Book Review: "Curse of Shadows" by AK Wilder

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Introduction

Kim Falconer  is taking a well-deserved break this month, but here at Supernatural Underground HQ we're keen to celebrate her wonderful writing.

So although Kim will be back with her "More Than Meets The Eye" post series (which we've all been loving!) today we're featuring a review of Curse of Shadows, the recently released second novel in her Amassia series.

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Book Review: Curse of Shadows by AK Wilder

Reviewed by Helen Lowe

I enjoyed Crown of Bones, the first book in AK Wilder's Amassia series, but I think Curse of Shadows (Amassia #2) is an even stronger story.

The author writes as both AK Wilder and Kim Falconer. As readers here will know, Kim and I both post on Supernatural Underground. So I'm signaling upfront that we are friends-in-writing and fellow bloggers, "for the record."

What The Amassia Series Is All About

In Crown of Bones (Crown), Ash and her comrades traveled far from home and discovered that all life on their world of Amassia was threatened by the return of a binary star. Now, finding and learning how to use the crown of bones is vital in order to have any hope of survival, but because of its power, a large number of players are competing to find and control it. They include nation states and mages (called savants), but also the mysterious, ocean-dwelling Mar, with both magical and military forces being deployed to find and seize the crown.

The personal journeys of Ash and her savant companions are set against this backdrop of world-threatening events. Savants gain their power from raising "phantoms" that are usually animistic in form and reflect an aspect of the savant's being, which is key to their power. Ash has been raised a non-savant and trained as a cleric, but at the end of Crown, readers learned that she is, in fact, a savant, with a very powerful phantom. One that has been deliberately suppressed by her guardian and mentor.

When the story resumes in Curse of Shadows (Curse), both Ash's phantom and her memory of its rise have been magically suppressed for a second time. The cracks, though, are showing. Marcus, Ash's  childhood friend, also has struggles of his own. He has been disinherited and exiled, yet must continue to lead their company's quest for the crown of bones. As if that's not enough, Marcus struggles to manage his phantom, which is also extraordinarily powerful.

Similarly, the mysterious Kaylin, who saved and befriended Ash in Crown, is also striving to comprehend, and either fulfill or circumvent, orders that conflict with their friendship.

The world of Amassia

Although there are other characters in their company, as well as allies like the powerful, but also changeable, Mar called Salila, the storylines (or "arcs") of Ash, Marcus, and Kaylin drive the Curse narrative.

What I Liked in Curse of Shadows

"Almost everything" is the short answer. Despite the problems they confront, returning to Ash, Marcus, and their company---both savants and phantoms---felt like re-encountering old friends. Although important in Crown, Kaylin has a larger part to play and more point-of-view time in this book, as does Salila. Both are interesting and engaging characters, but their larger roles also deepen the story and the reader's understanding of the world.

The story, too, is a really fascinating one, with its interweaving of magical, ecological, and SF-nal elements, and Curse---unsurprisingly---enlarges on the foundations established in Crown. In doing so, the author expands the worldbuilding, which was an element I particularly liked. The ecology and landscapes are really different from Western European fantasy norms, and the societies and cultures reflect a similar diversity.

Salila

Where much of Crown was a pursuit, and accordingly raced along at breakneck speed, the pace of Curse reflects the company's mission to build alliances as well as having to hunt out the crown's component bones. I like the deepening of both world and characters that Curse's storytelling focus allows.

What I Didn't Like

Well, "nothing, really." :D The only point I remain unsure of is why Ash's guardian and mentor is so determined to suppress her phantom --- which may be because I've missed a crucial detail, or because all is yet to be finally revealed in Book 3. Needless to say, when that happy day arrives I shall be eager to read on and find out more.

Ash and Kaylin

Conclusion

If you enjoyed Crown of Bones, or books such as Kate Elliott's Cold Magic, Brent Weeks' The Black Prism , or Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone, then Curse of Shadows may also be in your reading wheelhouse.

I read the hardcover edition, 403 pp, published by Entangled Teen in December 2022, which was a gift from Kim (the author.) My only regret is that I haven't managed to read it and post here a whole lot sooner, because I feel the book merits the attention.

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AK Wilder

About The Author

Kim Falconer, currentky writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is working on the third book, out in 2024.

Kim can be found on  AKWilder Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site

What Makes A Hero #10 -- Camaraderie & Characters

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Introduction

Well, here we are, at the conclusion for the What Makes A Hero? in Fantasy series – but I’m also delighted to be welcoming my friend and fellow Supernatural Underground author, Kim Falconer (currently writing as AK Wilder) to ensure this final post rocks. J

 

AK Wilder @ the Amassia series

In addition to last month’s Calm and Chaos post (What Makes A Hero #9) I also featured a post from another series (Having Fun With Epic Fantasy) that highlighted the Band of Brothers in myth, legend – and, of course, Fantasy fiction!

Last Kingdom: an archetypal "band of brothers"

Camaraderie and a diverse cast of characters are key to any band of comrades-in-arms – but I also really value the camaraderie of our “happy…band” of fellow authors here on Supernatural Underground.

And characters, of course, lie at the very core of our authorial wheelhouse – so I could see no better way of concluding the series than having Kim join me to discuss our characters and the qualities that lead them to answer the heroic Call.

Answering the Call...

So welcome, Kim – with Curse of Shadows (AMASSIA #2) on the very cusp of being released (December 6 is the hot-hot-hot date, folks!) I’m really looking forward to hearing more about your wonderful characters today!
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AK Wilder & Characters from the "Amassia" Series

Helen, I am so happy to be included in the final “What Makes a Hero” post. It’s an honour to contribute my thoughts on this most engaging topic.

Ash, a hero of the Amassia series

I love how, through the course of your blog series, you’ve covered so many aspects of the Hero and how these qualities might be expressed, subtly, consistently, sporadically, aggressively. There are a multitude of heroic styles out there in the Fantasy genre and I am fascinated by each one!

As a writer, I have created different kinds of heroes, those with flaming swords and egos to match, all the way to the unsung, undervalued, and shy. In the Amassia series, (Crown of Bones and Curse of Shadows) diverse heroes have emerged, and as you say, Helen, they are born out of circumstances, upbringing, personality, necessity and, well, magic. 

The most obvious of my Amassia series heroes is Marcus Adicio who was raised for the task. He readily answers the call, facing enemies and rallying his companions at every turn. But on the inside, Marcus struggles with a darkness he is in no way prepared to face. And because of all that is expected of him, he finds it near impossible to ask for help. 

And then there is Ash, not trained to be brave or wield charisma like a weapon, but to listen. She is a recorder whose ideas are often passed over for her lack of status and magical prowess. But because she won’t give up—though like Myr in Daughter of Blood, she is often terrified—Ash finds the courage to act on her convictions, and convince others to do the same. She is the moral compass of the group, at least thus far.

Ash & Kaylin (Ooh-la-la...)

Kaylin, the mysterious sailor, demonstrates all the outward qualities of heroism, fearlessness in the face of untenable odds, superior skills and strength, but what is he hiding? With all his secrets, it’s hard at times to know whose side he is actually on!

And I must mention my favorite character to write, Salila, who, truth be told, is an anti-hero for most of the story, serving her own needs and desires with guile and subterfuge, until she finds something worth fighting for. Something of the heart. There is nothing more glorious than to watch a hero be born. 

Salila

Helen Lowe & Characters from "The Wall Of Night" Series

Ash, Marcus, Kaylin, & Salila – they’re a great band, Kim—together with sidekicks such as the healer, Piper, and (the underestimated, I suspect) Tyche in Aku. I think we’re all looking forward to rejoining their adventures!

Epic or High Fantasy is often termed Heroic as well, and The Wall of Night series is firmly in that quadrant of the Fantasy ’verse. Malian, the central protagonist, is very like Marcus in that she has been raised to shoulder her duty, to lead, and to answer the heroic Call without complaint. She is coolheaded, clever, and unquestionably courageous. Or as Faro, one of the younger characters in Daughter of Blood expressed it:

“She was full of cleverness and secrets…Twisty, he thought.”

 

Unlike Marcus, the challenges Malian must overcome arise less from internal darkness as from the war-without-end she’s fighting, and the dysfunction of her own society – although both present plenty of ethical dilemmas she must overcome, along with smiting the various “big bads” that haunt her path.

Arguably, "Daughter of Blood" is Kalan's book

It would also be fair to say that circumstances make opting out difficult for either Malian or Kalan, the series’ second lead. Although not raised to lead, like Malian, he’s always aspired to be a champion—and where Malian sometimes struggles with ethical dilemmas, Kalan—like Ash, but also Myr in Daughter of Blood—has a strong moral compass. He’s also kind and naturally chivalrous, and no less smart, or brave, than Malian, but in a much more openhearted way.

As Faro reflects, he “is always bright, like the sun.”

 

The second post in the Heroes series addressed the part circumstances play in making a hero—and this is very true of Orth, who plays a heroic part in the defense of a bridal cavalcade in Daughter of Blood. Orth is a physical giant and able warrior, but his part in The Gathering Of The Lost (WALL #2) and earlier in Daughter, make it pretty clear he’s also cruel and a bully. He also hates Kalan.

Yet when the chips are down for the camp, it’s Orth who turns the tide against capitulation—because he knows what he would do once an enemy surrendered—and is in the forefront when holding the final breach. He’s unquestionably brave, and entirely because of circumstances and the survival imperative, answers the Call and rises to the Challenge.

Or as Kalan puts it:

“He…could and would acknowledge that Orth had fought ferociously to the end—”

 

For his deeds, if not his motivation, Orth would be remembered as a hero in the songs and stories of the cavalcade’s defense.

The WALL series has a large cast of point-of-view characters, from Raven, whom one reader dubbed an “international man of mystery”, to Asantir (“Kickass-antir” according to another reader), and including Faro, our embedded observer quoted above, and Myr, whom Kim likened to her own Ash – definitely the “crown of good company” for both characters. 

There’s Rowan Birchmoon, who has left home and people for love, but also to save her world; and a herald pair that have answered the Call long before the story opens and sacrificed almost everything to do so. So, too, has a ghost, keeping watch over a Cave of Sleepers—because as it tells a young Malian:

“My dear…it is not that I am old. I am dead. I died a long time ago, so that they might live.”

 

All “sorts and conditions” of heroes, whom we hope readers will enjoy reading about as much as we enjoy recording their adventures – but I’m going to close with Kim’s words, which I feel encapsulate our post today, and the series. J

Conclusion

Be it the call, courage, circumstance, challenge, charisma—all the qualities that go into a hero—each can be mixed in an infinite variety of ways, creating someone unique and engaging to lead us on our next step of the journey. ~ Kim Falconer

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About the Authors

Kim Falconer:

Kim Falconer, currently writing as A K Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows coming out December 6, 2022.

Kim can be found on  AKWilder Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site

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Helen Lowe:

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.

Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

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Previous "What Makes A Hero?" Posts:

January: Looking Forward To An Heroic 2022

March: What Makes A Hero -- and The Call

April: What Makes A Hero #2: Circumstance

May: What Makes A Hero #3: Commitment 

June: What Makes A Hero #4: Courage

July: What Makes A Hero #5: Challenge

August: What Makes A Hero #6: Charisma

September: What Makes A Hero #7: Chivalry 

October: What Makes A Hero #8: Clever – or Clueless?  

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November: What Makes A Hero #9: Calm & Chaos

Curse of Shadows Giveaways

Curse of Shadows - December 6, 2022 just received a ⭑ Starred review ⭑ from School Library Journal. 

VERDICT Recommended for all fantasy fans and ­especially those who enjoyed the “Shadow and Bone” trilogy by Leigh Bardugo and “The Bone Witch” ­trilogy by Rin Chupeco.–Susan Catlett

You can jump on any number of giveaways now!

💙 But first, thank you to everyone who has shown their awesome support by pre-ordering Curse of Shadows. As I said before, this early enthusiasm can make or break a book, so my heartfelt gratitude is flowing for the response.

 And now, to the GIVEAWAYS!

💙 As for Worldwide giveaways, check Writerspace with an ongoing giveaway happening now.

💙 More Upcoming Worldwide Giveaways for your calendar include:

💙 The Fresh Fiction Title Challenge (up on December 8th)

💙 The Harlequin Junkie Spotlight (up on December 9th)

Some of these giveaways include two books, both Crown of Bones and Curse of Shadows - just in time for a fun holiday season gift. 

💙 For members of the Wilder New Moon Newsletter, I'm giving away several copies of Curse of Shadows (Hardback, ebook or Audio as you prefer) and one set of both books in the series. To Jump In just Email Me with your country and preferred format. I plan to pick a winner from each country entered!

Good Luck Everyone,

And thanks again for all that magnificent pre-ordering support! You are the best!

xxKim

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Kim Falconer, currently writing as A K Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows coming out December 6, 2022.

Kim can be found on  AKWilder Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. 

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site