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Silk Fire by Zabé Ellor
Sep. 19th, 2022 10:11 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Koré knew that meddling in politics could end badly, particularly when trying to sabotage his aristocratic father’s campaign before it destroys the city he has come to love. When a chance encounter with a dying god imbues him with magic-breathing powers, it gets worse: he suddenly becomes a commodity - and a political player.
But the corruption in his city runs deeper than just one man, and an ally’s betrayal unleashes an army of the dead on his home street. Koré must trust the world with his deepest secret to stand beside the woman and man he’s finally let himself love, as only the bright truth of dragon’s fire can break the iron fist of a necromancer’s hold.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Zabé Ellor’s debut novel mixes fantasy and SF with LGBTQ+ characters and erotic romance to dull effect. There are too many ideas for the storyline to be coherent or gripping and the self-pitying Koré swerves between seeing sex work as a salvation and as something done by broken people. Twists are telegraphed far too early, the antagonists are caricatures and I simply didn’t get what Ria or Faziz see in Koré beyond the physical.
SILK FIRE by Alex Livingston was released in the United States on 5th July 2022 and in the United Kingdom on 7th July 2022. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.
Koré knew that meddling in politics could end badly, particularly when trying to sabotage his aristocratic father’s campaign before it destroys the city he has come to love. When a chance encounter with a dying god imbues him with magic-breathing powers, it gets worse: he suddenly becomes a commodity - and a political player.
But the corruption in his city runs deeper than just one man, and an ally’s betrayal unleashes an army of the dead on his home street. Koré must trust the world with his deepest secret to stand beside the woman and man he’s finally let himself love, as only the bright truth of dragon’s fire can break the iron fist of a necromancer’s hold.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Zabé Ellor’s debut novel mixes fantasy and SF with LGBTQ+ characters and erotic romance to dull effect. There are too many ideas for the storyline to be coherent or gripping and the self-pitying Koré swerves between seeing sex work as a salvation and as something done by broken people. Twists are telegraphed far too early, the antagonists are caricatures and I simply didn’t get what Ria or Faziz see in Koré beyond the physical.
SILK FIRE by Alex Livingston was released in the United States on 5th July 2022 and in the United Kingdom on 7th July 2022. Thanks to Rebellion Publishing for the review copy of this book.
