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Prism
In the mystical realm of the Cavern, Akarra is Shardshaper to the quartzian people who inhabit it. Fashioned from quartz and filled with enchanted light, the quartzians are a strong and hearty people. Akarra is no exception. But when destiny intervenes, she must choose between the he-quartz she loves and the life path she lives for. Which shall she choose?
75 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 31, 2016
2 people want to read
About the author
Matthew D. Ryan
9 books161 followersMatthew D. Ryan is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. He has a background in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. He also has a black belt in the martial arts and studies yoga. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He believes he saw the legendary Lake Champlain Monster (a.k.a Champy) once and he has a cat named Confucius.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 3, 2017
This is very different from the other stories I have read by Mr. Ryan, but I enjoyed reading the ARC I received from him thoroughly. It is slow moving (which is why I gave it 4 stars) and has great detail about a brand new world Matthew has created. I can tell you he keeps surprising me with where he goes with things in his books. There is a lot of very emotionally charged choices that the main character, Akarra, has to make and I was very impressed with her strength. Prism was well written, and worth checking out.
January 6, 2017
Via the courtesy of Matthew D. Ryan, I was able to read this book prior to its release. My copy is an ARC copy (Advance Review Copy) and was received in exchange for my review.
Prism is a fun, imaginative novella. I've been a fan of Ryan's writing since earlier this year when I started reading his From the Ashes of Ruin series, and I must say that this short story, while unrelated, is just as good. I loved it! While it's a work of fantasy, you won't see any elves or orcs here. Instead, the cast is comprised of beings of Ryan's own creation: quartzians, creatures made of crystal whose antennae flash different colors based on their emotions. There are also the mysterious, malevolent Light-Eaters. The world of the story is the Cavern, a fascinating subterranean realm in which crystals are found naturally in various geometric shapes. I won't go into depth with the plot, to avoid spoilers, but the story is exciting with an interesting twist that I didn't expect.
One of Ryan's greatest strengths as an author (in my opinion) is his characters. I really cared about Akarra and Thaygos, and the dilemmas that they faced. Although I will admit that I am not a detached reader by any means, I feel like their characterization was done well. They feel relatable, like a human, yet they are not so anthropomorphized that you forget what species they really are. Furthermore, the conflicts throughout the course of the novella are both internal and external, and it’s a nice balance. Through the conflicts, the characters grow closer to one another, and we as readers grow closer to them.
Ryan also does a great job with worldbuilding. Building a setting from scratch is no easy task, yet it's essential for any writer of speculative fiction set in another world. The world of the Cavern is one that can set your imagination on fire and that you will want to explore more. Hence, I hope that he writes a sequel at some point, or another story set in the same world. You can certainly tell that the world extends far beyond the realm of the story itself.
Really, the only weakness I could find was a minor level of difficulty keeping track of all the geometric shapes that the Cavern's crystals were comprised of. I had never heard of quite a few of them. But that can be solved with a simple Google search or two. :) Other than that, everything was done really well.
Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend it to anyone -- especially if you loved Ryan's other works, such as Drasmyr. It's not nearly as dark as those, but it's still really awesome and a very fun read. 5/5 stars!
Prism is a fun, imaginative novella. I've been a fan of Ryan's writing since earlier this year when I started reading his From the Ashes of Ruin series, and I must say that this short story, while unrelated, is just as good. I loved it! While it's a work of fantasy, you won't see any elves or orcs here. Instead, the cast is comprised of beings of Ryan's own creation: quartzians, creatures made of crystal whose antennae flash different colors based on their emotions. There are also the mysterious, malevolent Light-Eaters. The world of the story is the Cavern, a fascinating subterranean realm in which crystals are found naturally in various geometric shapes. I won't go into depth with the plot, to avoid spoilers, but the story is exciting with an interesting twist that I didn't expect.
One of Ryan's greatest strengths as an author (in my opinion) is his characters. I really cared about Akarra and Thaygos, and the dilemmas that they faced. Although I will admit that I am not a detached reader by any means, I feel like their characterization was done well. They feel relatable, like a human, yet they are not so anthropomorphized that you forget what species they really are. Furthermore, the conflicts throughout the course of the novella are both internal and external, and it’s a nice balance. Through the conflicts, the characters grow closer to one another, and we as readers grow closer to them.
Ryan also does a great job with worldbuilding. Building a setting from scratch is no easy task, yet it's essential for any writer of speculative fiction set in another world. The world of the Cavern is one that can set your imagination on fire and that you will want to explore more. Hence, I hope that he writes a sequel at some point, or another story set in the same world. You can certainly tell that the world extends far beyond the realm of the story itself.
Really, the only weakness I could find was a minor level of difficulty keeping track of all the geometric shapes that the Cavern's crystals were comprised of. I had never heard of quite a few of them. But that can be solved with a simple Google search or two. :) Other than that, everything was done really well.
Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend it to anyone -- especially if you loved Ryan's other works, such as Drasmyr. It's not nearly as dark as those, but it's still really awesome and a very fun read. 5/5 stars!
January 5, 2017
I really want to give this book 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this story. It's a bit different from what I usually read. The characters are simply amazing and I found myself enthralled by them. I hope there will be more to this storyline. I received this ARC for my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews