crowded head full of voices and powers based on channeling anger to ... something that's just a name for most of the book.
And the third player, the second of two female PoVs, is part of a clan on the fringe of these nations, a hunter trying to advance up the rungs of her society, maintain duties to various people, and cope with her own emotion-based fighting-magic.
Since each of these characters is surrounded by many people and involved in complex activities, you'll need to keep your reading wits around you as you swap rapidly between them.
If you can keep up then an interesting story evolves, showing bags of imagination and some deviously twisty plotting.
The thread that unites these three characters (who do not meet in this book, and are far apart for most of it) is a corruption that is turning seemingly random people into super-strength madmen who set to killing everyone in sight. This corruption turns out to have many levels and may be related to the death-hating/denying religion of the prince and the powerful nations that share this faith. The madmen - who at first have a zombie-apocalypse feel to them - evolve both individually and in our understanding, so that towards the end of the book there's an organised army of them with intelligent leaders and siege weapons.
I enjoyed the read, even though at quite a few points I would have been hard pressed to tell you what exactly was going on or why.
You can either adopt the approach that you're going to keep an iron grip on events and use your Malazan-brain to remain on top of everything. Or, like me, you can let the story sweep you along and enjoy the ride.
Abdalla's a promising new voice who shows his potential in this debut.
And there are griffins!
Griffins!
When did you last see a griffin in fantasy?
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
..
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Thiago Abdalla was kind enough to send me a copy of his debut novel all the way from Brazil!
First things first. Physically, this is a lovely volume. Really high quality production - with the cover art on the hardcover too, under the dust jacket, which I like. Thick paper. Top notch. And through the whole thing I only spotted one typo which turned out not to be a typo at all! So if you're wavering between ebook and hardcopy ... get the object!
But enough of that?
What's in the book?
It's always nice when someone has gone through the effort and expense (not to mention the exercise in hope) to send me a book that I can open it and tell within a page that they can actually write. Writing prose that is not actively a chore to read requires skill.
Fortunately, Abdalla can write. He can write well. Clean, understandable prose, with some noticeably good lines. Here are two bits that I noticed.
"hit Adrian on the back of the head, and his words fell out of him"
"It takes from you, you know? This Madness. Till all that's left is the rage of losing who you were."
A Touch of Light is epic fantasy with three point of view characters who we cycle around, changing view every chapter.
There is a LOT going on in this book. A lot. And I think maybe Malazan is the closest to it in that regard. It doesn't have the sky-cracking super-powers and randomly injected last minute gods and demons of Gardens of the Moon but it does have that same throw-you-in-the-deep-end vibe along with explanations-are-for-the-weak thing going on. These are not bad things, just choices. Malazan is popular because of the many moving parts, not in spite of it.
One character is a 200 year old prince with all the intricacies of family and the politics of a good number of nations jostling for power to deal with, along with the church.
Another is an in-hiding ex-church enforcer with a crowded head full of voices and powers based on channeling anger to ... something that's just a name for most of the book.
And the third player, the second of two female PoVs, is part of a clan on the fringe of these nations, a hunter trying to advance up the rungs of her society, maintain duties to various people, and cope with her own emotion-based fighting-magic.
Since each of these characters is surrounded by many people and involved in complex activities, you'll need to keep your reading wits around you as you swap rapidly between them.
If you can keep up then an interesting story evolves, showing bags of imagination and some deviously twisty plotting.
The thread that unites these three characters (who do not meet in this book, and are far apart for most of it) is a corruption that is turning seemingly random people into super-strength madmen who set to killing everyone in sight. This corruption turns out to have many levels and may be related to the death-hating/denying religion of the prince and the powerful nations that share this faith. The madmen - who at first have a zombie-apocalypse feel to them - evolve both individually and in our understanding, so that towards the end of the book there's an organised army of them with intelligent leaders and siege weapons.
I enjoyed the read, even though at quite a few points I would have been hard pressed to tell you what exactly was going on or why.
You can either adopt the approach that you're going to keep an iron grip on events and use your Malazan-brain to remain on top of everything. Or, like me, you can let the story sweep you along and enjoy the ride.
Abdalla's a promising new voice who shows his potential in this debut.
And there are griffins!
Griffins!
When did you last see a griffin in fantasy?
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
..
November 26, 2022
Re-read on audio: 5⭐
Loved even more on re-read, aided by the masterful voice work of Kevin Kemp. Phenomenal.
--------------------------
4.5⭐
Full Review here: https://youtu.be/YBHTXTd-le8
Loved even more on re-read, aided by the masterful voice work of Kevin Kemp. Phenomenal.
--------------------------
4.5⭐
Full Review here: https://youtu.be/YBHTXTd-le8
July 21, 2022
Solid 4.5/5
This self published fantasy debut reminds me why I read!!! Strong and engaging POV! Interest character arcs! A fascinating world and cool magic system. Top it all of with political intrigue and a religious undercurrent that enriches the story without being over the top and I’m a happy man.
My only critique is that early in the book it was quite jarring switch to Nasha’s POV. It almost felt like culture shock. Once I settled in though it was smooth sailing.
DID I MENTION THE GRYPHONS!!!!
I like the gryphons 😆
Do your self a favor and pick this one up if you don’t like it I will take a bit out of my wizard robes…maybe.
This self published fantasy debut reminds me why I read!!! Strong and engaging POV! Interest character arcs! A fascinating world and cool magic system. Top it all of with political intrigue and a religious undercurrent that enriches the story without being over the top and I’m a happy man.
My only critique is that early in the book it was quite jarring switch to Nasha’s POV. It almost felt like culture shock. Once I settled in though it was smooth sailing.
DID I MENTION THE GRYPHONS!!!!
I like the gryphons 😆
Do your self a favor and pick this one up if you don’t like it I will take a bit out of my wizard robes…maybe.
February 14, 2023
7/10
A Touch of Light is an action-packed, fast-paced, well-written, and thought-provoking introduction to The Ashes of Avarin series by Thiago Abdalla.
Over the last few months, I have tried to prioritize self-pub fantasy and sci-fi more and more amongst my reading and, unfortunately, have not been very successful at it. Luckily, I was able to finally change that this month with a self-pub book that has received a significant amount of praise that I have had high up on my TBR for what feels like a very long time.
Did it live up to my expectations?
For the most part yes. I found Abdalla’s writing to be confident and impressive, allowing me to effortlessly enjoy the story that was being told. The action (and don’t worry, there is a lot of it) was exciting and very readable, holding my attention continuously throughout, which is not an easy thing to do. The worldbuilding and the various viewpoints and beliefs surrounding death that exist in this world were also very interesting. That said, the winner for me here has to be the characters. I really enjoyed all 3 POV’s (with Lynn probably being my favorite) and found them to each offer a unique and engaging look into this world. With the regular shifting of perspective between Nasha, Lynn, and Adrian, I felt continuously engaged throughout the story and enjoyed piecing together certain threads from all three POV's as I made my way through the book.
All that said, there were a few things that didn’t really work for me. First, Abdalla definitely just throws you into this world with little to no context for anything that’s going on. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as there have been many books that do this same thing where it hasn't bothered me (and in some instances, actually improves the reading experience), but here I found myself having trouble discerning why certain characters were carrying out various actions or why particular events were occurring at all. This made getting invested in the characters and story take much longer than usual for me and it wasn’t until about 40% of the way through where things started falling into place. Secondly, while the worldbuilding is certainly interesting and there is plenty to discover about it, I felt that a lot of it was just briefly touched on without further expansion because of how quickly the plot was moving. As a result, while I definitely feel like I know more about this world now than I did when I was in the first 100 pages of this book, it's not by a significant amount. I would have preferred some additional time spent learning about the various cultures and groups of people that live in this world because they all seem unique and interesting on a surface-level and I think more context would've added to my overall enjoyment quite a bit. I think there is plenty of opportunity for both of these to improve dramatically in the sequels as well as on potential future rereads.
Overall, I had a wonderful time with A Touch of Light by Thiago Abdalla. It was a fast-paced, exciting story with some great characters and interesting ideas. I will definitely be picking up the sequel soon and look forward to exploring more of this world!
A Touch of Light is an action-packed, fast-paced, well-written, and thought-provoking introduction to The Ashes of Avarin series by Thiago Abdalla.
Over the last few months, I have tried to prioritize self-pub fantasy and sci-fi more and more amongst my reading and, unfortunately, have not been very successful at it. Luckily, I was able to finally change that this month with a self-pub book that has received a significant amount of praise that I have had high up on my TBR for what feels like a very long time.
Did it live up to my expectations?
For the most part yes. I found Abdalla’s writing to be confident and impressive, allowing me to effortlessly enjoy the story that was being told. The action (and don’t worry, there is a lot of it) was exciting and very readable, holding my attention continuously throughout, which is not an easy thing to do. The worldbuilding and the various viewpoints and beliefs surrounding death that exist in this world were also very interesting. That said, the winner for me here has to be the characters. I really enjoyed all 3 POV’s (with Lynn probably being my favorite) and found them to each offer a unique and engaging look into this world. With the regular shifting of perspective between Nasha, Lynn, and Adrian, I felt continuously engaged throughout the story and enjoyed piecing together certain threads from all three POV's as I made my way through the book.
All that said, there were a few things that didn’t really work for me. First, Abdalla definitely just throws you into this world with little to no context for anything that’s going on. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as there have been many books that do this same thing where it hasn't bothered me (and in some instances, actually improves the reading experience), but here I found myself having trouble discerning why certain characters were carrying out various actions or why particular events were occurring at all. This made getting invested in the characters and story take much longer than usual for me and it wasn’t until about 40% of the way through where things started falling into place. Secondly, while the worldbuilding is certainly interesting and there is plenty to discover about it, I felt that a lot of it was just briefly touched on without further expansion because of how quickly the plot was moving. As a result, while I definitely feel like I know more about this world now than I did when I was in the first 100 pages of this book, it's not by a significant amount. I would have preferred some additional time spent learning about the various cultures and groups of people that live in this world because they all seem unique and interesting on a surface-level and I think more context would've added to my overall enjoyment quite a bit. I think there is plenty of opportunity for both of these to improve dramatically in the sequels as well as on potential future rereads.
Overall, I had a wonderful time with A Touch of Light by Thiago Abdalla. It was a fast-paced, exciting story with some great characters and interesting ideas. I will definitely be picking up the sequel soon and look forward to exploring more of this world!
April 19, 2023
"The world's heavy enough as it is... you need to let some of it off your back or every step will sink you until you're buried under the guilt..."
4/5
When I first bought this book, it was for the cover. The synopsis was intriguing and I was excited to give it a shot. Then I met Thiago, and it was bumped higher up the TBR because I enjoy reading books written by people I know. I expected a good story, good characters, and a good experience.
I didn't expect to have my expectations thwarted in the best way possible.
We step into the world of Avarin through the perspectives of three main characters: Adrian, a reluctant warrior prince trying to prove himself after the death of his brother. Nasha, an outsider in a tribe of outsiders who hides a dangerous curse running through her veins. And finally Lynn, hiding from the people she once called brothers and sisters in arms, inflicting her own personal penance for past regrets.
When I first began the book, I struggled to define which POV I resonated with the most, which is unusual for me when reading. These characters took me on a journey throughout all 400+ pages, each of them slowly unfolding layers that had me guessing until the very end which of them I would end up enjoying the most.
Thiago has created a rich world with distinct cultures, each spinning around different axes of religion, identity, and politics. Every chapter added another layer of worldbuilding, giving us a little more insight into the external environment our characters were navigating.
The worldbuilding never felt heavy-handed, it was subtle and felt natural through every page. I believed in the world. The plot never felt predictable, the twists and turns took me by surprise and after a while I just stopped predicting and started letting the story unfold to see where it would go. There are some fabulous action sequences in this story and the tension ramps up perfectly throughout the book to drive the readers into the intense ending.
I foresee this series becoming a favorite. Thiago has a distinct voice without putting himself so far into the story that he pulls you away from the voices of his characters. They stepped off the page and told the story themselves, and that is hard to do.
One of the subtle things I appreciated in this book was the way the little ironies of character motives and beliefs were shown. These characters are very human, and Thiago presents them in a way that allows them to be neither good or evil, but nuanced and authentically flawed.
I highly recommend this book, and I am looking forward to where these characters (or new ones?) will take us next.
4/5
When I first bought this book, it was for the cover. The synopsis was intriguing and I was excited to give it a shot. Then I met Thiago, and it was bumped higher up the TBR because I enjoy reading books written by people I know. I expected a good story, good characters, and a good experience.
I didn't expect to have my expectations thwarted in the best way possible.
We step into the world of Avarin through the perspectives of three main characters: Adrian, a reluctant warrior prince trying to prove himself after the death of his brother. Nasha, an outsider in a tribe of outsiders who hides a dangerous curse running through her veins. And finally Lynn, hiding from the people she once called brothers and sisters in arms, inflicting her own personal penance for past regrets.
When I first began the book, I struggled to define which POV I resonated with the most, which is unusual for me when reading. These characters took me on a journey throughout all 400+ pages, each of them slowly unfolding layers that had me guessing until the very end which of them I would end up enjoying the most.
Thiago has created a rich world with distinct cultures, each spinning around different axes of religion, identity, and politics. Every chapter added another layer of worldbuilding, giving us a little more insight into the external environment our characters were navigating.
The worldbuilding never felt heavy-handed, it was subtle and felt natural through every page. I believed in the world. The plot never felt predictable, the twists and turns took me by surprise and after a while I just stopped predicting and started letting the story unfold to see where it would go. There are some fabulous action sequences in this story and the tension ramps up perfectly throughout the book to drive the readers into the intense ending.
I foresee this series becoming a favorite. Thiago has a distinct voice without putting himself so far into the story that he pulls you away from the voices of his characters. They stepped off the page and told the story themselves, and that is hard to do.
One of the subtle things I appreciated in this book was the way the little ironies of character motives and beliefs were shown. These characters are very human, and Thiago presents them in a way that allows them to be neither good or evil, but nuanced and authentically flawed.
I highly recommend this book, and I am looking forward to where these characters (or new ones?) will take us next.
February 18, 2023
Incredibly ambitious debut that has a stunningly unique take on life and death! This book does not have a dull moment in it, it’s paced very consistently (more towards fast paced than anything else), with a cast of colourful characters and written in a very engaging way.
It takes a relatively simple concept (the worthy live forever, to sin is to die) and explores this in various layers of complexity, from day to day life of the people, to governments, to other nations and how they treat life and death.
It’s no secret that there are no info dumps in this book, there’s no hand-holding, nothing is made “easy” for the reader - so if your mind tends to wander, you might miss some bits here and there. My mind wanders A LOT so I alternated between the audiobook and eBook of this (I also own the paperback, but the job of that book has been to sit on my bookshelf and look pretty!) - so bear that in mind when diving into this. I had to put the book down a few times when I was simply too distracted to focus - which meant when I did read, it was much more rewarding.
The opening is gripping and leads us into a small time jump where something quite major seems to have happened off-page, which definitely threw me the first time I read it. However, I would urge you to trust the author and go with it. Although not everything is explained (nor would I expect it to be in the first book of an epic fantasy series), there are enough answers given to keep tantalising you, and the plot and world expands in a natural way.
We have three POVs and honestly I loved each of them for different reasons.
Lynn is a superb character. She has so many layers to her - from her pride and strength as a sentinel (one of the awesome griffin riders) to the grief and guilt she carries for past deeds, and her determination to rid the world of the madness that is spreading among the populace.
She is on the back foot for the most part, which is something she is getting used to herself, and it’s almost painful to see her pulled down by her grief but wonderful to see when she rises.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Lynn is the overall most popular character. She is pretty awesome and has a compelling story. A griffin rider gone rogue, dealing with some sort of psychosis where guilt has manifested as voices in her head. I felt for her so much and just wanted to give her a hug!
That being said, and as awesome as Lynn is, I think I loved Nasha’s story so much she has to be my favourite. She has a lot of empathy and can truly feel the emotions of those around her, but it’s heightened to such a degree it’s almost a superpower. Or curse. She can easily become flooded with the emotions of people around her, which is not only overwhelming, but can push her to snap in a violent and brutal way.
She is an outsider trying to prove herself, and thusly works twice as hard to achieve her goals. However, in a world where plots and betrayals are cooked up by everyone, the barriers to her goals might be more than she realises.
The third POV character, Prince Adrian, is just as complex and nuanced as the other two. The opening is particularly poignant, expertly showcasing the golden child vs scapegoat dynamic he has with his father. His brother has died - hard enough without the cultural and religious significance surrounding death (and not mentioning it), not to mention trying to “replace” him and fill his brother’s shoes, when he is much lesser in the eyes of his father.
It’s a dynamic that I have come across from time to time, but rarely is it done so well. It perfectly captures Adrian’s desire for his father’s acceptance, and the balance between living up to his brother and becoming his own man - perhaps even becoming better than his brother ever was, as well as striving to save his loved ones. In a society where people live for hundreds of years, that’s easier said than done.
Additionally, the side characters are wonderful too. I particularly enjoyed Ferrin!
What links most of these characters is the plague-like madness coursing through every nation, turning people into savages that kill indiscriminantly. It also seems to be contagious, which is quite worrying.
We have the Seraph - the goddess of life - who watches over those in the Domain, giving her blessing to those faithful few and bestowing upon them long life (perhaps even immortality - several people have been alive hundreds of years), and the Ronar in the clan lands, where Zala - the goddess of death - holds more sway.
People in both nations wish to appease their preferred god (either for her blessing or to avoid a punishment) and it’s such an interesting dynamic that really immerses the reader in the world.
We’ve only scratched the surface of the wordbuilding, lore, and different cultures populating this series, and I am so excited to discover what happens next in the sequel.
Also, the griffins are FABULOUS.
A Touch of Light is an impressive read and thoroughly deserving of its place as an SPFBO8 Finalist and of all the success it achieves!
It takes a relatively simple concept (the worthy live forever, to sin is to die) and explores this in various layers of complexity, from day to day life of the people, to governments, to other nations and how they treat life and death.
It’s no secret that there are no info dumps in this book, there’s no hand-holding, nothing is made “easy” for the reader - so if your mind tends to wander, you might miss some bits here and there. My mind wanders A LOT so I alternated between the audiobook and eBook of this (I also own the paperback, but the job of that book has been to sit on my bookshelf and look pretty!) - so bear that in mind when diving into this. I had to put the book down a few times when I was simply too distracted to focus - which meant when I did read, it was much more rewarding.
The opening is gripping and leads us into a small time jump where something quite major seems to have happened off-page, which definitely threw me the first time I read it. However, I would urge you to trust the author and go with it. Although not everything is explained (nor would I expect it to be in the first book of an epic fantasy series), there are enough answers given to keep tantalising you, and the plot and world expands in a natural way.
We have three POVs and honestly I loved each of them for different reasons.
Lynn is a superb character. She has so many layers to her - from her pride and strength as a sentinel (one of the awesome griffin riders) to the grief and guilt she carries for past deeds, and her determination to rid the world of the madness that is spreading among the populace.
She is on the back foot for the most part, which is something she is getting used to herself, and it’s almost painful to see her pulled down by her grief but wonderful to see when she rises.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Lynn is the overall most popular character. She is pretty awesome and has a compelling story. A griffin rider gone rogue, dealing with some sort of psychosis where guilt has manifested as voices in her head. I felt for her so much and just wanted to give her a hug!
That being said, and as awesome as Lynn is, I think I loved Nasha’s story so much she has to be my favourite. She has a lot of empathy and can truly feel the emotions of those around her, but it’s heightened to such a degree it’s almost a superpower. Or curse. She can easily become flooded with the emotions of people around her, which is not only overwhelming, but can push her to snap in a violent and brutal way.
She is an outsider trying to prove herself, and thusly works twice as hard to achieve her goals. However, in a world where plots and betrayals are cooked up by everyone, the barriers to her goals might be more than she realises.
The third POV character, Prince Adrian, is just as complex and nuanced as the other two. The opening is particularly poignant, expertly showcasing the golden child vs scapegoat dynamic he has with his father. His brother has died - hard enough without the cultural and religious significance surrounding death (and not mentioning it), not to mention trying to “replace” him and fill his brother’s shoes, when he is much lesser in the eyes of his father.
It’s a dynamic that I have come across from time to time, but rarely is it done so well. It perfectly captures Adrian’s desire for his father’s acceptance, and the balance between living up to his brother and becoming his own man - perhaps even becoming better than his brother ever was, as well as striving to save his loved ones. In a society where people live for hundreds of years, that’s easier said than done.
Additionally, the side characters are wonderful too. I particularly enjoyed Ferrin!
What links most of these characters is the plague-like madness coursing through every nation, turning people into savages that kill indiscriminantly. It also seems to be contagious, which is quite worrying.
We have the Seraph - the goddess of life - who watches over those in the Domain, giving her blessing to those faithful few and bestowing upon them long life (perhaps even immortality - several people have been alive hundreds of years), and the Ronar in the clan lands, where Zala - the goddess of death - holds more sway.
People in both nations wish to appease their preferred god (either for her blessing or to avoid a punishment) and it’s such an interesting dynamic that really immerses the reader in the world.
We’ve only scratched the surface of the wordbuilding, lore, and different cultures populating this series, and I am so excited to discover what happens next in the sequel.
Also, the griffins are FABULOUS.
A Touch of Light is an impressive read and thoroughly deserving of its place as an SPFBO8 Finalist and of all the success it achieves!
October 12, 2022
I have a whole reading vlog where I read and review this book in depth.
Check it out here https://youtu.be/1XGAQWVSQKw
But I was blown away by the technical skill of Thiago. His prose is beautiful.
I can't wait till I have my hands on book two.
If you are looking for interesting magic system, unique characters, questionable morals at times and just an overall well written story/world. Please please check out this book.
It's defs a new fav of mine 💜
Check it out here https://youtu.be/1XGAQWVSQKw
But I was blown away by the technical skill of Thiago. His prose is beautiful.
I can't wait till I have my hands on book two.
If you are looking for interesting magic system, unique characters, questionable morals at times and just an overall well written story/world. Please please check out this book.
It's defs a new fav of mine 💜
January 3, 2023
Thiago Abdalla did something really special with this one: he made me fall in love with an
idea.
In addition, my favorite thing about this book were its themes. If you follow my reviews or my YouTube channel, I bet that sentence just made your eyebrows shoot up. Right?! I'm a character driven reader, what's this about themes?! All I can say is, Abdalla can write his tail off because I was caught up in the exploration of death, how it was viewed by different cultures and races of people. Closely tied in with the theme of death, were religion and faith - I have always been fascinated to see how a person's beliefs hold up under pressure or when great tragedy falls or something tests them beyond anything else they've encountered before. Abdalla delivered.
Speaking of delivering, Kevin Kemp narrated the audiobook for this one and I was only a few chapters in when I messaged the author and said if he didn't have Kevin narrate the rest of the series, I was going to show up at his house in protest. Maybe I said I'd riot. At any rate, Kevin Kemp did a remarkable job and has a new fan in me.
I would also make a case for saying the author had a small exploration of mental health in the form of Lynn's POV. Beyond these themes, this novel was rife with politics, magic and freaking zombies. Yeah, read that again. Zombies. In a fantasy novel. Where magic is involved. Remember me mentioning death and it being viewed differently based upon religious beliefs? Some believe death means you were deemed unworthy, others believe it's a gift - what do you think happens when they encounter zombies?!!
So if the themes aren't enough to keep you interested - the Sentinels and their Griffins might do the trick. I was so curious to learn more about them, their bond and their magic. Did I get enough about them in this book? No. I want more! (So I preordered book 2...lol) I loved the pacing in this one, the fight scenes and battles - I couldn't get enough. The story is given to us in 3 POVs and each one had a different way of doing things, so I was always learning about each one as well as watching them all learn about the zombies and how they each thought their people may have accidentally created the zombies. Sort of. They had different ideas about where they came from anyway.
Our 3 POVs were a prince named Adrian who believed in the Seraph - the Seraph who left because of all the killing people were doing. Adrian is of those who believe you die because you're unworthy and you should be burned and never spoken of again. Our next POV is Nasha who belongs to one of the clans - her storyline was my favorite - the clans believe that death is a gift. Their magic was so intriguing to learn about, as well as their hierarchy. Lynn is the final POV and my second favorite - she is a Sentinel who we first meet in prison. She hears the voices of those she's killed and feels that she no longer deserves to be a Sentinel. Learning her story was SO GOOD - I enjoyed her development the most...especially at the - wait, that would be a spoiler. I think. Gosh. READ THIS BOOK!
The scheming that takes place in the different territories between the political positions - I really want to dive into this, but I can't figure out a way to do so without getting into spoilers. Especially after reading some tidbits found in the prequel, A PREQUEL TO ASHES. I am just eaten up with having to wait on the next book in the series - I can't wait to see what happens next!
Speaking of delivering, Kevin Kemp narrated the audiobook for this one and I was only a few chapters in when I messaged the author and said if he didn't have Kevin narrate the rest of the series, I was going to show up at his house in protest. Maybe I said I'd riot. At any rate, Kevin Kemp did a remarkable job and has a new fan in me.
I would also make a case for saying the author had a small exploration of mental health in the form of Lynn's POV. Beyond these themes, this novel was rife with politics, magic and freaking zombies. Yeah, read that again. Zombies. In a fantasy novel. Where magic is involved. Remember me mentioning death and it being viewed differently based upon religious beliefs? Some believe death means you were deemed unworthy, others believe it's a gift - what do you think happens when they encounter zombies?!!
So if the themes aren't enough to keep you interested - the Sentinels and their Griffins might do the trick. I was so curious to learn more about them, their bond and their magic. Did I get enough about them in this book? No. I want more! (So I preordered book 2...lol) I loved the pacing in this one, the fight scenes and battles - I couldn't get enough. The story is given to us in 3 POVs and each one had a different way of doing things, so I was always learning about each one as well as watching them all learn about the zombies and how they each thought their people may have accidentally created the zombies. Sort of. They had different ideas about where they came from anyway.
Our 3 POVs were a prince named Adrian who believed in the Seraph - the Seraph who left because of all the killing people were doing. Adrian is of those who believe you die because you're unworthy and you should be burned and never spoken of again. Our next POV is Nasha who belongs to one of the clans - her storyline was my favorite - the clans believe that death is a gift. Their magic was so intriguing to learn about, as well as their hierarchy. Lynn is the final POV and my second favorite - she is a Sentinel who we first meet in prison. She hears the voices of those she's killed and feels that she no longer deserves to be a Sentinel. Learning her story was SO GOOD - I enjoyed her development the most...especially at the - wait, that would be a spoiler. I think. Gosh. READ THIS BOOK!
The scheming that takes place in the different territories between the political positions - I really want to dive into this, but I can't figure out a way to do so without getting into spoilers. Especially after reading some tidbits found in the prequel, A PREQUEL TO ASHES. I am just eaten up with having to wait on the next book in the series - I can't wait to see what happens next!
January 14, 2023
I’ll try to come back and write more later, but this was good. Not perfect - I had some issues that prevented me from ever getting fully immersed or invested, but the book was good. His writing chops are enjoyable, and this was an impressive debut novel. I enjoyed reading/listening to it, and I plan to continue with the series.
August 12, 2022
If you are a fan of Epic fantasy, religious and political intrigue, a massive fantasy world, blockbuster worthy battles and plot twists and turns that would keep a conspiracy theorist happy, than this a book that'll fit all of those desires.
BLOOD HOLDS TIES
The depth of world building and culture in this book is epic and on a massive scale. The world feels lived in and vast.
Told in multiple POVs from various factions in this world, Abdalla leaves us breadcrumbs along the way as he opens plot holes and gleefully rubs his hands as readers come up with theories haha.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and can't wait to see where Abdalla takes us next. I highly recommend reading along with the audiobook as Kevin Kemp does an outstanding job as narrator.
BLOOD HOLDS TIES
The depth of world building and culture in this book is epic and on a massive scale. The world feels lived in and vast.
Told in multiple POVs from various factions in this world, Abdalla leaves us breadcrumbs along the way as he opens plot holes and gleefully rubs his hands as readers come up with theories haha.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and can't wait to see where Abdalla takes us next. I highly recommend reading along with the audiobook as Kevin Kemp does an outstanding job as narrator.
July 23, 2022
Well, that was a wild ride! I had seen this book going around and even watched some reviews on it, but the only thing that had really stuck in my mind about this book was: ‘here there be griffins!!’, so suffice to say that I went in pretty blind.
And wow, I am absolutely blown away!! Yes, there were the griffins that I was promised, but there is SO much more to love.
In this self-pub debut, we follow three characters in the lands of Avarin. Now, you probably couldn’t find three characters that are more different from each other than these three and I honestly really liked that.
Two of our characters, prince Adrian and Sentinel Lynn, live in the Domain. This is an area of land consisting of multiple different countries, where people follow the faith of the Seraph. Now, I’m not going to dive into what this religion entails, because part of the fun of reading this book is slowly discovering this world and seeing all the puzzle pieces fall into place.
Anyway, our third POV provides a completely different perspective into this world, because Nasha is a hunter who lives in the Clan Lands to the south of the Domain. And I am not exaggerating when I say that the way of life in the Clan Lands is essentially the complete antithesis to everything that the Domain stands for.
So yeah, needless to say there are some major culture clashes in this book. I really loved that we got to explore this world through these characters with such different backgrounds and different beliefs.
I can see how some people might think that the switches between these three very different POVs feel a bit jarring, but I personally think that the author wrote it this way with a purpose and pulled it off masterfully. Also, there is one very intriguing overarching threat that ends up binding all these storylines together. That is, there is a mysterious plague spreading throughout this world, which leaves the infected in a state of feral madness. The intrigue and mystery surrounding this plague really had me glued to the page, as I was so eager to find out more about where this threat was coming from and what it exactly was.
Now, I honestly couldn’t pick a favourite character if I had to. They were all so well-written and I loved that they all had different struggles to deal with and overcome. Though, the fact that Lynn is bonded to a griffin does give her a slight edge, haha.
Also, not only are our main characters incredibly complex and compelling to read about, but the side characters are just as three-dimensional and well-developed. Everyone has their own agenda and this story is chock-full of scheming and backstabbing, which had me on the edge of my seat.
Lastly, the writing is insanely good and super immersive. And don’t even get me started on the action/battle scenes, those had my heart racing!
The stakes are high, nothing is as it seems to be and you never know who you can trust.
So, safe to say I adored A Touch of Light with all my heart. I am so eager to see how the story continues, because THAT ENDING! I need answers!! I’d highly recommend this for anyone who is interested in fast-paced fantasy, themes of death and loss, exploring the meaning of life, culture clashes, mysterious threats, betrayals and backstabbing, characters with hidden pasts and… oh, yeah, griffins ;)
PS. if you are a fan of audiobooks, then you HAVE to check this one out. The book is incredible on its own, but Kevin Kemp's narration takes the story to a whole new level of greatness. One of the best performances I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing, he absolutely nailed it. Highly recommend an immersion read!!
**************************************
First read May 2022: 4.5 stars
Second read July 2022: 5 stars
It took me exactly 1.5 months after finishing my first read to return to this story and reread it... and I have zero regrets. Talk about rereadability, there were so many more hidden details that I picked up on and I was just geeking out like crazy :)))
This is now one of my top favourites of the year, I just love it so much.
And as I said above, THIS AUDIOBOOK!! In-cre-di-ble.
Okay, gushfest over, if you are still reading this, just go read this book already!! I promise you won't regret it ;)
And wow, I am absolutely blown away!! Yes, there were the griffins that I was promised, but there is SO much more to love.
In this self-pub debut, we follow three characters in the lands of Avarin. Now, you probably couldn’t find three characters that are more different from each other than these three and I honestly really liked that.
Two of our characters, prince Adrian and Sentinel Lynn, live in the Domain. This is an area of land consisting of multiple different countries, where people follow the faith of the Seraph. Now, I’m not going to dive into what this religion entails, because part of the fun of reading this book is slowly discovering this world and seeing all the puzzle pieces fall into place.
Anyway, our third POV provides a completely different perspective into this world, because Nasha is a hunter who lives in the Clan Lands to the south of the Domain. And I am not exaggerating when I say that the way of life in the Clan Lands is essentially the complete antithesis to everything that the Domain stands for.
So yeah, needless to say there are some major culture clashes in this book. I really loved that we got to explore this world through these characters with such different backgrounds and different beliefs.
I can see how some people might think that the switches between these three very different POVs feel a bit jarring, but I personally think that the author wrote it this way with a purpose and pulled it off masterfully. Also, there is one very intriguing overarching threat that ends up binding all these storylines together. That is, there is a mysterious plague spreading throughout this world, which leaves the infected in a state of feral madness. The intrigue and mystery surrounding this plague really had me glued to the page, as I was so eager to find out more about where this threat was coming from and what it exactly was.
Now, I honestly couldn’t pick a favourite character if I had to. They were all so well-written and I loved that they all had different struggles to deal with and overcome. Though, the fact that Lynn is bonded to a griffin does give her a slight edge, haha.
Also, not only are our main characters incredibly complex and compelling to read about, but the side characters are just as three-dimensional and well-developed. Everyone has their own agenda and this story is chock-full of scheming and backstabbing, which had me on the edge of my seat.
Lastly, the writing is insanely good and super immersive. And don’t even get me started on the action/battle scenes, those had my heart racing!
The stakes are high, nothing is as it seems to be and you never know who you can trust.
So, safe to say I adored A Touch of Light with all my heart. I am so eager to see how the story continues, because THAT ENDING! I need answers!! I’d highly recommend this for anyone who is interested in fast-paced fantasy, themes of death and loss, exploring the meaning of life, culture clashes, mysterious threats, betrayals and backstabbing, characters with hidden pasts and… oh, yeah, griffins ;)
PS. if you are a fan of audiobooks, then you HAVE to check this one out. The book is incredible on its own, but Kevin Kemp's narration takes the story to a whole new level of greatness. One of the best performances I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing, he absolutely nailed it. Highly recommend an immersion read!!
**************************************
First read May 2022: 4.5 stars
Second read July 2022: 5 stars
It took me exactly 1.5 months after finishing my first read to return to this story and reread it... and I have zero regrets. Talk about rereadability, there were so many more hidden details that I picked up on and I was just geeking out like crazy :)))
This is now one of my top favourites of the year, I just love it so much.
And as I said above, THIS AUDIOBOOK!! In-cre-di-ble.
Okay, gushfest over, if you are still reading this, just go read this book already!! I promise you won't regret it ;)
December 5, 2022
Reread: strangely this time around I was more confused and had trouble following some of the things going on.
This is a slowly unraveling story of three characters’ lives and their destiny in the Domain. Adrian, a Prince, is trying to find his path and place and approval of his father. He also wants to preserve his love’s body. Nasha, is of the lowly clan called Slopers because they live on the side of a volcano. She has a curse as she sees it that allows her to feel people’s emotions and she’s trying to find a way to be rid of it. Lynn is a Sentinel who bonds with her griffin, Vedyr, from whom she draws strength by giving him her anger. We don’t see their lives intertwine here but we can see the threads being woven to eventually bring them back together. All three lives are left open ended for the next installment. We will wait and see what will happen next.
Treachery! Loyalty! Faith! Death!
This was a well-paced character driven story. I was easily pulled into the story and could follow the events. There was quite a large world out there, which I think we will get to see more.
As you get to know the three main characters, the plot unfolds and the world building engages. I enjoyed reading about all of them and their place in this world. Adrian is a prince and wants to resurrect his love and gets pulled into this oncoming war. But he has a certain blood gift, I guess I’d call it. Nasha is a great hunter and wants to be accepted in the Ronar clan, who also has a “curse” or special gift, which we need to know how she got this! Lynn is a Sentinel, which is the highest order of authority, who has a special power and a link to a personal gryphon! Will these characters ever meet each other? Will their fates intertwine?
Each culture has a different view on the role of religion and how it affects lives. One values life and doesn’t care or mourn when someone dies. Another believes death is part of life and you return to the earth, which helps keep the earth healthy. It’s so interesting how the religious beliefs are woven into the story.
And the biggest question throughout the book is “What is the Madness?” How do you get it? Why do you become zombie-like with incredible strength and skills at killing? I assume we will learn more in upcoming novels.
“That’s the thing about light. All you need is a touch to see the horrors lurking in the dark.”
This is a slowly unraveling story of three characters’ lives and their destiny in the Domain. Adrian, a Prince, is trying to find his path and place and approval of his father. He also wants to preserve his love’s body. Nasha, is of the lowly clan called Slopers because they live on the side of a volcano. She has a curse as she sees it that allows her to feel people’s emotions and she’s trying to find a way to be rid of it. Lynn is a Sentinel who bonds with her griffin, Vedyr, from whom she draws strength by giving him her anger. We don’t see their lives intertwine here but we can see the threads being woven to eventually bring them back together. All three lives are left open ended for the next installment. We will wait and see what will happen next.
Treachery! Loyalty! Faith! Death!
This was a well-paced character driven story. I was easily pulled into the story and could follow the events. There was quite a large world out there, which I think we will get to see more.
As you get to know the three main characters, the plot unfolds and the world building engages. I enjoyed reading about all of them and their place in this world. Adrian is a prince and wants to resurrect his love and gets pulled into this oncoming war. But he has a certain blood gift, I guess I’d call it. Nasha is a great hunter and wants to be accepted in the Ronar clan, who also has a “curse” or special gift, which we need to know how she got this! Lynn is a Sentinel, which is the highest order of authority, who has a special power and a link to a personal gryphon! Will these characters ever meet each other? Will their fates intertwine?
Each culture has a different view on the role of religion and how it affects lives. One values life and doesn’t care or mourn when someone dies. Another believes death is part of life and you return to the earth, which helps keep the earth healthy. It’s so interesting how the religious beliefs are woven into the story.
And the biggest question throughout the book is “What is the Madness?” How do you get it? Why do you become zombie-like with incredible strength and skills at killing? I assume we will learn more in upcoming novels.
“That’s the thing about light. All you need is a touch to see the horrors lurking in the dark.”
June 16, 2022
So first of all – Thiago Abdalla paints a wonderful story. The prose was elegant and engaging and pulled me into an intriguing world.
And the story…
It’s very unique. I haven’t read a book that explores death like this before – indeed the whole religious system in this world is built around how people view death. One kingdom views it as a weakness. Those who are ‘blessed’ live very long lives. Those who die cannot be spoke of again.
Another kingdom sees death as a natural part of the life cycle. However, they also seem a little too eager to sacrifice their people to keep this cycle moving. These differing views bring issues to the people within both kingdoms and it’s interesting to see that while the views are very different, the societal structures offer similar problems. Inevitably, those of a lower social standing take the brunt of them.
In ways, A Touch of Light is quite philosophical – and also very unique. This isn’t a rehash of Lord of the Rings or Wheel of Time – and I absolutely loved that. This is innovative fantasy. It’s is also grown up fantasy. There is no spoon feeding and the three POV characters are not overtly linked. Again, while it took a few chapters to get used to this, but I ended up loving this too.
However, the plot itself is not vague. The main thread that links the characters together is that of a strange disease that has taken hold of the land. At first it appears to turn people mad, but as the story progresses we realise that some of those with the Madness are able to hide it – and are actively plotting against the powers that be.
My favourite character was Lynn. She was the heart of the story for me, and the inner voices she has in her head, made for an interesting character. She is the one who understands the Madness the most, but has already suffered greatly at its hands.
I’m trying to keep this spoiler free as possible so won’t delve any further into the story, but I will say that I’m very intrigued to see where this story goes and how the three POV characters will tackle the Madness.
Needless to say, I have high hopes for this SPFBO entry!
And the story…
It’s very unique. I haven’t read a book that explores death like this before – indeed the whole religious system in this world is built around how people view death. One kingdom views it as a weakness. Those who are ‘blessed’ live very long lives. Those who die cannot be spoke of again.
Another kingdom sees death as a natural part of the life cycle. However, they also seem a little too eager to sacrifice their people to keep this cycle moving. These differing views bring issues to the people within both kingdoms and it’s interesting to see that while the views are very different, the societal structures offer similar problems. Inevitably, those of a lower social standing take the brunt of them.
In ways, A Touch of Light is quite philosophical – and also very unique. This isn’t a rehash of Lord of the Rings or Wheel of Time – and I absolutely loved that. This is innovative fantasy. It’s is also grown up fantasy. There is no spoon feeding and the three POV characters are not overtly linked. Again, while it took a few chapters to get used to this, but I ended up loving this too.
However, the plot itself is not vague. The main thread that links the characters together is that of a strange disease that has taken hold of the land. At first it appears to turn people mad, but as the story progresses we realise that some of those with the Madness are able to hide it – and are actively plotting against the powers that be.
My favourite character was Lynn. She was the heart of the story for me, and the inner voices she has in her head, made for an interesting character. She is the one who understands the Madness the most, but has already suffered greatly at its hands.
I’m trying to keep this spoiler free as possible so won’t delve any further into the story, but I will say that I’m very intrigued to see where this story goes and how the three POV characters will tackle the Madness.
Needless to say, I have high hopes for this SPFBO entry!
August 4, 2022
Score: 4.75 over 5 stars
A Touch of Light is the debut novel from Thiago Abdalla. And let me say something, he paints a great world, with a rich story that pulls you into it.
The plot is really intricate, but at the same time, I think Thiago's prose makes it easy to follow. Being a story told in 3 different POVs, one could think it could be confusing, but contrary to that belief, he made an excellent work to use it as a central tool for worldbuilding.
Making him the phrase "show, don't tell", we slowly discover Avarin, the world, the religion, the politics, and all avoiding info-dumping, something that feels really difficult when introducing a world in a first novel. There's a small detail that I also loved, which is using epigraphs at the start of each chapter as a way to give small spoons of information.
About the characters, three are really interesting, but for me probably the one I empathized with more was Lynn, as all the Sentinels aspects are really mysterious and add another layer of flavour to the novel.
Talking more about the plot, the ways life and death are intrinsically treated as part of the central theme while being mixed with politics and the conflict between different domains is simply brilliant. Loved each moment where they were treated.
In summary, I think A Touch of Light is an absolute delight for whoever enjoys epic fantasy, and a really solid debut from Thiago Abdalla. Can't wait to see more of this author.
A Touch of Light is the debut novel from Thiago Abdalla. And let me say something, he paints a great world, with a rich story that pulls you into it.
The plot is really intricate, but at the same time, I think Thiago's prose makes it easy to follow. Being a story told in 3 different POVs, one could think it could be confusing, but contrary to that belief, he made an excellent work to use it as a central tool for worldbuilding.
Making him the phrase "show, don't tell", we slowly discover Avarin, the world, the religion, the politics, and all avoiding info-dumping, something that feels really difficult when introducing a world in a first novel. There's a small detail that I also loved, which is using epigraphs at the start of each chapter as a way to give small spoons of information.
About the characters, three are really interesting, but for me probably the one I empathized with more was Lynn, as all the Sentinels aspects are really mysterious and add another layer of flavour to the novel.
Talking more about the plot, the ways life and death are intrinsically treated as part of the central theme while being mixed with politics and the conflict between different domains is simply brilliant. Loved each moment where they were treated.
In summary, I think A Touch of Light is an absolute delight for whoever enjoys epic fantasy, and a really solid debut from Thiago Abdalla. Can't wait to see more of this author.
December 18, 2023
Fast Paced Action-filled Fantasy
My experience with self published books is pretty limited, but I had heard of this book many times on book tube and book discord servers and it seemed like it might be my kind of thing. Turns out that it was.
I didn't know much about this book going in, but if someone had just told me magic legionairre griffin riders and fantasy zombie virus I would have been in immediately. Of course there is a lot more to it than that. There's pretty interesting in world religions and politics that drives a lot of the plot. There's a murder mystery of sorts. And oh boy is there action and violence and then some more on top of that.
The story is told through 3 main pov characters each who show us a different part of society within the world as each eventually has to confront rising evils and betrayals. The story is exceptionally fast paced with no fat. It starts out from the very beginning letting you know that even though people in this world are long lived allegedly due to their religious beliefs around death it doesn't mean that things don't get violent and bloody. The book really never quits and even when it switches povs there is no drag. My favorite pov had to be Lynn who is a very badass character who hit highs in the book's climax. I enjoyed the other povs just not quite as much which leads me into a few of my criticisms.
This book is so fast paced I think that hurt the other perspective s in some ways. When events don't have as much room to breathe it means those opportunities for character development or a little world building exposition get sacrificed. There were times in the Adrian or Nasha chapters where I had a harder time being invested because it felt I was lacking context about their characters or their part of the world. Particularly with Nasha I had a harder time understanding the southern clan world building aspects that were important to her story because I couldn't gather it from the narrative alone. There was a character list and some world building details at the front before the books starts and those were helpful, but this is the case where I think some additional exposition in the story itself might have made this a 5 star read.
That being said this is still an excellent book that I very much enjoyed my time with. Mr Abdalla can absolutely write and even though this is self published there is nothing amateur about it. And oh boy can he write action on a level sometimes I only think the best thriller authors execute better. Also if you're doing audio the narration is absolutely top notch. Do yourself a favor and pick up the Kindle version and the audible version at a discount and read immersively and get the best of both worlds. I will be reading the sequel this year no doubt.
My experience with self published books is pretty limited, but I had heard of this book many times on book tube and book discord servers and it seemed like it might be my kind of thing. Turns out that it was.
I didn't know much about this book going in, but if someone had just told me magic legionairre griffin riders and fantasy zombie virus I would have been in immediately. Of course there is a lot more to it than that. There's pretty interesting in world religions and politics that drives a lot of the plot. There's a murder mystery of sorts. And oh boy is there action and violence and then some more on top of that.
The story is told through 3 main pov characters each who show us a different part of society within the world as each eventually has to confront rising evils and betrayals. The story is exceptionally fast paced with no fat. It starts out from the very beginning letting you know that even though people in this world are long lived allegedly due to their religious beliefs around death it doesn't mean that things don't get violent and bloody. The book really never quits and even when it switches povs there is no drag. My favorite pov had to be Lynn who is a very badass character who hit highs in the book's climax. I enjoyed the other povs just not quite as much which leads me into a few of my criticisms.
This book is so fast paced I think that hurt the other perspective s in some ways. When events don't have as much room to breathe it means those opportunities for character development or a little world building exposition get sacrificed. There were times in the Adrian or Nasha chapters where I had a harder time being invested because it felt I was lacking context about their characters or their part of the world. Particularly with Nasha I had a harder time understanding the southern clan world building aspects that were important to her story because I couldn't gather it from the narrative alone. There was a character list and some world building details at the front before the books starts and those were helpful, but this is the case where I think some additional exposition in the story itself might have made this a 5 star read.
That being said this is still an excellent book that I very much enjoyed my time with. Mr Abdalla can absolutely write and even though this is self published there is nothing amateur about it. And oh boy can he write action on a level sometimes I only think the best thriller authors execute better. Also if you're doing audio the narration is absolutely top notch. Do yourself a favor and pick up the Kindle version and the audible version at a discount and read immersively and get the best of both worlds. I will be reading the sequel this year no doubt.
June 10, 2023
I thought this book was ridiculously good in the genre of fantasy it's remarkable how many writers come along and manage to have fresh and innovative ideas. This book is even more remarkably because it is self published.
Like Daniel T Jackson's Illborn from last year books like this proof that you have nothing to fear from dipping your feet in self published waters.
I think this book is relentless in its action and will keep.most readers turning the page over quickly.
I look forward to ordering the shades of madness.
Like Daniel T Jackson's Illborn from last year books like this proof that you have nothing to fear from dipping your feet in self published waters.
I think this book is relentless in its action and will keep.most readers turning the page over quickly.
I look forward to ordering the shades of madness.
Read
December 1, 2022Spoiler-free review: https://youtu.be/24BL4Zwhx4Y
May 1, 2023
What a fantastic first book in the series. Loved the setup, loved characters, political turmoil, religious differences, basically everything. Morethan anything, loved Thiago's writing.
I am in hurry to submit this review for the readathon before midnight. Will come back to write more coherent review later.
I am in hurry to submit this review for the readathon before midnight. Will come back to write more coherent review later.
February 14, 2023
A Touch of Light tries to do many things, and it mostly succeeds. Abdalla introduces a complex world without relying too much on exposition. He creates nuanced storylines for each of the three POV characters. Maybe even too nuanced, because sometimes (especially at the beginning) it's difficult to understand what the book is actually about :)
We follow three main POV characters as they struggle with the changing world and their own ideas of life and death. Adrian is obsessed with bringing his dead loved ones to worthiness (and giving them a chance of being revived in the future). Nasha, a huntress, can sense the emotions of others. Lynn is an elite warrior who has gone rogue from the order of griffin riders.
I read for characters. I don't have to relate to them but I need to find them intriguing to enjoy the reading experience. In this case, I couldn't relate to any of them and while they certainly feel three-dimensional, I didn't find any of them particularly interesting. As a result, my experience with A Touch of Light lacked genuine immersion and my score may feel unfair to those who appreciated other facets of the story.
And there are things to appreciate - for example, a magic system based on emotions. Griffin riders bond with the griffins and share emotions with them getting upgrades (strength, speed) in return. There's also an intriguing exploration of notions of life and death and the characters' relationship to them.
A Touch of Light is a solid and competent book that should appeal to many readers. It's sometimes confusing and character development sometimes happens too fast with no apparent (or off-page) reasons. Ultimately, though, it's fast-paced, character-driven, and potentially interesting to many. It didn't quite work for me but it shouldn't stop you from giving it a shot.
July 10, 2022
Please read my review at the link below:
https://escapistbookcompany.com/2022/...
Thank for reading and Stay Great!!
https://escapistbookcompany.com/2022/...
Thank for reading and Stay Great!!
March 10, 2022
* You can find my full video review here: https://youtu.be/wy-CdiAskEU *
A Touch of Light is Thiago Abdalla’s debut release, a self-published epic fantasy. It’s book one in the Ashes of Avarin series, and when you consider that Avarin is the name of this fantasy world, that immediately lends a sense of intrigue to the title.
A strange plague is spreading throughout the various lands of Avarin, leading to a feral sort of madness in those it touches. In The Domain, life is worshipped and those who die are not to be mourned. The unworthy are burned while those who are considered worthy by the Seraph Faith are preserved to be resurrected in the Promised Dawn, when the Seraph is prophesised to return.
Meanwhile, in the clanlands, death is natural, it’s part of the circle of life and a return to the earth is built into their beliefs. Two of our three POV characters give us a lot of insight into these two opposing views.
Adrian is a son of the king who finds himself involved in a war against this plague that threatens to bring down the entire domain. Nasha is a hunter looking for acceptance within the Ronar clan. She has a terrible curse that could be a gift, if only she could keep it under control.
My personal favourite though, was the third POV character. Lynn is a sentinel, and the special powers linked to her role are really interesting.
Each sentinel is linked to a griffon, and although we don’t see enough of these creatures, when we do it’s pretty cool. Lynn is able to draw strength from her griffon, which makes her a bit overpowered, but certainly not invincible.
In terms of the world, we see a few different countries and you can sense a distance between the places we visit that tells us that this is quite a vast world. We also hear about places that sound like they will add a really interesting element to future instalments.
Overall, this is a good book. I liked it, but I did want more from it. I’ll happily recommend it, and I look forward to reading book two when it comes out.
A Touch of Light is Thiago Abdalla’s debut release, a self-published epic fantasy. It’s book one in the Ashes of Avarin series, and when you consider that Avarin is the name of this fantasy world, that immediately lends a sense of intrigue to the title.
A strange plague is spreading throughout the various lands of Avarin, leading to a feral sort of madness in those it touches. In The Domain, life is worshipped and those who die are not to be mourned. The unworthy are burned while those who are considered worthy by the Seraph Faith are preserved to be resurrected in the Promised Dawn, when the Seraph is prophesised to return.
Meanwhile, in the clanlands, death is natural, it’s part of the circle of life and a return to the earth is built into their beliefs. Two of our three POV characters give us a lot of insight into these two opposing views.
Adrian is a son of the king who finds himself involved in a war against this plague that threatens to bring down the entire domain. Nasha is a hunter looking for acceptance within the Ronar clan. She has a terrible curse that could be a gift, if only she could keep it under control.
My personal favourite though, was the third POV character. Lynn is a sentinel, and the special powers linked to her role are really interesting.
Each sentinel is linked to a griffon, and although we don’t see enough of these creatures, when we do it’s pretty cool. Lynn is able to draw strength from her griffon, which makes her a bit overpowered, but certainly not invincible.
In terms of the world, we see a few different countries and you can sense a distance between the places we visit that tells us that this is quite a vast world. We also hear about places that sound like they will add a really interesting element to future instalments.
Overall, this is a good book. I liked it, but I did want more from it. I’ll happily recommend it, and I look forward to reading book two when it comes out.
Read
June 18, 2023A Touch of Light is a fascinating epic fantasy with particularly riveting world building. The book follows three different perspectives: Lynn, a disgraced griffin rider; Adrian, a prince trying to outshine his dead older brother; and Nasha, a hunter cursed with strange empathy and the occasional berserker rage. The book's setting, however, feels like a character all its own, with its ominous death-obsessed religion and its mysterious, contagious madness.
Admittedly, I found it difficult to get into A Touch of Light at first, since the narrative doesn't often stop to explain all of the fantasy terms getting thrown around. But several chapters in, the story really hits its stride—and eventually, I found I couldn't put the book down. Though the three main characters never meet directly, you can see them all grappling with different aspects of the same problem, hovering at the edges of a central mystery: Why are people going mad, and how can it be stopped? I ended the first book in this series with a strong theory about what's really going on, but no absolute certainty that I would be proven correct—which is exactly the sweet spot I like to be in with a story of this style.
There's also a realistic psychology to many of the characters which I don't often see in epic fantasies. I found Nasha's internalised prejudice against her own roots to be particularly engrossing, especially as she starts to question it near the end of the book. Unfortunately, Prince Adrian's absolute refusal to learn from his own hubris was at times a bit too realistic for me, as I couldn't stop wanting to strangle him. But this was clearly purposeful on the author's part, and it definitely did its intended job. Lynn's was probably the hardest storyline for me to follow at first, since she had several magical and religious concepts attached to her which I had to slowly parse out—but I really enjoyed the idea of that magic system once I figured out how it worked, and I ended up enjoying her storyline just as much as the others by the end.
Overall, while A Touch of Light would probably have benefitted from slowing down and explaining the world building a bit further in the very beginning, it built up momentum and turned into a deeply engrossing book. I'm now looking forward to reading book two and finding out if all of my theories were correct!
Admittedly, I found it difficult to get into A Touch of Light at first, since the narrative doesn't often stop to explain all of the fantasy terms getting thrown around. But several chapters in, the story really hits its stride—and eventually, I found I couldn't put the book down. Though the three main characters never meet directly, you can see them all grappling with different aspects of the same problem, hovering at the edges of a central mystery: Why are people going mad, and how can it be stopped? I ended the first book in this series with a strong theory about what's really going on, but no absolute certainty that I would be proven correct—which is exactly the sweet spot I like to be in with a story of this style.
There's also a realistic psychology to many of the characters which I don't often see in epic fantasies. I found Nasha's internalised prejudice against her own roots to be particularly engrossing, especially as she starts to question it near the end of the book. Unfortunately, Prince Adrian's absolute refusal to learn from his own hubris was at times a bit too realistic for me, as I couldn't stop wanting to strangle him. But this was clearly purposeful on the author's part, and it definitely did its intended job. Lynn's was probably the hardest storyline for me to follow at first, since she had several magical and religious concepts attached to her which I had to slowly parse out—but I really enjoyed the idea of that magic system once I figured out how it worked, and I ended up enjoying her storyline just as much as the others by the end.
Overall, while A Touch of Light would probably have benefitted from slowing down and explaining the world building a bit further in the very beginning, it built up momentum and turned into a deeply engrossing book. I'm now looking forward to reading book two and finding out if all of my theories were correct!
December 2, 2022
If you haven’t heard of A Touch of Light by Thiago Abdalla then you either aren’t on social media or you live under a rock as this book has been all over Twitter and BookTube for quite some time now.
The story takes place in the world of Avarin and our tour guides for this journey are Adrian who is a warrior prince desperate to prove himself and get out from beneath his brother's shadow.
Lynn, a skilled Sentinel who is dealing with some inner turmoil as she tries to make up for past regrets.
Nasha a hunter from the clan lands who has a dark secret of her own that she will do anything to keep hidden.
While our core cast is quite different from one another they all share one common threat, a mysterious plague that is turning those who become infected brutally mad. Personally the plague aspect of the story is what had me hooked the most. I wanted to know its origins and what the purpose was for creating/releasing it.
Thigao built a world filled with political intrigue, religion and a variety of cultures that will keep you speculating what's coming next as you progress one chapter at a time. His pacing lends itself well to someone with a very active imagination and gives you plenty of time to take in the views. While talking with a friend about the book recently I compared it to going to a nice steakhouse for dinner. You don’t go to a place like that and scarf down the food as fast as you can and bail. No, you take your time and savor the meal and all the wonderful flavors that are presented before you and I think that is the right approach to this book as well.
I know not all readers like multi POV books and at times they can feel daunting, well I’m happy to say that is not the case here. Honestly if Thiago ever decides he doesn’t want to be an author anymore he could probably make a killing writing daytime soaps because he has nailed the act of writing drama between multiple characters in a way that feels so real you can almost touch it.
If I had to knock this book at all it would be for the ending, not because it was a bad ending but because just like a good screenwriter it leaves you on a bit of a cliff hanger pissed off you have to wait 6 months to a year to binge the next season of the show.
The story takes place in the world of Avarin and our tour guides for this journey are Adrian who is a warrior prince desperate to prove himself and get out from beneath his brother's shadow.
Lynn, a skilled Sentinel who is dealing with some inner turmoil as she tries to make up for past regrets.
Nasha a hunter from the clan lands who has a dark secret of her own that she will do anything to keep hidden.
While our core cast is quite different from one another they all share one common threat, a mysterious plague that is turning those who become infected brutally mad. Personally the plague aspect of the story is what had me hooked the most. I wanted to know its origins and what the purpose was for creating/releasing it.
Thigao built a world filled with political intrigue, religion and a variety of cultures that will keep you speculating what's coming next as you progress one chapter at a time. His pacing lends itself well to someone with a very active imagination and gives you plenty of time to take in the views. While talking with a friend about the book recently I compared it to going to a nice steakhouse for dinner. You don’t go to a place like that and scarf down the food as fast as you can and bail. No, you take your time and savor the meal and all the wonderful flavors that are presented before you and I think that is the right approach to this book as well.
I know not all readers like multi POV books and at times they can feel daunting, well I’m happy to say that is not the case here. Honestly if Thiago ever decides he doesn’t want to be an author anymore he could probably make a killing writing daytime soaps because he has nailed the act of writing drama between multiple characters in a way that feels so real you can almost touch it.
If I had to knock this book at all it would be for the ending, not because it was a bad ending but because just like a good screenwriter it leaves you on a bit of a cliff hanger pissed off you have to wait 6 months to a year to binge the next season of the show.
December 8, 2022
This book was fantastic. Thiago does not hold your hand in the telling of this story but have faith, which is also a recurring theme in the book. Once you get to the middle of the story you get caught up in an avalanche of action, intrigue, and political power struggle with betrayal at every turn. The battle scenes were so well done. Buy this, read this, and stuck with it! I can’t wait for the next one to come out! I think if you’re a fan Joe Abercrombie you will love this.
July 28, 2022
While I had this on my TBR for a couple of months already, I was fortuitously assigned this for SPFBO 8 Phase 1! You can find my full review over on Booknest.eu below:
https://booknest.eu/reviews/spfbo/2447-a-touch-of-light-the-ashes-of-avarin-1-by-thiago-abdalla-spfbo8-book-review
https://booknest.eu/reviews/spfbo/2447-a-touch-of-light-the-ashes-of-avarin-1-by-thiago-abdalla-spfbo8-book-review
March 24, 2023
This book is a RIDE! Do I know exactly what happened in this book? No, not at all. But these characters are so perfect and they make you care about what is going on. The writing is so fantastic and the pacing is so well done, weaving perfectly between the quick, action and battle scenes, and then the small character moments. Can't wait to start the sequel!
June 18, 2022
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ATOL is an epic fantasy story that focuses on three POVs covering various parts of the world of Avarin.
This story has religion and politics merged into one within the world although it only really has an effect on the decision of one of the characters since each of them are unique from one another and come from different places.
I personally love multi-pov stories and I felt that Thiago has nailed it with three. By having three, and minimising the cast of background characters, it doesn't get confusing as to who is who (Bloodsworn saga).
Each character has unique wants and goals. This being a plot driven story means that the plot really has to drive the characters and be believable which is something I felt that Thiago did really well. Each action that occurred not only pushed the story forward but it also made the MCs uncomfortable prompting them to act and grow in the process.
I really loved two of the characters and I really enjoyed the predicaments they found themselves in and how they resolved these.
The politics in this story, of which really focus mainly on one character (but touch others in their own right), felt like those from ASOIAF. Really well thought out with some unforeseen twists and turns that shocked me as much as they excited me!
There are action and battle scenes in here and Thiago has written these very well. Sprawling epic battles against an unrelenting foe threatening to wipe out everyone, regardless of nationality, were exciting and vivid to read. I loved the details and the pacing, feeling that these were perfect. The fact it has griffins and this is tied to my favourite character is a huge bonus.
I found that this epic fantasy story, like many others, takes some time to get going (the first half of GoT is slow) but once it does it really pushes on at full speed.
I believe the next book in the series is out in November and I am genuinely interested in reading this to see how the current storylines are continued.
A Touch of Light is a solid and exciting epic fantasy story that brings fresh ideas to the pages. I would highly recommend reading the free prequel novella first.
Bring on book #2!
ATOL is an epic fantasy story that focuses on three POVs covering various parts of the world of Avarin.
This story has religion and politics merged into one within the world although it only really has an effect on the decision of one of the characters since each of them are unique from one another and come from different places.
I personally love multi-pov stories and I felt that Thiago has nailed it with three. By having three, and minimising the cast of background characters, it doesn't get confusing as to who is who (Bloodsworn saga).
Each character has unique wants and goals. This being a plot driven story means that the plot really has to drive the characters and be believable which is something I felt that Thiago did really well. Each action that occurred not only pushed the story forward but it also made the MCs uncomfortable prompting them to act and grow in the process.
I really loved two of the characters and I really enjoyed the predicaments they found themselves in and how they resolved these.
The politics in this story, of which really focus mainly on one character (but touch others in their own right), felt like those from ASOIAF. Really well thought out with some unforeseen twists and turns that shocked me as much as they excited me!
There are action and battle scenes in here and Thiago has written these very well. Sprawling epic battles against an unrelenting foe threatening to wipe out everyone, regardless of nationality, were exciting and vivid to read. I loved the details and the pacing, feeling that these were perfect. The fact it has griffins and this is tied to my favourite character is a huge bonus.
I found that this epic fantasy story, like many others, takes some time to get going (the first half of GoT is slow) but once it does it really pushes on at full speed.
I believe the next book in the series is out in November and I am genuinely interested in reading this to see how the current storylines are continued.
A Touch of Light is a solid and exciting epic fantasy story that brings fresh ideas to the pages. I would highly recommend reading the free prequel novella first.
Bring on book #2!
January 10, 2023
I have to start this review by saying this, if you get the chance to listen to the audiobook for this amazing book, you should. The narrator is amazing and brings the characters to life. I really enjoyed experiencing more of this world after reading the novella, A Prelude to Ashes, and discovering more context. The characters within this book are so real, I enjoy books more when we have relatable characters who are not all good or all bad. Thiago writes a fantastic world filled with griffins and madness, a world that I cannot wait to dive back into with my arc of the sequel!
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