Eleventh Cycle (1) (Mistland)

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Despite their extraordinary circumstances (and even the fact that Chroma is not human), their plights were relatable and personable. Dalila was the character that at the beginning of the book that I had expected to be my favourite, and there was something, captivating or maybe compelling is a better word for her story. As much as this novel mucks around in thematic and atmospheric mud, the core of the novel is hope, persistence, and perseverance. And I cannot talk about surprisingly human and relatable characters without talking about the Eleventh Seed themself, Ievarus. Now my favourite element of Eleventh Cycle was without a doubt the worldbuilding, and this was very much a case of being dropped into the ocean.

Instead, we are given epigraphs which give us history and theorising about past events, and is definitely one of my favourite ways of being given titbits that wouldn’t necessarily work their way into the main prose. In comparison the part after the Seed joined the world properly, felt like the accelerator had been pressed flat to the ground and everything happened almost too quickly, perhaps just in comparison to that first part. Ardalan's spellbinding and mesmeric debut overflows with a poetic and amazing prose, containing a plot that transports the reader into a fantastic realm of gods, heroes, demigods and humans. Not so much the unrelenting dark, or the wounds inflicted by this world and the worst (and even the best intending) of its denizens, although there were a few places where it felt like fault lines were being inflicted on characters that were already shattered glass.I know I have mentioned in my review this is a grimdark fantasy novel, and as far as graphic content and brutal themes go, it truly belongs in the subgenre.

The worldbuilding is definitely aided by epigraphs at the beginning of every chapter that dive into the history and cosmology of this world’s inhabitants, but even just subtle character interactions and behaviors exhibit clear and deep cultural backgrounds. While I don’t think my opinions on the book quite reach the heights of some of these other reviewers, I still found this an intense and exciting books worth checking out if you are seeking your next chonky grimdark fantasy. It began with a novella about a young girl, not hoarded by a fierce dragon, but rather protected and raised by one. A great Soulsborne (this includes Sekiro and Elden Ring) inspired fantasy novels, surprisingly and also understandably, are not as common as you might think. The Seed is strange, because outwardly, it’s a grown being, although it does have the ability to change its appearance.

The good doesn’t excuse or outweigh the bad, but it addresses it in a way that doesn’t shy away from what sadly exists in this world, and indeed in our own. I took my leave from my official duties, passing them to my lieutenant as I wandered most of my day in deep thought.

One thing that I particularly loved is the fact that the paths of the PoV characters crosses often and in meaningful ways. Again, my response is complicated, and would certainly come with a caveat – this is dark book, and while it does carry an aspect of hope, it is like a candle flame against the haar rolling in over the sea, and there are true moments of bleakness within these pages.

Through the online content we publish, we share our opinions and thoughts on the various problems that the world is facing right now. Ardalan shares Sanderson’s talent at creating empathetic, broken characters, bringing a deeply personal focus to a vast, complex world.

In fact, I feel the sexual content is handled better here than some romantic fantasies I’ve read recently that dresses up non-consensual sex as somehow desirable, which I find incredibly dishonest. Minethria is a rich, well developed world with a huge amount of lore that I loved learning more about.If it were only about that I probably wouldn't have loved it so much and thought about it constantly when I wasn't reading it. There were chapter that had me gasping, some that almost made me cry and some that had me put the book down and just walk away for a bit. They aren’t typical grimdark protagonists, and instead serve as lights in a bleak and horrifying world. Balancing hopeful tones with despairing ones and allowing the reader to enjoy some light in an otherwise dark and eldritch world is managed with poise, such that when I turned the final page, I didn’t depart from Eleventh Cycle depressed about what had happened, but rather in awe at the mind-bending world I got to inhabit, and the incredible tale that unfolded within this book’s seven-hundred or so pages. It's going to be tough because there are multiple layers when it comes to the world-building/histroy and the backgrounds of these characters and how they evolve (some quite literally) throughout this story.