Posted on by slickdungeon

The Invasion of Aeronbed – #BookReview

Note: this review was first posted on Reedsy Discovery, an awesome website that pairs independent authors and readers. To see the post there click here.

If you are a book reviewer and want to contribute reviews on Reedsy Discovery, click here.

SYNOPSIS

Eirwen and Fridis, the first of the seven-volume Ravenstones series, began the tale of an unlikely friendship between an unassuming polar bear and an intrepid eider duck. Their travels took the pair to Vigmar, a mountainous Empire at war with its neighbor, the Kingdom of Aeronbed. Fate has placed the inexperienced bear in command of Vigmar’s quarrelsome forces, and he is immediately beset by the demands of leadership. Fridis, meanwhile, overcoming misfortune, seeks to unravel the many mysteries of the Empire’s capital, Blakfel, and confront its scheming rulers.

Volume 2, The Invasion of Aeronbed, continues the story. Eirwen has decided that Vigmar must invade its neighbor to bring an end to the long-standing conflict. The decision on his own role in this invasion will lead to unintended consequences. Fridis, meanwhile, ill-equipped for such violent confrontations, must stay behind to fend for herself. Although she discovers a satisfying role in Blakfel, danger lurks for her in the capital’s byways and castle towers as much as on any battlefield.

REVIEW

4/5 Stars

The first of the Revenstones books had the reader meet Eirwen, a polar bear, and Fridis, an eider duck, who were destined to become good friends and intrepid adventurers. The second volume picks up where the first book left off, with Eirwen in charge of the forces of Vigmar, while Fridis is becoming ever more popular in the city of Blakfel. The pressures of war, the politics of a kingdom, and the danger lurking around every corner don’t let up in The Invasion of Aeronbed.

The book is a well thought out sequel that, if anything, improves upon the original. The stakes are higher, the danger more personal, and the reader is easily engrossed in the tale. While Eirwen is out dealing with the ramifications of war, Fridis is left alone to deal with the forces of palace intrigue that wish to do her harm. The mysteries go deeper, while the action intensifies. The likable polar bear and duck are separated but their stories remain intertwined and it was satisfying reading both accounts.

One thing that might improve the book a little is more back story on some of the characters we meet in Vigmar and what their purposes are. However, the cast is large enough that there might not be enough time to delve into that with too much depth.

The book manages to expand upon both the war that rages between Vigmar and Aeronbed while keeping perspective on the personal stakes for the characters we met in the first volume. It’s been an interesting ride so far and I am looking forward to seeing where the author will take us next. If the title of the next volume is any indication, it looks like we may get a fresh perspective which will be interesting to see.

If you love fantasy books full of huge battles, nefarious political maneuvering, and long-lasting friendship, you are going to love this volume. This is only the second in a seven-volume set, so there is plenty of story to come and I look forward to reading more.

Fantastically yours,

Slick Dungeon

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products I have personally used. Thank you for your support!

Advertisement
Posted on by slickdungeon · 1 Comment

Eirwen and Fridis – #BookReview

Note: this review was first posted on Reedsy Discovery, an awesome website that pairs independent authors and readers. To see the post there click here.

If you are a book reviewer and want to contribute reviews on Reedsy Discovery, click here.

SYNOPSIS

On an isolated ice floe, a young polar bear wakes up from a long sleep, only to discover he is utterly alone. Seemingly overnight, all his friends have vanished. What to do? Thus begins the bear’s self-examination and life-altering quest. His ensuing search will take him to a strange and unpredictable world, where he must confront danger and embrace adventure at every turn.

The first volume of the seven-part Ravenstones series introduces the reader to Eirwen, a lonely polar bear, and Fridis, a spirited duck, as they face mystery and intrigue, testing their mettle and ambition. The Ravenstones deals with good and evil, friendship and loyalty, overcoming doubt and obstacles, reinventing oneself – and in so doing discovering one’s true life purpose. Here the well-meaning and the wicked play out their roles in the midst of prophecy and wizardry, politics and spectacle, peace and war, and betrayal and sacrifice.

REVIEW

4/5 Stars

Like the polar bear that this story is about, it starts a little slow and hesitant. Eirwen has awoken to find that his friends are missing. He is a bear who is a little slow to take action and takes some time thinking through things before making a decision. Once he has decided to take action, he is determined to see it through to the conclusion. Eirwen decides to go look for his friends. Along the way, he meets a raven and a duck. The trio team up together to find the bear’s friends. It’s not long after that when Eirwen, the polar bear, and Fridis, the duck, find themselves in a kingdom at war.

The two friends must make their way in this new world while never forgetting the original goal of Eirwen’s quest. That’s no easy feat as there are animals everywhere with their own agendas, positions of power, and determinations to gain power.

The book really gets going once Eirwen and Fridis make it into the land of Vigmar and soon find themselves involved in the complicated politics of a land at war. Fridis is energetic and feisty while Eirwen finds himself becoming more confident and decisive as time goes on.

The adventure is quite enjoyable and the reader is pulled along in the fantasy. There is a bit of head-hopping where we go from one character’s point of view to another abruptly but otherwise, it’s an intriguing read.

This book is about talking animals so it’s easy to think of it as having comparisons to Watership Down or The Wind in the Willows. While those comparisons make sense, the political intrigue and epic battles are better compared to the likes of Lord of the Rings or similar epic fantasy books. If you love fantasy books with magical happenings, political maneuvering, and high stakes, you are going to love Eirwen and Fridis.

Tomorrow I will be back with the review of the second volume in the series so be sure to check back for that.

Fantastically yours,

Slick Dungeon

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products I have personally used. Thank you for your support!

Posted on by slickdungeon · 1 Comment

Cursed: Cursed (Episode 2) – #TVReview

Hey everyone, Slick Dungeon, here and I am back to review the second episode of the Netflix hit Cursed.

While most of us are waiting for The Umbrella Academy season 2, Netflix has been kind enough to drop a few excellent shows while we wait. In my opinion Cursed is one of the better ones. There won’t be many spoilers for episode 2 in this review, but I might reference things from episode 1 so if you haven’t, feel free to go watch that before you read this.

While the first episode did an adequate job of introducing characters and the idea that we are seeing the story of the Lady of the Lake, the second episode takes it up a notch and starts getting into the story.

Through a series of flashbacks we get to know the back story of Nimue and how and why she might be the one who is cursed. We also see Merlin’s continuing struggles to please his king. Additionally, the villain of the series is becoming more ruthless and dangerous toward Nimue and people like her.

A lot of the episode shows Nimue’s interactions with the sword she acquired in the first episode, as well as her developing relationship with Arthur. It’s still not clear to me by this second episode that the Arthur hanging out with Nimue is the Arthur, but he certainly could be.

The visuals continue to be stunning and the actors are all doing a fantastic job so far. They are able to walk the balance between being in a magical world but giving it enough realism that it doesn’t get ridiculous.

I think the main question being asked in this episode is who or what exactly is cursed. I’m not going to give you my opinion on that since I don’t want to give spoilers but let’s just say it’s a multiple choice answer.

I feel like this episode really got the story going and I’m looking forward to the next one. There are some mysterious characters we might get to know more about and there’s certainly going to be no lack of fantasy elements.

Have you watched Cursed yet? What do you think of it so far if you have? Let me know in the comments below.

Fantastically yours,

Slick Dungeon

Posted on by slickdungeon · 2 Comments

Cursed: Nimue (Episode 1) – #TVReview

What’s going on out there internet people? It’s Slick Dungeon, back with a review for you all. I don’t usually do television series reviews, mainly because if I did, I would spend all my time doing that, and I can’t always commit to watching ten or more hours of content, then writing about it. But I am making an exception for Cursed on Netflix. I’ll review each episode, one at a time in the coming days and weeks.

I will be giving some mild spoilers for each episode but I will try to keep them light enough that they won’t get in your way of enjoying the episodes.

Cursed is a series that explores the Arthurian legend from a new perspective, that of the Lady of the Lake. The legend of King Arthur is one that has stood the test of time as it gets told over and over again, reshaped and reformed, always ending as a story that at its heart is about the hope of a good person to lead the world through hope. One of the pieces of that story is that there is a Lady of the Lake who gives, King Arthur, Excalibur, the sword that will help to shape his destiny. I’ve always wondered about the background of the Lady of the Lake, how she got there and why. This series is basically telling that story.

Some critics have compared the series to Game of Thrones or The Witcher. While I understand why they make this comparison, I don’t think it’s fair to this series to judge it by those. It seems that any time a critic watches a fantasy series, they are from now on, going to assume that the series is just trying to repeat the success of Game of Thrones. Certainly, I imagine, there will be plenty of palace intrigue, unlikely heroes, magic, and war in Cursed.

However, this is a different story. It’s clear from the start that unlike Westeros, this land is full of magic. The story will mostly center on one or two characters, rather than a huge ensemble, although there are certainly plenty of supporting characters. And while I think it’s possible this may have more similarities to The Witcher, this show is not that either. The legend of King Arthur is one of the earliest fantasy stories involving knights and kingdoms, queens, and lovers, and if anything, Game of Thrones would not have existed without that story preceding it. The Witcher is about a person who doesn’t quite belong in society but is still needed because of the actions he can perform. Cursed, at its core, is about an object. A sword that has as important of a destiny as all of the rest of the characters. What we get to see in the show is how the people around it are affected.

In the first episode, we meet Nimue. She is a young woman with magical abilities. It’s clear from the beginning that Nimue could easily lose control of these abilities and do real harm to people with them. This is in a backdrop where Red Paladins are hunting down and killing those with magical abilities. They are cruel and ruthless and seemingly unstoppable.

Nimue is expertly performed by Katherine Langford who is captivating from the first moment she is onscreen. Also appearing in this first episode is Gustaf Skarsrgard who plays the most famous magician of all time, Merlin. The two clearly have an intertwined destiny but I am sure that will play out more in future episodes.

In this first episode, we see the setup for the series overall and while I don’t want to spoil the episode, it’s easy to see how this will play out as a series. In this episode, it’s more about getting to know the characters and getting them into place so the story can start. Some good signs I see here are that the title character of the episode is highly engaging, the villains seem to be absolutely brutal and challenging, and Merlin remains, mostly, a mystery. When you are setting up the Arthurian legend, those things are vital.

The visuals of the series are gorgeous and there are moments where we are reminded of the source material, which is Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler’s book of the same name.

If the first episode is any indication, this will be an excellent series that should be judged on its own merits. not those of fantasy shows that have come before. At the very least, this is something any fantasy fan should watch, at least until the one I am most excited for hits, The Wheel of Time series.

Have you checked out Cursed yet? If so what did you think? Keep it spoiler-free but let me know in the comments!

Fantastically yours,

Slick Dungeon