A Song of Legends Lost

Invoker Trilogy #1

by M.H. Ayinde

'A relentlessly gripping, glorious epic fantasy - the exhilarating must-read fantasy debut of 2025'
Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne

A SONG OF REBELLION. A SONG OF WAR. A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST.

In the kingdom of Nine Lands, only warriors of noble blood can summon their ancestors to fight with them in battle. But when Temi, a commoner from the slums, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she finds it could hold the key to ending a centuries-long war.

But as secrets long buried come to light, Temi will learn that not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor, and some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine.

'A Song of Legends Lost is stunning and vividly told . . . Ayinde is a master storyteller, and readers are in good hands from the very first pages to the very last'
Andrea Stewart, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Shard Daughter

'A whirlwind debut of ferocious talent and compulsive storytelling that lifts you up from the first page and never lets go. It's joyous from end to end - and highly recommended!'
Lavie Tidhar, World Fantasy Award-winning author

'An epic tale of conflict, betrayal, and intrigue . . . M. H. Ayinde weaves a rich and engrossing story through a unique and fascinating world'
Anthony Ryan, author of Blood Song

Genres: Fantasy, Adult, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Fiction, Queer, Science Fiction

593 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 8, 2025

About the author

M. H. Ayinde is the Sunday Times bestselling author of epic fantasy novel A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST (Orbit UK/Saga Press). Her short fiction has appeared in FIYAH Literary Magazine, F&SF, Fantasy Magazine, and elsewhere, and she was the 2021 winner of the Future Worlds Prize. She is a runner, a lapsed martial artist, and a screen time enthusiast. She lives in London with three generations of her family and their Studio Ghibli obsession.
Find her on Bluesky / Instagram / TikTok as @mhayinde

Reviews

[Petrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.

A Song of Legends Lost is a Final Fantasy X inspired debut with magic summons reminiscent of Spirit Shaman King or Stand from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

Since I saw the beautiful cover art by Richard Anderson, I was instantly hooked on checking out A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde. This interest was multiplied after hearing that this is an epic fantasy debut novel. As we all know, an epic fantasy debut without heavy romance elements is rare now in the traditionally published fantasy market. The massive success of Fourth Wing has pretty much changed the trajectory and focus of most traditional publishers to search for more romantasy success. This is totally understandable. It is where the money is. And it is very likely that a debut like A Song of Legends Lost, a fantasy debut with pretty much zero romance, won’t reach the success many romantasy books do these days. However, I do sincerely hope this book earns enough sales for it to continue. And for more traditional publishers to publish more debuts like this again. As far as my reading taste goes, A Song of Legends Lost is the kind of epic fantasy debut I like to read, and I wish there was more of it like it was before.

The story in A Song of Legends Lost takes place in the Nine Lands, where only those of noble blood can summon the spirits of their ancestors to fight in battle. But when Temi, a commoner from the slums, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she finds it could hold the key to ending a centuries-long war. But as always, not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor. And some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine. From this official blurb, it is easy to conclude that Temi is the main character of A Song of Legends Lost. While it is true she is one of my favorite POV characters to read in the book, she is not the only main character.

Told from five main POV characters, Temi is one of the main characters, but she does not dominate the narrative. Not at all. This is a story about family, vengeance, cultures, classes, identity, and heritage. Noble versus commoners, and also survival. Ayinde uses five integral main characters of different identities, personalities, and heritage to explore these themes deeply. Temi, Jinao, Boleo, Elari, and Runt. These are the five main characters of A Song of Legends Lost, and this book is undoubtedly a slow-burn character-driven epic fantasy novel. I enjoyed reading every perspective, but even though Jinao has the most pages, Temi and Runt were the most compelling of the characters, in my opinion. Additionally, there were multiple clans and several key supporting characters. Readers who do not like reading epic fantasy with a relatively large cast of characters with zero romance might be turned off by A Song of Legends Lost, but it was the other way around for me.

Picture: Father Boleo by La Draws



This, however, brings me to my next point. If there is one thing that did not click with me as much as I hoped, it was the story structure. Readers are put into Temi and Jinao's perspective for the entirety of Part 1. About 130 pages long. After this, for roughly 300 pages long, Temi did not have another POV chapter. She became almost non-existent in the storyline for a long time, and I wish we could've gotten more of her in Part 2 and Part 3 of the novel, even just a little bit. This is not to say Jinao, Boleo, and Elari's stories were uninteresting. And thankfully, the big focus on them did influence the events of the last sections of A Song of Legends Lost. But for my enjoyment, I would have enjoyed seeing the chapters being spread out more evenly. That said, this is a minor issue in the grander scheme of things.

Picture: A Song of Legends Lost by Richard Anderson



Speaking of my enjoyment of the novel, the coolest aspect of A Song of Legends Lost was the battle, summons, and the world. Each clan has its own Ancestor and sacred weapon. Two examples. Clan Adatali has the Eight Sacred Blades, and Clan Mizito has the Staff ‘Stillness’. The actions, especially when the characters summon their respective Ancestors, were exciting. Look at the badass cover art. It is exactly like that. Think of it like how Yuna from Final Fantasy X summon her Aeon to fight for her in battle. Or like how the Spirits in Shaman King and the Stand in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure work. Everything contributed to an unputdownable climax sequence where hell broke loose.

Picture: Yoh and Amidamaru from Shaman King



One last thing I can definitely tell you what to expect from A Song of Legends Lost is scope. There is no doubt this is a sprawling epic fantasy with intricate world-building. It is set in a non-Western inspired world, and there were clear inspirations from Yoruba culture and, as I said earlier, Final Fantasy X in the world-building. Ancient civilizations, mysterious technologies, and glyphs, to name a few. These are evident elements in A Song of Legends Lost, and you will read the characters explore ruins to find the secret behind them. I liked learning about the history of the world. And I look forward to finding out how everything will unravel in the sequel.

A Song of Legends Lost is great epic fantasy debut. It is Final Fantasy X meets Shaman King. I am grateful epic fantasy debuts like this are still being published by traditional publishers. For a while now, my only options for epic fantasy books were limited to established authors or indie fantasy books. And they were undoubtedly amazing. However, it feels refreshing to have more epic fantasy options again. It also feels nostalgic to see an epic fantasy debut in this vein being traditionally published again. An author pouring their dream and every part of their soul into their first publication is always something I like to witness, and I am glad the Song of Legends Lost is sung. It is not lost. It is heard. And may it continue to be invoked.

You can order this book from: Amazon | Blackwells (Free International shipping)

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!

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[ଘRory · Rating 3 out of 5]

☆☆☆
As a reader who usually sticks to sweet romance, "A Song of Legends Lost" was a real journey, and one I'm so glad I took. M.H. Ayinde has built a world that is so rich and complex it's hard to believe this is her debut novel. From the very first chapter, I was completely captivated by the world of the Nine Lands, where only the elite can summon powerful ancestral spirits.
This setup immediately made me ask: "What if?" The story follows Temi, a commoner just trying to survive, who accidentally invokes an ancestor spirit herself. This one "oops" has the potential to shake up a centuries-long war and challenge the entire social structure. I loved this premise and the unique African-inspired setting, which felt fresh and vibrant. The world-building was a major highlight for me.

While I loved the world and the plot, the pacing was a bit of a challenge. The book is told from multiple perspectives, and I often felt like the writer was jumping between characters too quickly. Just as I started to get invested in one character's story, the chapter would end, and I'd be thrown into the perspective of someone new. This kept me from connecting deeply with any one character, which was a little frustrating.

Despite the shifting perspectives, I still found "A Song of Legends Lost" to be an excellent read. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat, and the world-building was so immersive that I was always asking what would happen next. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique, complex fantasy that isn't afraid to break away from common tropes. It's an impressive debut, and I can't wait to see what M.H. Ayinde writes next. As we say in French, chapeau!

[William Gwynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

BookTube channel with my awesome brother, Ed - The Brothers Gwynne
My personal BookTube channel - William Gwynne

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of A Song of Legends Lost from Orbit Books in return for an honest review.

The worldbuilding, the premise and the beats of this story truly is unique. The word “fresh” is often bandied around too easily, so I do not use that term lightly when I say A Song of Legends really is a dose of fresh fantasy.

We have noble families summoning their ancestors to aid them in battle, then we have the strange hoards of “greybloods” slowly pushing back humanity, lowbloods (basically peasants) just trying to survive a tough world and many, many hidden secrets. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle of this story, and it easily could have gone out of control. Ayinde did a fantastic job keeping the reader on the trail of breadcrumbs, whilst not overwhelming them in this rich world with so many mysteries.

There is a great variety of characters, from Jinao, a noble seen as a failure by his mother, all the way to Runt, a commoner who will do anything to keep her brother alive. We have five PoVs all with their own strengths. I really appreciated how each showed a different sense of society that often changed your perception of different characters based on their position in this hierarchical social structure, and also by how different groups are viewed by others. Basically my only hurdle to absolutely loving A Song of Legends Lost was some of the structural decisions. There were some early characters I adored following, but then we did not see them for a few hundred pages. I felt this lost the tension of that particular plotline, and slowed down the build-up of momentum.

Apart from that however, I thoroughly enjoyed how we bounce from character to character. Many are far apart in this expansive landscape, with very different predicaments, but it was awesome seeing how their stories also unknowingly impacted the trajectories of others. It really felt like there were consequences to the actions of our characters. Something truly awesome to see!

A Song of Legends Lost is definitely something you should pick up if you are looking for some epic fantasy with a wide cast of characters and also a fresh, unique story that will keep you on your toes with twists and turns and revelations that shock you. To be shocked shows that you as a reader are invested in the story unfolding, so I can definitely say that I was engaged, and cannot wait to see where this story goes next.

4/5 STARS

[Krysta ꕤ]

dnf @ 47%

i thought i would really love this, but the pacing is dragging a little too much for me right now. there’s also A LOT of characters and while the world building is interesting, I’m not connecting to anything at all. so, I’m gonna put this one down for now unfortunately.

↛ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Saga Press for the arc, all opinions are my own.

[M.H. Ayinde · Rating 5 out of 5]

For content warnings, please go here:
https://www.mhayinde.com/trigger-warn...

Just popping up to leave a few notes about what to expect from this book, then I'll be disappearing again and leaving this space to readers! A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST is the first book in the Invoker Trilogy, and in it you'll find:

* A big, complex world inspired by multiple pre-colonial cultures.
* Five main POVs
* Ancestor magic, plus a magic system based on ancient tech
* Queernorm setting
* A massive cast of characters
* Prologue and epilogues (plural!)
* Monsters, battles, and fight scenes
* Explorations of identity, history, and family dynamics
* Lost civilisations
* Cat with secret

This book is an epic with a capital E and I wrote it with my whole heart. Enjoy!

[Books_the_Magical_Fruit · Rating 5 out of 5]

The worldbuilding is this unique tale is absolutely amazing! Five stars all the way.

I will say, give yourself some time to figure out who’s who, because the sheer number of characters will probably make your head spin at first…but it gets easier. I read the cast of characters list at the beginning and understood almost nothing, so I recommend checking back periodically to read that and also look at the map provided to help you deduce who and where.

I’m always really excited when I find a new fantasy author, and M.H. Ayinde is a very exciting find!

It’s better to go into this one blind and let the story take you along with it. Like I mentioned, it’s very unique.

Go read this!

Thanks to NetGalley and S&S/Saga Press for an eARC! All opinions are my own.

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was highly recommended by my favourite booktuber and the book is smothered in accolades. As usual, you should never believe the hype*.

It's fine if you love diverse culturally-inspired worldbuilding and that's enough for you to drive a story. I have come to loathe this approach. All I read is, "Hey, here are the things that people believe in this world I made up. Oh, but the truth is actually something else, and I will slowly reveal this to you by adding complications that muddle the earlier framings and eventually by the end of book 3 will reveal what's actually going on. Aren't you surprised? Isn't it deeply moving that this made up stuff is actually this other made up stuff? Even though the initial information is obviously full of holes but the characters just accept it unquestioningly?" It's painfully artificial, with a clear sense of the author's hand present at all times.

Even that can work if delivered through a potent character lens, if the real story is an engaging character's experience. I found none of that here. These are not complex characters; they have at best two characteristics apiece. They don't take actions or make choices that drive the story; they are merely jerked around by the plot, constantly reacting to events orchestrated by everyone who knows more than they and the reader do. At no point did I sense genuine emotion on display, only the description of each character's single emotional beat.

The characters are naive, incurious, and obtuse, and not in an interesting way. It doesn't help that on the rare occasion a POV character asks someone a direct question about WTF is going on, the only responses are vague, nonsensical mutterings that will only possibly make sense to the reader once you're more books into the series. This speaks to the book's strong avoidance of exposition, which is a worthy goal. No one likes an info dump. But again, it draws attention to the author willfully withholding information for ostensible dramatic purposes later. That's a lousy way to tell a story.

There was one potential POV character that I could have held onto: Temi, only because she's vulnerable. The book's blurb promised a major role for her, an inciting incident, but the blurb lied. It mischaracterized the event, which didn't occur until 25% into the book anyway. Even so there was potential interest with her storyline, but oops, she then vanishes from the book for 300 pages. Instead, each of the book's five parts introduced new POV characters to further drip out worldbuilding complications. I suppose this is "expanding the story" but, again, this is a lousy way to tell a story. It merely emphasizes that the main purpose of the story is the worldbuilding. Not the human experience, not a character's journey, not a reflection of ourselves, just some cool ideas someone had, layered onto a basic socioeconomic and class framework.

It's part of a trend I see in contemporary fantasy novels. A trend towards worldbuilding as a be-all and end-all of epic fantasy, towards treating your lore document or magic system as the story itself. Is this Sandersonization at work? Whatever it is, I hate it. At least Sanderson has his characters actively and intetionally change their world.

Maybe I could have been soothed by luscious, poetic, creative prose, but there's none of that here either. The words were just so .... plain. They were efficient, they said what they meant to, it's not bad writing. It was just painfully ordinary. I kept looking for a sentence, any sentence, that I could spend a moment digesting, something delicious and never written before, but I found nothing. The use of dialect, for the lowborn classes, was clumsy. The writing was only slightly effective at evoking a genuine, living environment for the characters to dwell in. Elevated prose isn't necessary for every piece of fantasy fiction, but it's something I find I need more and more, and its lack is one more disappointing thing from this book.

Where does the book succeed? If its goal was to deliver the type of experience I lament, one in which worldbuilding is key and forcing characters to endure the gradual revelation of the external truth about their own lives is the intended path to a dramatic reader experience, it did this well. If that turns your crank and you don't need any of the other stuff I do, you may find this book fascinating. The book's epilogues (yes, multiple, there are three of them) deliver brand new POVs to twist your socks off, if you give the slightest damn up to that point. And the multiple cultural inspirations that went into the worldbuilding find a home here. The video that propelled this book onto my to-read list said it was African-inspired, but I found it more drawn from South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures, with additional details, like the author, in the back-of-book Q&A, cited diverse Indigenous traditions of ancestor worship as a major factor, and, say, the macuahuitl (a spiked club) which is Mesoamerican. It's a whole smorgasbord (Swedish) of culture. That's all good, were it surrounded by excellent storytelling.

Reading a disappointing book is a dreary experience, made worse by all the times you think of the books that did every aspect so beautifully, and why can't this book be more like any of those? I should not be reminded frequently of other things that are so much better, but that was this book for me. For books that are equally devoid of exposition, but for which the worldbuilding details were merely a delicious treat that fall your way while you experience a deep, authentic character, try Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings. For something with truly immersive worldbuilding, lush with inspiration from multiple Asian cultures and an utterly unique story, try Spirit Gate and sequels by Kate Elliott. My most vivid recent experiences of entrancing, poetic prose and satisfying wordcraft come from Josiah Bancroft and Christopher Buehlman. I want, nay, need more overall effective fantasy storytelling from someone who really gets it, like The Dragon's Path. I would love to diversify my reading further, but I feel psychically hurt these days when I encounter merely the average or worse.

I could have DNF'd. I should have DNF'd; I knew I wasn't likely to enjoy the rest after the first quarter. But the same booktuber,Willow Talks Books, whom I still adore and trust to bring me outstanding, intelligent book-related videos, made another recent video arguing that "It is never okay to DNF a book," and I should probably have watched the second half in which she talks about great reasons to DNF (balance!) BEFORE I powered through with this one. I joke; of course I knew it would have been entirely legitimate to bail, but given the passionate recommendation, the debut author status, the need to read two more new-to-me epic fantasy authors this year for an also-entirely-self-imposed reading challenge, and the desire to more strongly grasp and be able to express what I found deficient, I carried on. Choices were made.

*Except about Dungeon Crawler Carl, but that's grassroots hype. This book's hype originated from the publisher. Maybe that's the difference.

[Nigel · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some good stuff here however it is a bit long and the "cast" is vast - didn't grip me.

In full
This is the first book in a series and is very wide ranging. It is understood that only those of noble birth can call on their ancestors to help them particularly in battle. However, as is often the case, whatever is widely believed and understood, might not be the reality. This book opens with a priest investigating a large Blackglass relic, the cursed remains of a civilisation best forgotten. Priests are seen as those necessary to sanitise such relics so that they don't harm anyone. It is interesting that, despite being a relic, it appears that someone may have emerged from it very recently… From here we come across Temi as she encounters someone who "is not a witch". The outcome of this is interesting and leaves Temi with a follower who may look like a cat but isn't one. I was intrigued!

There are four fairly sizable parts to this book and in each part there are chapters taking the views of various main characters. The story is basically linear however because it is spread over a number of characters (and over 4 parts) I did find it hard sometimes to pick up the threads again. There are quite a few places and concepts involved in this. Some of the characters in this book I really found interesting and wanted to journey with. Temi is unquestionably one of them. Runt and maybe Boleo would also be in that category. A few of the others characters I never really got into and that made their parts of the narrative feel slow.

The world building here is massive. Possibly helpfully there is a cast list at the start that lists various characters including those from the seven clans. In general large cast lists leave me a little worried that I might not keep track of people well enough and that was definitely the case here. All in all some of this was really interesting and well done. But for me there was just too much and quite a few parts simply left me wanting to get back to characters I liked. It really felt so vast and varied I think it was a bit much for me in all honesty. That said it is very well worked out and planned and does have some great ideas and good characters.

Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A predicted five stars.

Chosen nobles can summon ancestor spirits to fight, but a commoner, Temi, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit whilst caught in a mess against cutthroat criminals.
Then, we have Jinao, one of the nobles, but cast to the side because he has never summon his ancestor.

There are numerous other POVs and I think this was part of the reason I didn’t enjoy this as much as I expected to. I love multi-POV epic fantasies, but I never felt fully settled in one character. I think we have five POVs, with some introduced in parts 2 and 3.

Inspired by pre-colonial Africa and other diverse cultures, I enjoyed being in something that wasn’t Western. However, I wish I was more immersed. I wanted more description and use of the five senses.

You are dropped into this world with little explanation of anything and this does continue throughout.

This seems to be a sci fantasy, and I hope it leans into the sci fi in future instalments. If anyone gets the reference, I want Wondla.

There is no romance which is refreshing. I didn’t even realise the lack of it until I came to write my review.

I liked some of the ending reveals, even if I was waiting for a few of them (again, I think it’s just because I’ve read so many books with similar beats that I recognised it here). However, I expect there is a lot more in store for us.

Arc gifted by publisher.

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[CarlysGrowingTBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

A high fantasy epic that contains ancient gods, long-term wars, and rebellion.

Book Stats:
📖: 592 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Format: Physical ARC
Series: Book 1 of The Invoker Trilogy

Themes:
🎵 : Rebellion and War
🎵: Having faith in yourself

Representation:
🥀: Multiple pre-colonial cultures
🥀: Black cast

Tropes:
💗: Crime families
💗: Technology as magic
💗: Queer normative world


🥵: Spice: 🚫
Potential Triggers: **check authors page/socials for full list.

Short Synopsis:
A generations long war of being fought and a final stand is being made. Ancestral gods may be summoned to intervene. But will they create more chaos than help?!

General Thoughts:
This is a high fantasy epic that has cinematic battle scenes and ancient gods. Despite having a high number of POVs (5) it managed to be refreshing and easy to follow. Ancient monsters and creative plot twists kept be engaged despite dragging a tag in the middle for me.

The characters really shined for me in this novel. They all felt relatable and easy to root for. Temi was a personal favorite as she felt very layered and personable. I enjoyed her particular storyline the most.

The battle scenes were movie quality and action packed. I enjoyed glee they lasted more than a few paragraphs and made the reader feel like they were watching everything unfold.

Overall, I enjoyed this first installment and can't wait for the next release.

Disclaimer: I read this book via physical ARC from orbit. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson]

Ancestral magic that can be used in battle?! "A tale of rebellion and revenge"?! Apparently this book also explores stolen histories too..!! I feel like I've been waiting for this epic fantasy trilogy my whole life, and the author of this is *so* talented. Couldn't be more excited, bring on 2025.

[Maeghan 🦋 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5✨
« Can’t is a dangerous word, best used sparingly, my friend. »

A solid High & Epic Fantasy debut! I had so much fun with this. It was extremely unique and entertaining. I highly recommend this!

It follows A LOT of characters but I was invested in every single one of them! Each part has their assigned characters and I couldn’t get enough. The ending was extremely satisfying and I can’t wait to read the rest of this series. This is one I will reread.

Surprisingly, a lot of the plot twists took me by surprise and I gasped at a few of them. How some things came together was extremely well thought out. The good vs evil was actually brain wracking and I can’t wait to find out more about everything. It was a very unique & phenomenal story. I couldn’t get enough!

« Even now, you do not give up! How right she was. No matter how many times she knocked you down, you rose up stronger. That is why she chose you, you know. Because you were strongest where it mattered most. »

——•pre read
This is probably my favourite Illumicrate edition. It’s breathtaking!

[Bridgit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a strong debut. Some pacing and structural issues held it back a bit for me. I think the author had a ton of huge, grandiose ideas and maybe didn't fully know how to pull them all together, but am hoping that is just 'first-book problems'.

Author did a great job keeping the reader on their toes and not really knowing what to expect from which characters, who is good, who is bad, who is just gray. Very interesting magic system, fresh ideas that I haven't seen before and am looking forward to seeing where it goes in the next book.
probably a 3.75 for me, mostly for pacing and some clairty issues.

[AndaReadsTooMuch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daaaaaaaaaamn. This was probably one of the coolest sci-fi and high-fantasy books I’ve read in a long time! It was so unique, I’m really at a loss for words. There’s a blending of precolonial cultures with modern technology that is spooled out so carefully, you are completely captured by it. The problem is, it’s so woven together, that I can’t talk in any detail about it without spoiling major developments in the book. You can tell that Ayinde has such a love of science fiction and fantasy, it comes through in every character she gives us. I also highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator, Jerry Myre Ob, did a fantastic job. He brought so much life to each character, and the accents. My god, the man is impressive! If you were a fan of Evan Winter’s The Rage of Dragons or Michelle Jabes Corpora’s His Face of the Sun, I think you’d really enjoy this one, too.

[Verona · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you, NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book could’ve been amazing. The setting was interesting - it seemed like a mixture of the usual medieval fantasy setting with swords and horses, although not as Eurocentric, and a sci-fi world with robots and technology.
But while this combination could’ve been something great, it mainly was confusing. Nothing really got explained and everything was way too confusing for that. I still managed to somehow keep up with the story, but it was very frustrating. Yes, it’s always good if you get thrown right into the story, but not if you drown from too much happening and not enough information. Especially Fantasy lives off world building. And the world building in this book was simply lacking.
I have no idea what everything looks like. Is it a hot climate? Are there plants? What’s the weather like? What do the people look like, their cities, what’s their culture? For some reason I imagined a very barren place - might be because it got described like that and while I forgot the descriptions, it got ingrained in my mind. Or it might be because there were no descriptions at all, so my mind built up the closest it had to “no descriptions”, which is literally just - nothing there to see, must be barren. I honestly couldn’t say.

As for the greybloods - they exist and they do things. What exactly is bad about them? Why are they evil? Why should I care about anything happening at all?
The other characters also just weren’t it. There are multiple main characters, we get multiple POVs. And I couldn’t tell them apart. I just finished the book and I already forgot half the names. I don’t know what they did, why they were important, or even just who they actually were.
The only character that kept my interest until the end was Jinao. He was interesting. Unfortunately, he also wasn’t exactly well written. When I found out after the first few chapters that he was supposed to be 28, I was simply flabbergasted. I honestly would’ve thought until then that he was 14. Maybe (!) 16 as the absolute oldest. But an actual adult? No way. He did not behave like an adult.

I already mentioned multiple times that I had no idea what was going on or why I should care about anything. The plot was simply all over the place. All the characters were doing different things and I couldn’t keep up with who was doing what and why and how everything was connected.
If this hadn’t been an ARC, I would’ve dnf’ed this book after the first 20%. And I never dnf books.

I’m very sorry, but this book really wasn’t it. I couldn’t get into it at all, I was confused all the time and it simply bored me. Maybe that’s on me - there are plenty of good reviews who seemed to have no trouble keeping up and really enjoyed this. But In my opinion this book needs a healthy amount of editing.

[Lisa (Queenie) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more of a 4.5⭐️ but alas GoodReads still don't have this function!

I actually can't believe this is this authors debut novel! It's so incredibly well written.

If you enjoy epic fantasy with no spice, this is a must for you!

This book is based in the Nine Lands. Where people of noble blood can summon the spirits of their ancestors into battle. A "low blood" or commoner to us, accidentally summons a spirit from the ancestral realm and it unlocks a chain of events which will alter the course of the Nine Lands and everyone in it. The world is inspired by pre-colonial cultures and I just found the world building so eloquently written.

Firstly I want to start with the characters. There are five POV's in this book which can be confusing at times however each part of the book (its split into four) tells you what characters those parts are focussing on. In the epilogue there are three individual POVs for different characters and Lyela's is epic.

I loved Temi! Her chapters were the ones that really brought out the emotions for me. I had a tear or two in one particular scene. Jinao is another favourite of mine. I enjoyed his progression through the book and really felt his frustrations. Elari is a warrior and even though she is tough her love for her husband really tugs at your heart strings. Boleo is an interesting character. I'd love to find out more about him. Towards the end we get Runt who is very similar to Temi. I really can't wait to see what's in store for them two!

I thoroughly enjoyed the world building in this book. The way the Nine Lands are described, I really liked the different clans, learning their differences and it was so interesting how the characters could tell what clan someone was from just from the way they looked, dressed and spoke. The techwork's role in this book is so unique, as are the grey bloods, they seem very scary!

The invoking of the spirits / ancestors really reminded me of Sword of Kaigen in how they summon the whispering blade and the ice.

This is definitely a fantasy book to read when it comes out in 2025. The world building is so immersive and I absolutely loved this book. The only reason it wasn't 5⭐️ for me was it felt a tad too long, however, considering how much is packed into this book, it's only a minor downside to the vast amount of positive. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for the arc copy of this book. This my own honest review of this book.

[Fabiano]

DNF pag. 360

La prima parte mi aveva riempito di entusiasmo. Personaggi interessanti, worldbuilding ricco e variegato, sistema magico ed elementi fantascientifici peculiari. L'unico difetto che ho trovato è stato lo stile di scrittura acerbo, compensato da un ritmo di trama molto dinamico.
La seconda e la terza parte sembrano scritte da un'altra persona. Lo stile di scrittura peggiora vistosamente, i personaggi non risultano più interessanti come prima, lo sviluppo del worldbuilding e della trama si fa veramente lento e passivo. Aggiungo che dialoghi, pensieri e azioni dei protagonisti mi sono parsi caricaturali e poco credibili.
Aspettative iniziali non mantenute, che delusione.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This EPIC fantasy is truly a masterful exploration of world building and ancestral connections.

The synopsis barely touches on the depth of this story - a rich world building experience, a deep dive into the ways that the people of the Nine Lands connect to the spirits of their ancestors, and a beautiful weaving of the spiritual and scientific worlds - all with the backdrop of political unrest between people groups.

There were a few POVs we get to explore, which gives us a rounded view of the goings on across the Nine Lands, and then getting to see the intersection of the storylines.

A few minor reasons why this didn't quite hit as a 5 star read: There were too many characters to keep them all straight - even with the listing at the start of the book, in the moment of reading I struggled to remember who was who while we jumped between POVs. There was also one POV that we meet in Part 1, a POV that I loved reading and following - but then the character is not in Part 2-3, so we go roughly 300 pages without continuing the story? Structurally, I understand why we left that storyline to build in the background, but as a fascinating character, it was disappointing to not get to see this character for so long.
As a visual reader, there were also times I struggled to visualize certain scenes.

Audiobook: I think the narrator did a fantastic job at bringing this story to life - his use of voice inflection to convey the "rougher" characters in contrast to the "heroes" helped build a lot of tension that lent itself to building some really great dynamics. It did read a little slow - I typically read at 3x speed for epic fantasy, and I had this bumped up to 3.5x instead.

[Jaja · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5. Mon premier coup de cœur épique fantasy de l’année.
Je suis un peu sur les fesses de cette lecture. D’un côté je comprends les avis négatifs car ils sont fondés mais en alors moi j’ai mangé ce livre comme le plus merveilleux des repas.
Je ne me suis pas ennuyée une seule fois. L’action, le rythme effréné, le mélange SF fantaisie, le mélange de cultures magnifique. Quand j’ai commencé à trouver des défauts l’autrice est venue me chercher dans ma lecture pour me remettre les idées en place. Je me suis attachée aux personnages alors qu’il y en avait PLEINS. Même quand je pensais comprendre je me rendais compte que je ne savais rien. Si vous aimez GOT, Dunes, et avez apprécié La voie éternelle, c’est pour vous.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

A fresh, inventive take on the epic fantasy genre.

During a century-long war against the Greybloods, a commoner invokes a powerful spirit that changes the trajectory of not just the war, but of everyone in the kingdom.

This book did everything an epic fantasy is supposed to do. It had a vast and expansive world, a unique magic system, a large cast of characters, and epic battle sequences—most of which were executed really well.

The story takes place in a kingdom called the Nine Lands, which was once inhabited by the Scathed people until their Greyblood servants rose up and slaughtered them. I found the world-building to be really well done. We traveled through a lot of this land, and I was never confused about where we were. The lore of this land goes hard, and I loved learning about it. It’s crazy that we’ve seen so much of the land, and yet we still have so much to explore in future books.

I found the magic system fascinating. There’s a strong emphasis on the magic of invoking your ancestors to assist in battle—something only Highbloods can do. Much of this is rooted in and inspired by multiple pre-colonial cultures. On the other hand, there’s also magic derived from harnessing and altering techwork, which are Scathed artifacts also known as forbidden relics. This techwork can serve many purposes, including purifying water. These two styles of magic are like opposite sides of the same coin: one is rooted in folklore, while the other is almost analytical in its construction. The juxtaposition between these two systems really enhanced the plot and the overall story being told.

The story is told from multiple POVs, ranging from commoners to nobility. Each perspective was integral to the plot, but I found myself gravitating toward Jinao and Temi as narrators. At first, the number of characters overwhelmed me, but by the end of the book, I was fully locked in. The way Ayinde brought together characters with different backgrounds and motivations, all in different locations, and interconnected them in such an organic, non-forced way was incredibly impressive. Easily one of my favorite aspects about the book.

While there weren’t a huge number of action sequences (I’m assuming more will come in future books), I was fully engaged whenever they occurred. I was deeply invested in the battles, and I loved how intentionally they were placed throughout the plot. They served to emphasize character growth rather than being included solely for entertainment or shock value—which I really appreciated.

The beginning of the book was a little rough. We're thrown immediately into the plot, and I think more setup was needed; I spent the first 25% VERY confused. It all worked out in the end, but I would have liked more foundation before diving into the deeper plot. Also, I would’ve liked more clarity on techwork and the Greybloods—I’m still unsure about what exactly they are and what they look like. I’m sure we’ll get even more context in future books, but I would have appreciated more in this one.

Overall, this was a refreshing new take on the epic fantasy genre, and I’m very interested to see what’s going to happen next.

Thank you so much to Saga Press for gifting me an ARC of this book ahead of its official release.

[Nils | nilsreviewsit · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

I often begin my reviews with a brief introduction into what the book I’m reviewing is about, yet A Song of Legends Lost by M. H Ayinde is far too expansive and complex to merely sum up in a few sentences. Bear with me while I try: there is a world at war with mysterious Greyblood monsters, there are several clans who stand against the monster’s might with warriors who can invoke the spirit of their ancestors, there are ancient relics and there is a hierarchy of monks who wish to covet the relics’ secrets and hidden power. This is a remarkable tale of hidden truths, layered colonisation and forgotten history.

The cast of characters in A Song of Legends Lost is large, especially for a first book in a series, and so at times I did find it hard to remember each thread and to connect with all of them. However, Ayinde does include a clan list which I’d urge readers to take a look at because it really does help. A few characters who stood out to me throughout were: Jinao, who had some serious mummy issues which actually worked to make his chapters often be filled with great one liners full of humour. Father Boleo perhaps was set on my favourite quest of all which allowed us to explore the Scathed ruins. Runt is a character you don’t meet until halfway through but her… shall we say darker nature made her a compelling character to follow. Each character Ayinde introduces is set on their path, their own mission, but by the end they do converge in rather interesting ways.

“I - I am sorry I took your arm, Jinao said. 'I didn't mean to .... and honestly, I wasn't even sure that it was me. But you held my mother's body and, well... I just wanted to make sure she really was dead?'”

Ayinde’s deep worldbuilding and hierarchy within each clan really piqued my curiosity. How much of what we were being told of these relics was true? Do the warlords really run each clan or rather, are the monks holding the true power? I found the concept of invoking ancestors to aid warriors in battle quite exciting and it proved to provide some very dramatic action scenes. Then there is all the mystery surrounding figures such as the strange Bairneater, the greybloods and the ancestors themselves. Throughout there is much that is set up and much to uncover.

A Song of Legends Lost is a richly complex debut which demands readers to really sink their teeth into. It is by no means a quick or easy read but it is a fascinating one.

ARC provided by Nazia at Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review.

[Lorelei · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Song of Legends Lost is M. H. Ayinde’s fantasy debut, and wow. What a start.
It’s got:
- A rich world that blends magic and technology
- Rich spiritual mythology
- Class tension, nobles vs commoners
- Everyone thinks they know the realm’s history but SURPRISE, hidden truths!

There’s a wide ensemble cast which is common in epic fantasy, and we get to see the POV of a common girl struggling to survive with her family, a priest in a religious order, a royal son, warriors, and more. I do think it got a bit complicated juggling the switching POVs at times, and it felt like we weren’t with one character for long enough before jumping to another. Still, this is a debut and the writing is so solid, I have no doubt this will improve in future books and become more seamless. I particularly love worlds with magic tech or artifacts from a fallen, ancient civilization that people struggle to understand and use. Plus a society where some individuals are able to call forth their ancestors’ spirits to fight in battle, and a centuries-long war against an ancient foe.

If you struggle with epic, sweeping worlds, multiple plots lines and huge ensemble casts, then this isn’t going to be a book for you, and no judgement. There’s a lot going on here! Or if you need romance in your fantasy – there’s no spice here. But for those of us who do like to have a dozen threads going at once and tons of POVs, this is almost certainly going to be one of the breakout fantasy books this year. I’m giving it a 3.75 (rounding up to 4) just because I think it needs a little work on handling all those threads but I think this is an author and a series to watch in epic fantasy. It’s a solid story with fantastic world building, and I love just the vibes it gives.

Thank you Netgalley and Saga Press for the chance to read this digital ARC! All opinions are my own.

[Chris BReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it absolutely crushed it in every aspect for me.

Set in a unique fantasy world, this story blends such an incredible ancestral magic system, political machinations and deceptions, a whole slew of characters and POVs that manages to breath so much life into each and never feels overwhelming, and world building that truly makes the world feel lived in and is queer-norm to boot.

The action scenes kept me on the edge of my seat, the politics kept me guessing the whole time, and the plot twists had all my flabbers gasted.

This may not be for everyone but I enjoyed every moment of this book and the fact that this is a debut by Ayinde may have just catapulted them to the top of my auto buy authors. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next story.

[BookSiren Baddie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 25%
It didn't catch my interest long enough for me to invest in it. But maybe I'll go back for another try later

[Greekchoir]

DNF @ pg 76

Not sure if it’s me or the book or what, but I’m just not getting into this. Ayinde has clearly built a vast world she cares deeply about, but Temi and Jinao feel like the wrong characters through which to explore it. Both interact with their surroundings at a remove; they read like video game characters more than complex people. Also, where are the copyeditors? Character names spelled wrong, repeated phrases… I may come back to this at some point, but I have too much Hugos reading to do over the next two months to get stuck here :(

[Tya C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

PERFECTION! no notes! (full review coming soon)

Wow… Not only is this my favorite book of the year, it is one of my favorite books of all time. Perhaps, the best fantasy book I have ever read! (and I don’t say that lightly) I don’t know what to do with myself after finishing… The only thing I can do now is recommend it to literally anyone who will listen.

The pacing was absolutely amazing. I don’t know how a book that’s almost 600 pages can be so fast paced, but somehow it was. I was hooked from the very beginning and just got more & more invested the farther into the story I got. This is exactly what I want in an epic fantasy. The story had so many layers. There was lots of action, intrigue, characters to root for (or against), it just had everything I want in fantasy.

The characters all had such distinct personalities and storylines, but I was able to keep up without getting confused (the cast of characters in the beginning helped with that.) The world building was great and the diversity of the world was something I really loved. And I just have to mention, we LOVE murderous women over here!

This book stressed me tf out! (in the best way) I haven’t had a book excite me like this in so long. Especially exciting me from the very BEGINNING! The sequel cannot come soon enough!

Pick this up immediately if you love epic fantasy, diverse worlds, morally grey characters & murderous women, and so much more!

Huge thanks to Saga Press for this review copy! All opinions are my own.

[Maria reads SFF · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Epic Fantasy at its best. An incredible 2025 debut with some SF elements like forbidden technology and ancient advanced civilizations. The African inspired setting and the ability to summon the ancestors in battle were absolutely fascinating.
It is a sprawling complex work that requires the reader’s full concentration as the author trusts the reader’s intelligence and does no hand holding.
On my first attempt to read “A Songs of Legends Lost” my ability to focus was not as its best, but I am glad I got a physical copy and on my second attempt it was an amazing reading experience.
The narrative has five points of view, but the premise only mentions two of them: Temi and Jinao. Plus some bonus points of view in the prologue and epilogues (yes, indeed, multiple epilogues).
I loved each character and each point of view. To some I related as soon as I meet them, others took some time to warm up to, but all felt real.
But the brightest aspects of this novel were its sprawling world and cinematic magic system.
There was a strong focus on class divide and the highbloods, the powerful invoker clans were looking down on the lowbloods, the lowest social working class.
Everything was portrayed with nuance and the social dynamics were layered and organically incorporated, like my favorite, being queer was absolutely normal to all the peoples of the nine lands.
The magic was so vivid: warriors calling for their amcestor’s spirits to aid them in battle. The rituals around that being inspired by the Yoruba culture and reminded me of “The Shaman King” animation.
Highly recommended for readers of Epic Fantasy with no romance.
I cannot wait for the next volume in “The Invoker” trilogy.

[Jamedi]

Review originally on JamReads

A Song of Legends Lost is the first novel in the African inspired science fantasy series The Invoker Trilogy, written by M. H. Ayinde, and published by Orbit Books. An ambitious and intelligent book, with a rich and interesting worldbuilding with some reminiscent of Horizon Zero Dawn and Final Fantasy and an array of well-written characters whose arcs invite the readers to lose themselves into the story, enjoy the ride and trust that their questions will be eventually answered while they are full focused on the destiny of the cast.

An epic story set in the Nine Lands, ruled by noble clans whose are the only ones that can call upon the spirits of their ancestors to aid them in battle; they are fighting against the Greybloods, pieces made of magic imbued metal called techwork, who are believed to have annihilated their creators, the Scathed, and that now threaten to wipe the humanity. However, a chain of events starts when a commoner, Temi, unexpectedly invokes a spirit, putting in motion many threads that will change the Nine Lands and reveal many of the secrets that are buried under the land.

From the start of the book, you can get a glimpse of how ambitious Ayinde's storytelling gets; five main POVs which contribute to create a full picture of the situation across the Nine Lands, from all the social statuses. Even if it might look overwhelming at first glimpse, Ayinde patiently weaves all of them together, slowly connecting those storylines and, in the process, making us care for those characters. Not only we have a reluctant and unconventional noble such as Jinao, a noble that was a disappointment for his family and that will need to confront a greyblood to save his people, learning how to use that bond with the ancestor that was always elusive to him, but we have an excellent underdog arc with Temi, the slum girl that bonds a spirit despite not being of noble blood, showing us also the hardness to survive as a family in such a complicated place under the control of the gangs (also why not, props to Not-A-Cat). Temi is a brave character, but also needs to do what's best to protect her family, her people, and even keep those of the same origin safe from poisoning, maintaining a difficult equilibrium between what the spirit tells her and what she wants.
Runt appears towards the half of the book, but his darker arc makes it incredibly compelling; and I really enjoyed Father Boleo's quest to rediscover the Scathed's ruins, and even gave us one of the best twists in the whole narration. It is true that having such a large cast introduces the possibility of not reading about a character for hundred of pages, but Ayinde always makes the effort to refresh our memory of the current situation of our character before jumping into the action.

The world of A Song of Legends Lost is another of the highlights of this novel: not only we have a refreshing African inspiration, that is reflected not only in the characters, but also in the land and their traditions, but the science part of this science-fantasy is introduced in a really organic way using one of my favourite tropes, a long-lost civilization. The wide cast plays an important role into developing this world, as we have the opportunity to observe all the social strata, and honestly, I loved how there's an order of monks working to "purify" the technology and how there's a whole religion woven around this concept.
Despite it is a relatively long book, the pacing is really neat, keeping you reading without realizing the time passing, as Ayinde's storytelling invites you to lose yourself into it.

A Song of Legends Lost is an excellent debut novel, perfect if you want to read a refreshing epic science fantasy story with starts an incredibly ambitious series; M. H. Ayinde is an author that has become part of my read whatever they publish list. Can't wait to see how The Invoker Trilogy will continue!

[brewdy_reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

♡ Thank you @sagapressbooks for the ARC!

Read if you love:
• Morally ambiguous characters
• Ancient cultures + advanced tech
• Multi dimensional worlds

There will be elements of a futuristic society blended with ritualistic ancient ceremonies steeped in legend and lore.

Although we get at 5 POVs, they are introduced only a couple at a time, which means I never got lost and could appreciate the buildup.

This world is both rich and different from the typical euro-centric fantasy. I really loved the world building, the culture, and the tech wielding!

I do wish we learned more about how the tech worked, but perhaps this will be revealed in the sequel.

The clans are hierarchical; only the chosen ones from 9 families can channel ancestral magic and call ancestors into the living mortal plane.

Even at the end I found myself wondering... which side is the good guys?! The level of grayness is equal parts tantalizing and frustrating.. and also reflective of real life.

The epilogue left my jaw hanging! I def recommend checking this one out for a very unique fantasy debut. A great setup to what will undoubtedly be an epic saga!

[Ryan Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Song of Legends Lost is easily one of most ambitious Epic Fantasy debuts I've encountered. The scope of the story and the cast was incredible, and I'm incredibly impressed by Ayinde's deft navigation.

While I did initially stumble through cast introductions and the later, the occasional "who is this person again?", the breadth of personalities and family dynamics here gave this world such life and realism that I was utterly transported. The magic system was as fun as promised with the Final Fantasy comparisons and the intrigue around the ancient tech really culminated for me as the reveals kept coming. As for character, Temi really stole the show for me as a character. I couldn't stop rooting for her.

Highly recommended for folks looking for expansive worlds with huge, epic implications, conflicting goals, and lots of intrigue and secrets to discover.