Eleventh Cycle (1) (Mistland)

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Upon the end of a Cycle, the sight of a Seed's ascension is a most wondrous sight. A pillar of light pierces down and pulls the Seed up into the Creator's embrace. It can be seen from the whole of Minethria." In addition to the four first-person protagonists, we also read the third-person story of the Eleventh Seed. Despite the glorious prophecies, the Eleventh Seed is just an innocent child trying to understand human emotions and make sense out of this complex, violent world. Owing to the hollow dialogue, the characters felt flat. It was hard to empathize with any of them in their struggles which undermined the first-person POV, the grimdark-ness, and the character-driven concept. I just couldn't find myself caring about any of the characters.

I can say for certain that Eleventh Cycle won't be for everyone but if you like a compelling story with less than perfect character that feel real, set in a cruel and unforgiving world, where sometimes hope is hard to find, this book is definitely for you. Overall this was an enjoyable read for me. I will more than likely be continuing this one with audio as long as Jessica and Evan continue to narrate our characters. If not, it may switch to a visual read for future installments of Mistland by Kian N. Ardalan. I think my favourite part of the book is the world. Kian did an amazing job creating a word that's unique and the amount of thought that was put into the world building is stunning. There are many layers to this world and I can't wait to find out more about it in the next book. A highlight for me were the different magic systems that exist in this world. They feel distinctive yet they fit so well in the world. The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed shields in battle, the earth running dark with their heartsblood. Although the giant-clans were broken in ages past, their ruined fortresses still scar the land. But now giants stir anew, the very stones weep blood and there are sightings of giant wyrms. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. Sorrow will darken the world, as angels and demons make it their battlefield. Then there will be a war to end all wars.It’s no secret that I have struggled to continue past book 5 in this 14-book epic fantasy series, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s worth reading. I actually love all four books I have read so far, I just feel like it becomes a bit repetitive further on. Disclaimer: I am an ARC reader for Kian, I am doing this of my own volition because I am simply adoring this book near 40% in.

And I can't get over that. It overshadows every other aspect of this book, including other complaints I could make or compliments I could offer. We also have interludes interspersed with the narrative on occasion, giving us a glimpse into Mount Morniar and the realm of the Elders. Now let me tell you, this is TRIPPY lol. I mean seriously it's incredibly fresh and inventive. I have never quite experienced worldbuilding that's felt this alien. Thats the entire feel to this world, a very alien, in some senses barren and morose world. This is not a light tale, not by any means. Imagine you looked up to a hero for many months, only to see that he's selective on who he wants to save. Each of these characters is broken in some way, and has to find their own hope and redemption. I won't spoil anything, but Ardalan really puts these characters through the ringer. A few points there I forgot to breathe, and kept reading to find out what happened next, just so I could take a breath. The hanging heads could be seen as depressed and sullen, but I preferred to see it as veneration— to me, the flower heads were bowing to us passing visitors.'I participated in Ardalan's giveaway and wrote hoping that this book will meet up to my expectations of being a Dark Souls book (I didn't win a copy, but not the point, I still read this on KU). His response was, "I really hope so too 😁 based on those who are fans of the series, I did get a stamp of approval. But maybe you’ll be tough to convince!" Honestly, would have wanted the story to revolve around Museya than a church equivalent to Thorlund in DkS1. Sounded a lot more interesting than Cleria. At least, despite Nora being a total racist and the most potential in a character being killed off, was at least more interesting than any of the towns or places mentioned in this whole book. It was just all cookie cutter medieval fare cities and towns. Naturally, the book is a fantastical commentary on the subject of colonialism and the destruction of indigenous way of life, as well as culture. James did not shy away from highlighting the ruthlessness of colonialist rhetoric which made the book quite adept at stoking my anger. Eleventh Cycle combines the strange and enigmatic lore of Dark Souls with the difficult lives of mortal men, and then manages to make the mortals seem the more enigmatic part. The five point-of-view characters act; sometimes emotionally, sometimes inconsistently, sometimes with flagrant foolishness, and yet never unbelievably. This is the core of the story.

I'm not going to say this book is terrible because I'm not comfortable saying that. Listen to the audio sample. That is how this book is written and read. Probably the most important aspect of all. This is an intensely character driven tale. Now this is not to say the the plot moves like a glacier, it moves at the pace needed for the story, and the raw and real character work keeps us in the meantime.

Read Eleventh Cycle by Kian N Ardalan

Eleventh Cycle by Kian N. Ardalan is a beefy book but I burned through it! This fantastic epic fantasy novel comes out on February 1st 2023, so be read for this exciting release! Reading Illborn this year was one of the best reading experiences I have had in a long time. This is a huge, epic fantasy book with a great cast of characters, intricate worldbuilding, and an engaging plot driven by characters and interesting mysteries. The writing is engaging, prose straddling that line between easy-to-read and well-crafted, and every chapter engaged me in the present. Early chapters struggled a bit with awkward exposition dumping, and yet the world was fascinating enough (and awkward Q&A sessions brief enough) that I did not mind. There were also a few editing errors, and some Victorian English that did not seem grammatically right, but these errors are few.