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Pandemonium Rising #1
Solace Lost
During times of war, no one goes unscathed. By Ultner, even in times of peace, few can escape suffering. Ardia is on the brink of civil war, though most citizens are woefully unaware of this fact.
Fenrir de Trenton, a disgraced guardsman-turned-ineffective-criminal, is accustomed to taking orders. So much so that, despite the danger, he finds himself neck-deep in the politicking of his current superiors as well as the rulers of the country. The fact that Fenrir’s father would rather see him dead doesn’t help matters.
Emma Dram, a handmaiden of the great Lady Escamilla, hates Fenrir with a fiery passion and with good he lopped off most of her hand. Nonetheless, she finds herself in close proximity to her former lover as she seeks to serve her lady liege in fomenting her own rebellion.
Hafgan Iwan is a Wasmer, a race reviled by humans, who serves the same masters as Fenrir. His efforts to assimilate with human culture only earn him the derision of his own race, and he seeks to find belonging amidst the escalating conflict.
Meanwhile, Merigold Hinter, a serving girl with an unusual power, lives a simple existence, hoping for love, adventure, and to see the world. Her life should be untouched by political maneuvering and war. However, her world becomes a crucible—how much can one woman bear before breaking?
A story of love lost and family destroyed, of bigotry and belonging, of suffering and strength, and of religion and magic, SOLACE LOST grows from a character-driven tale to something grand in scale, perhaps even involving the gods, themselves.
Fenrir de Trenton, a disgraced guardsman-turned-ineffective-criminal, is accustomed to taking orders. So much so that, despite the danger, he finds himself neck-deep in the politicking of his current superiors as well as the rulers of the country. The fact that Fenrir’s father would rather see him dead doesn’t help matters.
Emma Dram, a handmaiden of the great Lady Escamilla, hates Fenrir with a fiery passion and with good he lopped off most of her hand. Nonetheless, she finds herself in close proximity to her former lover as she seeks to serve her lady liege in fomenting her own rebellion.
Hafgan Iwan is a Wasmer, a race reviled by humans, who serves the same masters as Fenrir. His efforts to assimilate with human culture only earn him the derision of his own race, and he seeks to find belonging amidst the escalating conflict.
Meanwhile, Merigold Hinter, a serving girl with an unusual power, lives a simple existence, hoping for love, adventure, and to see the world. Her life should be untouched by political maneuvering and war. However, her world becomes a crucible—how much can one woman bear before breaking?
A story of love lost and family destroyed, of bigotry and belonging, of suffering and strength, and of religion and magic, SOLACE LOST grows from a character-driven tale to something grand in scale, perhaps even involving the gods, themselves.
612 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 10, 2018
58 people are currently reading
1025 people want to read
About the author
Michael Sliter
6 books148 followersMichael Sliter was born in the deep wilds of Cleveland, Ohio, where he fought off at least two siblings for scraps of pizza. His bedroom, growing up, was a monument to fantasy, containing a stack of worn and well-read books, a medieval Lego civilization spanning half the room, and a very real sword circa World War II.
Though always fascinated with the written word, Michael ended up with only a minor in writing, instead majoring in Psychology (Hiram College, OH). He later went on to complete his M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (Bowling Green State University, OH)—overall spending a larger portion of his life than strictly necessary in school. Following, Michael was a psych professor for a time, and then moved into the real world to help organizations hire the right people.
He attempted to write some childish fantasy novels in the past, all abandoned as derivative refuse. It wasn’t until his daughter was born that Michael decided to begin writing in earnest, and he published Solace Lost, the first book in the Pandemonium Rising series. Since, Wisdom Lost (Book 2) and Valley of the Free (novella in the same world) have been published.
Today, you can find Michael back in the Cleveland area, where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dogs. They are quite tolerant of his writing, reading, video game, and racquetball habits.
Though always fascinated with the written word, Michael ended up with only a minor in writing, instead majoring in Psychology (Hiram College, OH). He later went on to complete his M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (Bowling Green State University, OH)—overall spending a larger portion of his life than strictly necessary in school. Following, Michael was a psych professor for a time, and then moved into the real world to help organizations hire the right people.
He attempted to write some childish fantasy novels in the past, all abandoned as derivative refuse. It wasn’t until his daughter was born that Michael decided to begin writing in earnest, and he published Solace Lost, the first book in the Pandemonium Rising series. Since, Wisdom Lost (Book 2) and Valley of the Free (novella in the same world) have been published.
Today, you can find Michael back in the Cleveland area, where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dogs. They are quite tolerant of his writing, reading, video game, and racquetball habits.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
July 12, 2019
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
A brutally gripping story tinged with despair; Solace Lost is a character-driven grimdark fantasy debut that earned its title mercilessly.
Solace Lost is Michael Sliter’s debut; the first book out of four in the Pandemonium Rising series. Before I begin my review, I strongly urge that you read this novel only IF you’re a grimdark fantasy enthusiast. I don’t usually include content warnings in my review but I feel like this book truly warranted one; as it involved a minor spoiler I’ll mention it at the end of my review.
The main story in Solace Lost follows four main characters: Fenrir, Merigold, Hafgan, and Emma. Ardia is on the brink of a civil war and these four distinctive characters will have their fates intertwined, for better or worse. As I mentioned before, this is utterly a character-driven story and its main strength lies mostly within the characterizations. Each main character has different personality traits, and the inner voices given by the author to these characters made them feel real. Living up to the grimdark genre, none of the main characters can simply be defined as good or bad. The only character that started out as good and kind-hearted was Merigold. That too, for only a while before atrocious things happened to her and she found her life completely turned upside down. I won’t go as far as saying that I loved these characters but I did find myself totally invested in knowing about their journeys. This was especially true for Fenrir and Merigold’s POVs; they dominated the plot of this book and I found their storyline to be the most engaging out of all the characters.
That being said, just because you’re a fan of character-driven fantasy doesn’t mean you should just jump into this immediately. I mean it, this book is an embodiment of darkness and depression; please make sure you’re in the right mindset for a harrowing story before giving this book a go. In my opinion, the tone of the book was even darker than Abercrombie’s First Law series. There’s close to zero hope for the characters here - there’s no comic relief, no humor. Just when you thought they found a flame of hope, it was extinguished immediately. Characters who relied on faith eventually succumbed to the harsh reality of life and decided to take matters into their own hands.
The author’s prose was simple and descriptive; easy to read, vivid, and immersive. The descriptive nature of the prose did make the pacing of the book feel a bit too slow sometimes; the dialogues were far and few in between, and most of the time we’re entrenched deep in the character’s mind and actions rather than their conversations. The good thing though, the writing style was able to pull me inside the novel. The environments, the landscapes, the smell; it felt like I was really there. The intricacies of the world-building—detailed lore, magic, and history that left me wanting more—plus the palpable tone of the book infiltrated my mind and I was equally moved and distraught by the events that occurred in the book. I could be wrong here, but I have a feeling that the modus operandi performed by the members of The House towards their target—cutting a finger, leaving them nine-fingered—is inspired by Logen Ninefingers from The First Law series; one of my favorite series of all time, and I found this to be a nice touch.
The story does have magic and we do get to see some scenes of the magic in the second half of the book and it was delivered with explosive impact. The discussion about faith and how it connects to perseverance, strength, hardships and the magic itself was one of my favorite part of the novel. Why do bad things happen to good people? If there’s a god, why does He keep on letting bad things happen? This is an old philosophical and religious debate that’s been discussed countless times. I think the authors did a fine job of exploring the topic. Check out this passage for example, it’s a long one but absolutely worth the read:
As for minor issues, I did have a few problems with the pacing; this was most evident in the first 20% of the book where the book felt so dense because dialogues were relatively few. The other minor issue was that I found Emma and Hafgan’s storylines to be heavily overshadowed by Fenrir’s and Merigold’s. This doesn’t mean that their storyline was boring or bad per se; it’s just that I’m much more intrigued in reading Fenrir’s and Merigold’s storyline instead. Fortunately, judging from how the book ended, it seems like things are about to get very interesting for every character in the next installment.
Overall, I loved this book. Solace Lost is a riveting grimdark debut that does not hold back its punches. Designed specifically for fans of the genre, it was an incredibly compelling and tragic tale that deals with heavy themes about loss, racial issues, humanity, and faith with maximum force. Sliter has crafted something that would definitely make the Lord and Queen of Grimdark proud. Undoubtedly, I’m looking forward to reading the next installment.
Content warning and minor spoiler on when it happened:
You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
A brutally gripping story tinged with despair; Solace Lost is a character-driven grimdark fantasy debut that earned its title mercilessly.
Solace Lost is Michael Sliter’s debut; the first book out of four in the Pandemonium Rising series. Before I begin my review, I strongly urge that you read this novel only IF you’re a grimdark fantasy enthusiast. I don’t usually include content warnings in my review but I feel like this book truly warranted one; as it involved a minor spoiler I’ll mention it at the end of my review.
The main story in Solace Lost follows four main characters: Fenrir, Merigold, Hafgan, and Emma. Ardia is on the brink of a civil war and these four distinctive characters will have their fates intertwined, for better or worse. As I mentioned before, this is utterly a character-driven story and its main strength lies mostly within the characterizations. Each main character has different personality traits, and the inner voices given by the author to these characters made them feel real. Living up to the grimdark genre, none of the main characters can simply be defined as good or bad. The only character that started out as good and kind-hearted was Merigold. That too, for only a while before atrocious things happened to her and she found her life completely turned upside down. I won’t go as far as saying that I loved these characters but I did find myself totally invested in knowing about their journeys. This was especially true for Fenrir and Merigold’s POVs; they dominated the plot of this book and I found their storyline to be the most engaging out of all the characters.
That being said, just because you’re a fan of character-driven fantasy doesn’t mean you should just jump into this immediately. I mean it, this book is an embodiment of darkness and depression; please make sure you’re in the right mindset for a harrowing story before giving this book a go. In my opinion, the tone of the book was even darker than Abercrombie’s First Law series. There’s close to zero hope for the characters here - there’s no comic relief, no humor. Just when you thought they found a flame of hope, it was extinguished immediately. Characters who relied on faith eventually succumbed to the harsh reality of life and decided to take matters into their own hands.
“After all, one couldn’t expect a bolt of lightning to strike someone who’d committed an evil deed.”
The author’s prose was simple and descriptive; easy to read, vivid, and immersive. The descriptive nature of the prose did make the pacing of the book feel a bit too slow sometimes; the dialogues were far and few in between, and most of the time we’re entrenched deep in the character’s mind and actions rather than their conversations. The good thing though, the writing style was able to pull me inside the novel. The environments, the landscapes, the smell; it felt like I was really there. The intricacies of the world-building—detailed lore, magic, and history that left me wanting more—plus the palpable tone of the book infiltrated my mind and I was equally moved and distraught by the events that occurred in the book. I could be wrong here, but I have a feeling that the modus operandi performed by the members of The House towards their target—cutting a finger, leaving them nine-fingered—is inspired by Logen Ninefingers from The First Law series; one of my favorite series of all time, and I found this to be a nice touch.
The story does have magic and we do get to see some scenes of the magic in the second half of the book and it was delivered with explosive impact. The discussion about faith and how it connects to perseverance, strength, hardships and the magic itself was one of my favorite part of the novel. Why do bad things happen to good people? If there’s a god, why does He keep on letting bad things happen? This is an old philosophical and religious debate that’s been discussed countless times. I think the authors did a fine job of exploring the topic. Check out this passage for example, it’s a long one but absolutely worth the read:
“We are all born with the capacity for good and evil, Harmony and Pandemonium. However, the course of a person’s life is not set at birth. No one is born a rapist or a murderer. Or a saint, for that matter. The experiences in their lives—their family, their friends, the events experienced as a child—all feed either this internal Harmony or Pandemonium. Children born by good parents awash in Harmony have a propensity for Harmony, of course. An internal drive for peace and love and protection. But, if they spend time with greedy, vicious friends, surrounded by evil, they will, themselves, become tainted and corrupted. However, the reverse is also true. A child, born with the propensity for Pandemonium, if raised by a loving mother and family, shown the correct path to faith and decency, will grow to be a good person.”
As for minor issues, I did have a few problems with the pacing; this was most evident in the first 20% of the book where the book felt so dense because dialogues were relatively few. The other minor issue was that I found Emma and Hafgan’s storylines to be heavily overshadowed by Fenrir’s and Merigold’s. This doesn’t mean that their storyline was boring or bad per se; it’s just that I’m much more intrigued in reading Fenrir’s and Merigold’s storyline instead. Fortunately, judging from how the book ended, it seems like things are about to get very interesting for every character in the next installment.
Overall, I loved this book. Solace Lost is a riveting grimdark debut that does not hold back its punches. Designed specifically for fans of the genre, it was an incredibly compelling and tragic tale that deals with heavy themes about loss, racial issues, humanity, and faith with maximum force. Sliter has crafted something that would definitely make the Lord and Queen of Grimdark proud. Undoubtedly, I’m looking forward to reading the next installment.
Content warning and minor spoiler on when it happened:
You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
October 17, 2019
This Review ✍️ Blog 📖 Twitter 🐦 Instagram 📷
Disclaimer: Book provided by the author in exchange of an honest review
★ The First Law meets Game of Thrones in this great debut for fans of the grimdark fantasy genre! Don’t let the fact that this is self-published fool you, I have discovered many hidden gems in the self-published world and this is definitely one of them!
★ I am not good at explaining what books are about so I think it is better to check the synopsis and other reviews for that, all I can say that a civil war is brewing and we get to experience this through four characters!
★ Michael’s writing is really good, I think part of the reason why I and other reviewers are intimidated by adult fantasy books is their size and the way they are written. Michael’s writing flowed easily, really gripping (I finished this in 3 days!) and yet the author uses some fancy and lush words that are the cherry on top and make the writing strikes a great balance! English is not my first language so, to be honest, I had to translate a couple of words but that just means my vocabulary expanded and that makes me happy!
★ This is a character-driven story and that means I have to focus on this in this review. The book is written in 3rd person POV and follows 4 characters: Fenrir, Merigold, Emma Dram (Plus Lady Escamilla) and Hafgan. The majority of the book focuses on Fenrir and Merigold.
★ I love when books are not black or white, I am not a big fan of the good guys vs bad guys and chosen one trope! I prefer morally grey characters that have motives beyond their actions, that work to achieve their agendas. This reflects real life, the more you get to know people, the more sides of them you discover.
★ A general note is that we spend a good time in the heads of these characters and get to know how they think, and this being written by a psychologist makes this a really strong point writing-wise. (I was studying psychiatry while reading this -by chance- and that made me notice the psychological defense mechanisms that the characters use to explain their actions!)
★ A little bit about the characters: Fenrir is a criminal who gave me Glokta/ Ninefingers from The First Law series vibes, he is a jerk and not the usual good main character!
- Lady Escamilla and Emma were my favorite, they gave me Lady Olenna and Sansa Stark vibes! Lady Escamilla was so sassy and powerful and I just couldn’t resist loving her for that!
- Merigold is the nicest girl in the story and she is kind of religious and with the ensuing drama that happens in the book, she probably has the best character development, she also possesses some magical abilities that let her take energy from people.
- Hafgan is a Wasmer, he is not human but he is an outsider trying to fit in the community and not succeeding very much at that!
★ This book is dark, like really really dark! It goes into discussing many dark topics and I think it did that well. As I said in my review of Ninth House, I am not against discussing these topics, I just think that the should be done in the right context, and think this book succeeded in doing so! I am not going to go into details about them but the book includes Rape and dismemberment and some torturing. I think that readers should go into this while mentally prepared for something heavy. It is still enjoyable but at a certain point, I had lost my faith in humanity (And found out that the third book is called Faith Lost!). Including these themes was cool because it is a good chance to talk about them and remove the stigma surrounding them and because it really helped to flesh the characters out! The darker side of the characters made me question if I really like anyone in the story!
★ The book also discusses some ethical and philosophical questions. I like when religion is part of the fantasy world, because as long as there are humans there will be religions and they even share some of the dilemmas we have, apparently religion is universal and the author could discuss it without attacking any religion in the real world!
★ I am not going to pretend that I am an expert when it comes to adult fantasy because I am still new to the genre, this had slow pacing which I think is usual in this genre. I really did not mind that because I was so absorbed into the story and characters. Part of the pacing was because it is a bit too descriptive but I especially enjoyed the characters’ witty but serious dialogues! I even wanted more of them.
★ There are a few things that I would have done differently, the book focuses on 2 characters more than the others and that kind of made them less interesting. I can guarantee that they are all good but some were simply better and more fleshed out. I hope that the next book will focus more on them and help make them more interesting!
★ The thing that makes me really excited is that the book kept getting better and the world kept getting expanded! There is magic and war and Gods and all that fantasy fans like and I think it will all get better in the next installments!
★ Summary: Solace Lost is a great grimdark fantasy debut that is character-driven, with great writing and important themes. Remember how season one of GoT started by introducing the characters and then it went into dark places and expanded slowly, I think this is almost the same here! I had bad luck with Tetralogies in the past, but if this keeps getting better, I think that this may become my favorite tetralogy in the future!
You can get more books from Book Depository
“My son, ‘ strife befalls us all. A weak man lets it define him, while a strong man lets it expand him.’”
Disclaimer: Book provided by the author in exchange of an honest review
★ The First Law meets Game of Thrones in this great debut for fans of the grimdark fantasy genre! Don’t let the fact that this is self-published fool you, I have discovered many hidden gems in the self-published world and this is definitely one of them!
★ I am not good at explaining what books are about so I think it is better to check the synopsis and other reviews for that, all I can say that a civil war is brewing and we get to experience this through four characters!
★ Michael’s writing is really good, I think part of the reason why I and other reviewers are intimidated by adult fantasy books is their size and the way they are written. Michael’s writing flowed easily, really gripping (I finished this in 3 days!) and yet the author uses some fancy and lush words that are the cherry on top and make the writing strikes a great balance! English is not my first language so, to be honest, I had to translate a couple of words but that just means my vocabulary expanded and that makes me happy!
“After all, one couldn’t expect a bolt of lightning to strike someone who’d committed an evil deed.”
★ This is a character-driven story and that means I have to focus on this in this review. The book is written in 3rd person POV and follows 4 characters: Fenrir, Merigold, Emma Dram (Plus Lady Escamilla) and Hafgan. The majority of the book focuses on Fenrir and Merigold.
★ I love when books are not black or white, I am not a big fan of the good guys vs bad guys and chosen one trope! I prefer morally grey characters that have motives beyond their actions, that work to achieve their agendas. This reflects real life, the more you get to know people, the more sides of them you discover.
★ A general note is that we spend a good time in the heads of these characters and get to know how they think, and this being written by a psychologist makes this a really strong point writing-wise. (I was studying psychiatry while reading this -by chance- and that made me notice the psychological defense mechanisms that the characters use to explain their actions!)
“My father was a smuggler, and my mother was… well… unhappy that my father was a smuggler. The usual story. She ran. He found her. He killed her. I killed him”
★ A little bit about the characters: Fenrir is a criminal who gave me Glokta/ Ninefingers from The First Law series vibes, he is a jerk and not the usual good main character!
- Lady Escamilla and Emma were my favorite, they gave me Lady Olenna and Sansa Stark vibes! Lady Escamilla was so sassy and powerful and I just couldn’t resist loving her for that!
- Merigold is the nicest girl in the story and she is kind of religious and with the ensuing drama that happens in the book, she probably has the best character development, she also possesses some magical abilities that let her take energy from people.
- Hafgan is a Wasmer, he is not human but he is an outsider trying to fit in the community and not succeeding very much at that!
★ This book is dark, like really really dark! It goes into discussing many dark topics and I think it did that well. As I said in my review of Ninth House, I am not against discussing these topics, I just think that the should be done in the right context, and think this book succeeded in doing so! I am not going to go into details about them but the book includes Rape and dismemberment and some torturing. I think that readers should go into this while mentally prepared for something heavy. It is still enjoyable but at a certain point, I had lost my faith in humanity (And found out that the third book is called Faith Lost!). Including these themes was cool because it is a good chance to talk about them and remove the stigma surrounding them and because it really helped to flesh the characters out! The darker side of the characters made me question if I really like anyone in the story!
★ The book also discusses some ethical and philosophical questions. I like when religion is part of the fantasy world, because as long as there are humans there will be religions and they even share some of the dilemmas we have, apparently religion is universal and the author could discuss it without attacking any religion in the real world!
“We’ve discussed rape, murder and wholesale slaughter. Little cab be darker than that,” said Emma with some sarcasm.
★ I am not going to pretend that I am an expert when it comes to adult fantasy because I am still new to the genre, this had slow pacing which I think is usual in this genre. I really did not mind that because I was so absorbed into the story and characters. Part of the pacing was because it is a bit too descriptive but I especially enjoyed the characters’ witty but serious dialogues! I even wanted more of them.
★ There are a few things that I would have done differently, the book focuses on 2 characters more than the others and that kind of made them less interesting. I can guarantee that they are all good but some were simply better and more fleshed out. I hope that the next book will focus more on them and help make them more interesting!
★ The thing that makes me really excited is that the book kept getting better and the world kept getting expanded! There is magic and war and Gods and all that fantasy fans like and I think it will all get better in the next installments!
“She saw herself in the mirror then, still naked, still bruised, still pale, still sunken, still broken. Still a killer”
★ Summary: Solace Lost is a great grimdark fantasy debut that is character-driven, with great writing and important themes. Remember how season one of GoT started by introducing the characters and then it went into dark places and expanded slowly, I think this is almost the same here! I had bad luck with Tetralogies in the past, but if this keeps getting better, I think that this may become my favorite tetralogy in the future!
You can get more books from Book Depository
Read
May 10, 2020***Update***
All future updates will be on my review page for Wisdom Lost, which is out now!
***Update***
Half of Wisdom Lost is edited and back in my hands, and the BEAUTIFUL cover is shaping up nicely, as is the second map. I'm thankful to have awesome editors, artists, and designers who can do this type of thing. The sketch I made for the cover was child-level bad, and some typos were embarrassing.
I haven't picked a release date yet, but that should be announced soon!
***Update***
Wisdom Lost is out with beta readers and I'm taking a break from editing by starting Book 3! Tentatively called Faith Lost, I'm about 3000 words deep so far. Once I get beta feedback, I'll dive back into Wisdom Lost with a fresh perspective, and then it will head out to my editor by the end of the month.
Then, I'll need to work with the cover artist and, well... figure out what I want the cover to look like.
***Update***
A full draft of Book 2, Wisdom Lost, is done! I'm going through the first round of edits. Happily, I can say it is a lot less rough than Solace Lost was after the first draft. Oh, and that ending... Looking at a late spring release!
***Update***
Five of the six storylines are wrapped up! I expect the first full draft by the end of November, and then the self-editing and beta reading begins, followed by the professional editing and, most excitingly, the cover art!
***Update***
Book 2, Wisdom Lost, is coming along nicely! It’s sitting at around 70% done. The most ambitious release date is next spring.
Now that we are moved and settled in, writing is again becoming a priority.
All future updates will be on my review page for Wisdom Lost, which is out now!
***Update***
Half of Wisdom Lost is edited and back in my hands, and the BEAUTIFUL cover is shaping up nicely, as is the second map. I'm thankful to have awesome editors, artists, and designers who can do this type of thing. The sketch I made for the cover was child-level bad, and some typos were embarrassing.
I haven't picked a release date yet, but that should be announced soon!
***Update***
Wisdom Lost is out with beta readers and I'm taking a break from editing by starting Book 3! Tentatively called Faith Lost, I'm about 3000 words deep so far. Once I get beta feedback, I'll dive back into Wisdom Lost with a fresh perspective, and then it will head out to my editor by the end of the month.
Then, I'll need to work with the cover artist and, well... figure out what I want the cover to look like.
***Update***
A full draft of Book 2, Wisdom Lost, is done! I'm going through the first round of edits. Happily, I can say it is a lot less rough than Solace Lost was after the first draft. Oh, and that ending... Looking at a late spring release!
***Update***
Five of the six storylines are wrapped up! I expect the first full draft by the end of November, and then the self-editing and beta reading begins, followed by the professional editing and, most excitingly, the cover art!
***Update***
Book 2, Wisdom Lost, is coming along nicely! It’s sitting at around 70% done. The most ambitious release date is next spring.
Now that we are moved and settled in, writing is again becoming a priority.
December 8, 2019
3.5 stars
‘Each man seemed lost in their own thoughts. Perhaps they thought of the battle in the morning, or perhaps the mystery of the compound. Or, maybe they were lost in memories of their own personal ghosts; gazing into a fire in the darkness tended to force a person to reflect on their past.’
~
Solace Lost by Michael Sliter is the first book in the Pandemonium Rising series. I’ll start by saying this novel is grimdark to its core, and covers a lot of dark themes. So fair warning, if grimdark is not your scene then this book isn’t for you. However, this is a tale of holding on to hope in a hopeless world, of keeping faith when all else seems desolate, and fundamentally it is a tale of finding strength, courage and the will to fight back.
The book begins by hitting the reader with some very vivid world building. The land of Ardia is on the edge of an all out civil war. Famine, illness and despair thrive. A Duke rivals for power, but underneath the surface a more powerful malevolent being pulls the strings, seeking to control the nation and bend it to it’s will. We see this world is gritty, deadly, and downright filthy. I mean literally filthy. Sliter really exploits your senses here; from the filthy muck ridden streets, filled with shit and waste, to the gore filled brawls, we are presented with an abundance of savagery and depression.
~
‘A feeling of confident brutality filled the room. These beings were men who would rather kill each other over some loot than share. These were men who would visit violence on an enemy without trying to talk out their issues first. These men were killers.’
~
I think it’s fair to say the Solace Lost is predominately a character driven story. For much of the novel, Sliter focuses on building up the main protagonists; Merigold, Fenrir, Emma and Hafgan, whose lives entwine together as they each play a part in the oncoming war. The events they experience significantly work to shape the course of their lives, and provide plausible motivation for every action they take, no matter how morally grey those actions may be. Personally, I felt this made the first half of the novel a touch too slow for my preference, and perhaps we were given too much information, but on the other hand I did see the value of the in depth characterisation by the end. So, I’ll now delve into a bit more about these characters.
At the beginning of the book we see that Merigold lives an extremely sheltered life. She resides and works in her father’s tavern, and is constantly restricted and protected by him. She is portrayed as naive; you could rightly say she sees the world through rose tinted glasses. She has unrealistic notions of love and truly believes her desires will pan out exactly how she imagines them, because if you are a devout follower of the divine Yetra, then how could they not? Now, our poor sweet Merigold goes through a traumatic, harrowing experience fairly early on in the book. This event is by far the most darkest of the narratives, so if anyone wishes to know more please do ask me. However, it’s important to know that this scene is not included just to establish this book as grimdark, personally I loathe books that do that. Instead Sliter uses this event not only to raise the philosophical question of ‘why does a God let good people suffer?’ but he also uses it as a catalyst for Merigold’s violent and vengeful path. She transforms into a determined, powerful woman who refuses to allow anyone to dominate her ever again. She learns about her innate magical abilities, and as she attempts to master them she realises the consequences of having such unimaginable power. I wholeheartedly loved Merigold, she’s a character that I’ll never quite forget.
Then we had the somewhat morally grey, Fenrir, who
was working for the criminal organisation called The House. To be honest I found Fenrir to be mostly unlikeable; he’s brash, quite arrogant, he believes he’s handsome, well endowed, and basically god’s gift to women. I found the way he referred to and interacted with women was often cringe worthy and made for some eye rolling moments! I realise that Sliter meant him to be portrayed in this light, and that we are meant to see that underneath the surface, Fenrir is actually insecure and is always seeking approval and recognition, as he knows he’s incompetent at many things. This did provoke some sympathy for his character, but I still felt his supposed egotism overshadowed all else. I did however really enjoy that Fenrir had a phantom self that could detach from his body and watch over his deeds. This was a great ability to explore. I also liked the humour that Fenrir brought to the table, it was much needed in a world which was predominantly bleak.
~
‘“If we’re going to die, we might as well be a little drunk. Here, it’ll take the edge off.”
Tilner Pick slapped the flask away from Fenrir, sending the container whirling into the trees, sloshing flecks of liquid onto several men along the way.
“Hey, that was the good stuff!” Said Fenrir with mock anger.’
~
I’ll briefly mention the remaining protagonists; Emma and Hafgan, who were both pivotal in bringing to light issues of prejudice. Emma was often disgraced and seen as a lesser person, not only because she was handmaiden to Lady Escamilla and she actively participated in her war councils, which given her status was frowned upon, but also because of her maimed hand. In Ardia, having four fingers or less, was a mark of the criminal House, which meant you were not a respectable citizen. Therefore Emma was often shunned. Hafgan too suffered much ridicule, simply for being a Wasmer; an almost human creature, with heighten strength and speed, and sharp fangs. He desperately wanted to fit in with the humans; to earn the soldiers respect and to be treated as an equal amongst them, his solution to doing precisely that was to master their language. I found myself really rooting for his character, and hope to see his character arc developed in future books.
Overall I felt Solace Lost was a strong debut for what is set to be a darkly thrilling series. Judging by the fantastic epilogue that Sliter leaves us with, there is a whole lot more shadiness to come in the sequel Wisdom Lost.
Review copy of Solace Lost provided by the author, Michael Sliter, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
‘Each man seemed lost in their own thoughts. Perhaps they thought of the battle in the morning, or perhaps the mystery of the compound. Or, maybe they were lost in memories of their own personal ghosts; gazing into a fire in the darkness tended to force a person to reflect on their past.’
~
Solace Lost by Michael Sliter is the first book in the Pandemonium Rising series. I’ll start by saying this novel is grimdark to its core, and covers a lot of dark themes. So fair warning, if grimdark is not your scene then this book isn’t for you. However, this is a tale of holding on to hope in a hopeless world, of keeping faith when all else seems desolate, and fundamentally it is a tale of finding strength, courage and the will to fight back.
The book begins by hitting the reader with some very vivid world building. The land of Ardia is on the edge of an all out civil war. Famine, illness and despair thrive. A Duke rivals for power, but underneath the surface a more powerful malevolent being pulls the strings, seeking to control the nation and bend it to it’s will. We see this world is gritty, deadly, and downright filthy. I mean literally filthy. Sliter really exploits your senses here; from the filthy muck ridden streets, filled with shit and waste, to the gore filled brawls, we are presented with an abundance of savagery and depression.
~
‘A feeling of confident brutality filled the room. These beings were men who would rather kill each other over some loot than share. These were men who would visit violence on an enemy without trying to talk out their issues first. These men were killers.’
~
I think it’s fair to say the Solace Lost is predominately a character driven story. For much of the novel, Sliter focuses on building up the main protagonists; Merigold, Fenrir, Emma and Hafgan, whose lives entwine together as they each play a part in the oncoming war. The events they experience significantly work to shape the course of their lives, and provide plausible motivation for every action they take, no matter how morally grey those actions may be. Personally, I felt this made the first half of the novel a touch too slow for my preference, and perhaps we were given too much information, but on the other hand I did see the value of the in depth characterisation by the end. So, I’ll now delve into a bit more about these characters.
At the beginning of the book we see that Merigold lives an extremely sheltered life. She resides and works in her father’s tavern, and is constantly restricted and protected by him. She is portrayed as naive; you could rightly say she sees the world through rose tinted glasses. She has unrealistic notions of love and truly believes her desires will pan out exactly how she imagines them, because if you are a devout follower of the divine Yetra, then how could they not? Now, our poor sweet Merigold goes through a traumatic, harrowing experience fairly early on in the book. This event is by far the most darkest of the narratives, so if anyone wishes to know more please do ask me. However, it’s important to know that this scene is not included just to establish this book as grimdark, personally I loathe books that do that. Instead Sliter uses this event not only to raise the philosophical question of ‘why does a God let good people suffer?’ but he also uses it as a catalyst for Merigold’s violent and vengeful path. She transforms into a determined, powerful woman who refuses to allow anyone to dominate her ever again. She learns about her innate magical abilities, and as she attempts to master them she realises the consequences of having such unimaginable power. I wholeheartedly loved Merigold, she’s a character that I’ll never quite forget.
Then we had the somewhat morally grey, Fenrir, who
was working for the criminal organisation called The House. To be honest I found Fenrir to be mostly unlikeable; he’s brash, quite arrogant, he believes he’s handsome, well endowed, and basically god’s gift to women. I found the way he referred to and interacted with women was often cringe worthy and made for some eye rolling moments! I realise that Sliter meant him to be portrayed in this light, and that we are meant to see that underneath the surface, Fenrir is actually insecure and is always seeking approval and recognition, as he knows he’s incompetent at many things. This did provoke some sympathy for his character, but I still felt his supposed egotism overshadowed all else. I did however really enjoy that Fenrir had a phantom self that could detach from his body and watch over his deeds. This was a great ability to explore. I also liked the humour that Fenrir brought to the table, it was much needed in a world which was predominantly bleak.
~
‘“If we’re going to die, we might as well be a little drunk. Here, it’ll take the edge off.”
Tilner Pick slapped the flask away from Fenrir, sending the container whirling into the trees, sloshing flecks of liquid onto several men along the way.
“Hey, that was the good stuff!” Said Fenrir with mock anger.’
~
I’ll briefly mention the remaining protagonists; Emma and Hafgan, who were both pivotal in bringing to light issues of prejudice. Emma was often disgraced and seen as a lesser person, not only because she was handmaiden to Lady Escamilla and she actively participated in her war councils, which given her status was frowned upon, but also because of her maimed hand. In Ardia, having four fingers or less, was a mark of the criminal House, which meant you were not a respectable citizen. Therefore Emma was often shunned. Hafgan too suffered much ridicule, simply for being a Wasmer; an almost human creature, with heighten strength and speed, and sharp fangs. He desperately wanted to fit in with the humans; to earn the soldiers respect and to be treated as an equal amongst them, his solution to doing precisely that was to master their language. I found myself really rooting for his character, and hope to see his character arc developed in future books.
Overall I felt Solace Lost was a strong debut for what is set to be a darkly thrilling series. Judging by the fantastic epilogue that Sliter leaves us with, there is a whole lot more shadiness to come in the sequel Wisdom Lost.
Review copy of Solace Lost provided by the author, Michael Sliter, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
July 8, 2019
If the star rating and the admission that I purchased book two before I even finished the first in its entirety doesn't communicate what I thought of this book, then I'll be more forward:
Dis SOOOOOO Good!!!!!
This needs soooo much more love than it has received and then some, piled up high to the top with attention and praise!!
This author is going places!!! This is a debut??!!! I would never be able to tell! It seems so polished and cohesive?!!!
There are the beginnings of such complicated strands, I can hardly believe that this author is new to the field! I'm SO Ready to see what comes next.
Before I continue, there is a trigger warning here regarding Rape and general sexual abuse. In my honest opinion, it was done tastefully, with all the consequences and the resulting behavioral changes very much evident within the mind and body of the victim. There was no perversion here that went into unnecessary detail for the sake of shock value. It was mentioned as part of the tale and not dissected in absurd flourish. After the initial incident, the remainder of what occurred is mostly written as a fade to black situation. These things are absolutely okay to write about. These things happen. And these things produce characters like the victim within these texts.
The best part of it all was that the victim did not inexplicably gain immeasurable strength to come into their need for vengeance. This character struggles to understand what they are capable of achieving, like any of us would be, when they face such prospects ahead.
It's well done!
The characters are amazing, I love every one of them, but my favorite held tight to my blackened heart is Fen.
Fen Fen Fen.
Fen is me. Fen is as bumbling and clumsy as I might be in performing the morbid tasks he's expected to carry through. Life might guide our hand in many ways that we may not have expected when we loosely etched out the course to the future, but he's mighty realistic when it turns out that life's path isn't.... um, exactly fit to our character. Or our skills for that matter....
All the characters within have their own unique flaws and strengths. They stay true to those things, while also somehow coming into their own while faced with the adversity of this world. I was never bored reading through this text. Typically I skim parts of warfare and battle, but there was always something happening within to draw the attention and to keep hold of it.
There are mysteries abound without any signs of unraveling, complicated twists and turns with no apparent end! Even still, it felt satisfying to read.
I am so ready for the next!!!
Dis SOOOOOO Good!!!!!
This needs soooo much more love than it has received and then some, piled up high to the top with attention and praise!!
This author is going places!!! This is a debut??!!! I would never be able to tell! It seems so polished and cohesive?!!!
There are the beginnings of such complicated strands, I can hardly believe that this author is new to the field! I'm SO Ready to see what comes next.
Before I continue, there is a trigger warning here regarding Rape and general sexual abuse. In my honest opinion, it was done tastefully, with all the consequences and the resulting behavioral changes very much evident within the mind and body of the victim. There was no perversion here that went into unnecessary detail for the sake of shock value. It was mentioned as part of the tale and not dissected in absurd flourish. After the initial incident, the remainder of what occurred is mostly written as a fade to black situation. These things are absolutely okay to write about. These things happen. And these things produce characters like the victim within these texts.
The best part of it all was that the victim did not inexplicably gain immeasurable strength to come into their need for vengeance. This character struggles to understand what they are capable of achieving, like any of us would be, when they face such prospects ahead.
It's well done!
The characters are amazing, I love every one of them, but my favorite held tight to my blackened heart is Fen.
Fen Fen Fen.
Fen is me. Fen is as bumbling and clumsy as I might be in performing the morbid tasks he's expected to carry through. Life might guide our hand in many ways that we may not have expected when we loosely etched out the course to the future, but he's mighty realistic when it turns out that life's path isn't.... um, exactly fit to our character. Or our skills for that matter....
All the characters within have their own unique flaws and strengths. They stay true to those things, while also somehow coming into their own while faced with the adversity of this world. I was never bored reading through this text. Typically I skim parts of warfare and battle, but there was always something happening within to draw the attention and to keep hold of it.
There are mysteries abound without any signs of unraveling, complicated twists and turns with no apparent end! Even still, it felt satisfying to read.
I am so ready for the next!!!
October 31, 2019
Ardia is on the brink of war. A tyrant, a mystery, and an enigma seek to bring the populace to its knees in submission, while horrors driven by hunger and rage are to be unleashed to drench the land in blood. The lives of four individuals are entwined, their sole purpose is to stop the vileness from prevailing, but the world is set on trying them every step of the way. Where magic and savagery prevails, will they be able to hold back the tide of destruction, or will their country be ultimately consumed by darkness?
Solace Lost is the the first installment in Michael Sliter’s Pandemonium Rising series, and is a merciless and devastating character-centric grimdark novel defined by its brutality and tone of utter desperation. At its heart, beneath the blood and gore, it’s a tale of strength and holding onto faith when all hope is lost. It’s about finding your rightful place, despite the hostilities of the world, or the all-powerful urges to conform. While this is a story of war, it’s also a true examination into one angle of the age-old psychological debate of nature versus nurture; everyone is born with the predisposition to good and the propensity to evil, and they are a product of their environment. I’ll be completely honest with you, there surely is no rest for the wicked in Sliter’s debut, as heinous atrocities gloriously seep from almost every single page, and the world we’re delivered to aptly reflects this.
This is a story that focuses most on its characters and their development in response to the bleak environment they’re subjected to. Presented with four points of view of highly diverse backgrounds – namely those of Fenrir Coldbreaker, Emma Dran, Hafgan Iwan, and Merigold Hinter – each chapter follows one certain character, and also expresses a subtly distinct tone. It isn’t difficult to decipher whose eyes we’re peering through due to this well-executed mechanism. As the story progresses, and they’re each exposed to the savagery mankind is capable of, we begin to see the evolution of the characters’ mindsets as tones begin to shift. Once proud, now apathetic. Once broken, now steadfast. Once callous, now righteous. Once innocent, now corrupted. I thought this gradual deviation was a brilliant way to showcase advancement without forcing us to make judgements based on their actions alone.
In addition to carefully crafted characters, the worldbuilding is where Sliter truly shines. Ardia is a land rich in deep, complex history, and full of many different walks of sentient life, all struggling to coexist. The detailed lore and religious foundations, both explained in short insights peppered throughout, also serve as driving forces for events in this story. We’re initially introduced to slight instances of magic, one that continues to grow and become more interesting and destructive as the chapters progress. Vividly described environments and systematic social structures strongly draw you into this fleshed out world dominated by violence and bloodshed. I will admit that at times I felt like I was being presented with too much information that seemingly had no effect on the story at hand, but as this is the first book in an epic fantasy series, an ample amount of details is expected to set up the rest of the slated tetralogy.
Sliter tells this tale with simple, straightforward prose, overflowing with cringe-worthy, lucid details that managed to make even me uncomfortable at times (this is a feat in itself). His ability to evoke emotional feedback is outstanding, touching upon some genuinely shocking topics, taking those grimdark tropes we all know and love, and cranking up the volume to max. As with many stories in this particular genre, mostly everyone and everything falls into a morally gray area, concrete heroes are nowhere to be found, but villains are immensely villainous. My only bits of criticism for the entirety of the book would be pointed towards several parts of the narrative suffering from slow pacing, and I also found myself looking forward to chapters pertaining to certain characters rather than the others.
Solace Lost is a solid debut and treat for fans of (extremely) dark and grimdark fantasy. Regardless of its slow pacing, the underlying plot is highly intriguing, keeping the pages turning just to discover what happens next. Fair warning, this book contains several events that may be difficult to read, including rape and torture, but I thought they were successfully used as vehicles for both plot and character development as the story continued. We’re left at a point where the fate of all hangs in the balance with lots of ‘what-if’s and ‘WHAT?!’s – that epilogue blew my mind…it’s imperative I continue with Wisdom Lost, book two of Pandemonium Rising, to see the consequences of that little morsel of deviousness! If you’re on the hunt for a read involving the bloody politics of war, some beautifully constructed characters, and a highly detailed world, then I recommend giving this one a shot.
Note: A huge thank you to Michael Sliter for sending me some of the most gorgeous grimdark books adorning my shelves.
Solace Lost is the the first installment in Michael Sliter’s Pandemonium Rising series, and is a merciless and devastating character-centric grimdark novel defined by its brutality and tone of utter desperation. At its heart, beneath the blood and gore, it’s a tale of strength and holding onto faith when all hope is lost. It’s about finding your rightful place, despite the hostilities of the world, or the all-powerful urges to conform. While this is a story of war, it’s also a true examination into one angle of the age-old psychological debate of nature versus nurture; everyone is born with the predisposition to good and the propensity to evil, and they are a product of their environment. I’ll be completely honest with you, there surely is no rest for the wicked in Sliter’s debut, as heinous atrocities gloriously seep from almost every single page, and the world we’re delivered to aptly reflects this.
This is a story that focuses most on its characters and their development in response to the bleak environment they’re subjected to. Presented with four points of view of highly diverse backgrounds – namely those of Fenrir Coldbreaker, Emma Dran, Hafgan Iwan, and Merigold Hinter – each chapter follows one certain character, and also expresses a subtly distinct tone. It isn’t difficult to decipher whose eyes we’re peering through due to this well-executed mechanism. As the story progresses, and they’re each exposed to the savagery mankind is capable of, we begin to see the evolution of the characters’ mindsets as tones begin to shift. Once proud, now apathetic. Once broken, now steadfast. Once callous, now righteous. Once innocent, now corrupted. I thought this gradual deviation was a brilliant way to showcase advancement without forcing us to make judgements based on their actions alone.
In addition to carefully crafted characters, the worldbuilding is where Sliter truly shines. Ardia is a land rich in deep, complex history, and full of many different walks of sentient life, all struggling to coexist. The detailed lore and religious foundations, both explained in short insights peppered throughout, also serve as driving forces for events in this story. We’re initially introduced to slight instances of magic, one that continues to grow and become more interesting and destructive as the chapters progress. Vividly described environments and systematic social structures strongly draw you into this fleshed out world dominated by violence and bloodshed. I will admit that at times I felt like I was being presented with too much information that seemingly had no effect on the story at hand, but as this is the first book in an epic fantasy series, an ample amount of details is expected to set up the rest of the slated tetralogy.
Sliter tells this tale with simple, straightforward prose, overflowing with cringe-worthy, lucid details that managed to make even me uncomfortable at times (this is a feat in itself). His ability to evoke emotional feedback is outstanding, touching upon some genuinely shocking topics, taking those grimdark tropes we all know and love, and cranking up the volume to max. As with many stories in this particular genre, mostly everyone and everything falls into a morally gray area, concrete heroes are nowhere to be found, but villains are immensely villainous. My only bits of criticism for the entirety of the book would be pointed towards several parts of the narrative suffering from slow pacing, and I also found myself looking forward to chapters pertaining to certain characters rather than the others.
Solace Lost is a solid debut and treat for fans of (extremely) dark and grimdark fantasy. Regardless of its slow pacing, the underlying plot is highly intriguing, keeping the pages turning just to discover what happens next. Fair warning, this book contains several events that may be difficult to read, including rape and torture, but I thought they were successfully used as vehicles for both plot and character development as the story continued. We’re left at a point where the fate of all hangs in the balance with lots of ‘what-if’s and ‘WHAT?!’s – that epilogue blew my mind…it’s imperative I continue with Wisdom Lost, book two of Pandemonium Rising, to see the consequences of that little morsel of deviousness! If you’re on the hunt for a read involving the bloody politics of war, some beautifully constructed characters, and a highly detailed world, then I recommend giving this one a shot.
Note: A huge thank you to Michael Sliter for sending me some of the most gorgeous grimdark books adorning my shelves.
December 23, 2019
“With a great piercing shriek, something pale and humanoid sprinted into the light, straight for Fenrir. He braced himself, his sword instantly up in the ready position, held two-handed in front of him. The creature launched itself at him, impaling its body upon his sword and pulling Fenrir to the ground with the momentum of its charge. Emma could see the creature continuing to flail its limbs at Fenrir, despite having been completely run through–the blade going in one side of the thing’s stomach and out the other."
Solace Lost is the debut novel by Michael Sliter and the first installment in the Pandemonium Rising series. It follows multiple POV’s – Fenrir, Merigold, Emma and Hafgan, their stories intersecting through a time when Ardia is on the brink of a civil war.
Although I wasn’t in love with some of the dialogue (ie: “Bearing her flower to him”) and the pacing felt awkward at times, I thought the worldbuilding aspect was wonderful. Vividly detailed with various religions, dialects, customs and races. There’s magic and politics and plenty of bloodshed.
“And then she ripped the very life out of him.”
Now, onto my main problem..
Ah, trigger warnings. Those who get offended by them, yet find offense in those who give them for important reasons. I’m someone who doesn’t need them, even though I’ve gone through past trauma. Deep, personal shit. But I’m well aware that everyone is different. I don’t see an issue with using them, because you never know what may break someone. It’s definitely a complicated matter. The type of books I read, I know there will be darkness. I tend to gravitate towards the darker things in life. At least on the page or on-screen. Real life tragedy can shake me to my very core, however. I’m certainly not alone in this way of thinking. Many of my fellow writers and readers are perfectly sane ::twitch:: people who just dig fucked up shit! Fucked up shit is practically my middle name, after all. I’ve been told on several occasions that I’m the go-to person when someone wants to cut their teeth on the darker reads out there. I’m cool with that. It’s my thing!
It’s a complex, messy argument. I agree that conflict comes from drama, but how the writer chooses to portray this is everything. EVERYTHING.
Heavy-handed violence and sexual assault against women is not a requirement for grimdark fantasy. For any genre. This is a trope that should have been put to bed long ago. I’m just.. so damn tired of it. Especially in a time where there’s so much diversity in current science fiction and fantasy books. I’m struggling to understand where the story in Solace Lost is going with all of this, as every female character seems to have some past trauma. They have suffered violence, sexual assault, mistreatment at the hands of men. This tired trope does not need to be used as a vehicle to drive forward plot or character development, yet that appears to be what much of this story is.
It just feels so unnecessary. Rape is not something I take lightly and the way a writer deals with it can make all the difference. There are other ways to show motivation! It doesn’t have to be so fucking rapey all the time!
My friend Nils (who I was buddy reading this with, although I came into it late) warned me ahead of time that there was rape, knowing my disdain for such tropes. Since I never read reviews beforehand, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting except that I was hoping for some badass lady warriors in a grimdark setting! I mean.. shit. It’s called Solace Lost, not Solace Found.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t “just” one rape scene.. there is multiple. In fact, a character is abducted and raped repeatedly (including gang raped). The abuse goes on for months. Then, as if that wasn’t already horrific enough, this character continues to have shit piled on her. This goes far and beyond the “breaking someone down to build them up” trope. Looking at the rating on Goodreads and seeing so many bloggers that I respect giving this such a high rating, I’m clearly in the minority. Although for me, it would feel disingenuous to throw in my usual ‘Your Mileage May Vary’, since this is such an overdone plot device that covers most of the book and took away much of my enjoyment. It was always so prevalent, that I couldn’t overlook it.
Not at all.
Which is a shame, because the story has got the bones to be something quite intriguing.
(The author provided a copy in exchange for an honest review!)
Solace Lost is the debut novel by Michael Sliter and the first installment in the Pandemonium Rising series. It follows multiple POV’s – Fenrir, Merigold, Emma and Hafgan, their stories intersecting through a time when Ardia is on the brink of a civil war.
Although I wasn’t in love with some of the dialogue (ie: “Bearing her flower to him”) and the pacing felt awkward at times, I thought the worldbuilding aspect was wonderful. Vividly detailed with various religions, dialects, customs and races. There’s magic and politics and plenty of bloodshed.
“And then she ripped the very life out of him.”
Now, onto my main problem..
Ah, trigger warnings. Those who get offended by them, yet find offense in those who give them for important reasons. I’m someone who doesn’t need them, even though I’ve gone through past trauma. Deep, personal shit. But I’m well aware that everyone is different. I don’t see an issue with using them, because you never know what may break someone. It’s definitely a complicated matter. The type of books I read, I know there will be darkness. I tend to gravitate towards the darker things in life. At least on the page or on-screen. Real life tragedy can shake me to my very core, however. I’m certainly not alone in this way of thinking. Many of my fellow writers and readers are perfectly sane ::twitch:: people who just dig fucked up shit! Fucked up shit is practically my middle name, after all. I’ve been told on several occasions that I’m the go-to person when someone wants to cut their teeth on the darker reads out there. I’m cool with that. It’s my thing!
It’s a complex, messy argument. I agree that conflict comes from drama, but how the writer chooses to portray this is everything. EVERYTHING.
Heavy-handed violence and sexual assault against women is not a requirement for grimdark fantasy. For any genre. This is a trope that should have been put to bed long ago. I’m just.. so damn tired of it. Especially in a time where there’s so much diversity in current science fiction and fantasy books. I’m struggling to understand where the story in Solace Lost is going with all of this, as every female character seems to have some past trauma. They have suffered violence, sexual assault, mistreatment at the hands of men. This tired trope does not need to be used as a vehicle to drive forward plot or character development, yet that appears to be what much of this story is.
It just feels so unnecessary. Rape is not something I take lightly and the way a writer deals with it can make all the difference. There are other ways to show motivation! It doesn’t have to be so fucking rapey all the time!
My friend Nils (who I was buddy reading this with, although I came into it late) warned me ahead of time that there was rape, knowing my disdain for such tropes. Since I never read reviews beforehand, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting except that I was hoping for some badass lady warriors in a grimdark setting! I mean.. shit. It’s called Solace Lost, not Solace Found.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t “just” one rape scene.. there is multiple. In fact, a character is abducted and raped repeatedly (including gang raped). The abuse goes on for months. Then, as if that wasn’t already horrific enough, this character continues to have shit piled on her. This goes far and beyond the “breaking someone down to build them up” trope. Looking at the rating on Goodreads and seeing so many bloggers that I respect giving this such a high rating, I’m clearly in the minority. Although for me, it would feel disingenuous to throw in my usual ‘Your Mileage May Vary’, since this is such an overdone plot device that covers most of the book and took away much of my enjoyment. It was always so prevalent, that I couldn’t overlook it.
Not at all.
Which is a shame, because the story has got the bones to be something quite intriguing.
(The author provided a copy in exchange for an honest review!)
April 7, 2020
As we all know, the world was formed at the crux of Harmony and Pandemonium, two unstoppable forces that ever have, and ever will, wander the Cosmos, drawn to each other like iron and a lodestone. Early images showed Harmony and Pandemonium as having human characteristics, great beings inevitably warring with whatever great powers were at hand. Many now conceptualize Harmony and Pandemonium to be more forces of nature, realities of existence, that seek to impose their aspects upon their surroundings without will. Others still believe that there is a consciousness behind the forces, a powerful desire to shape reality. I suppose that we shall never know the truth. Regardless, I digress.
The typical fantasy novel might begin with the genesis of its given world, and expand from that point, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a tried and accurate method. There was, however, nothing ordinary or predicable about Michael Sliter and his stories. He boldly defied the norm, the status quo. Instead of following in the footsteps of his literary forefathers, he went another, far superior route. Indeed, his focus was almost entirely on the characters. Doing so allowed them to shine, and resulted in a nearly unprecedented development, the likes of which I’ve rarely seen executed in fantasy, or any genre, really. Their individual developments were genuinely exquisite.
To classify Solace Lost (Book I in the Pandemonium Rising series,) as character-driven would be a monument understatement. It is all about the characters, and what drives them. Not only that, but Sliter accomplished a rare thing, even by today’s standards. The world in which everything takes place, Ardia, was a character in of itself. In fact, the two subsets of characters were equally fleshed out. The evolution of them all served as a fascinating study, and I’m extremely thankful that Sliter didn’t neglect one while developing the other.
Before going any further, I’d like to acknowledge the author, whose generosity made it possible for me to read his book in the first place. Seriously, you’re the coolest. Most authors probably wouldn’t be as giving as you’ve been, and I appreciate your kindness and friendship more than I can adequately communicate. (By the way, you’re not alone in having always been one to read an author’s acknowledgment pages.) And last but certainly not least, Carrie Chi Lough, an extraordinary friend and my go-to buddy reader. Reading these books together and the subsequent, in-depth discussions, helps keep me sane. As you know, they’re something I very much look forward to doing, preferable on a regular basis. Here’s to countless more!
Solace Lost was the epitome of a slow burn. But unlike most slow-paced stories, it never really felt that way. I was more than perfectly content to simply follow along as Fenrir de Trenton, Merigold Hinter, Hafgan Iwan, and Emma Dram made their personalized journeys forward. They were told in ways I hadn’t seen done before, too. In most novels, the main characters are usually introduced immediately, and particularly in ones with a densely populated cast, the author fluctuates their narratives, flitting fore and aft accordingly, so as not to show favoritism or confuse the reader. Not so with Sliter. He took a direction that was both unexpected and which permitted him to earnestly hone-in on the quartet. Their individual sections almost felt like vignettes of a bygone era, only there was an interconnectedness and continuity which assured me that there was much more to come; that they’d somehow come together, despite the apparent aloofness of each.
They, and the totality of the novel, came together in a big way. In ways that were HUGE.
...Fenrir's heart pounded hollowly in his rib cage while his stomach twisted and roiled, as if he'd drank a gallon of sour milk.
To clarify, the initial POV chapters were separated by many, many pages; hundreds, actually. Together, they almost read like four different books, albeit with clear connections throughout, like the detailed and contentious history between Fenrir and Emma. Before I was introduced to the next character, I felt so acclimated to Fenrir or Merigold that I practically forget about the others yet to come. That’s how firmly set I was in the duchies of Ardia.
While we’re on the subject, let’s talk about the unevenness of the characters. Some reviewers have faulted Sliter for that. Namely, they’ve complained about there being less Hafgan chapters; that it gravitated more toward Fenrir and Merigold. That is true, they are undivided. However, I don’t think that’s a valid issue to complain about or criticize. The disparities weren’t significant or troublesome. Of course, I can only speak for myself. Every reader’s experience is different.
If I had to name a favorite character, I’d have to go with Merigold. I connected with her in ways wholly unexpected, and I think her character was the most developed. The graphic culmination of her various trials and tribulations was something I was ill, ILL prepared for, and for her story alone, Michael Sliter should be applauded. It’s really that good, that powerful, and that emotional. I mourned for her in unpredictable and numerous ways. My heart breaks STILL, man.
Coming in second would be Fenrir.
Also, nothing ever felt forced or dishonest. Not just about Meri’s story, but the novel as a whole. Clearly, Sliter took his time getting to know and love these characters. He researched accordingly, and that’s reflected in the depth and authenticity of it. I think he wanted his readers to love them as much as he does. Like I said, it shows.
Now obviously, I could briefly discuss the novel’s immensely complex plot, its compelling political intrigue, or a dozen other elements it had going for it… but I won’t. Doing so would potentially ruin the awesome, awesome experience. My advice? Just try it. Read it. Live vicariously though these characters. See the world through a new set of eyes. I will, however, mention its epic grimdarkness, and share the following passage, which is a great example of that:
By design, the rest of the army had to both listen to the sounds of the dying men for hours and march through the gore—at least, through whatever wasn’t covered in dust—as a rather heavy-handed reminder of the price of desertion. This practice had not been used in over a hundred years, and was considered to be inhumane and brutal by modern standards.
Nor was that the pinnacle of its grimdarkness. It was much more bleak than that.
Solace Lost wrecked me, gutted me. It forever changed me.
Not for the feint of heart. I don’t say that lightly, either.
***
I’m incredibly eager to dive into Book II, Wisdom Lost, as well as the novella, Valley of the Free, which centers around Ferl’s Company. The latter is a prequel, and can be read in any order.
September 1, 2019
It's always amazing feeling to find a hidden book-gem (thanks Petrik for his review that convinced me to read it). If you are a grimdark fan, then I strongly recommend to read this book.
The author has a knack for interesting, believable and consistent characters. We follow lives of a farm girl, a maid, a thug and a mercenary who are trying to survive in this world. This world is merciless and naive and weak won't get far. I appreciate that author chose to have seemingly unimportant characters as his protagonists. In most books the protagonists are kings, generals, powerful fighters and other people of influence and it's nice to see a bit of divergence from this trend. I also appreciate that author managed to make them important, without it feeling forced and illogical given their initial position.
The characters develop nicely throughout the book and it's interesting to see how they deal with what happens to them. The plot deals with a civil war in a country named Adria. All characters become entangled in this war in one way or another and end up on different sides in this conflict. There is a lot of nuance to the characters and most of the characters are shades of grey. The only cons I have for this book is that pacing is a bit slower (especially in the beginning) and there was a quite of a bit of setup up for later books. The world has a lot of potential, but we haven't seen much from it yet, because all the events happened in one country so far. I expect this will probably change in the next book. I must also mention some of the events in the book are quite dark, so I wouldn't recommend it to people looking for a lighter read. All in all I feel like this series (and its author) has a great potential and I will continue with the sequel immediately.
The author has a knack for interesting, believable and consistent characters. We follow lives of a farm girl, a maid, a thug and a mercenary who are trying to survive in this world. This world is merciless and naive and weak won't get far. I appreciate that author chose to have seemingly unimportant characters as his protagonists. In most books the protagonists are kings, generals, powerful fighters and other people of influence and it's nice to see a bit of divergence from this trend. I also appreciate that author managed to make them important, without it feeling forced and illogical given their initial position.
The characters develop nicely throughout the book and it's interesting to see how they deal with what happens to them. The plot deals with a civil war in a country named Adria. All characters become entangled in this war in one way or another and end up on different sides in this conflict. There is a lot of nuance to the characters and most of the characters are shades of grey. The only cons I have for this book is that pacing is a bit slower (especially in the beginning) and there was a quite of a bit of setup up for later books. The world has a lot of potential, but we haven't seen much from it yet, because all the events happened in one country so far. I expect this will probably change in the next book. I must also mention some of the events in the book are quite dark, so I wouldn't recommend it to people looking for a lighter read. All in all I feel like this series (and its author) has a great potential and I will continue with the sequel immediately.
September 7, 2019
A good solid 3.5 stars. Excellent written, good solid world building and character building, will be reading the next books in this series.
Highly recommended to all my goodreads friends.
Highly recommended to all my goodreads friends.
August 21, 2019
This book really impressed me. Four main characters, each getting several POV chapters, and each of them very well fleshed out. Even the least noble of them has his redeeming qualities. And Hafgan is a great creation!
The world building is done with depth but does not rely on info dumps, which makes the reading that much more enjoyable. Layers of the world are introduced as are layers of the story. You feel yourself sinking deeper into the world without losing a sense of where you are. I thought the book had a slow burn feel to it without the pace suffering any.
As has been noted in other reviews, there is an episode that is tough to read. It's not been shoved in for shock value and does mould that character and how they behave afterwards, ie. it is an important element to the story. But the level of detail may be too much for some.
As with another trilogy I read recently, what I really loved about this book was the language. I live abroad and so do not have as much interaction with my native tongue as I'd like. So to read words like "pandemonium" is a joy! I really enjoy it when an author gives you a feast of words, delicacies you rarely taste, and Michael Sliter delivers in that respect.
I've ordered the second book and am eager to know what happens next (a few cliff-hangers at the end of book 1).
The world building is done with depth but does not rely on info dumps, which makes the reading that much more enjoyable. Layers of the world are introduced as are layers of the story. You feel yourself sinking deeper into the world without losing a sense of where you are. I thought the book had a slow burn feel to it without the pace suffering any.
As has been noted in other reviews, there is an episode that is tough to read. It's not been shoved in for shock value and does mould that character and how they behave afterwards, ie. it is an important element to the story. But the level of detail may be too much for some.
As with another trilogy I read recently, what I really loved about this book was the language. I live abroad and so do not have as much interaction with my native tongue as I'd like. So to read words like "pandemonium" is a joy! I really enjoy it when an author gives you a feast of words, delicacies you rarely taste, and Michael Sliter delivers in that respect.
I've ordered the second book and am eager to know what happens next (a few cliff-hangers at the end of book 1).
September 3, 2019
I read a lot of fantasy. A. Lot. Of. It. It's not often that I'm moved to actually write a review on one but for the one, I felt compelled. Michael Sliter is a very talented writer. The story telling is solid and he does a great job of introducing you the the world, the mechanics of that world and the characters without it getting the the way of the story. I really look forward to reading the second one and I was happy to see the author's comments that he's making progress on it (looking at you GRRM).
December 6, 2018
Brilliant beginning to a fantasy series with a plot that really picks up the pace towards the end. Can’t wait for book 2!
August 1, 2018
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
First Impressions (15%)
Book opens with Fenrir leading the way, a nasty-piece-of-work protagonist. Worldbuilding is done along the way at this point, leading to another major POV protagonist, Miss Sweetness-and-Sunshine, aka Merigold.
I immediately get the impression that something big is brewing on the horizon, a peek at the ruling powers and Merigold’s latent magic (and fancy for the lassies). I also like that the Wasmers, the rival powers, are not faceless.There is one guy making a life for himself in what amounts to enemy territory, and that’s intriguing all by itself. I wondered if there are any humans on the other side (probably a Dibbler).
This is a good build-up, and my curiosity was piqued; I definitely want to know what happens next.
However - I’m already getting an impression of waffling. There are a lot of unnecessary descriptions and monologues, which I do not feel advances either plot or characterization.
POV Characters/ Characterization
Honestly, I like Fenrir best. He is an amoral goon, but it’s pretty clear his early life influenced his outlook. I understand without condoning his actions that since most people treated him poorly, he simply lived up to their expectations.
Hafgan and the Wasmers in Ardia are treated exactly like you would expect, and their reactions are all too real. I can imagine the controlled tempers, the need to be invisible and to fit in. It would be interesting to see how these inbetweeners would fare in their homeland.
I liked Merigold the least, because she was structured from the beginning to be a punching bag. Her naivete was too in-your-face in the beginning and her introduction scene smelled exactly like a set-up for a grand breaking. However, one thing stood out to me and feels superbly realistic - Merigold is utterly alone in her trauma, and her self-imposed isolation is pretty common in real life. The situation she faced at her hometown where she was absolutely convinced that no one will believe her is something traumatized women face even today.
Escamilla and Emma should be more developed, but there’s more telling rather than showing with them. In fact, that’s a problem here - the villains are your basic moustache-twirling monologuers. We are quite explicitly told through backstories that certain characters are “good”, but then the bad guys are bad because we don’t see them do anything except the twirling and murdering.
Besides, I don’t like that both Escamilla and Merigold are “strong” because of their horrific background. Emma shows shades of this as well. Strength comes from being fire-forged, this is true - but most people who can endure it are already strong. I don’t feel that this was addressed properly.
Plot
Fast-moving and descriptive. There are a few POV shifts, and the chapters are structured well. You don’t get that annoying shift where somebody is hanging off a cliff and then suddenly the next guy is having a really good taco. The POV shifts transition smoothly and without loss of pace.
The build-up in the beginning doesn’t resolve itself, and it doesn’t actually seem like something that can be resolved in one book. There’s a lot of play between magic, religion and politics, which moving forward will be very interesting to see. Magic's awake, full-blown wars are in progress, and for religion, now that's the kicker.
The threads really started coming together towards the end, and then suddenly the whole plot was starting to make sense. Then the twist at the end… oh, boy. Now that is really something to watch for.
Prose
Concise, contemporary prose for the most part, with quite a bit of cursing.
However, there are weird descriptions which I think is supposed to be poetic. “...sighing like a sunset…” is one example. How does a sunset sigh, exactly?
The author’s strength lies in his workmanlike prose, which becomes more polished about the middle of the book. It gets weirdly melodramatic towards the latter end, with a lot of exclamation marks, but the middle bits shows the author’s strength in worldbuilding and character interactions.
Verdict
Worth the read. I have a feeling the next book is going to be better!
First Impressions (15%)
Book opens with Fenrir leading the way, a nasty-piece-of-work protagonist. Worldbuilding is done along the way at this point, leading to another major POV protagonist, Miss Sweetness-and-Sunshine, aka Merigold.
I immediately get the impression that something big is brewing on the horizon, a peek at the ruling powers and Merigold’s latent magic (and fancy for the lassies). I also like that the Wasmers, the rival powers, are not faceless.There is one guy making a life for himself in what amounts to enemy territory, and that’s intriguing all by itself. I wondered if there are any humans on the other side (probably a Dibbler).
This is a good build-up, and my curiosity was piqued; I definitely want to know what happens next.
However - I’m already getting an impression of waffling. There are a lot of unnecessary descriptions and monologues, which I do not feel advances either plot or characterization.
POV Characters/ Characterization
Honestly, I like Fenrir best. He is an amoral goon, but it’s pretty clear his early life influenced his outlook. I understand without condoning his actions that since most people treated him poorly, he simply lived up to their expectations.
Hafgan and the Wasmers in Ardia are treated exactly like you would expect, and their reactions are all too real. I can imagine the controlled tempers, the need to be invisible and to fit in. It would be interesting to see how these inbetweeners would fare in their homeland.
I liked Merigold the least, because she was structured from the beginning to be a punching bag. Her naivete was too in-your-face in the beginning and her introduction scene smelled exactly like a set-up for a grand breaking. However, one thing stood out to me and feels superbly realistic - Merigold is utterly alone in her trauma, and her self-imposed isolation is pretty common in real life. The situation she faced at her hometown where she was absolutely convinced that no one will believe her is something traumatized women face even today.
Escamilla and Emma should be more developed, but there’s more telling rather than showing with them. In fact, that’s a problem here - the villains are your basic moustache-twirling monologuers. We are quite explicitly told through backstories that certain characters are “good”, but then the bad guys are bad because we don’t see them do anything except the twirling and murdering.
Besides, I don’t like that both Escamilla and Merigold are “strong” because of their horrific background. Emma shows shades of this as well. Strength comes from being fire-forged, this is true - but most people who can endure it are already strong. I don’t feel that this was addressed properly.
Plot
Fast-moving and descriptive. There are a few POV shifts, and the chapters are structured well. You don’t get that annoying shift where somebody is hanging off a cliff and then suddenly the next guy is having a really good taco. The POV shifts transition smoothly and without loss of pace.
The build-up in the beginning doesn’t resolve itself, and it doesn’t actually seem like something that can be resolved in one book. There’s a lot of play between magic, religion and politics, which moving forward will be very interesting to see. Magic's awake, full-blown wars are in progress, and for religion, now that's the kicker.
The threads really started coming together towards the end, and then suddenly the whole plot was starting to make sense. Then the twist at the end… oh, boy. Now that is really something to watch for.
Prose
Concise, contemporary prose for the most part, with quite a bit of cursing.
However, there are weird descriptions which I think is supposed to be poetic. “...sighing like a sunset…” is one example. How does a sunset sigh, exactly?
The author’s strength lies in his workmanlike prose, which becomes more polished about the middle of the book. It gets weirdly melodramatic towards the latter end, with a lot of exclamation marks, but the middle bits shows the author’s strength in worldbuilding and character interactions.
Verdict
Worth the read. I have a feeling the next book is going to be better!
August 20, 2018
Note: I received a free copy of the book as part of u/esmerelda-weatherwax's TBRindr project in exchange for an honest review.
Book Description via Amazon: A story of love lost and family destroyed, of bigotry and belonging, of suffering and strength, and of religion and magic, SOLACE LOST grows from a character-driven tale to something grand in scale, perhaps even involving the gods, themselves.
In Solace lost we alternate between a few main characters:
Fenrir De Trenton: Fenrir is a man under the employ of The House as an enforcer due to his fall from grace as a guard. Trouble has a tendency to follow him and given his love of the drink on the job, this often leads to his victims losing an extra digit or two, or maybe even their life. After his last botched job, he is given one last chance to prove himself valuable to the house. However, it involves him working with an ex-lover and victim from one of his previous jobs. I enjoyed Fenrir as character because underneath all of that muscle and clumsiness, was a capable man with intelligence and a relatable struggle of trying to find his purpose.
Emma Bram: Emma is a hand maiden to Lady Escamilla. She is Fenrir’s former lover and victim from a prior job. This creates an interesting dynamic when the two of them find themselves having to work together. I felt she had one the weakest storylines of the four main characters. She often made decisions that I couldn’t understand her rationale for. I also found myself annoyed when she acted childish, especially during scenes involving other characters interacting with Lady Escamillia.
Hafgan Iwan: Hafgan is a Wasmer: a race of mountainous people with hairy faces and extra canine teeth. Wasmer are disliked by most humans and treated like filth. Hafgan finds himself at odds with his own people due to their caste like system and instead tries to fit in with the culture and practices of humans. Hafgan was my favorite character and I found it entertaining to watch him acting like a Grammar Nazi as he worked on his mastery of the human language. He helped to break up the plot a little with fast paced action scenes and helped to have the book have more of an overall well-paced novel.
Merigold Hunter: Merigold is a serving girl at her father’s tavern. She often dreams of falling in love and visiting all the far-off places she hears the guests of the tavern spin tales of. Merigold does start off as your typical ignorant village girl, until a series of events turn her world upside down and leads her to question her faith and lose all sense of self. I came around to her as I saw her change and become a resilient and determined character.
Ultimately, these characters come together to help prevent a hostile takeover from a duke who wants to rule all the lands of Ardia.
What I liked: What stood out to me the most about this book was the development of its characters. I found it fascinating to see the characters deal with demons from their past and start to find themselves again and reclaim their lives. The interactions between the characters was another strong point for me. The scenes really drew me in and made me feel what those characters felt in those moments. One of the defining moments of this book was the conversation between Ignatus and Merigold in the wagon. You’re really able to understand her pain and confusion and related to everything that was said.
What I didn’t like: The pacing of the novel was a little slow and didn’t really pick up until the storylines started to converge around the middle of the book. There were also inconsistencies as we transition from scene to scene. I also found Emma unbearable at times and confused by some of the decisions she made. I also would have liked to have seen more world building and exploration into the magic system than we get. However, I do feel like this book was setting up for those things to be explored in the sequel.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I enjoyed the book. I was invested in each of the main character’s storyline by the end of the book. The character development and interactions were well done. The secondary characters were enjoyable and added to the story. I will definitely purchase the next book to continue the journey.
Book Description via Amazon: A story of love lost and family destroyed, of bigotry and belonging, of suffering and strength, and of religion and magic, SOLACE LOST grows from a character-driven tale to something grand in scale, perhaps even involving the gods, themselves.
In Solace lost we alternate between a few main characters:
Fenrir De Trenton: Fenrir is a man under the employ of The House as an enforcer due to his fall from grace as a guard. Trouble has a tendency to follow him and given his love of the drink on the job, this often leads to his victims losing an extra digit or two, or maybe even their life. After his last botched job, he is given one last chance to prove himself valuable to the house. However, it involves him working with an ex-lover and victim from one of his previous jobs. I enjoyed Fenrir as character because underneath all of that muscle and clumsiness, was a capable man with intelligence and a relatable struggle of trying to find his purpose.
Emma Bram: Emma is a hand maiden to Lady Escamilla. She is Fenrir’s former lover and victim from a prior job. This creates an interesting dynamic when the two of them find themselves having to work together. I felt she had one the weakest storylines of the four main characters. She often made decisions that I couldn’t understand her rationale for. I also found myself annoyed when she acted childish, especially during scenes involving other characters interacting with Lady Escamillia.
Hafgan Iwan: Hafgan is a Wasmer: a race of mountainous people with hairy faces and extra canine teeth. Wasmer are disliked by most humans and treated like filth. Hafgan finds himself at odds with his own people due to their caste like system and instead tries to fit in with the culture and practices of humans. Hafgan was my favorite character and I found it entertaining to watch him acting like a Grammar Nazi as he worked on his mastery of the human language. He helped to break up the plot a little with fast paced action scenes and helped to have the book have more of an overall well-paced novel.
Merigold Hunter: Merigold is a serving girl at her father’s tavern. She often dreams of falling in love and visiting all the far-off places she hears the guests of the tavern spin tales of. Merigold does start off as your typical ignorant village girl, until a series of events turn her world upside down and leads her to question her faith and lose all sense of self. I came around to her as I saw her change and become a resilient and determined character.
Ultimately, these characters come together to help prevent a hostile takeover from a duke who wants to rule all the lands of Ardia.
What I liked: What stood out to me the most about this book was the development of its characters. I found it fascinating to see the characters deal with demons from their past and start to find themselves again and reclaim their lives. The interactions between the characters was another strong point for me. The scenes really drew me in and made me feel what those characters felt in those moments. One of the defining moments of this book was the conversation between Ignatus and Merigold in the wagon. You’re really able to understand her pain and confusion and related to everything that was said.
What I didn’t like: The pacing of the novel was a little slow and didn’t really pick up until the storylines started to converge around the middle of the book. There were also inconsistencies as we transition from scene to scene. I also found Emma unbearable at times and confused by some of the decisions she made. I also would have liked to have seen more world building and exploration into the magic system than we get. However, I do feel like this book was setting up for those things to be explored in the sequel.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I enjoyed the book. I was invested in each of the main character’s storyline by the end of the book. The character development and interactions were well done. The secondary characters were enjoyable and added to the story. I will definitely purchase the next book to continue the journey.
April 10, 2022
The hands of power are shifting in the land of Ardia. Nobles and the criminal underworld are forming and betraying alliances. A war is looming. In this ruthless world, no one can remain innocent nor unscathed. Michael Sliter’s debut novel Solace Lost pays homage to all that defines grimdark.
Solace Lost is unapologetically bleak. There are no true comic relief characters. The few scenes of camaraderie are fleeting. Sliter wastes no time in displaying Ardia as squalid and dangerous. It is evident that the streets and government are ruled by the corrupt. He assaults the imagination with vivid imagery of sewer streets and those living in despair. Solace Lost is gritty and tragic, but within its violent depiction resonates the sheer willpower to survive.
Solace Lost is told through several perspectives. The first character introduced is Fenrir de Trenton. He works for the criminal organization known as The House. With a bad knee and unusual knack for botching his jobs, he is not your typical “hitman.” Merigold Hinter starts as a naïve youth, working for her father’s inn. She yearns for adventure and romantic love. Her journey is gravely harrowing. While Merigold suffers the most, Sliter wrote her character and plight with care.
While not given as much page time as some of the others, Hafgan Iwan is a phenomenal character. He is a Wasmer, a humanoid species. To assimilate with humans, he shaves his face twice a day, files his teeth, and learns their language. These attempts are near futile. Despite his best efforts, Wasmer are not accepted within the human community. The traditional Wasmer also sneer at those trying to assimilate by giving them a derogatory name the “budredda.” Sliter accurately depicts the struggles of not being accepted and not having a rightful place in society.
While political upheaval is waging in Ardia, Solace Lost primarily focuses on the personal developments of its characters. A good portion of this novel’s beginning is less about the upcoming war, and more about the characters and their intimate struggles. Even after the main events pick up, the most memorable atrocities in the novel are the near invisible battles endured by Sliter’s characters: poverty, sexual abuse, racism, etc.
The magic present in Solace Lost offers only a glimpse of its full capabilities. Since magic is technically outlawed in Ardia, we see magic performed in its rawest form–used by the inexperienced and sometimes recklessly. I’m eager to see how magic manifests later in the series.
Michael Sliter’s debut embraces what I love about grimdark with morally gray characters, a merciless world, and dark themes. Solace Lost is the first in the promising Pandemonium Rising series. I’m eager to read more.
Review first posted in Grimdark Magazine. https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/revi...
Solace Lost is unapologetically bleak. There are no true comic relief characters. The few scenes of camaraderie are fleeting. Sliter wastes no time in displaying Ardia as squalid and dangerous. It is evident that the streets and government are ruled by the corrupt. He assaults the imagination with vivid imagery of sewer streets and those living in despair. Solace Lost is gritty and tragic, but within its violent depiction resonates the sheer willpower to survive.
Solace Lost is told through several perspectives. The first character introduced is Fenrir de Trenton. He works for the criminal organization known as The House. With a bad knee and unusual knack for botching his jobs, he is not your typical “hitman.” Merigold Hinter starts as a naïve youth, working for her father’s inn. She yearns for adventure and romantic love. Her journey is gravely harrowing. While Merigold suffers the most, Sliter wrote her character and plight with care.
While not given as much page time as some of the others, Hafgan Iwan is a phenomenal character. He is a Wasmer, a humanoid species. To assimilate with humans, he shaves his face twice a day, files his teeth, and learns their language. These attempts are near futile. Despite his best efforts, Wasmer are not accepted within the human community. The traditional Wasmer also sneer at those trying to assimilate by giving them a derogatory name the “budredda.” Sliter accurately depicts the struggles of not being accepted and not having a rightful place in society.
While political upheaval is waging in Ardia, Solace Lost primarily focuses on the personal developments of its characters. A good portion of this novel’s beginning is less about the upcoming war, and more about the characters and their intimate struggles. Even after the main events pick up, the most memorable atrocities in the novel are the near invisible battles endured by Sliter’s characters: poverty, sexual abuse, racism, etc.
The magic present in Solace Lost offers only a glimpse of its full capabilities. Since magic is technically outlawed in Ardia, we see magic performed in its rawest form–used by the inexperienced and sometimes recklessly. I’m eager to see how magic manifests later in the series.
Michael Sliter’s debut embraces what I love about grimdark with morally gray characters, a merciless world, and dark themes. Solace Lost is the first in the promising Pandemonium Rising series. I’m eager to read more.
Review first posted in Grimdark Magazine. https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/revi...
July 11, 2018
Trigger Warnings: Graphic Descriptions of Rape, Violence, Mentions of Abortion, and Miscarriage.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Solace Lost is a story told in the POVs of Fenrir de Trenton, Emma Dram, Hafgan Iwan, and Merigold Hinter. All of these characters become or were already connected to one another at the start of the story. As the book's title suggests, this is not a happy tale.
Be warned, this is not a book for the faint of heart, and I won't recommend it to someone not used to grimdark or dark fantasy. I myself barely got through the worst portions of the book, especially since it involves the female characters being put through extreme and terrible situations. Some of the things that happen here are truly horrifying.
The plot follows the main characters as they mainly try to survive in the dukedom of Rostane, a place ruled by a duke with kingly intentions. As such, there's a heavy political element involved, as well as a religious one. The religion here involves a Jesus figure, the likes I've seen in a lot of books, with the added twist of their goddess being female, and well...whatever had happened in the end. I don't spoil things. The worldbuilding is rather strong, and the setting really conveys the story's tone very well. There's a distinctively grim and hopeless tone at times.
The characters are also well-characterized. Each one of them felt distinct and no character's voice had ever seemed like another's. There was not one character I disliked, although I do have my favorites, which would be basically the female characters in the book. I liked that despite the fact that they suffer from extreme and needless violence, the female characters manage to be the strongest ones.
The writing is also rather good and does a good job of telling the story. Nuances in religion, racism, and other heavy themes were conveyed skillfully. I didn't spot any noticeable or glaring mistakes in grammar and spelling, and the writing remained consistent and flowed nicely throughout.
All in all, I can recommend Solace Lost if you can heed the trigger warnings above. If you think you can take it, then I suggest you pick this one up. It's really quite good.
This review is also on The Bookworm Daydreamer
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Solace Lost is a story told in the POVs of Fenrir de Trenton, Emma Dram, Hafgan Iwan, and Merigold Hinter. All of these characters become or were already connected to one another at the start of the story. As the book's title suggests, this is not a happy tale.
Be warned, this is not a book for the faint of heart, and I won't recommend it to someone not used to grimdark or dark fantasy. I myself barely got through the worst portions of the book, especially since it involves the female characters being put through extreme and terrible situations. Some of the things that happen here are truly horrifying.
The plot follows the main characters as they mainly try to survive in the dukedom of Rostane, a place ruled by a duke with kingly intentions. As such, there's a heavy political element involved, as well as a religious one. The religion here involves a Jesus figure, the likes I've seen in a lot of books, with the added twist of their goddess being female, and well...whatever had happened in the end. I don't spoil things. The worldbuilding is rather strong, and the setting really conveys the story's tone very well. There's a distinctively grim and hopeless tone at times.
The characters are also well-characterized. Each one of them felt distinct and no character's voice had ever seemed like another's. There was not one character I disliked, although I do have my favorites, which would be basically the female characters in the book. I liked that despite the fact that they suffer from extreme and needless violence, the female characters manage to be the strongest ones.
The writing is also rather good and does a good job of telling the story. Nuances in religion, racism, and other heavy themes were conveyed skillfully. I didn't spot any noticeable or glaring mistakes in grammar and spelling, and the writing remained consistent and flowed nicely throughout.
All in all, I can recommend Solace Lost if you can heed the trigger warnings above. If you think you can take it, then I suggest you pick this one up. It's really quite good.
This review is also on The Bookworm Daydreamer
April 19, 2018
In creating the cast for Solace Lost and this world of epic fantasy, Sliter managed to bring to life a cast of characters that are worlds apart, and wonderfully believable. As their stories interweave and the world they live in itself comes to life, this is one of those books that gains its own sort of building inertia--in the beginning, I didn't want to put it down, and is it continued, I couldn't. Sliter's seamless writing and striking narrative pull together into a book that is the reason I seek out fantasy like this to begin with, and it's wonderful.
This book delivers on everything it promises, from drama and intrigue on to humor and suspense and action. Yet, for me, it's the characters--Fenrir, Merigold, and Emma, especially--who keep the tale fresh in my mind, and make it hard to wait for the sequel. There's no doubt that this tale will stay with me, and that I'll continue to think of the characters as more real than created while I wait for the next installment.
Absolutely recommended.
This book delivers on everything it promises, from drama and intrigue on to humor and suspense and action. Yet, for me, it's the characters--Fenrir, Merigold, and Emma, especially--who keep the tale fresh in my mind, and make it hard to wait for the sequel. There's no doubt that this tale will stay with me, and that I'll continue to think of the characters as more real than created while I wait for the next installment.
Absolutely recommended.
June 19, 2023
I have to start my review by stating that this is one of the most underrated grimdark fantasy books I've come across.
This is grimdark done right. Interesting plot, some action, great writing and excellent characters make this a book many fans of the genre will appreciate. This is mostly a character driven story. Told from four POV's, every character is well developed (maybe besides one) and I felt connected to all of them even to some secondary ones.
The plot is nothing unique but is well done, helped by the very good writing skills of mr. Sliter.
There is some graphic violence and some pretty heavy scenes of sexual assault. The ending left me wanting more and that's a good thing.
My main issue was with the pacing as this is mostly slowly paced, a fact that would be improved with some better editing (also some typos could be omitted).
Definitely recommended for fans of the genre..
7,5/10
This is grimdark done right. Interesting plot, some action, great writing and excellent characters make this a book many fans of the genre will appreciate. This is mostly a character driven story. Told from four POV's, every character is well developed (maybe besides one) and I felt connected to all of them even to some secondary ones.
The plot is nothing unique but is well done, helped by the very good writing skills of mr. Sliter.
There is some graphic violence and some pretty heavy scenes of sexual assault. The ending left me wanting more and that's a good thing.
My main issue was with the pacing as this is mostly slowly paced, a fact that would be improved with some better editing (also some typos could be omitted).
Definitely recommended for fans of the genre..
7,5/10
April 12, 2018
I was fortunate enough to receive a pre-release review copy from the author and I was not disappointed! Solace Lost is an engaging read from beginning to end in the fantasy style of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. The book takes the time to develop multiple story lines with deep characters and culminates with all the story lines coming together into a final crescendo that will leave the reader wanting more. Solace Lost is an excellent story that all fiction lovers will enjoy.
July 6, 2019
TRIGGER WARNING: Before we dive into the depths of this review, I want to emphasize that readers of Solace Lost should be ready for very mature, adult content. The story grapples with trauma resulting from sexual assault, and the scenes may trigger some readers.
Solace Lost, by Michael Sliter, explores a dark fantasy world rife with murder, magic, and mayhem. Its principle characters, Fenrir and Merigold, experience tragedy after tragedy on their journey toward finding some semblance of peace in their lives. Their lives intersect with each other in unexpected ways, culminating in a final series of battles that push each character to their limits.
Overall, I enjoyed Solace Lost, though it was a difficult book to read. As indicated above, I must emphasize the need for a trigger warning for readers prior to opening this book. Readers may be caught off guard by the graphic description in a few particular scenes. I almost had to stop reading.
I’m glad I didn’t.
Both Fenrir and Merigold’s stories are interesting in their own right, but by the end, I truly only cared about what happened to Merigold. As she recovers from serious trauma, she explores a side of herself she had hid from for years. She’s gaining power in a world that perceives her as ‘less than,’ as forgettable, as sometimes even evil. Her story makes me want to read the sequel.
At times, I found it difficult to follow Fenrir’s plot. His character didn’t grip me. It’s not that it’s boring or a bad story; it’s that every time I wasn’t reading Merigold’s story . . . I wanted to be reading Merigold’s story. I could have been reading a book that was only her chapters and I would have been perfectly happy. I think that speaks to the power of Sliter’s writing; he told a plot so compelling I wanted to literally skip entire chapters to get to the next part.
Sliter’s produced a fantasy story in Solace Lost that sets up a world ready for future exploration. Fans of George R.R. Martin and Game of Thrones will want to dive into this story as they wait for the sixth book, for the grey morality, brutal themes, and political intrigue of those stories blends into Sliter’s writing.
I’m excited to watch Sliter’s career with great interest, for Solace Lost sets the bar high. And it looks readers already have the next story to dive into, for Wisdom Lost, the sequel, released a few days ago.
Writing: 8/10. Sliter’s writing and descriptions are compelling, and he bravely dives into disturbing content few writers traverse successfully. I rarely increase the writing score above a six or seven; if the book had been a bit shorter or had fewer POVs, I think it could have benefited greatly and achieved even higher marks. The superbly written and compelling narrative of Merigold overshadowed the other chapters, making it hard for me to read those chapters (even though they too were well written).
Characters: 8/10. Merigold carries the crew.
Plot: 8/10. As I’ve emphasized many times, Merigold carries the plot. Fenrir’s story was good, but it was overshadowed by Merigold’s.
Setting: 8/10. Solid fantasy setting. By the end of the book, you really start to get a picture for a larger conflict and world beyond the initial pages, and it’s fun to see it expand.
Overall: 8/10. Solid four stars. Well done, Sliter!
Solace Lost, by Michael Sliter, explores a dark fantasy world rife with murder, magic, and mayhem. Its principle characters, Fenrir and Merigold, experience tragedy after tragedy on their journey toward finding some semblance of peace in their lives. Their lives intersect with each other in unexpected ways, culminating in a final series of battles that push each character to their limits.
Overall, I enjoyed Solace Lost, though it was a difficult book to read. As indicated above, I must emphasize the need for a trigger warning for readers prior to opening this book. Readers may be caught off guard by the graphic description in a few particular scenes. I almost had to stop reading.
I’m glad I didn’t.
Both Fenrir and Merigold’s stories are interesting in their own right, but by the end, I truly only cared about what happened to Merigold. As she recovers from serious trauma, she explores a side of herself she had hid from for years. She’s gaining power in a world that perceives her as ‘less than,’ as forgettable, as sometimes even evil. Her story makes me want to read the sequel.
At times, I found it difficult to follow Fenrir’s plot. His character didn’t grip me. It’s not that it’s boring or a bad story; it’s that every time I wasn’t reading Merigold’s story . . . I wanted to be reading Merigold’s story. I could have been reading a book that was only her chapters and I would have been perfectly happy. I think that speaks to the power of Sliter’s writing; he told a plot so compelling I wanted to literally skip entire chapters to get to the next part.
Sliter’s produced a fantasy story in Solace Lost that sets up a world ready for future exploration. Fans of George R.R. Martin and Game of Thrones will want to dive into this story as they wait for the sixth book, for the grey morality, brutal themes, and political intrigue of those stories blends into Sliter’s writing.
I’m excited to watch Sliter’s career with great interest, for Solace Lost sets the bar high. And it looks readers already have the next story to dive into, for Wisdom Lost, the sequel, released a few days ago.
Writing: 8/10. Sliter’s writing and descriptions are compelling, and he bravely dives into disturbing content few writers traverse successfully. I rarely increase the writing score above a six or seven; if the book had been a bit shorter or had fewer POVs, I think it could have benefited greatly and achieved even higher marks. The superbly written and compelling narrative of Merigold overshadowed the other chapters, making it hard for me to read those chapters (even though they too were well written).
Characters: 8/10. Merigold carries the crew.
Plot: 8/10. As I’ve emphasized many times, Merigold carries the plot. Fenrir’s story was good, but it was overshadowed by Merigold’s.
Setting: 8/10. Solid fantasy setting. By the end of the book, you really start to get a picture for a larger conflict and world beyond the initial pages, and it’s fun to see it expand.
Overall: 8/10. Solid four stars. Well done, Sliter!
December 29, 2020
Great grimdark book, the first in a series I'm continuing to devour.
Character driven and suspenseful, well-written and intricately connected across a variety of characters, venues and times.
Character driven and suspenseful, well-written and intricately connected across a variety of characters, venues and times.
January 3, 2020
A compelling and exciting introduction to a new world.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
The author does a good job fleshing out a world that is both deep and fascinating. Even more impressive, he does this through the actions, adventures, and observations of the characters, making the experience of the world immersive and organic. The characters are each slightly fanciful in their own way, yet believable and approachable. Chapters are told from an individual character’s perspective, and new characters/perspectives are introduced smoothly in a way that compliments, rather than inhibits, the pace of the narrative. The story takes its time in building up a foundation of characters, stories, and worlds, and it engrosses the reader thoroughly. This creates an exceptional elicitation of feelings when things begin to pick up pace and the characters experience their first real struggles. It also provides a sense of satisfaction, relief, and accomplishment when anticipated milestones are reached.
Overall the book is a delight to read, and I eagerly look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
The author does a good job fleshing out a world that is both deep and fascinating. Even more impressive, he does this through the actions, adventures, and observations of the characters, making the experience of the world immersive and organic. The characters are each slightly fanciful in their own way, yet believable and approachable. Chapters are told from an individual character’s perspective, and new characters/perspectives are introduced smoothly in a way that compliments, rather than inhibits, the pace of the narrative. The story takes its time in building up a foundation of characters, stories, and worlds, and it engrosses the reader thoroughly. This creates an exceptional elicitation of feelings when things begin to pick up pace and the characters experience their first real struggles. It also provides a sense of satisfaction, relief, and accomplishment when anticipated milestones are reached.
Overall the book is a delight to read, and I eagerly look forward to reading the rest of the series.
July 6, 2018
I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review. Overall, I enjoyed this book and I will read the sequel. The worldbuilding is good and leaves you wanting more, and you can also tell the author knows more. That latter bit is important, because it makes the writing stronger. For those who have issues with mistreatment of women, however, just be forewarned that there is a rape about 20% in and there are additional concerns throughout. They aren't gratuitous but they can feel overdone as every female character seems to have some sort of negative background. The male characters do also but in a less rape-y way. I'd've preferred to have a better balance of backstory, with some characters just being strong for their own sake, not because of past trauma, since that is such an overdone trope. Again though, it's a good read with some clever insults and ripostes and a unique world. I recommend picking it up.
August 15, 2019
4⭐️Solace Lost is a dark, multi-POV, character-focused fantasy that entertained the hell out of me. I think anyone who enjoyed A Song of Ice and Fire, or the First Law series will like this one.
Solace Lost is book one in the Pandemonium Rising series. I’ve already started book 2 and I have to say Michael Sliter has created a fascinating world with some excellent characters.
One thing that impressed me is the way the pace never lets up, even when switching between points of view. Sometimes a story gets jumbled and confusing when you leave one character and pick up with another. This isn’t the case here at all. The smoothness of the plotting and overall accessibility of the story is to be commended.
Solace Lost is book one in the Pandemonium Rising series. I’ve already started book 2 and I have to say Michael Sliter has created a fascinating world with some excellent characters.
One thing that impressed me is the way the pace never lets up, even when switching between points of view. Sometimes a story gets jumbled and confusing when you leave one character and pick up with another. This isn’t the case here at all. The smoothness of the plotting and overall accessibility of the story is to be commended.
September 11, 2022
https://undertheradarsffbooks.com/202...
Today is my stop on the Escapist Book Tours and I hope you are all in the mood for a grimdark story. Ardia is on the edge of civil war but even in times of peace and prosperity no one can escape the suffering. We will follow several characters as they are caught up in this violent world riddled with hate, power, betrayals, and an ever growing religion with its own set of prerogatives.
Fenrir is a former guardsman turned criminal. Despite his bad attitude, he is effective at taking orders and seeing that the job is done. Fenrir also has the ability to seperate his spirit from his body and search the surrounding area while his body continues on its way. This will be come more relevant the futher you get in the story. Think of Fenrir as a made man in the mob and when an assignment goes wrong, he is left to track back on foot to his superior to face judgement. Lets just say some may not like the path he will go down.
Merigold is a serving girl and local restaurant with a mysterious power. She is able to absorb essence from various people just by touching their skin and she needs this to sustain her energy. Merigold is also a woman looking for the simple things in life like love, family, and hope in the growing doom of civil war. Her world will be flipped upside down in the most unpleasant ways imaginable and she will be at the forfront of religious and political manuevering. Nothing is as it seems and the death toll in this book will rise with each chapter. We do follow other characters but these were the stars for me.
Please beware of picking up this book if you are a newcomer to grimdark fantasy. There is violence, blood, death, and assaults of every variety in this novel, so make sure you are in the right head space before starting. With all that being said, this book grew on me the more I read it. At first, many people including myself will be horrified when reading what takes place in the first several chapters, but it all is for a purpose. Civil war can and will bring out the absolute worst in people and that is put on full display. The writting style has a slow burn type of feel especially with the politics side of the novel. When you sprinkle in the dark parts to the story, bored is one thing I promise you will not be.
With two novellas and two sequels already released for this series, there is plenty more to offer in this dark world. If you don’t like to read dark fantasy then this is not the book for you. What I look for in my favorite stories is a growing plot where the layers of the onion continue to be peeled back to show something amazing. I can see the signs of this sort of thing coming down the pike. Looking forward to the next volume in the series.
Cheers!
Today is my stop on the Escapist Book Tours and I hope you are all in the mood for a grimdark story. Ardia is on the edge of civil war but even in times of peace and prosperity no one can escape the suffering. We will follow several characters as they are caught up in this violent world riddled with hate, power, betrayals, and an ever growing religion with its own set of prerogatives.
Fenrir is a former guardsman turned criminal. Despite his bad attitude, he is effective at taking orders and seeing that the job is done. Fenrir also has the ability to seperate his spirit from his body and search the surrounding area while his body continues on its way. This will be come more relevant the futher you get in the story. Think of Fenrir as a made man in the mob and when an assignment goes wrong, he is left to track back on foot to his superior to face judgement. Lets just say some may not like the path he will go down.
Merigold is a serving girl and local restaurant with a mysterious power. She is able to absorb essence from various people just by touching their skin and she needs this to sustain her energy. Merigold is also a woman looking for the simple things in life like love, family, and hope in the growing doom of civil war. Her world will be flipped upside down in the most unpleasant ways imaginable and she will be at the forfront of religious and political manuevering. Nothing is as it seems and the death toll in this book will rise with each chapter. We do follow other characters but these were the stars for me.
Please beware of picking up this book if you are a newcomer to grimdark fantasy. There is violence, blood, death, and assaults of every variety in this novel, so make sure you are in the right head space before starting. With all that being said, this book grew on me the more I read it. At first, many people including myself will be horrified when reading what takes place in the first several chapters, but it all is for a purpose. Civil war can and will bring out the absolute worst in people and that is put on full display. The writting style has a slow burn type of feel especially with the politics side of the novel. When you sprinkle in the dark parts to the story, bored is one thing I promise you will not be.
With two novellas and two sequels already released for this series, there is plenty more to offer in this dark world. If you don’t like to read dark fantasy then this is not the book for you. What I look for in my favorite stories is a growing plot where the layers of the onion continue to be peeled back to show something amazing. I can see the signs of this sort of thing coming down the pike. Looking forward to the next volume in the series.
Cheers!
September 9, 2025
Trigger Warning: Contains explicit sexual and traumatic content, as well as coarse adult language and humor
This book was absolutely amazing. In fact, I’d rate it in my favorite top 10 of ALL TIME. That’s how good it is! We have the main characters Fenrir and Merigold, with main side characters Emma, Escamilla, and Hafgan. With the multiple POVs strewn throughout the book of main and secondary characters alike, the reader gets several different views of this magical world of Ardia, each with a unique perspective. All of the main characters come from extremely different circumstances, and yet all share a history of trauma and ostracism, further creating conflict and emotion throughout the story. In essence, the Little Duke is creating a war with his nobles, attempting to unite Ardia under one rule, and at the same time, The House and Recherche Oletta (perhaps the real powers in Ardia) wage a secret war, each attempting to undermine the power of the other. Our main characters are simply pawns in these two wars, trussed up and strung to move one war or the other on a whim of one of the 4 separate powers. That is, unless they decide to go against orders and take their lives into their own hands…
The amount of world-building is absolutely phenomenal. Not only has Michael Sliter created his own world of Ardia, complete with fully fleshed villages, towns, and major cities, but he has also created a plethora of different beings. Each region has their own customs, shown through their dialect, customs, religion, and clothing styles. There is even a different race, called the Wasmer, who live in the mountains and are larger and furrier than their human counterparts.
ADDITIONALLY, the characters all have their own curses! Not simply the “Oh Gods!” curse that has become so common in epic fantasy nowadays, but crude curses referencing Ultner (a specific God in this world) and his nether region–as well as other blunt and coarse imagery–are used by the characters! I love it. It brings an authenticity to this world that is refreshing!
AND not only all of this, but Sliter ALSO includes pieces of different languages! The Wasmer have their own language-with a few words shown to us throughout the book–and magic users also seem to have their own language, or at least their own words for magic-related language. It is absolutely amazing. Through the entire book, it felt as if I was actually there, in this medieval world, experiencing the dust, saddle-rash, and bumping into odd folk along with the characters. I became my own character in the world of Ardia.
The character development is also something worth mentioning. This book is built on multiple POVs, mostly from our main characters. With each POV, we are shown increasing depths into the other characters, as well as into the politics of the world itself. We get a bitter soldier’s view of the world with Fenrir, a traumatized and suspicious–yet determined–view with Merigold, a lowly-outsider-turned-noble-spy view from Emma, and of course the Wasmer view of the humans and their plights from Hafgan. Each time the POV changes, I discover new and exciting things in already established characters and learn more about this amazing world that I have come to call home for the hours that I spend reading the novel. And each character is highly dynamic. Just in this first book of the Pandemonium Rising series, each of the main characters has grown so much. They each have walked through Hell in order to make it to the end, and they have changed because of it. For better or worse, that is up to you to decide! (I already know what I think!)
One of the biggest things that I have fallen in love with, is that the heroes of this story are not what I would traditionally, archetypally, see as heroes in such a magical, medieval world. When I think of the protagonist, I immediately think of someone young, beautiful/handsome, perhaps with some minor faults, but overall good and practically perfect. I have seen this archetype in sooo many fantasy stories lately, that it has become natural to me. So natural, in fact, that I was caught extremely off-guard with the heroes in this story! The heroes in Solace Lost vary in age, some older (like Fenrir with his already graying hair and bad knee) and some younger, both in physical and mental age (Emma and Merigold). Fenrir and Emma both have physical issues, and would not be considered “beautiful” by traditional standards. Merigold’s beauty has been dampened by her story, and Hafgan is an outcast in both Wasmer and human society. They are portrayed as real people. They have human faults and blemishes, and I would not trade them for anything! It is so refreshing to have actual, faulty heroes for once in such a magical story, and this also lends authenticity to the novel. I know people in my real life who mirror some aspects of Fenrir and some of Merigold, a dash of Hafgan and a pinch of Emma. This human error, found in all of the characters, helps me to relate even more closely to the characters and dive more fully into the world of Ardia.
Overall, this book is a must-read, and I do not say that lightly. I can name only two other authors whom I would dedicate that “must-read’ to (Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, I will ALWAYS love you), and that Michael Sliter with this book made the cut is something profound. I KNOW that I will be picking up the next book the minute it comes out, and I beg all of you (as long as you are 18+!) to also try it out! I guarantee (fingers crossed) that you will not regret this journey!
This book was absolutely amazing. In fact, I’d rate it in my favorite top 10 of ALL TIME. That’s how good it is! We have the main characters Fenrir and Merigold, with main side characters Emma, Escamilla, and Hafgan. With the multiple POVs strewn throughout the book of main and secondary characters alike, the reader gets several different views of this magical world of Ardia, each with a unique perspective. All of the main characters come from extremely different circumstances, and yet all share a history of trauma and ostracism, further creating conflict and emotion throughout the story. In essence, the Little Duke is creating a war with his nobles, attempting to unite Ardia under one rule, and at the same time, The House and Recherche Oletta (perhaps the real powers in Ardia) wage a secret war, each attempting to undermine the power of the other. Our main characters are simply pawns in these two wars, trussed up and strung to move one war or the other on a whim of one of the 4 separate powers. That is, unless they decide to go against orders and take their lives into their own hands…
The amount of world-building is absolutely phenomenal. Not only has Michael Sliter created his own world of Ardia, complete with fully fleshed villages, towns, and major cities, but he has also created a plethora of different beings. Each region has their own customs, shown through their dialect, customs, religion, and clothing styles. There is even a different race, called the Wasmer, who live in the mountains and are larger and furrier than their human counterparts.
ADDITIONALLY, the characters all have their own curses! Not simply the “Oh Gods!” curse that has become so common in epic fantasy nowadays, but crude curses referencing Ultner (a specific God in this world) and his nether region–as well as other blunt and coarse imagery–are used by the characters! I love it. It brings an authenticity to this world that is refreshing!
AND not only all of this, but Sliter ALSO includes pieces of different languages! The Wasmer have their own language-with a few words shown to us throughout the book–and magic users also seem to have their own language, or at least their own words for magic-related language. It is absolutely amazing. Through the entire book, it felt as if I was actually there, in this medieval world, experiencing the dust, saddle-rash, and bumping into odd folk along with the characters. I became my own character in the world of Ardia.
The character development is also something worth mentioning. This book is built on multiple POVs, mostly from our main characters. With each POV, we are shown increasing depths into the other characters, as well as into the politics of the world itself. We get a bitter soldier’s view of the world with Fenrir, a traumatized and suspicious–yet determined–view with Merigold, a lowly-outsider-turned-noble-spy view from Emma, and of course the Wasmer view of the humans and their plights from Hafgan. Each time the POV changes, I discover new and exciting things in already established characters and learn more about this amazing world that I have come to call home for the hours that I spend reading the novel. And each character is highly dynamic. Just in this first book of the Pandemonium Rising series, each of the main characters has grown so much. They each have walked through Hell in order to make it to the end, and they have changed because of it. For better or worse, that is up to you to decide! (I already know what I think!)
One of the biggest things that I have fallen in love with, is that the heroes of this story are not what I would traditionally, archetypally, see as heroes in such a magical, medieval world. When I think of the protagonist, I immediately think of someone young, beautiful/handsome, perhaps with some minor faults, but overall good and practically perfect. I have seen this archetype in sooo many fantasy stories lately, that it has become natural to me. So natural, in fact, that I was caught extremely off-guard with the heroes in this story! The heroes in Solace Lost vary in age, some older (like Fenrir with his already graying hair and bad knee) and some younger, both in physical and mental age (Emma and Merigold). Fenrir and Emma both have physical issues, and would not be considered “beautiful” by traditional standards. Merigold’s beauty has been dampened by her story, and Hafgan is an outcast in both Wasmer and human society. They are portrayed as real people. They have human faults and blemishes, and I would not trade them for anything! It is so refreshing to have actual, faulty heroes for once in such a magical story, and this also lends authenticity to the novel. I know people in my real life who mirror some aspects of Fenrir and some of Merigold, a dash of Hafgan and a pinch of Emma. This human error, found in all of the characters, helps me to relate even more closely to the characters and dive more fully into the world of Ardia.
Overall, this book is a must-read, and I do not say that lightly. I can name only two other authors whom I would dedicate that “must-read’ to (Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, I will ALWAYS love you), and that Michael Sliter with this book made the cut is something profound. I KNOW that I will be picking up the next book the minute it comes out, and I beg all of you (as long as you are 18+!) to also try it out! I guarantee (fingers crossed) that you will not regret this journey!
July 14, 2018
Never read a fantasy novel before but I'm hooked now! I stumbled on this book and I'm glad that I did! I usually read mystery/suspense novels but I just needed something different. And did I find it with Solace Lost! I loved the world that the author created, along with the multidimensional characters - some that I disliked at first but ended up liking/rooting for. I look forward to the sequel to find out what happens to my favorite characters in this mysterious, dark and unforgiving world. Great debut novel Mr Sliter. Love your humour, wit and twisted mind. Not sure if you shoukd let your mother read this book though! Note: I actually purchased this book -paperback and Ebook - so no freebies for me as other reviewers.
April 27, 2022
The lands of Ardia stand on the brink of civil war. Four individual destiny’s will soon intertwine in this brutal world. A tale of suffering and strength of will to survive. Bleak grimdark at its finest! This one pulls you in! Great start to the series!
May 23, 2021
4.5/5
An amazing treat for a "grimdark" veteran.
This is not for faint heart people. There are lots of trigger warnings, so please read this book in the right mindset and you will be getting the best story you've read.
This story revolves around 4 POVs. Fenrir, Merigold, Emma, Hafgan. And the most amazing thing about this book is its characterization.
And the world-building is cool and the magic system is very dangerous I'd say and amazing.
An amazing treat for a "grimdark" veteran.
This is not for faint heart people. There are lots of trigger warnings, so please read this book in the right mindset and you will be getting the best story you've read.
This story revolves around 4 POVs. Fenrir, Merigold, Emma, Hafgan. And the most amazing thing about this book is its characterization.
And the world-building is cool and the magic system is very dangerous I'd say and amazing.
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