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Lady of Gems #0.5
Gown of Shadow and Flame
Sometimes evil has to be the hero.
Her brother throws the first stone. Her family tries to kill her, but Celaise chooses to live, even if it means dressing herself in forbidden magics and leaving humanity behind.
Now is her last chance to regain what she has lost. Celaise rescues Jerani, a warrior adorned with a sunburst of scars from a tribal ritual. Jerani fights to defend his family and their sacred cows from crystal-eyed monsters roaming the savanna. He learns to rely on Celaise's magic, she on his strength.
Jerani thinks her divine, a volcano goddess. Celaise dares not confide in him. Engulfing the throngs of beasts in the inferno of her dress will loose her magic's hunger. Then the greatest threat to Jerani and everyone else she has come to care for will be herself.
Available on Amazon.com.
Her brother throws the first stone. Her family tries to kill her, but Celaise chooses to live, even if it means dressing herself in forbidden magics and leaving humanity behind.
Now is her last chance to regain what she has lost. Celaise rescues Jerani, a warrior adorned with a sunburst of scars from a tribal ritual. Jerani fights to defend his family and their sacred cows from crystal-eyed monsters roaming the savanna. He learns to rely on Celaise's magic, she on his strength.
Jerani thinks her divine, a volcano goddess. Celaise dares not confide in him. Engulfing the throngs of beasts in the inferno of her dress will loose her magic's hunger. Then the greatest threat to Jerani and everyone else she has come to care for will be herself.
Available on Amazon.com.
310 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2012
1 person is currently reading
940 people want to read
About the author
A.E. Marling
13 books303 followersA.E. Marling writes on pages, cards, and buildings. A member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, A.E. has published several novels and written names and flavor text for Magic: the Gathering. In the past he also shone words in light on buildings as a projection activist (@AEMarling).
Pronouns: he/them
Pronouns: he/them
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
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December 1, 2012Clearly, I can't review my own book. I most certainly can talk about it, though, and if you enjoyed the peril and adventure in Graceling, then you may enjoy Gown of Shadow and Flame. If you loved the desperation and magical struggles in Poison Study or Touch of Power, then this may be the novel for you. I suggest that Gown of Shadow and Flame is a darker tale, and here it's the magic that's toxic, forbidden, painfully beautiful, and terribly wondrous.
This story features a young woman who turned to a carnivorous magic out of desperation. It granted Celaise safety through beauty and terror. Now she finds herself in an awkward position: being a hero. The Lord of the Feast commands her to wipe out packs of ravaging monsters, lest they destroy the same villages on which the Feasters prey. Celaise must fight beside the very people she would most often stalk. She understands the monstrous and the bloodthirsty. What she has forgotten is how to belong, and what frightens her more than tooth or claw is struggling to control her own magic, which urges her beyond sanity to sacrifice the man she’s come to care for: Jerani.
I am as pleased as a hobbit at second breakfast to think of others enjoying the story that I was so thrilled to write. You can discover the novel on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AFHSQHW
Feel free to avail yourself of the Goodreads page, which contains an extended excerpt that you can read on your browser or download as a PDF.
As always, wishing for you to touch the sky and read fantasy,
A.E. Marling
This story features a young woman who turned to a carnivorous magic out of desperation. It granted Celaise safety through beauty and terror. Now she finds herself in an awkward position: being a hero. The Lord of the Feast commands her to wipe out packs of ravaging monsters, lest they destroy the same villages on which the Feasters prey. Celaise must fight beside the very people she would most often stalk. She understands the monstrous and the bloodthirsty. What she has forgotten is how to belong, and what frightens her more than tooth or claw is struggling to control her own magic, which urges her beyond sanity to sacrifice the man she’s come to care for: Jerani.
I am as pleased as a hobbit at second breakfast to think of others enjoying the story that I was so thrilled to write. You can discover the novel on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AFHSQHW
Feel free to avail yourself of the Goodreads page, which contains an extended excerpt that you can read on your browser or download as a PDF.
As always, wishing for you to touch the sky and read fantasy,
A.E. Marling
February 15, 2014
Well written third person book. All the characters are described in great detail and the plot lines are well defined. Each character has his or her own description and personality. This book is one that keeps you captivated at each turn the story takes. A girl with a magical dress who feeds on fear is totally original. I knew I would like it the moment I heard about it. A.E. Marling is a superb author with a grand imagination. I won this book on the goodreads giveaways and it was worth it.
March 12, 2015
Enjoyable fantasy
It was a bit slow to start because I really didn't understand Celaise's magic, but once I got into it the story was really interesting. I like how all the key characters are flawed. No one is naturally a hero and everyone is second guessing their decisions...a very real feeling in a fictional setting.
..
It was a bit slow to start because I really didn't understand Celaise's magic, but once I got into it the story was really interesting. I like how all the key characters are flawed. No one is naturally a hero and everyone is second guessing their decisions...a very real feeling in a fictional setting.
..
October 9, 2014
Refreshingly unique fantasy.
Reading from a feaster's viewpoint may have been even more interesting than from the Elder Enchantress Hiresha's.
Reading from a feaster's viewpoint may have been even more interesting than from the Elder Enchantress Hiresha's.
December 6, 2012
I finished Gown of Shadow and Flame last night. It's an ambitious novel for young adults that takes on genre tropes in an interesting way. It's set in the Lands of Loam, the same general setting for Marling's "Enchantress" novels for adults.
What It's About
The book tells the story of Celaise, a town girl embarked on a trial, and Jerani, a member of a plains herding tribe. Celaise has been sent on a mission to contain the growing threat of a bizarre creature called a "headless" or a "rock-back" before they overrun the plains and attack the cities. Jerani's people are some of the most sorely afflicted. Jerani is one of the tribe's warriors, and has had to take full responsibility for his family much earlier than usual because his parents are both gone.
Described this way, it sounds like a standard quest novel. I suppose it is, but it has some very nonstandard participants.
Celaise is a Feaster, a person gifted (cursed?) with the ability to weave illusions that inspire fear. They take that fear and distill it into their Black Wine which grants them greater power and strength. This is the first way that the book departs from the standard tropes. Feasters are predators, and Celaise is no exception. Usually, a similar protagonist like a vampire would be reformed, regretful, and conflicted. Celaise's only regret is that the Lord of the Feast has forbidden her from feasting on humans during her trial. She's an active predator, and hates and distrusts her fellow humans. She's only helping these people because the Lord of the Feast can (and will) hurt or kill her if she disobeys. The Lord himself asks her to do it because he doesn't want the creatures bothering him and the other Feasters in the city.
Jerani is treated as an adult in his tribe, though a young one. He's a conscientious father figure to two younger siblings, and mostly happy with his lot. Doing the chores of a mother and a father takes its toll on him, but until the rock-backs start massing, he's pretty content. There are rivalries with other warriors, and a girl who won't look his way. Missing are the usual rebellion against authority, desires to get away and general lack of direction you frequently see with older teen protagonists in YA novels.
The setting itself adds another layer of originality to the story. The Lands of Loam show a mixture of influences from south-west Asian and African societies in the real world, with a healthy dose of originality thrown in. Jerani's plains-people are a simple and low-tech society whose lives center around their herds of huge-horned cattle. They live on the slope of a volcano (which they consider their goddess, the Angry Mother), trading the added fertility for crops and grazing for the occasional need to rebuild the village after an eruption. They distrust outsiders and their strange, sacrilegious ways.
Celaise has to find a way to use her power against the bizarre rock-back creatures, headless beasts with mouths on their chests and eyes on their shoulders, without being able to feed on humans to replenish herself. She can't allow the Greatheart tribe to learn she's a Feaster, or they'll drive her away at best, or kill her. She will need to overcome her enormous distrust of normal humans to work with the Greathearts and eliminate the threat. And finally, she has to figure out what the strange beasts are afraid of, or her magic will be useless.
Jerani becomes the liaison between his tribe and the beautiful stranger that comes among them. He thinks she may be an avatar of their goddess, or one or Her attendant beings. His younger brother is pushing hard to be accepted as a man and a warrior before he's ready. And their father hasn't been right since their mother died.
How I Liked It
After a bit of a shaky start, I ended up loving it. The characters (with a couple of exceptions) are complex and enjoyable. The setting is unusual and captivating. The choice to use an unrepentant murderer as a protagonist was interesting in itself. Celaise and Jerani's arcs of growth are believable and engaging. The clash of cultures was predictable in some ways, but original in others, and left me quite content.
Marling's fantasy is all informed by a healthy sense of the creepy and disturbing. The rock-backs continue this trend with their bizarre anatomy and faceless insectoid implacability.
I felt like this book worked on multiple levels. The most obvious is the quest-story. At the same time, Marling is dealing with questions of responsibility, maturity, and growth for Jerani. Trust, independence, and chemical dependence are themes that concerned Celaise. (There's a definite correlation between the amount of Black Wine she's been using and her mental processes.) Individual desires and growth vs. societal expectations and tradition are a fairly common theme with young adult protagonists in both adult and YA books, but Marling deals with his without resorting to iconoclasm or mindless conformity.
But...
The sheer amount of unusual or outright strange stuff is a lot to digest as the story gets going. In addition, he starts out just before things get bad in terms of the rock-back encroachment. Trying to get Jerani and Celaise into their respective places in the story, he switches back and forth between the two perspectives in the first chapter repeated. All these things together resulted in a bit of a herky-jerky feel at the start. It was more than worth it to ride this out, because once the stage is set, the story unfolds very well.
Summary
Title: Gown of Shadow and Flame
Author: A. E. Marling
Recommendation: Definitely recommended
Rating: 3.5/5
What It's About
The book tells the story of Celaise, a town girl embarked on a trial, and Jerani, a member of a plains herding tribe. Celaise has been sent on a mission to contain the growing threat of a bizarre creature called a "headless" or a "rock-back" before they overrun the plains and attack the cities. Jerani's people are some of the most sorely afflicted. Jerani is one of the tribe's warriors, and has had to take full responsibility for his family much earlier than usual because his parents are both gone.
Described this way, it sounds like a standard quest novel. I suppose it is, but it has some very nonstandard participants.
Celaise is a Feaster, a person gifted (cursed?) with the ability to weave illusions that inspire fear. They take that fear and distill it into their Black Wine which grants them greater power and strength. This is the first way that the book departs from the standard tropes. Feasters are predators, and Celaise is no exception. Usually, a similar protagonist like a vampire would be reformed, regretful, and conflicted. Celaise's only regret is that the Lord of the Feast has forbidden her from feasting on humans during her trial. She's an active predator, and hates and distrusts her fellow humans. She's only helping these people because the Lord of the Feast can (and will) hurt or kill her if she disobeys. The Lord himself asks her to do it because he doesn't want the creatures bothering him and the other Feasters in the city.
Jerani is treated as an adult in his tribe, though a young one. He's a conscientious father figure to two younger siblings, and mostly happy with his lot. Doing the chores of a mother and a father takes its toll on him, but until the rock-backs start massing, he's pretty content. There are rivalries with other warriors, and a girl who won't look his way. Missing are the usual rebellion against authority, desires to get away and general lack of direction you frequently see with older teen protagonists in YA novels.
The setting itself adds another layer of originality to the story. The Lands of Loam show a mixture of influences from south-west Asian and African societies in the real world, with a healthy dose of originality thrown in. Jerani's plains-people are a simple and low-tech society whose lives center around their herds of huge-horned cattle. They live on the slope of a volcano (which they consider their goddess, the Angry Mother), trading the added fertility for crops and grazing for the occasional need to rebuild the village after an eruption. They distrust outsiders and their strange, sacrilegious ways.
Celaise has to find a way to use her power against the bizarre rock-back creatures, headless beasts with mouths on their chests and eyes on their shoulders, without being able to feed on humans to replenish herself. She can't allow the Greatheart tribe to learn she's a Feaster, or they'll drive her away at best, or kill her. She will need to overcome her enormous distrust of normal humans to work with the Greathearts and eliminate the threat. And finally, she has to figure out what the strange beasts are afraid of, or her magic will be useless.
Jerani becomes the liaison between his tribe and the beautiful stranger that comes among them. He thinks she may be an avatar of their goddess, or one or Her attendant beings. His younger brother is pushing hard to be accepted as a man and a warrior before he's ready. And their father hasn't been right since their mother died.
How I Liked It
After a bit of a shaky start, I ended up loving it. The characters (with a couple of exceptions) are complex and enjoyable. The setting is unusual and captivating. The choice to use an unrepentant murderer as a protagonist was interesting in itself. Celaise and Jerani's arcs of growth are believable and engaging. The clash of cultures was predictable in some ways, but original in others, and left me quite content.
Marling's fantasy is all informed by a healthy sense of the creepy and disturbing. The rock-backs continue this trend with their bizarre anatomy and faceless insectoid implacability.
I felt like this book worked on multiple levels. The most obvious is the quest-story. At the same time, Marling is dealing with questions of responsibility, maturity, and growth for Jerani. Trust, independence, and chemical dependence are themes that concerned Celaise. (There's a definite correlation between the amount of Black Wine she's been using and her mental processes.) Individual desires and growth vs. societal expectations and tradition are a fairly common theme with young adult protagonists in both adult and YA books, but Marling deals with his without resorting to iconoclasm or mindless conformity.
But...
The sheer amount of unusual or outright strange stuff is a lot to digest as the story gets going. In addition, he starts out just before things get bad in terms of the rock-back encroachment. Trying to get Jerani and Celaise into their respective places in the story, he switches back and forth between the two perspectives in the first chapter repeated. All these things together resulted in a bit of a herky-jerky feel at the start. It was more than worth it to ride this out, because once the stage is set, the story unfolds very well.
Summary
Title: Gown of Shadow and Flame
Author: A. E. Marling
Recommendation: Definitely recommended
Rating: 3.5/5
December 11, 2012
I adore Hiresha (and though it frightens me to admit it, Tethiel), and I was so happy to add a new focal point in this world!
Marling has opened up a new land, of volcanic goddess-worshipping tribes and parasitic monsters.
Celaise is a Feaster, someone who feeds off of fear. She has been tasked by the Lord of the Feast to learn how to stop the Headless (the parasitic monsters) before she may feast on human fear again. Unfortunately, they're incredibly stupid and her illusions simply don't scare them. There's also the minor problem of a Bright Palm combing the grasslands, and destroying Feasters is one of their main reasons to exist. Soooo - starving, stuck in her mission, and evading certain death.
Jerani is a young warrior with a lot of problems, and somehow being chosen by a handmaiden of the Angry Mother hasn't helped as much as he had hoped. The rest of the tribe still speaks down to him, rock-backs are coming closer each night, and his little brother is determined to prove himself a man. Add to that the appearance of a man who looks like Jerani's father, but couldn't possibly be; the man is a Bright Palm, glowing with magic and ignoring the needs of his own family in search of a Feaster no one really believes is there.
Although he isn't actually a main character, Gio (Jerani's father) is a major catalyst. The reason he left, his reappearance, and the consequences of his actions really bring so much of the story about. I loved the drama focused around him; his relationship with Jerani and how it affected Jerani's relationship with Celaise. And oh, Celaise... I loved reading a Feaster's thoughts about herself and her kind. Loved it. She makes no bones about the fact that they frighten people to death, and while she may not come across as a hero, she doesn't come out as a villain, either. I loved the descriptions of her illusions; the depths of her dress and the worlds she can create within it. (I do think there's a lot of Quantum involved there.) Her devotion to the animals sweet and unexpected, and I can't help hoping there are deleted scenes somewhere with more of her sentimental side.
Watching her story merge with Jerani's was a fantastic read. I was worried at one point that the book was about to be over because everything seemed to be wrapping up with a nice little bow and then BAM! Plenty of new conflict and the story continues, leaving me with a definite sense of satisfaction.
I do think there is a lot to be gained by having read at least
first. Celaise makes several references to enchantresses, Bright Palms, and other parts of the world which are explained in BoB and
.
Marling has opened up a new land, of volcanic goddess-worshipping tribes and parasitic monsters.
Celaise is a Feaster, someone who feeds off of fear. She has been tasked by the Lord of the Feast to learn how to stop the Headless (the parasitic monsters) before she may feast on human fear again. Unfortunately, they're incredibly stupid and her illusions simply don't scare them. There's also the minor problem of a Bright Palm combing the grasslands, and destroying Feasters is one of their main reasons to exist. Soooo - starving, stuck in her mission, and evading certain death.
Jerani is a young warrior with a lot of problems, and somehow being chosen by a handmaiden of the Angry Mother hasn't helped as much as he had hoped. The rest of the tribe still speaks down to him, rock-backs are coming closer each night, and his little brother is determined to prove himself a man. Add to that the appearance of a man who looks like Jerani's father, but couldn't possibly be; the man is a Bright Palm, glowing with magic and ignoring the needs of his own family in search of a Feaster no one really believes is there.
Although he isn't actually a main character, Gio (Jerani's father) is a major catalyst. The reason he left, his reappearance, and the consequences of his actions really bring so much of the story about. I loved the drama focused around him; his relationship with Jerani and how it affected Jerani's relationship with Celaise. And oh, Celaise... I loved reading a Feaster's thoughts about herself and her kind. Loved it. She makes no bones about the fact that they frighten people to death, and while she may not come across as a hero, she doesn't come out as a villain, either. I loved the descriptions of her illusions; the depths of her dress and the worlds she can create within it. (I do think there's a lot of Quantum involved there.) Her devotion to the animals sweet and unexpected, and I can't help hoping there are deleted scenes somewhere with more of her sentimental side.
Watching her story merge with Jerani's was a fantastic read. I was worried at one point that the book was about to be over because everything seemed to be wrapping up with a nice little bow and then BAM! Plenty of new conflict and the story continues, leaving me with a definite sense of satisfaction.
I do think there is a lot to be gained by having read at least
first. Celaise makes several references to enchantresses, Bright Palms, and other parts of the world which are explained in BoB and
.
July 6, 2016
The action and fight scenes in Gown of Shadow and Flame are absolutely superb. Heart pounding, interesting, and incredibly detailed without being overwhelming. The switching perspectives allow for a more complete idea of the battles, so the picture painted in the readers' minds is rich in detail.
It is refreshing to read a book where there is a majority representation of non-white peoples. The only 'white' character in Gown of Shadow and Flame would be the Lord of the Feast, who only shows up a small number of times. This is good - even though it's fantasy, we need not white-wash our stories.
Fans of Marling's series will enjoy this book for the insight on how Feasters' magic works, how the Lord of the Feast treats his children, and how Bright Palms are completely freakin' creepy.
It is refreshing to read a book where there is a majority representation of non-white peoples. The only 'white' character in Gown of Shadow and Flame would be the Lord of the Feast, who only shows up a small number of times. This is good - even though it's fantasy, we need not white-wash our stories.
Fans of Marling's series will enjoy this book for the insight on how Feasters' magic works, how the Lord of the Feast treats his children, and how Bright Palms are completely freakin' creepy.
January 27, 2014
Wow! This is the first I've read of A E Marling, and I don't know what I was expecting but this wasnt it.
Beautifully written, the trials of Celaise (A poor bag of bones by day, and exotic deadly force by night) and Jerani (Scarred tribal warrior) intertwine. Thinking that she is a volcanic deity, and with good reason - The nightly apearance of an amazing magical gown and powers to die for- Celaise helps the tribe to protect their sacred herd. Jerani receives a gift from her which embodies the ngativity in Celaise- the assertion that trust and love lead only to humiliation and pain. There is so much to think about with the relationship between the pair, not forgetting what's happening with Celaise and her Master's test, and the difficulties with Jerani's family. There are concepts explored in this novel that encourage the reader to empathise with the character's perspectives in an intriguing way. This is a dark tale, but one that leaves the reader helpless to resist. I couldn't put the book down until it reached a satisfactory conclusion. Thankfully, it did, though Marling executed the process in an unexpected but definitely satisfying manner. I would recommend to readers 15 and upwards. It was a very well deserved 5 star piece from A E Marling, and I'll certainly seek out more from him.
Beautifully written, the trials of Celaise (A poor bag of bones by day, and exotic deadly force by night) and Jerani (Scarred tribal warrior) intertwine. Thinking that she is a volcanic deity, and with good reason - The nightly apearance of an amazing magical gown and powers to die for- Celaise helps the tribe to protect their sacred herd. Jerani receives a gift from her which embodies the ngativity in Celaise- the assertion that trust and love lead only to humiliation and pain. There is so much to think about with the relationship between the pair, not forgetting what's happening with Celaise and her Master's test, and the difficulties with Jerani's family. There are concepts explored in this novel that encourage the reader to empathise with the character's perspectives in an intriguing way. This is a dark tale, but one that leaves the reader helpless to resist. I couldn't put the book down until it reached a satisfactory conclusion. Thankfully, it did, though Marling executed the process in an unexpected but definitely satisfying manner. I would recommend to readers 15 and upwards. It was a very well deserved 5 star piece from A E Marling, and I'll certainly seek out more from him.
March 9, 2013
No magic ring, no swords, no knights, no castles... No problem. This is a stellar read. It is set in perhaps the least obvious setting for a fantasy tale and the stakes are not warring kingdoms or undead hordes but something more simple, more honest and achingly pure - the survival of tribe, family, and even the survival of that elusive bit within us we call our "self." The exploration of identity is both profound and understated - revealed through character actions rather than extended soliloquy and all the more elegant for it. Well written, well-constructed, and filled with compellingly imperfect characters, this is not one to miss! (I would recommend reading "Brood of Bones" first, not because this is a sequel but simply to establish context).
December 20, 2012
Gown of Shadow and Flame hit the spot for me. It is a good story well told. There are lots of layers that make you think, there is humour , love, danger, redemption, forgiveness and adventure of course! I really like the way A.E Marling writes, his words are so evocative and rich, reading his books is like living in a song.
Want to read
December 4, 2012Remembering Celeste from Brood of Bones I always thought she might have a fascinating back story. Hoping this will be as good as BoB was :)
July 4, 2013
Loved this. Not about my favorite Enchantress, but a very cool look into more of the world she lives in and the people there. As always this author delivers intriguing, well rounded, flawed and wonderful characters to love! Very good read! 5 stars to Mr. Marling!
August 29, 2013
I love this book and I'm beginning to love this author it was beautifully written and the ending made me smile <3
February 5, 2013
Fantastic-action filled and kept my attention from the first page all the way to the last page. I hope there will be a second book on Celaise and Jerani's travels and adventures-smile
April 26, 2013
I do love these books :)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews