What do you think?
Rate this book
Echo Sight
Having lost one leg already to the monstrous, parasitic senka, Enaka believes themself an imperfect shapeshifter among their perfect people, and they're determined to prove their usefulness by continuing their dangerous job.
But when a routine monster hunt becomes an assignment to track down an artifact smuggler who may have lured senka to Akert City, Enaka is thrown out of their depth into a world of misinformation and systemic oppression. Their only local ally is a mage from an opposing government who claims to know more about Enaka than they do about themself.
As the two of them race against time to stop the senka plague before the double new moons, they're confronted by forces both mundane and magical, and disturbing truths emerge that change Enaka's life forever. Will their conviction be enough to save the two million souls who call Akert home? Or are the real monsters much closer than they appear?
But when a routine monster hunt becomes an assignment to track down an artifact smuggler who may have lured senka to Akert City, Enaka is thrown out of their depth into a world of misinformation and systemic oppression. Their only local ally is a mage from an opposing government who claims to know more about Enaka than they do about themself.
As the two of them race against time to stop the senka plague before the double new moons, they're confronted by forces both mundane and magical, and disturbing truths emerge that change Enaka's life forever. Will their conviction be enough to save the two million souls who call Akert home? Or are the real monsters much closer than they appear?
Kindle Edition
Published May 18, 2025
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 20, 2025
I had the joy of reading an advance copy of Echo Sight. I went in with very high expectations, all of which were blown away. This was a book I simply could not put down until I'd finished it, and even then I spent weeks wishing an online community already existed to discuss favorite parts, theories, and hopes for the next book.
Echo Sight is extraordinarily well-written with exceptional attention to detail, and invites the reader to engage with the world building and characters to guess the answers to the mysteries and anticipate the plot's twists and turns. Enaka, the protagonist, provides very welcome non-binary representation and it was a joy to read their thoughts and side notes, scattered through the text and footnotes.
If you like urban fantasy and compelling characters racing against the clock to unravel mysteries so they can save a major city and its inhabitants, all while the sins of the past threaten to doom everyone, you will adore this book.
Echo Sight is extraordinarily well-written with exceptional attention to detail, and invites the reader to engage with the world building and characters to guess the answers to the mysteries and anticipate the plot's twists and turns. Enaka, the protagonist, provides very welcome non-binary representation and it was a joy to read their thoughts and side notes, scattered through the text and footnotes.
If you like urban fantasy and compelling characters racing against the clock to unravel mysteries so they can save a major city and its inhabitants, all while the sins of the past threaten to doom everyone, you will adore this book.
December 12, 2025
For fantasy debuts from a (relatively) new author, I mainly look for one of two things: an engaging, unique or at least interestingly conceived world or concept (e.g.
Eragon
), or a strong, meticulously crafted narrative (e.g.
The Shadow of What Was Lost
). If the novel has either of those, I consider it as a success, as it's exceptional for an unestablished author to achieve both.
Luckily for me, Echo Sight is such an exception.
The most immediately intriguing aspect of the novel is its setting, with high fantasy concepts such as races of shapeshifters who commune with energy spirits juxtaposed with modern cities and infrastructure in a way that's far more seamless than one would expect. The base premise of "phoenix professionally hunts senka [the novel's zombie analogue]" is apparent immediately and remains the focus throughout, allowing the reader to immediately grasp the story while exploring the world in deeper and more interesting ways as it goes on. The novel is worth the read for this alone, and shows impressive vision on the part of Cian Verati.
As the novel goes on, it demonstrates its other great strength, which is its tight but expansive narrative. The straightforward premise slowly broadens in scope and complexity, keeping the stakes consistent but allowing each new development and reveal (which all feel genuine) to increase the tension and make things feel more dire. Combined with the backdrop of the setting, the result is a story which starts as good but slowly reveals itself to be great.
4.5/5 (A), an excellent fantasy novel which both stands strong on its own and promises an even stronger series.
Luckily for me, Echo Sight is such an exception.
The most immediately intriguing aspect of the novel is its setting, with high fantasy concepts such as races of shapeshifters who commune with energy spirits juxtaposed with modern cities and infrastructure in a way that's far more seamless than one would expect. The base premise of "phoenix professionally hunts senka [the novel's zombie analogue]" is apparent immediately and remains the focus throughout, allowing the reader to immediately grasp the story while exploring the world in deeper and more interesting ways as it goes on. The novel is worth the read for this alone, and shows impressive vision on the part of Cian Verati.
As the novel goes on, it demonstrates its other great strength, which is its tight but expansive narrative. The straightforward premise slowly broadens in scope and complexity, keeping the stakes consistent but allowing each new development and reveal (which all feel genuine) to increase the tension and make things feel more dire. Combined with the backdrop of the setting, the result is a story which starts as good but slowly reveals itself to be great.
4.5/5 (A), an excellent fantasy novel which both stands strong on its own and promises an even stronger series.
May 21, 2025
This book was amazing from start to finish. I love the world building and the characters were not only relatable but very diverse. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
November 15, 2025
I had an absolute blast with this! The story is written in 1st person POV and I really feel like it made the most of this perspective. It doesn't just feel like Enaka is explaining information to you. It feels like you’re in their head. Sometimes, it’s like you become Enaka. This creates such an immersive experience as we’re fed bits and pieces of information right along with our resident Scorcher. It’s truly a high fantasy, so there are a lot of different fantastical characters. I enjoyed this since it created variety within the story. Even within Scorchers, Watchers, and more, you have tribes. For instance, Enaka’s adopted father/guardian is like a giant bird, but Enaka tends to be much more humanoid (barring the claws). I haven’t read too many stories about shapeshifters, so it was neat to see that play such a role here. Something else that I enjoyed was the disability representation. On a mission, Enaka lost a leg. It realistically slows them down at times, but it doesn’t feel like they can’t do anything because of this. In spite of it, Enaka is still a fighter and wants to protect others. As a major love of action, I particularly adored how this didn’t detract from the intensity of fight scenes. When there’s a battle, you’re on the edge of your seat. Somehow, even these beings who are supposed to be able to heal still have very real stakes and you hope that they’ll make it out of the situation at least mostly in one piece. A final element that I thought was neat was how the chapters were organized. Almost every other chapter was an “interlude” where we get to see some of Enaka’s past. At first, I thought it was just a way to learn more about them, but pay attention to these scenes. They matter as the story continues.
This leads me into the characters. I adored them so much. Enaka especially was fun. They’re the type of character who can be very cool with different lines and abilities, then also be the biggest goofball. Enaka feels like a flawed, broken person who isn’t letting that get in the way of the mission or their sense of humor. It really made me root for them. I just wanted them to succeed and be truly happy for once. And then we have Rowan, the love interest. I do want to say that this is not a hardcore romantasy by any means. It gets spicy in one moment, but otherwise, it’s mostly action and fantasy. Despite that, a deep love is very prominent, and who better to direct that towards than Rowan? This mysterious man is as charming as he is spirited. He never comes across as pushy, irritating, or cruel. He’s the type of character where you’re like, “Okay, yeah, you two should run off together. Go for it.” I don’t think I’ve shipped two book characters together this hard in a very long time. The side characters are great too like Enaka’s adopted older brother figure, Hauk, a well-meaning college student, Cavid, and his friends/family.
If I had to critique anything, I’d say that because of this being such a high fantasy, there are a large amount of words that are going to be unknown to readers. Thankfully, there’s a glossary at the end. Still, I did start getting mixed up from time to time, wondering if a word was referring to a new type of species, a term of endearment, a general title, etc.
Overall, as I’m sure you can tell, I highly recommend this. At the heart of it is a story about someone learning to fully love who they are. I would recommend it for fans of fantasy just because of that aspect being so strong in the story. So, it might not be great for someone who’s easing into the genre. If you already love fantasy like I do, then you should absolutely check this out. It's adorable, funny, action-packed, and emotional. What more can you ask for in a great read?
This leads me into the characters. I adored them so much. Enaka especially was fun. They’re the type of character who can be very cool with different lines and abilities, then also be the biggest goofball. Enaka feels like a flawed, broken person who isn’t letting that get in the way of the mission or their sense of humor. It really made me root for them. I just wanted them to succeed and be truly happy for once. And then we have Rowan, the love interest. I do want to say that this is not a hardcore romantasy by any means. It gets spicy in one moment, but otherwise, it’s mostly action and fantasy. Despite that, a deep love is very prominent, and who better to direct that towards than Rowan? This mysterious man is as charming as he is spirited. He never comes across as pushy, irritating, or cruel. He’s the type of character where you’re like, “Okay, yeah, you two should run off together. Go for it.” I don’t think I’ve shipped two book characters together this hard in a very long time. The side characters are great too like Enaka’s adopted older brother figure, Hauk, a well-meaning college student, Cavid, and his friends/family.
If I had to critique anything, I’d say that because of this being such a high fantasy, there are a large amount of words that are going to be unknown to readers. Thankfully, there’s a glossary at the end. Still, I did start getting mixed up from time to time, wondering if a word was referring to a new type of species, a term of endearment, a general title, etc.
Overall, as I’m sure you can tell, I highly recommend this. At the heart of it is a story about someone learning to fully love who they are. I would recommend it for fans of fantasy just because of that aspect being so strong in the story. So, it might not be great for someone who’s easing into the genre. If you already love fantasy like I do, then you should absolutely check this out. It's adorable, funny, action-packed, and emotional. What more can you ask for in a great read?
June 25, 2025
I’ve never been very good at writing reviews. It, I will state that this is one of the most well written fantasy novels I’ve read in quite some time. It has gripping and well written character development that I have come to greatly enjoy. All the characters feel as if they are relatable in a way. The world building is perhaps my favorite part, since I personally love writing rich settings for games.
I won’t be spoiling the book for anyone, but I will just say that if you happen to have the chance to read this masterfully written tale, be sure to spread the word. For a written masterpiece such as this deserves to be shared among others to further inspire the writer to continue on the literary career.
I greatly look forward to reading their tales further, and even look forward to getting to see their writing style further. I doubt that the author will see this, but it is with my hope that they do indeed. That way I can tell them to keep writing stories as well crafted as this.
I look forward to possibly seeing a hardcover variant of this book in stores someday, that way I can add it to my personal collection of books in my meager little library. Don’t ever stop writing. Don’t ever stop dreaming. Don’t ever stop exploring the joys of the literary prose Cian.
I won’t be spoiling the book for anyone, but I will just say that if you happen to have the chance to read this masterfully written tale, be sure to spread the word. For a written masterpiece such as this deserves to be shared among others to further inspire the writer to continue on the literary career.
I greatly look forward to reading their tales further, and even look forward to getting to see their writing style further. I doubt that the author will see this, but it is with my hope that they do indeed. That way I can tell them to keep writing stories as well crafted as this.
I look forward to possibly seeing a hardcover variant of this book in stores someday, that way I can add it to my personal collection of books in my meager little library. Don’t ever stop writing. Don’t ever stop dreaming. Don’t ever stop exploring the joys of the literary prose Cian.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews