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Selkis: The Ashes of Winter
With the ancient creators of Selkis now on death's door, a young sorcerer named Variks is forced to take up the mantle of their power. Upon unwillingly embracing the role of a god, however, the plan goes awry, and Variks' new-found magic tears a hole into a parallel reality. Chaos ensues as the now-immortal sorcerer is thrust into a world without magic, but as the mystic arts of Selkis begin to merge with this new reality, Variks grapples with the responsibilities of setting the multiverse back into order.
Content This novel contains instances of violence, profanity, and other explicit content that may not be suitable for young readers.
Content This novel contains instances of violence, profanity, and other explicit content that may not be suitable for young readers.
874 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 19, 2023
1 person is currently reading
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 3, 2023
This book is so baby girl
July 3, 2024
This big blue book did not disappoint.
Selkis: The Ashes of Winter is an action-filled epic from the very first POV with Variks on the mysterious, magical planet of Selkis to the larger-than-life, Marvel-esque battle spread across the final pages. With a full cast of superhuman characters (both superhuman because of their powers and superhuman in their resolve to fight injustice), the reader is truly taken on a journey they will not forget, one riddled with love, violence, good vs. evil, morally grey villains, and found family. Prepare to go through all five stages of grief while reading this book, and more.
While reading, Variks and Vincent were tied for my favorite characters, but after finishing this story I'm confident that Variks won that race. I loved his internal struggle throughout the novel and how he was forced to battle with immortality and godhood, something he never wanted for himself. It makes the reader wonder, what would I do in his situation? How do you cope with those kinds of impossible decisions? The discussions of what it means to be a god and what makes a god were some of my favorite parts. I have a feeling that this isn't the last time we'll be seeing Variks and I'm beyond excited to see how he develops in the next book.
Although the multiple POVs and character voices did sometimes get muddled and the final battle at the end was a bit drawn out in my opinion, I think this story is truly something special. If you're a fan of epic fantasy, Marvel, LGBTQ+ representation, discussions of the repercussions of power/immortality, and battles between the gods and man, I would urge you to give this story a try. I think there's something in this book for everyone!
Congrats to Tony on this debut, and I can't wait to see where he takes the characters in the Selkis universe next!!
Four stars.
"The horizon," I whispered. "I can almost touch it."
Selkis: The Ashes of Winter is an action-filled epic from the very first POV with Variks on the mysterious, magical planet of Selkis to the larger-than-life, Marvel-esque battle spread across the final pages. With a full cast of superhuman characters (both superhuman because of their powers and superhuman in their resolve to fight injustice), the reader is truly taken on a journey they will not forget, one riddled with love, violence, good vs. evil, morally grey villains, and found family. Prepare to go through all five stages of grief while reading this book, and more.
While reading, Variks and Vincent were tied for my favorite characters, but after finishing this story I'm confident that Variks won that race. I loved his internal struggle throughout the novel and how he was forced to battle with immortality and godhood, something he never wanted for himself. It makes the reader wonder, what would I do in his situation? How do you cope with those kinds of impossible decisions? The discussions of what it means to be a god and what makes a god were some of my favorite parts. I have a feeling that this isn't the last time we'll be seeing Variks and I'm beyond excited to see how he develops in the next book.
Although the multiple POVs and character voices did sometimes get muddled and the final battle at the end was a bit drawn out in my opinion, I think this story is truly something special. If you're a fan of epic fantasy, Marvel, LGBTQ+ representation, discussions of the repercussions of power/immortality, and battles between the gods and man, I would urge you to give this story a try. I think there's something in this book for everyone!
Congrats to Tony on this debut, and I can't wait to see where he takes the characters in the Selkis universe next!!
Four stars.
"The horizon," I whispered. "I can almost touch it."
Read
August 5, 2023First off, congratulations to Tony for publishing this book!! That’s such a huge accomplishment.
Second, I really love things about this book. The premise was super interesting, and the book was filled with tons of plot, which are the kind of books I love. The characters were also super interesting, and I loved reading about them and seeing all of their distinct personalities!
The things I didn’t love were that the book was a little too long for me. I feel as if it could’ve been a lot shorter, but also, that’s just me. I have a short attention span so reading long books is pretty difficult for me, and I knew this going in, so definitely take this with a grain of salt. But I also did feel as if certain scenes didn’t have to be said and described as much, and it might’ve also made the book even more interesting.
I also feel as if I wasn’t able to connect to the characters. It might’ve been the change in perspectives so often (which can be a good thing) but for me, it made it difficult to empathize with many of the characters.
I would definitely recommend this book to others, but I would be careful and make sure that you can read long books, and that you enjoy very action-adventure plots!
Second, I really love things about this book. The premise was super interesting, and the book was filled with tons of plot, which are the kind of books I love. The characters were also super interesting, and I loved reading about them and seeing all of their distinct personalities!
The things I didn’t love were that the book was a little too long for me. I feel as if it could’ve been a lot shorter, but also, that’s just me. I have a short attention span so reading long books is pretty difficult for me, and I knew this going in, so definitely take this with a grain of salt. But I also did feel as if certain scenes didn’t have to be said and described as much, and it might’ve also made the book even more interesting.
I also feel as if I wasn’t able to connect to the characters. It might’ve been the change in perspectives so often (which can be a good thing) but for me, it made it difficult to empathize with many of the characters.
I would definitely recommend this book to others, but I would be careful and make sure that you can read long books, and that you enjoy very action-adventure plots!
May 21, 2023
This book: the writing, the plot, the characters - it’s all absolutely superb! I had a pre-release version to read and only read through a part of it, to save the excitement for the physical copy, and what I did read was a perfect blend of sci-fi, fantasy and action, the multiple POVs were done wonderfully. I would fully recommend this book to anyone and can’t wait for the paperback to arrive!
May 3, 2023
A perfect blend of superhero, science fiction, and fantasy with elements of superhero horror, "Selkis" provides an engaging story that deals with the multiverse, told through the different perspectives of the main characters. The whole cast of main characters, supporting characters, and antagonists are written well that it enriches ones reading experience. And the author excels in both action and character departments, that the story keeps engaging the reader's interest
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2023
I wrote this book.
I've also read it. A lot of times.
I think it's pretty cool. The battle at the end is a bit too long, but the characters are fun and epilogue is vibey so I think it mostly evens out.
Five stars.
I've also read it. A lot of times.
I think it's pretty cool. The battle at the end is a bit too long, but the characters are fun and epilogue is vibey so I think it mostly evens out.
Five stars.
August 12, 2023
Someone really likes the Marvel Cinematic Universe so much they decided to make their very own Walmart brand… and it’s just as cheap as that good ol great value.
This book could’ve been about 300 pages shorter and it still would be too long. It was a long bland and boring mix of every superhero trope that was already done better back when Stan Lee stole them from Jack Kirby.
it doesn’t even take the time to actually show the characters learning or even getting used to their superpowers before they’re violently murdering people with them. Making it seem like the moment any normal human would get some kind of power, they’d immediately get lethal with them. Life or death situations aside, the book makes a habit of having the characters kill faceless “Hunter” goons like and they feel “a bit of remorse” after but then go right back to doing it with no sign of trying to not be lethal, it shows the lack of understanding of what actually makes superheroes and superpowers a great storytelling device, but nah, instead we get hundreds of pages of “PLASMA” as the catch all energy term.
Ontop of that the hamfisted gay or bisexual representation feels like another misunderstood story telling device, it’s hard to tell really what was going on there with Kris, his whole journey from lusting after his guy friend after his girlfriend cheats on him is just bland, Kris’ whole backstory is summed up in one paragraph and just fits in every “sad angry teen trope” ever and it comes out of nowhere when he decides to be with Steve no build or anything, just two dudes who meet in a life or death situation and then decided to date. Why. How. Who in their right mind? No one.
There was way too much going on, too many story lines and plot threads and it just reeks of the kind of book that really wanted to be the “song of ice and fire” but with superpowers but forgot the fact that having separate plot threads has to have interesting characters to carry them.
There’s a few other plot threads about gods and people making a knock off Iron Man suit and just save yourself your time and your 20 bucks and give this one a hard pass.
This book could’ve been about 300 pages shorter and it still would be too long. It was a long bland and boring mix of every superhero trope that was already done better back when Stan Lee stole them from Jack Kirby.
it doesn’t even take the time to actually show the characters learning or even getting used to their superpowers before they’re violently murdering people with them. Making it seem like the moment any normal human would get some kind of power, they’d immediately get lethal with them. Life or death situations aside, the book makes a habit of having the characters kill faceless “Hunter” goons like and they feel “a bit of remorse” after but then go right back to doing it with no sign of trying to not be lethal, it shows the lack of understanding of what actually makes superheroes and superpowers a great storytelling device, but nah, instead we get hundreds of pages of “PLASMA” as the catch all energy term.
Ontop of that the hamfisted gay or bisexual representation feels like another misunderstood story telling device, it’s hard to tell really what was going on there with Kris, his whole journey from lusting after his guy friend after his girlfriend cheats on him is just bland, Kris’ whole backstory is summed up in one paragraph and just fits in every “sad angry teen trope” ever and it comes out of nowhere when he decides to be with Steve no build or anything, just two dudes who meet in a life or death situation and then decided to date. Why. How. Who in their right mind? No one.
There was way too much going on, too many story lines and plot threads and it just reeks of the kind of book that really wanted to be the “song of ice and fire” but with superpowers but forgot the fact that having separate plot threads has to have interesting characters to carry them.
There’s a few other plot threads about gods and people making a knock off Iron Man suit and just save yourself your time and your 20 bucks and give this one a hard pass.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews