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The Blade in the Deeps
Under the towering peaks of the Labyrinth Mountains, deep within the serpentine caves of the Havens, light is the only wealth that counts. And for those without inherited privilege or power, the sky is a myth and the sun a god that turned its face away from their poverty.
In the darkest corners of the Havens’ civilization, creatures of blue radiance called sinileva grow at the edge of cavern pools. These simple lifeforms are the only light that can touch the darkness of the Deeps and the people that dwell there. Yet even this light has fallen under the control of the Ydin city nobility.
Fiiri, a young boy from the Deeps along the outskirts of Ydin, is ready to leave his life of pools and caverns behind to become a Guardian. But with the death of his father, he has inherited a sinileva pool that was never meant to be his. Now, he must choose between who he wants to be, and who he needs to be. All his life, he had dreamed of becoming a Guardian, learning to harness powers that would take him out of this world of darkness. Yet how can he take that path alone while so many need a Guardian who is willing to do more than simply escape?
In the darkest corners of the Havens’ civilization, creatures of blue radiance called sinileva grow at the edge of cavern pools. These simple lifeforms are the only light that can touch the darkness of the Deeps and the people that dwell there. Yet even this light has fallen under the control of the Ydin city nobility.
Fiiri, a young boy from the Deeps along the outskirts of Ydin, is ready to leave his life of pools and caverns behind to become a Guardian. But with the death of his father, he has inherited a sinileva pool that was never meant to be his. Now, he must choose between who he wants to be, and who he needs to be. All his life, he had dreamed of becoming a Guardian, learning to harness powers that would take him out of this world of darkness. Yet how can he take that path alone while so many need a Guardian who is willing to do more than simply escape?
- GenresFantasyComing Of Age
179 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 27, 2023
7 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 31, 2023
This was an absolutely amazing introduction into the world of the Soul Forge Cycle. Auryn Kent has an amazing writing style that is easy to read and yet paints a vivid picture of the unique world she has created. The world of darkness in which the story takes place is different to most fantasy realms, and yet easy to picture and understand the mechanics due to the clear storytelling and scene setting used. Story and setting are weaved together seamlessly, keeping the story engaging while also providing an in-depth (pun intended - you will get it once you read it) understanding of the world. Fiiri is a dynamic character who is relatable and understandable, while still having the character of a hero that we aspire to be. Whenever I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was proven wrong, keeping me hungry for more and unable to put the book down. This will be a bestseller in no time. I cannot wait to start Book 1: The Wood and the Labyrinth.
December 30, 2023
I got this as a Voracious Reads and OMG!! It is a wonderful introduction to the series and it has hooked me completely. There's everything and so friggin' awesome. It gives you so many intriguing questions that have to be answered and sucks you right into the story, I'm so excited! I have so many books but a good clue as to how good I find a book is that I put them all aside to read something I've found...this is one of those, all my other books have been put aside to read these. Josa...I so need to find out more about Josa.
November 14, 2023
Content:
Language: None.
Violence: Mild. There are perilous situations, a lot of chasing, but very little in the way of 'on screen' blood or violence depicted.
Sexual: None.
Content warning: There is a drug addiction portrayed in this fantasy realm but it's not a main plot point, just a part of this world, as it is a part of ours.
Really about a 4.5 rating.
The prologue hooked me. It starts with a splash and had me wondering just who the bad guy was within this fantasy scape. And who that baby would end up being.
Fiiri is easy to like and root for as the protagonist to what I hope will be a continued series. This poor kid just gets kicked repeatedly while he's down, but he's the type of determined soul that I adore reading in literature: he never gives up even when he sincerely thinks he's lost. He just keeps hoping that maybe, even if it isn't him that fixes things, that he can do something to help. He's not the perfect hero, he's a 13-year-old kid who has lived a tough life in the darkest places. But not without being loved, and having true friends.
The world building here is vivid. you sorta get thrown into the deep end, and the way things are written there isn't exposition explaining anything, you just live with the characters and learn through their eyes and thoughts. It's not what I typically like because frankly, I'm lazy. This was a great example of subtlety and craft. It's harder to write that way and weave a world into being through immersion, but that is exactly what you get with The Blade in the Deeps. The feel and tone is alive from the first page and only deepens (slight pun) from there.
I can't wait to discover more about this world as the author has said this is the first of Fiiri's story. I want to know if he returns to the Deeps for and I want to know more about the corruption that the Shepherd is obviously fighting and why woodborn are scorned? Why people seem to have different eye colors depending on where they are born, and also how in the world they somehow have telepathy. The Sinileva are fascinating, and the fact that light is a huge economy rather than fire? Can they not burn wood? I'm intrigued.
It's obvious a lot of love and care went into the world building and the characters. Josa and Achernar are such fun characters and I can't wait to see how they support Fiiri's quest. This has such a unique feel to it, something you see only in the best of high fantasy. I'm thrilled to also say it's clean! So hard to find a clean fantasy at this high quality! I've gotten burned too many times to not go into high or epic fantasy without tensing for explicit content. Thank you author for giving me quality without that ick-factor. Bless you.
I look forward to the next installment!
Language: None.
Violence: Mild. There are perilous situations, a lot of chasing, but very little in the way of 'on screen' blood or violence depicted.
Sexual: None.
Content warning: There is a drug addiction portrayed in this fantasy realm but it's not a main plot point, just a part of this world, as it is a part of ours.
Really about a 4.5 rating.
The prologue hooked me. It starts with a splash and had me wondering just who the bad guy was within this fantasy scape. And who that baby would end up being.
Fiiri is easy to like and root for as the protagonist to what I hope will be a continued series. This poor kid just gets kicked repeatedly while he's down, but he's the type of determined soul that I adore reading in literature: he never gives up even when he sincerely thinks he's lost. He just keeps hoping that maybe, even if it isn't him that fixes things, that he can do something to help. He's not the perfect hero, he's a 13-year-old kid who has lived a tough life in the darkest places. But not without being loved, and having true friends.
The world building here is vivid. you sorta get thrown into the deep end, and the way things are written there isn't exposition explaining anything, you just live with the characters and learn through their eyes and thoughts. It's not what I typically like because frankly, I'm lazy. This was a great example of subtlety and craft. It's harder to write that way and weave a world into being through immersion, but that is exactly what you get with The Blade in the Deeps. The feel and tone is alive from the first page and only deepens (slight pun) from there.
I can't wait to discover more about this world as the author has said this is the first of Fiiri's story. I want to know if he returns to the Deeps for and I want to know more about the corruption that the Shepherd is obviously fighting and why woodborn are scorned? Why people seem to have different eye colors depending on where they are born, and also how in the world they somehow have telepathy. The Sinileva are fascinating, and the fact that light is a huge economy rather than fire? Can they not burn wood? I'm intrigued.
It's obvious a lot of love and care went into the world building and the characters. Josa and Achernar are such fun characters and I can't wait to see how they support Fiiri's quest. This has such a unique feel to it, something you see only in the best of high fantasy. I'm thrilled to also say it's clean! So hard to find a clean fantasy at this high quality! I've gotten burned too many times to not go into high or epic fantasy without tensing for explicit content. Thank you author for giving me quality without that ick-factor. Bless you.
I look forward to the next installment!
March 23, 2024
I received a complimentary copy from VRO.
Now while I understand many people would probably like this book, I just didn't.
I love to read fantasy, the weirder the better, but I just couldn't get into this, every time I picked it up to read I only managed a few pages. With time ticking along so slowly while reading those pages, I realised I was just not enjoying it.
However, from what I did read, it was written well. I could tell there was some kind of theme I was possibly missing? What I understood really was mining, cave like areas, swimming pools of light that power cave type residences, and some kind of bubble lady? And some gem stones that were laid out in an unexplained symbol, with a blade that could be picked up instead of said stones, an underwater outside forest/garden place, fish skin junkies.
That's really all I could cope with.
There's a lot going on and none of it really has much context, I believe this is due to the fact it's a short story and everything is just rushed.
I made it to around 44% and still had no clue what the purpose of mentioning most of said things were. 🤷🏻♀️
Perhaps I shall retry it one day, as I did initially like the prologue, which seemed very interesting, more up my alley, but it changed so much from what I'd expected from that prologue to the actual bulk of the story that I didn't expect to be disappointed from there on out.
Also, I had no fricking clue how to mentally pronounce the characters names, well some.
I also just couldn't bond with them, no connection to keep me invested in their journeys.
So for now, this one, for me personally is a DNF.
A sad 2* from me.
Sorry.
If I reread and change my opinion, I shall update my rating/review accordingly.
Now while I understand many people would probably like this book, I just didn't.
I love to read fantasy, the weirder the better, but I just couldn't get into this, every time I picked it up to read I only managed a few pages. With time ticking along so slowly while reading those pages, I realised I was just not enjoying it.
However, from what I did read, it was written well. I could tell there was some kind of theme I was possibly missing? What I understood really was mining, cave like areas, swimming pools of light that power cave type residences, and some kind of bubble lady? And some gem stones that were laid out in an unexplained symbol, with a blade that could be picked up instead of said stones, an underwater outside forest/garden place, fish skin junkies.
That's really all I could cope with.
There's a lot going on and none of it really has much context, I believe this is due to the fact it's a short story and everything is just rushed.
I made it to around 44% and still had no clue what the purpose of mentioning most of said things were. 🤷🏻♀️
Perhaps I shall retry it one day, as I did initially like the prologue, which seemed very interesting, more up my alley, but it changed so much from what I'd expected from that prologue to the actual bulk of the story that I didn't expect to be disappointed from there on out.
Also, I had no fricking clue how to mentally pronounce the characters names, well some.
I also just couldn't bond with them, no connection to keep me invested in their journeys.
So for now, this one, for me personally is a DNF.
A sad 2* from me.
Sorry.
If I reread and change my opinion, I shall update my rating/review accordingly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2024
This is an interesting first book in a fantasy series about a 13 year boy and the trials and tribulations he goes through following the death of his father. Every character he meets along the way bring just as much to the story as he does, and it will be intriguing to see how they all develop and whether they will aid Fiiri in his journey.
The world and character movements are described in great detail, although I felt this sometimes distracted you from the story as you had to really concentrate so as not to lose the thread of the plot.
Throughout the book there were gripping sections which made you truly feel for Fiiri and want to cheer him on. I did struggle to keep my focus on the book between these though, in some ways it almost felt like there was too much to follow.
This book was received from the author through Voracious Readers Only.
The world and character movements are described in great detail, although I felt this sometimes distracted you from the story as you had to really concentrate so as not to lose the thread of the plot.
Throughout the book there were gripping sections which made you truly feel for Fiiri and want to cheer him on. I did struggle to keep my focus on the book between these though, in some ways it almost felt like there was too much to follow.
This book was received from the author through Voracious Readers Only.
January 5, 2024
This was a good, fast read I picked up over Thanksgiving break that left me wanting more. It was well written and the plot kept you engaged. The characters were well developed and have distinct personalities which makes you really love or hate them. There was so much more I wanted to know about this world by the end of this book. I wanted the next book then and there. I can’t wait.
March 18, 2024
I received this book through Voracious Readers and the Epilogue caught me right away. The first few chapters after that was a slow build getting into, but the author vividly paints a picture of the world and the characters. I also felt emotional ties to the MC and really felt for his story. I am interested to see how the rest of the series plays out.
September 13, 2024
This book was hard to follow starting out. Then the perspective switches randomly for the epilogue. You can tell for this short story that the author tried to keep everything short and sweet but was lacking many details and world building. I liked the concept of the book once I was able to figure out what was going on for the most part.
February 3, 2024
Very interesting. The author has created a different world. The main characters are extremely likable, and their choices keep you reading to see what happens next. Look forward to book two.
This book was received from the author through Voracious Readers Only.
This book was received from the author through Voracious Readers Only.
February 10, 2024
This book has beautiful descriptions of imagery that make you feel like you are in the story with Fiiri, the main character. The world that is in this book is well built and makes you wonder more about it. As soon as the book ends you want to know what happens next. Can't wait for the next book!
November 27, 2023
Confusing and boring
Plot is hard to follow and background of people and places occur at different places in story making it hard to follow.
Plot is hard to follow and background of people and places occur at different places in story making it hard to follow.
January 24, 2025
The Blade in the Deeps
Very good read couldn’t put it down. Read in a few hours. I recommend it for everyone. Looking for the next book.
Very good read couldn’t put it down. Read in a few hours. I recommend it for everyone. Looking for the next book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews