Welcome to my first round of reviews for SFINCS 2! I’m just one judge representing Team Swordsworn this year for the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship AKA SFINCS. Our team has been allocated twenty books, and I fully intend to read all of them before helping the team choose our semi-finalists.
You can learn more about SFINCS and our allocated books here.
So this year, my process is to read each book in alphabetical order and then review five books together for a total of four rounds. I’ll give each book a fair shake by reading then to 100% and sharing my honest thoughts. Bear in mind that this review does not represent the opinion or final rating of the team.
We’ve already covered the first batch and second batch of reviews. Here is the third:
I’m In Love With My Possessed Demon Sword by Jon Auerbach
Mati was a typical blacksmith’s apprentice, until the fateful day he discovered a long-lost demon sword hidden in a cave near his village.
To make matters more complicated, inside the sword is the trapped soul of a girl named Lyra from hundreds of years ago.
Despite having never left his valley and barely able to lift the smith’s hammer, Mati vows to help gather the eight crystals needed to free Lyra.
Now, many years later, the duo are near the end of their journey, and Mati has rather inconveniently fallen in love with the disembodied voice of the girl he has never met.
But with the fateful day approaching, will Mati be able to muster up the courage to not only secure the last crystal, but also confess his true feelings to Lyra?
The best thing to do with a demon possessed sword is either destroy it or hide it in a temple somewhere, but the protagonist of this story, Mati, decides to fall in love with his. See, this demon possessed sword also happens to have an innocent girl trapped inside, and Mati has been on a quest across the land to find the magical crystals and spells needed to release her from the sword – then they can be together in true love.
As Mati completes his quest, however, he’ll soon learn that releasing his love from a demon possessed sword is not as easy as it seems…
This was a fast-pace story with a fun twist at the end that I sorta saw coming because I wanted it to end that way. Unfortunately, the story did feel like I was reading the conclusion of an adventure, rather than a standalone story, so part of the story felt a bit too easy and clean for our main character, and also felt rushed. I did get anime-vibes from this story, which made it feel a bit too juvenile for my tastes, but if you enjoy those kind of power-fantasy stories with a fun twist, then you may enjoy this one.
Nameless by Alexander Way-B
Nameless – Born in a dusty workhouse, a mere product of his oppressive environment, that is until he discovers that there’s another world beyond the shelves & windows of his toil – But who is he, & does he have the right to freedom?
I had no idea what I was getting into with Nameless. The blurb is a vague tease, and the cover doesn’t reveal much either. It starts out with an abused child trapped in what appears to be a Victorian workhouse that slowly reveals itself to be a library of sorts, a wikipedia of knowledge where the poor boy without a name spends his days answering the queries of a never-ending queue of customers under the cruel cane of his master. The boy grows into a man, yet the workhouse is all he knows. Then one day, he meets a customer, Felicia, who entrances him. She encourages him to discover his own identity, find a name for himself, and long for freedom.
The story then takes a more fantastic turn as our now-named MC finds himself in a whole new world of wonder. To say more would spoil the story and the twist, but I found myself utterly enthralled by the world our MC stumbles into, and the journey he goes through to find his freedom. The story actually reminded me of one of my favourite films, but to reveal it would be a spoiler, I think.
But while I loved the author’s imagination and creative ideas here, I did struggle with the writing. There were a few pages that were just blocks of text. These would have been more readable if they were broken down. I think with a bit more polish, this could be a great story.
The Compound by E.K. Frances
Each year, every teenager disappears from the compound. They don’t disappear in a puff of smoke, they are definitely taken. Taken by the men with dogs. Loaded onto trucks. But where are they taken, and why?
Trapped within the confines of the compound, Alex and his friends have enjoyed life, foraging for food, and going on adventures. But things are about to change.
Far from the haven it once was, the compound becomes a place of eerie disappearances, unexplained deaths, and chilling stories.
Are the men who patrol the compound protecting the teenagers or are they up to something far more sinister? Are there really creatures hidden in the depths of the dense forests? And what happens to the teenagers when they leave the compound … do they go to a new life or is there a much darker fate awaiting them?
Alex is determined not to find out. He has an escape plan …
The compound is all Alex has known. Part home, part prison, it’s where he and his mum and friends have lived, patrolled by mysterious men with guns who claim to be protecting them from the monsters of the forest beyond. But can they be trusted, when teenagers are taken from the compound every year without explanation? When Alex’s friends are taken, presumed missing or dead?
This is a dystopian story where the truth is hidden in mystery. As the story progresses, the reader is treated to little hints here and there as to the sinister nature of the compound and the men who patrol it, though we don’t learn the full truth until the last few pages. I enjoyed the building tension and how the author keeps us guessing until the end. This is a dark and brutal story, and I could absolutely picture this as a movie playing out.
However, I felt the story was let down by the main character somewhat. I think he’s supposed to be a teenager, but he read more like a child. A lot of his inner dialogue was repetitive and inconsistent, and it was frustrating to witness his poor decision making and indecision regarding his escape plan. Tightening up his inner dialogue would strengthen the story.
The Maw by Seann Barbour
From the author of The Last Day comes a new piece of kafkaesque weird horror…
On the side of an old abandoned building, in an old abandoned shopping center, there is a Mouth.
It’s a human mouth; and one that’s big enough to drive a car through. It stands open and unmoving, teeth and tongue exposed to the world.
The first people to find it are a bunch of teenagers, among them the Dowel Freddie and Simon. They’re just kids, and the thing about kids is that they’re curious and they’re reckless. It’s not long before the brothers find themselves in the center of a terrible tragedy.
Word spreads. Tempers flare. Fingers are pointed and bonds are broken. In the wake of an awful loss, a community grows sick, and Simon’s life begins to crumble apart.
And through it all, the Mouth remains open and unmoving, hungry and waiting. It calls, and one day soon, it will be answered.
Based on the cover, I was expecting this to be satire or humour, but I was wrong on that count. It is, however, weird horror, as the blurb does say. This is the tale of two brothers growing up and doing what teen boys do, until one fateful day when a mysterious mouth appears within the parking lot of an abandoned mall.
Unfortunately, a tragedy involving this mouth had a profound effect on both boy’s lives. The story is told from the POV of Simon, the younger brother, as they and their family deal with the fallout befalling them and their little town. As this goes on in the background, Simon becomes increasingly obsessed with the Mouth, or Maw, as he comes to see it as. Everyone else seems to have dismissed the Maw as an oddity at best. While the people of Simon’s life and community no longer care for the Maw, Simon is left going a little mad, because wouldn’t you be concerned by a giant Mouth in your town?
The story does lead to an inevitable conclusion, though one that I’ll admit I didn’t see coming! While I did enjoy the mystery surrounding the Maw, and the lovely writing around painful adolescence and coming of age in a modern run down town, the story did end on a bit of a cliff-hanger, leaving me a tad unsatisfied and wanting more!
The Shadow Dancers of Brixton Hill by Nicole Willson
In 1937, American circuses are trying to recoup the losses they incurred during the Great Depression while competing with newer forms of entertainment like movie theaters. Kate Montgomery travels to the small town of Brixton Hill to scout a new act for her father’s struggling circus. Lewis Oswald, a trainer and friend of Kate’s family, introduces her to the Shadow Dancers, three young girls who can make their shadows dance independently of their bodies. While the act would revive her family’s circus, Kate is horrified by the young women’s dismal training and living conditions. She wants to help them escape their dreadful situation, but when the Shadow Dancers take matters into their own hands, she’ll have to save herself.
I went into this book expecting some creepy, horror vibes, and it didn’t disappoint! This is the story of Kate, who travels on behalf of her ill father to seek talent for their family business – a circus! The Great Depression has left people struggling, and they’re hopeful that the right act will get business booming again, and their old family friend has promised an act so magically impossible, Kate would have no choice but to sign it.
But as she arrives, it becomes clear that not all is what they seem. Her old family friend is a trainer of talent and a gracious host, but the Great Depression has hit him and his business hard. He introduces Kate to the Shadow Dancers – three young girls who dance via their shadow. It’s an impossible act, and Kate is impressed, but as she learns more about these shy girls, and witnesses the gruelling training they’re being put through, Kate realises that these girls are desperately in need of help, but there is something eerily supernatural about them…
What happens next was rather cathartic, but you’ll have to read on yourself! While this one also ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger as well, I really enjoyed the building tension and the struggle of Kate trying to appease her father’s business and dealing with the horrible realities of what that entails. The writing style drew me in and I’d definitely want to read more by this author.
