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The Silver Scar
When Trinidad was twelve, his Wiccan parents blew themselves up in an ecoterr attack that killed several Christians. Orphaned and disillusioned, he fled his home—and his best friend Castile—to soldier for the powerful Christian church inside the walled city of Boulder, Colorado. Fostered by a loving priest and trained by a godless warrior, Trinidad learned the brutal art of balancing faith and war. He is the perfect archwarden, disciplined and devout. But when his Bishop turns up with a silver scar she claims is proof of angelic orders to crusade, Trinidad alone knows her story is a lie. The silver is from a mystical, ancient graveyard called the Barren—a place of healing reached only by Wiccan magic, a place that could turn Christianity on its head.
Accusing her outright is treason and gaining proof means committing heresy, both of which is a death sentence for an archwarden. Instead, torn between the lure of powerful magic, his love for Castile, and his vows to defend the Church, Trinidad secretly conspires with a violent tribe of ancestor-worshipers and a Wiccan coven to stop the crusade. But as everyone he trusts is mired in betrayal and bent on vengeance, he soon realizes no amount of righteousness can stop the slaughter of thousands.
Accusing her outright is treason and gaining proof means committing heresy, both of which is a death sentence for an archwarden. Instead, torn between the lure of powerful magic, his love for Castile, and his vows to defend the Church, Trinidad secretly conspires with a violent tribe of ancestor-worshipers and a Wiccan coven to stop the crusade. But as everyone he trusts is mired in betrayal and bent on vengeance, he soon realizes no amount of righteousness can stop the slaughter of thousands.
- GenresFantasy
359 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 23, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 24, 2019
I was intrigued by the concept of this book: Wiccans versus Christians, at war, in a post apocalyptic world. I expected some heavy religious overtones woven into the story. I expected this book to make a philosophical statement - and it kind of did; but it was mostly about torture, and rape. There was no "good" side. The Indigos (some sort of tribal group of people), the Christians, and the Wiccans were all horrible to each other. THAT might have been the philosophical statement - that religion brings destruction. I was hoping for a happier message, that there can be peace, between an united diverse people. I suppose, towards the end, our main character, Trinidad, brought hope for peace, but not without bringing much death and destruction.
I didn't need the rape. I didn't need to the violence. I had to skim fast over those parts, because it was just gross. That's not my cup of tea.
Also, the romance was poorly written. The romance between the two men didn't add anything to the plot, nor did it help us understand the characters. In fact, it was confusing. For most of the book, they did not express any amount of romantic feeling towards one another, and then in the middle of violence, there is a kiss. All of a sudden, they have the hots for each other? That came out of NO where. I didn't buy it. There should have been SOME hint that one, or the other, had a crush.
There were some exciting moments, when they pushed their way back into the city; and when they escaped prison. The dreamworld was interesting, but like most of the book, it made no sense. In my mind, if you enter another person's dream, then it is more likely that you'll be at their mercy. It's their dreamworld, not yours. You would also have to have mind-control powers, and if you did, then why not just control their minds while they are awake?
I want another author to take this same concept, make it less gross, and more philosophically interesting. Is wiccan magic real? The dreamworld (and Barren) seemed to say 'yes, it is real!' - but then, how does the Bishop deal with that reality? That is not explored at all. Is her faith shaken? We don't know. Is prayer real? Do the characters think much on that? A bit - but not enough to give us a solid answer. We had a solid answer for Wicca - why not Christianity? Are both gods real? Do the characters have true faith? Are they both right, both wrong? Does it matter? These are the questions that would have made the story great.
I didn't need the rape. I didn't need to the violence. I had to skim fast over those parts, because it was just gross. That's not my cup of tea.
Also, the romance was poorly written. The romance between the two men didn't add anything to the plot, nor did it help us understand the characters. In fact, it was confusing. For most of the book, they did not express any amount of romantic feeling towards one another, and then in the middle of violence, there is a kiss. All of a sudden, they have the hots for each other? That came out of NO where. I didn't buy it. There should have been SOME hint that one, or the other, had a crush.
There were some exciting moments, when they pushed their way back into the city; and when they escaped prison. The dreamworld was interesting, but like most of the book, it made no sense. In my mind, if you enter another person's dream, then it is more likely that you'll be at their mercy. It's their dreamworld, not yours. You would also have to have mind-control powers, and if you did, then why not just control their minds while they are awake?
I want another author to take this same concept, make it less gross, and more philosophically interesting. Is wiccan magic real? The dreamworld (and Barren) seemed to say 'yes, it is real!' - but then, how does the Bishop deal with that reality? That is not explored at all. Is her faith shaken? We don't know. Is prayer real? Do the characters think much on that? A bit - but not enough to give us a solid answer. We had a solid answer for Wicca - why not Christianity? Are both gods real? Do the characters have true faith? Are they both right, both wrong? Does it matter? These are the questions that would have made the story great.
January 21, 2023
This book has a lot of violent rape in it. That should automatically give it 0/5 stars.
I stopped reading at 56% even though I was really intent to finish, but the violence is absolutely revolting. Don't read this book.
That disclaimer aside, this book is... interesting. The plot is intriguing, and I enjoyed the writing style, for the most part. The characters were compelling and I would've liked to read more about them. It was enough to keep me reading past the first 100 pages and enough to warrant 2/5 stars instead of 1/5.
The weirdest part is the setting. For some inexplicable reason the story is set in Colorado, but that has no bearing on the plot at the slightest; it's a little jarring to be involved in a action-packed fantasy world only to read Colorado out of the blue with zero explanation. This is set in a post apocalyptic America but... why? Just so they can have guns? It makes no sense and there's no world building to back up why it's important for this story to take place in Colorado. If anything, it's distracting and strange.
The plot is interesting, but rushed. The characters seem to do things just to do things, and events seem to just sort of 'happen.' One character rushes into a dangerous place, knowing he will get caught and just... does it anyway, even though plot-wise there is absolutely no reason he had to be the one to do it. The characters seem to be pushed around by the plot rather than letting their own self preservation and motivations move the story forward; they don't question anything and just go along with what's happening. The 'twists' are obvious and predictable, to the point that I'm left wondering why the characters themselves didn't see that coming. The dialogue is stilted and random accents are forced on some of the characters with little rhyme or reason. Also the random, heavy-handedly implied sex scenes are bad.
Now let me talk about the violence, because that's what really ruined the story for me. The action scenes were written really well; I quite liked the fast-paced writing style paired with action-packed fight scenes. They were believable and fun to read, and I wish I could keep reading. But there are far too many torture scenes that have little bearing on the plot--they border on erotic and fetishizing, especially when paired with the fact that the character involved is coded as gay. It's gross. It's unnecessary. It's fetishized violence. The author gets zero pats on the back for lgbt rep when the gay characters are graphically beaten, assaulted, and violated for basically no plot-related reason.
Don't read this book. There are plenty of much better books out there that don't fetishize torture and that don't involve rape. The story and characters have so much potential and I wish I got to read what this story may have been in two or three more revisions.
I stopped reading at 56% even though I was really intent to finish, but the violence is absolutely revolting. Don't read this book.
That disclaimer aside, this book is... interesting. The plot is intriguing, and I enjoyed the writing style, for the most part. The characters were compelling and I would've liked to read more about them. It was enough to keep me reading past the first 100 pages and enough to warrant 2/5 stars instead of 1/5.
The weirdest part is the setting. For some inexplicable reason the story is set in Colorado, but that has no bearing on the plot at the slightest; it's a little jarring to be involved in a action-packed fantasy world only to read Colorado out of the blue with zero explanation. This is set in a post apocalyptic America but... why? Just so they can have guns? It makes no sense and there's no world building to back up why it's important for this story to take place in Colorado. If anything, it's distracting and strange.
The plot is interesting, but rushed. The characters seem to do things just to do things, and events seem to just sort of 'happen.' One character rushes into a dangerous place, knowing he will get caught and just... does it anyway, even though plot-wise there is absolutely no reason he had to be the one to do it. The characters seem to be pushed around by the plot rather than letting their own self preservation and motivations move the story forward; they don't question anything and just go along with what's happening. The 'twists' are obvious and predictable, to the point that I'm left wondering why the characters themselves didn't see that coming. The dialogue is stilted and random accents are forced on some of the characters with little rhyme or reason. Also the random, heavy-handedly implied sex scenes are bad.
Now let me talk about the violence, because that's what really ruined the story for me. The action scenes were written really well; I quite liked the fast-paced writing style paired with action-packed fight scenes. They were believable and fun to read, and I wish I could keep reading. But there are far too many torture scenes that have little bearing on the plot--they border on erotic and fetishizing, especially when paired with the fact that the character involved is coded as gay. It's gross. It's unnecessary. It's fetishized violence. The author gets zero pats on the back for lgbt rep when the gay characters are graphically beaten, assaulted, and violated for basically no plot-related reason.
Don't read this book. There are plenty of much better books out there that don't fetishize torture and that don't involve rape. The story and characters have so much potential and I wish I got to read what this story may have been in two or three more revisions.
August 12, 2021
3.5.
This debut novel suffers from a confusing amount of moving parts, loosely developed characters, and a romance that could have been better explored. But the world is fascinating, full of grey morality and complex questions of faith, as well as an exciting climax. I still very much enjoyed my time with it.
This debut novel suffers from a confusing amount of moving parts, loosely developed characters, and a romance that could have been better explored. But the world is fascinating, full of grey morality and complex questions of faith, as well as an exciting climax. I still very much enjoyed my time with it.
November 27, 2018
The world just wasn't believable to me, there was a lot of skimming involved, & although the plot had potential I honestly didn't care by the end.
March 7, 2019
This book is full of twists and turns and narrow escapes and surprises. Fun read.
December 28, 2021
I don't even know where to begin with this one. I started reading it before bed, and before I knew it I had 40 pages left and it was 5am. The only reason I stopped was because I knew I wouldn't be able to make it on 2 hours of sleep not having them to look forward to.
This book has me breathless.
I suppose one could say it was somewhat thin. It had the very classic feel of battle after battle, someone gets taken, a rescue, then we turn around and have to save the RESCUER. The cover speaks to that classic, fantasy feel.
But what really gets this book 6! stars in my book is its so wonderfully written. The setting is unique. The different representations of religions is what I'm currently living for. Different people, from different backgrounds, different classes, doing their best even if it's shite.
Every single character I was invested in. Betsy balanced the alternating narratives to a T, with a dotted i, to just enough time with each. When a chapter ended and I groaned knowing the POV would change, it was a character with the one I had just finished. That's why I couldn't stop. Are you kidding me!? What a treat.
I have also taken to skipping battle scenes. Nope, Betsy has done that perfectly, too. I think the longest one is 4 paragraphs. She GETS IT! Maybe I'm biased, because that is my own style with my own fantasy, but to the wind with you. It's perfect. Especially considering we spend so much time in battles here.
But, the slow burn romance!? That isn't even the focal point? If I wasn't devouring the pages because of the perfectly managed other tensions, I was reading it for the next moment of tenderness. Just little nibbles, sprinkled throughout, that made my own heart ache. This is the only first kiss scene, under tension, that has ever made sense. First kiss to us, anyway. But, all the other relationships, too, felt so real. Friendships and alliances on razor thin ground. They all felt alive.
This book delivered. If you're a child of fantasy that has felt tired of elves, magic, and battle after battle and the same old hero, read this one. This book gave me nostalgia for the days when I hadn't grown tired of fantasy. Another reviewer mentioned GOT. That was the last fantasy I really read and enjoyed, even if it also opened my eyes to the exhaustion the genre is plagued with.
I can only hope Betsy sees this, and can understand just how sincere I am when I say this: Thank you. This book is beautiful, and it is perfect, and I will forever be glad I walked into a library, of all places and just knew I had to read it. I went in for a book on drawing world maps, and left only with this. It found its home with me.
I'll close this out with mentioning the review on the cover. "[A] spell binding saga... Dornbusch packs a series...into this intense novel."
I want a series... but how wonderful, too, to have a story give you all the satisfaction of a series?
This book has me breathless.
I suppose one could say it was somewhat thin. It had the very classic feel of battle after battle, someone gets taken, a rescue, then we turn around and have to save the RESCUER. The cover speaks to that classic, fantasy feel.
But what really gets this book 6! stars in my book is its so wonderfully written. The setting is unique. The different representations of religions is what I'm currently living for. Different people, from different backgrounds, different classes, doing their best even if it's shite.
Every single character I was invested in. Betsy balanced the alternating narratives to a T, with a dotted i, to just enough time with each. When a chapter ended and I groaned knowing the POV would change, it was a character with the one I had just finished. That's why I couldn't stop. Are you kidding me!? What a treat.
I have also taken to skipping battle scenes. Nope, Betsy has done that perfectly, too. I think the longest one is 4 paragraphs. She GETS IT! Maybe I'm biased, because that is my own style with my own fantasy, but to the wind with you. It's perfect. Especially considering we spend so much time in battles here.
But, the slow burn romance!? That isn't even the focal point? If I wasn't devouring the pages because of the perfectly managed other tensions, I was reading it for the next moment of tenderness. Just little nibbles, sprinkled throughout, that made my own heart ache. This is the only first kiss scene, under tension, that has ever made sense. First kiss to us, anyway. But, all the other relationships, too, felt so real. Friendships and alliances on razor thin ground. They all felt alive.
This book delivered. If you're a child of fantasy that has felt tired of elves, magic, and battle after battle and the same old hero, read this one. This book gave me nostalgia for the days when I hadn't grown tired of fantasy. Another reviewer mentioned GOT. That was the last fantasy I really read and enjoyed, even if it also opened my eyes to the exhaustion the genre is plagued with.
I can only hope Betsy sees this, and can understand just how sincere I am when I say this: Thank you. This book is beautiful, and it is perfect, and I will forever be glad I walked into a library, of all places and just knew I had to read it. I went in for a book on drawing world maps, and left only with this. It found its home with me.
I'll close this out with mentioning the review on the cover. "[A] spell binding saga... Dornbusch packs a series...into this intense novel."
I want a series... but how wonderful, too, to have a story give you all the satisfaction of a series?
July 4, 2020
This was interesting enough to finish but not to recommend. It had a lot of violence that wasn't exactly gratuitous but seemed excessive at times. Also there was only one real conversation in the entire book. The rest of the time people talked at each other, interrupted each other, and generally refused to communicate directly. Also the actions of the 2 main characters were often inexplicable largely because we never got to really see who they were in order to understand why they were doing what they did. There were also some plot holes that meant the end was somewhat unsatisfying.
October 26, 2025
Post apocalyptic fantasy--and way too long since this is not one of my favorite genres, but I do try to read outside my "comfort zone" periodically, and I am working my way through piles of book. There were parts of it I quite liked, but mostly I wanted it to be about 100 pages shorter as there was a lot of back and forth between groups that got repetitive and boring.
Now really ready for a mg/ya cycle of books.
Now really ready for a mg/ya cycle of books.
August 6, 2018
The book is quite entertaining but it's not my cup of tea.
I think there's potential in this book but there should be more worldbuilding and attention to the language and how the characters talk.
I think there's potential in this book but there should be more worldbuilding and attention to the language and how the characters talk.
Did Not Finish
October 15, 2018(I received a free eARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.)
DNF at 5%.
I had a feeling from the beginning that I wouldn't like the writing style - half overly descriptive with adjectives and adverbs, and I barely understood the other half because it was archaic and/or underdeveloped worldbuilding - but chapter two, in which Reine inexplicably prefaces random sentences with "Fuckin" was the clincher. The Christianity/Wiccan conflict and individual backstories seem promising, but I just don't feel like struggling through to pick out the plot.
DNF at 5%.
I had a feeling from the beginning that I wouldn't like the writing style - half overly descriptive with adjectives and adverbs, and I barely understood the other half because it was archaic and/or underdeveloped worldbuilding - but chapter two, in which Reine inexplicably prefaces random sentences with "Fuckin" was the clincher. The Christianity/Wiccan conflict and individual backstories seem promising, but I just don't feel like struggling through to pick out the plot.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews