Meanwhile, their wayward son’s indecision on which land to fight for throws everything into chaos, and a mysterious mastermind lurks behind them all to make sure everyone dances to his tune. Which brings me to a final point: The book was written in such a way that there was a distance between the reader and the characters involved. DISCLAIMER: The name of this series, “Obsidian,” is derived from the rock that must first be broken to form a weapon. There are some dark and brutal elements to every character arc presented, and this is not a story with a happily ever after.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about Obsidian: Awakening was how complex and real – and even heroic – the characters are. And because I have a similar antagonistic-erotic relationship in my own work-in-progress novel between a mercenary pilot, and the warlord who hires and tries to kill her near the beginning of the book. Would you rather be safe behind walls and part of the machine or be free and vulnerable to the many dangers in the world?

As is the brilliant prose, the complexities of the plot, the richness of the cultures and setting, and the power of the themes and messages. Obsidian: Awakening” by author Sienna Frost was a book I kept hearing about via social media circles as having all the main elements in a fantasy novel I crave: engaging characters, captivating writing, compelling themes. They pulled me into their feelings and experiences even when I definitely did not agree with their actions, attitudes, or approaches! Most of the characters are broken and scarred, some very literally, and we experience their motivations, flaws, weaknesses and all their passions through all their senses. Though, as much as I adored the magnificent world building, it was really the phenomenal character work that quickly became my favourite aspect of this book.

I lapped up the multiple push and pull, cause and effect connections between all the personal and political factors and motivations at play. One does not live by shying from the reality of death or the fact that it might happen to one – or those one loves – at any time and that, one day, it will happen to all of us.This time, he ends up with the choice to be killed by the Shaksis or to become Djari’s sworn sword and blood, per the suggestion of Nazir, Djari’s brother.

And so many of them die, but Muradi and Ghaul fight through mob and smoke to the pyre where she’s about to die, and she barely glimpses them through the smoke, and there, as he frees her, Muradi takes three arrows and loses the Salasar.Mostly, he just tries to stay in the background, not get involved in others’ fights and power struggles, and live. I had this slated for the month of August as it became a buddy read with Dom's Book Club discord server. It has obviously been written with much intelligence and passion - for the characters, setting and story - by an author with a great understanding of the human condition.