What I’m Reading: Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Yet again I’m posting a What I’m Reading update when I’d hoped to be posting the review for the book. In this case I started reading it on Monday, the day before its release date in the U.S. This is another one I’ve had on my TBR a while and which I received as an ARC. But, the positive, glass is half full thing is I’ve started the read and I’ll hopefully have a review up while it’s still newly published.

So what I’m I reading this week? Well…it’s Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa.

From one of the most exciting new storytellers in epic fantasy, Son of the Storm is a sweeping tale of violent conquest and forgotten magic set in a world inspired by the pre-colonial empires of West Africa.

“Everything I love in a fantasy novel. Damn good stuff!” —Jenn Lyons, author of The Ruin of Kings

In the ancient city of Bassa, Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness—only he doesn’t want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. The Bassai elite claim there is nothing of interest. The city’s immigrants are sworn to secrecy.

But when Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn’t exist, he’s put on a collision course with Bassa’s darkest secrets. Drawn into the city’s hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders. And the chaos left in the wake of his discovery threatens to destroy the empire.

Goodreads Blurb

Son of the Storm
The Nameless Republic #1
Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Orbit Books
Publication Date: May 11, 2021
Kindle ARC

A couple things drew me to this book. One is that cover. I just love the color and the visual it presents. You know I enjoy good cover art and something about it just seems mysterious to me.

The second (and primary) thing that drew me to this book was the setting. I’m always eager to read non-western (European based) fantasy. Add to that the inspiration of pre-colonial West Africa and I had to have it. I’ve made a couple trips to Ghana and I loved the time I spent there getting to know the people and the culture even if only for just a little while. I don’t believe this setting is based on Ghana but I’m still looking forward to maybe picking up on a few references here and there. In my short time reading it last night there were a couple little nuances that transported me back to that general locale and it really helped me feel the setting a bit more.

Beyond that the story just sounds really cool. I’ve seen a couple early reviews that made me feel like I could be in for a real treat with this read and I’m just really excited to dig into it.

Anyone else already read Son of the Storm? If so what did you think? Anyone else have it on their TBR? Let me know in the comments.

-Jason

Blog Page Update: A Slump

It’s been about 17 days or so since I last posted something here on the blog. It’s been ten days or so since I’ve read a book. It’s official folks…I’m in a slump.

I’m not sure what happened but all of a sudden a couple weeks ago it hit me and hit me hard. I’d started a new review (for a book I really liked) and just had no desire to finish it. I was in the middle of reading another book (which I was really enjoying) and just had no desire to sit and read at night. Hell, it’s all I can do right now just keep up the desire to finish this post.

What I’m Reading: Glass Rhapsody by Sarah Chorn

We all have books we can’t wait for. I mean…unless you don’t like to read books of course but then you wouldn’t be following my boring posts. But if you love to read books then you have new stories you can’t wait for. My current read is one of those. The author has quickly risen to the list of authors on my auto buy list and is one whose style and prose will hit you in the feels; hit you hard, and leave you on your knees gasping for air only to beg for more when you can finally draw that breath. Why would you look forward to that raw emotional pain you ask? It’s because it’s so damn good.

So am I reading? Well…it’s Glass Rhapsody by Sarah Chorn.

SPFBO 7 Review: Demons, Ink by Clayton Snyder

Yesterday my SPFBO 7 review for Demons, Ink by Clayton Snyder went up over on Before We Go Blog. This was my selection from my initial batch of books to move on to the next round in the team’s selection process, and the first selection for the team as a whole. We may end up with 9 or 10 books in that second round and from those we’ll narrow it down to a few semi-finalists, and then a finalist.

Anyway, I enjoyed this read and hope you’ll check it out. Click below to be taken to to the review.

Demon’s, Ink Review

As always if you don’t know about SPFBO it’s an annual contest hosted by author Mark Lawrence with 300 self-published fantasy books/authors split between ten judges or judging teams that will eventually work it’s way to a final winner. Check out the SPFBO Webpage for more details and the SPFBO 7 Page for more on this year’s books and judging teams. I hope you’ll follow along!

#SPFBO7 Elimination: A Time Of Ashes by Ru Pringle

I’ve been quiet here lately but it’s not because I’ve quit reading or reviewing, I’ve just been doing it over at Before We Go Blog for #SPFBO.

You’ll be seeing more regular reviews from me here soon. I’ve got some reviews for some Orbit releases coming and some self-published fantasy that ISN’T a part of the contest I’ll be posting about.

But in the meantime here’s my review for A Time of Ashes by Ru Pringle for #SPFBO in case you missed it. It was my second cut for the contest.

https://beforewegoblog.com/spfbo7-cut-review-a-time-of-ashes-by-ru-pringle/

What I’m Reading: We Lie With Death by Devin Madson

It’s been a few weeks since I had a new What I’m Reading post go up. This is primarily due to the fact that the last three books I’ve read have been for #SPFBO and I’m trying not to advertise my reading for the contest ahead of time. You’ll probably only see cross-posts for #SPFBO reviews on this site since the official team site is Beth Tabler’s Before We Go Blog.

But…I’m done reading my first batch of #SPFBO books which means I have a little time to do some regular reading before I have to focus on the next phase. Which is good because I’m waaaaaayyyyyyy behind on my other reading. This book has been on my TBR since the beginning of the year when it came out. It’s the follow-up to one of my favorite reads from 2020 and I’m super excited about diving into it.

So what am I reading this week? Well…it’s We Lie With Death by Devin Madson.

#SPFBO7 Elimination: Ryswyck by L.D. Inman

This is just a quick post to share my first cut of #SPFBO7 for team Before We Go Blog. I know I’ve not posted in over a week and that’s due in part to being busy with work and other things, and in part to focusing only on reading #SPFBO entrants for the past couple of weeks.

If you’re new to #SPFBO here’s a link telling you all about it: The Self Published Fantasy Blog Off

Our initial batch of 30 books was divided among the team and Ryswyck was my first read for the contest and the first book I cut from my batch. Since Beth Tabler’s Before We Go Blog site is the official blog for our team you can find the full post there using the link below. It was originally posted June 11th and you may have already seen me post it on Twitter. I hope you’ll follow our team and the full competition as we move along. In the future I’ll try to cross-post links my reviews once they’ve first been posted to the team blog.

https://beforewegoblog.com/spfbo7-ryswyck-by-l-d-inman/

Book Haul: May 2021

I’ve been quiet lately here on the blog. That’s mostly because I’ve been busy reading my first allotment of books for SPFBO, and I haven’t had any new reviews ready to go. I’ll be working on some SPFBO reviews you’ll be able to find over at Before We Go Blog, and may have some regular ones here as well in the near future. In the meantime I thought I’d share my latest book haul update with you.

My last Book Haul post was like two months ago for books I’d hauled in March. That’s not a big deal, I just didn’t realize that much time had passed. And unsurprisingly I’ve not yet read a single one of the books from that haul. One of them doesn’t come out until the fall so I’ve got time for it and one is a SPFBO entrant so I may end up reading it as part of the competition. We’ll see.

But adding books to my TBR and not reading them hasn’t stopped me from continuing to add more books. And if you are anything like me the same applies to you. So we can both revel in our book hauling, TBR building habits together.

Which leads me to this post and my haul for May. I’m really excited about all of the books I picked up last month and am trying to figure out how to work them into my schedule for the coming months. So what did I bring home? Well…take a look…

DNF: The Apocalypse Seven

The blurb for this book reads, “This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a whatever.” And that’s kinda how I feel about this book…”whatever.”

Book Review: Son of The Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Sometimes a book doesn’t hit you like you thought it would. For some books that means you’re in for a grand surprise and it just blows you away in unexpected ways. For others it means it fell flat and you have to ask yourself is it the book or is it me and my personal tastes that are to blame. Son of The Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa is one of thse books that didn’t hit me like I thought it would, and unfortunately it was the latter example of it falling somewhat flat. There were some compelling elements I liked and others that just didn’t stir me in any way. I’ll try to be fair to what the book did and didn’t accomplish for me as a reader.

New Blogging/Reviewing Goal Reached

If you follow me on Twitter or here on the blog you know I’m a big fan of self-published fantasy. What started out with a couple self-published author requests to read and review their books soon turned into hosting Self-Published Fantasy Month over the last three years. But there’s one major thing I haven’t been a part of as it relates to blogging and self-published fantasy. That my friends is participating in SPFBO. Sure I’ve followed along over the last few years, and I’ve tried to read the finalists, but nothing more than that. Well, that’s now changed because…