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Scarlet and Sunder
Giant magical mecha, transforming heroes, and titanic monsters clash in this love letter to Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, Pacific Rim, and Godzilla, blended into an epic fantasy journey of self-discovery.
Every step is a choice.
Seven years after being kidnapped and forged into a Pilot—a magical knight tasked with slaying giant beasts sent from another world—Maia Sunderland is ready to give up the battle. Most of the world blames her for the lives she’s failed to save as she continues to wage a war she never wanted to fight. Her family and allies are gone. All she has left is Scarlet, her magic-fueled, walking war machine. As the last of the Vanguardians, Scarlet is the only weapon capable of standing against the invading menace.
As an incurable disease ravages Maia from within, a young officer emerges from an oppressive empire with orders to claim Scarlet for her emperor. Though reckless and inexperienced, this new Pilot somehow shares Maia’s ability to command Scarlet, making her uniquely suited to succeed Maia when she passes.
With little time left before she succumbs to her illness, Maia is left with a deadly train an unlikely apprentice to take her mantle, placing the most destructive weapon in the world in the hands of a tyrant, or save her would-be successor from walking the same bloody path Maia was forced down, leaving the world without a defender.
Every step is a choice.
Seven years after being kidnapped and forged into a Pilot—a magical knight tasked with slaying giant beasts sent from another world—Maia Sunderland is ready to give up the battle. Most of the world blames her for the lives she’s failed to save as she continues to wage a war she never wanted to fight. Her family and allies are gone. All she has left is Scarlet, her magic-fueled, walking war machine. As the last of the Vanguardians, Scarlet is the only weapon capable of standing against the invading menace.
As an incurable disease ravages Maia from within, a young officer emerges from an oppressive empire with orders to claim Scarlet for her emperor. Though reckless and inexperienced, this new Pilot somehow shares Maia’s ability to command Scarlet, making her uniquely suited to succeed Maia when she passes.
With little time left before she succumbs to her illness, Maia is left with a deadly train an unlikely apprentice to take her mantle, placing the most destructive weapon in the world in the hands of a tyrant, or save her would-be successor from walking the same bloody path Maia was forced down, leaving the world without a defender.
697 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 25, 2023
39 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 31, 2023
Scarlet & Sunder, yeah, somewhat enigmatic. It’s always a question with longer books – will it keep its momentum throughout? And I admit, at times, I felt like the story had maybe exhausted itself, it was going to flatline… but then, bam! some seriously brilliant scenes, clever dialogue, sharp wit! So, aside from the pacing issue, overall, I enjoyed this book. I can’t help but think that this book could not have worked any other way – there is a cool concept from start to finish with the Vanguardians in mind, some innovative ideas put to good use, and plenty of world building and background story politically and individually that keep any reader engaged!
It did take considerable time for me to warm to the main character Sunder aka Maia Sunderland. I think she clicked for me when she finally allowed herself a moment of true weakness. And yet, weaknesses she has a list as long as my arm. She has considerable guilt on her shoulders, she has a drinking problem, she is (simply put) exhausted, and she’s not at all in a good condition physically. But she prevails. She has no choice.
Enter Ren. Yes, she’s a very well written teenager with grand goals and a vision but as annoying as one can expect because it’s always the teenagers who know best. A character to surely evoke emotion, even if not entirely of the loving kind. Ren’s character arc falls neatly into the coming-of-age bracket, and I think it’s quite interesting to see her coming to her conclusions in her own time. Ren provided many conflicts to nudge the story along.
Peppered with brilliant twists and bits of dialogue that made this book well worth a read, I couldn’t help but wonder if the author held back slightly? Would he go full whack if he was to write a gritty novel with a male main character as opposed to respectfully tread in the female character’s POV? I do wonder. But one for sure, the few bits of grit, as much as appropriate for our cast in Scarlet & Sunder, tell me that I would totally read more from this author.
It did take considerable time for me to warm to the main character Sunder aka Maia Sunderland. I think she clicked for me when she finally allowed herself a moment of true weakness. And yet, weaknesses she has a list as long as my arm. She has considerable guilt on her shoulders, she has a drinking problem, she is (simply put) exhausted, and she’s not at all in a good condition physically. But she prevails. She has no choice.
Enter Ren. Yes, she’s a very well written teenager with grand goals and a vision but as annoying as one can expect because it’s always the teenagers who know best. A character to surely evoke emotion, even if not entirely of the loving kind. Ren’s character arc falls neatly into the coming-of-age bracket, and I think it’s quite interesting to see her coming to her conclusions in her own time. Ren provided many conflicts to nudge the story along.
Peppered with brilliant twists and bits of dialogue that made this book well worth a read, I couldn’t help but wonder if the author held back slightly? Would he go full whack if he was to write a gritty novel with a male main character as opposed to respectfully tread in the female character’s POV? I do wonder. But one for sure, the few bits of grit, as much as appropriate for our cast in Scarlet & Sunder, tell me that I would totally read more from this author.
October 18, 2023
I read this for SPFBO. To find out more about the SPFBO contest and to see the participating bloggers/authors and reviews follow the links below
I was thrilled when Olivia picked this as her semi. I had been eying this one up since it landed in our group.
I really enjoyed Scarlet and Sunder. I had a few minor ticks with it, but overall, I found it to be nicely written with great relationships and fun battles. This is a chunky book and I smashed through the first half in no time at all.
It felt slower to me in the last couple of parts (there are five) I think for a couple of reasons- first there’s a feel of repetition- not so much with events as it was with the themes- especially with Maia. She is one of those characters that hates herself and routinely does irritating things to prove just how much she does.
And second there is a lot in the last two parts of the story – between info, twisty events, relationships and everything in between, the author went mech-size (har har) with the finale and threw everything in the pot and gave it a big stir.
It was fun, don’t get me wrong, but I did have a bit of fatigue with it all and I went from plowing through chapters upon chapters, to just a couple at a time as I was trying to absorb everything I was learning.
*
I won’t get into the plot- there is just a lot to tackle with that and I am trying to curb my wordiness.
Instead I will talk about the biggest highlight (for me anyway) which surprisingly I found was Maia and Ren’s relationship. I say surprisingly because I expected to be here for the Pacific Rim-Godzilla styled fights, because who wouldn’t? But it was actually Maia and Ren, who kept me coming back for more.
I absolutely adored them (especially Ren). Not only because of the mentor/student angle which btw I can probably count on both hands how often I have had a female mentor relationship in a story (I’d like to think this is more to do with the way my tastes tend to run, rather than the fact that they are just that few and far between).
But I also I adored them for other reasons. Like the fact that they get mad, they blow up at each other, then they come back and talk it through. Or that Ren felt like a young adult who is coming to terms with growing-up and realizing everything she thought she knew about the world around her- was a little one-sided. Or that Ren always tried to move forward and not allow herself to be a victim of circumstances, or of the world around. And maybe that last part, is a bit of her youth shining through and her not being so beaten down by the world like Maia is, but I did appreciate how she counter-balanced Maia in that regard.
Ren was one of the best young adult characters I have read in a while.
Maia, I liked, but I did I have a harder time loving her. Getting her type of character from point A- someone who just lets people shoot her, to point B- a person of worth, who doesn’t deserve the blame she (or the world) has placed upon herself- is a tightrope walk. I think for the most part- that walk went well but teetered off here and there. I find the victim/self-sacrificing characters very frustrating at the best of times so ymmv on that point.
*
The battles were fun. I loved the naming of the monsters which worked for lightening the mood, and for taking repetition out of the fights. They’re well thought-out and were easy to visualize- I did grow-up on Godzilla and have seen nearly all the giant avatar driven robot movies so I have tons of footage in my head to base my totally amateur opinion on. 😊
Long story short- Scarlet and Sunder was a fun, genre-blending fantasy w/mechs but it was Maia and Ren that I found helped to add that something special and set this story in my mind.
SPFBO score- 8 or 4 stars
Learn more about the contest here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Phase one is here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
I was thrilled when Olivia picked this as her semi. I had been eying this one up since it landed in our group.
I really enjoyed Scarlet and Sunder. I had a few minor ticks with it, but overall, I found it to be nicely written with great relationships and fun battles. This is a chunky book and I smashed through the first half in no time at all.
It felt slower to me in the last couple of parts (there are five) I think for a couple of reasons- first there’s a feel of repetition- not so much with events as it was with the themes- especially with Maia. She is one of those characters that hates herself and routinely does irritating things to prove just how much she does.
And second there is a lot in the last two parts of the story – between info, twisty events, relationships and everything in between, the author went mech-size (har har) with the finale and threw everything in the pot and gave it a big stir.
It was fun, don’t get me wrong, but I did have a bit of fatigue with it all and I went from plowing through chapters upon chapters, to just a couple at a time as I was trying to absorb everything I was learning.
*
I won’t get into the plot- there is just a lot to tackle with that and I am trying to curb my wordiness.
Instead I will talk about the biggest highlight (for me anyway) which surprisingly I found was Maia and Ren’s relationship. I say surprisingly because I expected to be here for the Pacific Rim-Godzilla styled fights, because who wouldn’t? But it was actually Maia and Ren, who kept me coming back for more.
I absolutely adored them (especially Ren). Not only because of the mentor/student angle which btw I can probably count on both hands how often I have had a female mentor relationship in a story (I’d like to think this is more to do with the way my tastes tend to run, rather than the fact that they are just that few and far between).
But I also I adored them for other reasons. Like the fact that they get mad, they blow up at each other, then they come back and talk it through. Or that Ren felt like a young adult who is coming to terms with growing-up and realizing everything she thought she knew about the world around her- was a little one-sided. Or that Ren always tried to move forward and not allow herself to be a victim of circumstances, or of the world around. And maybe that last part, is a bit of her youth shining through and her not being so beaten down by the world like Maia is, but I did appreciate how she counter-balanced Maia in that regard.
Ren was one of the best young adult characters I have read in a while.
Maia, I liked, but I did I have a harder time loving her. Getting her type of character from point A- someone who just lets people shoot her, to point B- a person of worth, who doesn’t deserve the blame she (or the world) has placed upon herself- is a tightrope walk. I think for the most part- that walk went well but teetered off here and there. I find the victim/self-sacrificing characters very frustrating at the best of times so ymmv on that point.
*
The battles were fun. I loved the naming of the monsters which worked for lightening the mood, and for taking repetition out of the fights. They’re well thought-out and were easy to visualize- I did grow-up on Godzilla and have seen nearly all the giant avatar driven robot movies so I have tons of footage in my head to base my totally amateur opinion on. 😊
Long story short- Scarlet and Sunder was a fun, genre-blending fantasy w/mechs but it was Maia and Ren that I found helped to add that something special and set this story in my mind.
SPFBO score- 8 or 4 stars
Learn more about the contest here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Phase one is here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
March 11, 2023
An interesting mix of Voltron/Power Rangers and fantasy. Magic, mechs and more. It takes a bunch of turns I wasn't expecting.
Want to read
February 9, 2024This is not a full review. I read through the beginning of all 300 SPFBO9 contest entries. This was a book I wanted to read more of.
A young woman is a hero whose wounds can heal in an hour, which is good because she’s also the hired muscle for an inn where those bereaved by the collateral damage of her heroics sometimes try to kill her.
A fantastic opening without a sour note. This has style, voice, and focus. It introduces its world to us clearly and steadily through its narration and dialogue.
It starts first and foremost with a cool, tough, and conflicted character who does not begrudge the people who try to take her life. Heavy-hearted, she’s sure she deserves it. She never even thought she would live this long.
But she doesn’t make a big to do about it. She snaps the crossbow bolt and drops it down the privy and goes back to drinking at the bar, looking wistfully at the beautiful barmaid who wants nothing more than to be with.
But she can’t, can she? She’s different. She’s a Pilot. She has power and sense when evil things are near, and that means - I take it - that her life can and will never be normal or easy or quiet.
The duty our MC feels b/c of her power set against the very real human frailty of her imperfectly welding that power gives this opening weight. I already find myself thinking, no, no, you’re better than this. You deserve to be happy.
The cool factor can’t be overstated here either. Our MC isn’t weepy. She scoffs at the wound in her side still knitting together and belts back another drink to the cheers of the assembled rabble.
Her dialogue with her beautiful counterpart behind the bar is casual, even indifferent to the attempt on her life. It’s business as usual. No worries.
That dialogue is engaging and further revealing of character, and as it continues it draws the reader into some of the broader conflicts in the world, and the threat of Behemoths and Ferals and other monsters.
I don’t know just what the next beat of this story will be, but it is as fun as it is well written. It’s got pace, setting, character, heart, and more to spare in the space of just a few pages.
For fans of a strong narrative voice, I couldn’t recommend this more. It’s not hard to see why this was picked as a semi-finalist. There’s many more pages for this story to unfold, but it’s off to a great start! I’m in.
And only 11 ratings on Goodreads?? Criminally underrated. I don’t know his work as well, but I think fans of Rob Hayes stuff might love this! Check it out! There’s kaiju and giant magical mech suits.
A young woman is a hero whose wounds can heal in an hour, which is good because she’s also the hired muscle for an inn where those bereaved by the collateral damage of her heroics sometimes try to kill her.
A fantastic opening without a sour note. This has style, voice, and focus. It introduces its world to us clearly and steadily through its narration and dialogue.
It starts first and foremost with a cool, tough, and conflicted character who does not begrudge the people who try to take her life. Heavy-hearted, she’s sure she deserves it. She never even thought she would live this long.
But she doesn’t make a big to do about it. She snaps the crossbow bolt and drops it down the privy and goes back to drinking at the bar, looking wistfully at the beautiful barmaid who wants nothing more than to be with.
But she can’t, can she? She’s different. She’s a Pilot. She has power and sense when evil things are near, and that means - I take it - that her life can and will never be normal or easy or quiet.
The duty our MC feels b/c of her power set against the very real human frailty of her imperfectly welding that power gives this opening weight. I already find myself thinking, no, no, you’re better than this. You deserve to be happy.
The cool factor can’t be overstated here either. Our MC isn’t weepy. She scoffs at the wound in her side still knitting together and belts back another drink to the cheers of the assembled rabble.
Her dialogue with her beautiful counterpart behind the bar is casual, even indifferent to the attempt on her life. It’s business as usual. No worries.
That dialogue is engaging and further revealing of character, and as it continues it draws the reader into some of the broader conflicts in the world, and the threat of Behemoths and Ferals and other monsters.
I don’t know just what the next beat of this story will be, but it is as fun as it is well written. It’s got pace, setting, character, heart, and more to spare in the space of just a few pages.
For fans of a strong narrative voice, I couldn’t recommend this more. It’s not hard to see why this was picked as a semi-finalist. There’s many more pages for this story to unfold, but it’s off to a great start! I’m in.
And only 11 ratings on Goodreads?? Criminally underrated. I don’t know his work as well, but I think fans of Rob Hayes stuff might love this! Check it out! There’s kaiju and giant magical mech suits.
April 3, 2023
Already a top contender for my favorite book of 2023. A must read for kaiju fans, fantasy lovers and anyone who grew up watching power rangers. A constant page turner. Couldn't recommend this book enough.
May 17, 2023
Scarlet and Sunder is a brilliant dive into the dark aftermath and emotional toll the Power Rangers would’ve faced in a parallel world, complete with complex moral dilemmas and a tense mentor/student relationship. I loved every second of it.
September 18, 2023
DNF al 40%..
Scritto bene, di sicuro un fantasy diverso dal solito, ma non mi ha preso per niente.. troppo lento e diverse pagine che potevano essere eliminate senza influire... Peccato davvero
Scritto bene, di sicuro un fantasy diverso dal solito, ma non mi ha preso per niente.. troppo lento e diverse pagine che potevano essere eliminate senza influire... Peccato davvero
Read
April 7, 2024Originally reviewed for Queen’s Book Asylum (SFPBO)
Read: 100%
“I accept that you are sorry. However, I accept neither you nor your apology.”
I have to admit that when I saw “mech” I thought “meh,” because my only association was Transformers. But after my fellow judges shared their spoilers, I mean remarks, I decided to give S&S a chance. I’m glad I have. But… oh boy.
Do you know the Chekhov rule, where if there is a gun in the story, it must be fired before the end? So, imagine you enter a supermarket. It’s filled with guns. And lasers. And flamethrowers. And robots. And ex-lovers. And explosives. And ALL of those things are going to fire, or backfire, within 700+ pages (Scarlet & Sunder is not a short book), because Mike Rousseau closes all the sub-plots and sub-arcs with shocking elegance for someone who has written a fantasy soap opera that makes Dynasty feel like a bleakly realistic documentary.
I really have no clue where to start this review and I already started!
It’s a beautiful book. It’s about love. Not “boy meets girl” (although I love the twist on this) love. All facets of it. It’s also about very big maybe-somewhat-sentient, er, mechs. And monsters, sometimes human-shaped. There are no goodie-goodies, although one of the characters is very much a baddie-baddie (yet not flat). Scarlet & Sunder uses the word ‘electricity’ (which I now immediately notice in fantasy) in a way that makes sense, explaining what it is. It also uses the word ‘christened’ in, er, um, not that way.
Scarlet & Sunder suffers from a phenomenon I’ve been noticing since the beginning of the year – I’d swear the first 30% was proofread, but the rest wasn’t, which makes me feel the authors (not singling out Rousseau in particular!) only ensure the reader doesn’t notice mistakes in the sample before buying the book. No, I haven’t slept through the first 30%, because you don’t get any rest throughout those 700 pages. Everything is either fast-paced action, or conversations leading to it – hats off to Rousseau for almost completely avoiding “as you know” simply by introducing the master/apprentice dynamics. And there is a lot to know.
I absolutely loved the fact that all the main characters were female and the treatment of queerness was exactly as I like it – it’s a non-issue. This or that person has red hair, snarky sense of humour, is bisexual, and likes wine a lot. The one sex scene is fade-to-black in a gentle, elegant way. It’s strange how Deceit felt like a bro-book, but Scarlet & Sunder appeals to the part of my soul that identifies as female.
The stakes keep growing with each page, almost. Every time you think Scarlet & Sunder reached the absolute peak, Rousseau cranks it up further. And further. The plot twist at 83% swept me off my sofa, out of the house, and possibly off the continent. And this is where “unfortunately” comes in. Rousseau kept cranking it up and at 89% I found myself not loving the book anymore. It became too much, too big, too complex, too coincidental to suspend my disbelief – it exhausted me. After all, as it turned out, Scarlet & Sunder was Transformers. Only if Transformers was a soap opera. A very good one, which nevertheless jumped the shark at 89%.
Recommended to people who enjoy well-written female characters, books that somehow manage to be fast-paced action, character-based, AND plot-based, and speeding.
(7/10, rounded up to 4* for Goodreads)
My ratings:
5* = this book changed my life
4* = very good
3* = good
2* = I probably DNFed it, so I don't give 2* ratings
1* = actively hostile towards the reader
Read: 100%
“I accept that you are sorry. However, I accept neither you nor your apology.”
I have to admit that when I saw “mech” I thought “meh,” because my only association was Transformers. But after my fellow judges shared their spoilers, I mean remarks, I decided to give S&S a chance. I’m glad I have. But… oh boy.
Do you know the Chekhov rule, where if there is a gun in the story, it must be fired before the end? So, imagine you enter a supermarket. It’s filled with guns. And lasers. And flamethrowers. And robots. And ex-lovers. And explosives. And ALL of those things are going to fire, or backfire, within 700+ pages (Scarlet & Sunder is not a short book), because Mike Rousseau closes all the sub-plots and sub-arcs with shocking elegance for someone who has written a fantasy soap opera that makes Dynasty feel like a bleakly realistic documentary.
I really have no clue where to start this review and I already started!
It’s a beautiful book. It’s about love. Not “boy meets girl” (although I love the twist on this) love. All facets of it. It’s also about very big maybe-somewhat-sentient, er, mechs. And monsters, sometimes human-shaped. There are no goodie-goodies, although one of the characters is very much a baddie-baddie (yet not flat). Scarlet & Sunder uses the word ‘electricity’ (which I now immediately notice in fantasy) in a way that makes sense, explaining what it is. It also uses the word ‘christened’ in, er, um, not that way.
Scarlet & Sunder suffers from a phenomenon I’ve been noticing since the beginning of the year – I’d swear the first 30% was proofread, but the rest wasn’t, which makes me feel the authors (not singling out Rousseau in particular!) only ensure the reader doesn’t notice mistakes in the sample before buying the book. No, I haven’t slept through the first 30%, because you don’t get any rest throughout those 700 pages. Everything is either fast-paced action, or conversations leading to it – hats off to Rousseau for almost completely avoiding “as you know” simply by introducing the master/apprentice dynamics. And there is a lot to know.
I absolutely loved the fact that all the main characters were female and the treatment of queerness was exactly as I like it – it’s a non-issue. This or that person has red hair, snarky sense of humour, is bisexual, and likes wine a lot. The one sex scene is fade-to-black in a gentle, elegant way. It’s strange how Deceit felt like a bro-book, but Scarlet & Sunder appeals to the part of my soul that identifies as female.
The stakes keep growing with each page, almost. Every time you think Scarlet & Sunder reached the absolute peak, Rousseau cranks it up further. And further. The plot twist at 83% swept me off my sofa, out of the house, and possibly off the continent. And this is where “unfortunately” comes in. Rousseau kept cranking it up and at 89% I found myself not loving the book anymore. It became too much, too big, too complex, too coincidental to suspend my disbelief – it exhausted me. After all, as it turned out, Scarlet & Sunder was Transformers. Only if Transformers was a soap opera. A very good one, which nevertheless jumped the shark at 89%.
Recommended to people who enjoy well-written female characters, books that somehow manage to be fast-paced action, character-based, AND plot-based, and speeding.
(7/10, rounded up to 4* for Goodreads)
My ratings:
5* = this book changed my life
4* = very good
3* = good
2* = I probably DNFed it, so I don't give 2* ratings
1* = actively hostile towards the reader
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews