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Diamondsong #1
Escape
For lifetimes, the Ja-lal have prevented contact with the dangerous fairies of the forest. As tensions grow, those barriers are beginning to crumble. Blending rich worldbuilding with progressive themes, Diamondsong is a tale of power, identity, relationships—and magic.
Dime has just left her career as a Ja-lal Intelligence agent, ready to roll her own dice. When, instead, she’s accosted by winged invaders, some truths quickly fade—while others solidify. Begin Dime’s journey with this unexpected tale of pursuit and discovery.
Dime has just left her career as a Ja-lal Intelligence agent, ready to roll her own dice. When, instead, she’s accosted by winged invaders, some truths quickly fade—while others solidify. Begin Dime’s journey with this unexpected tale of pursuit and discovery.
122 pages, Paperback
Published June 19, 2018
5 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
E.D.E. Bell
36 books211 followersE.D.E. Bell (she/her or e/em) loves fantasy fiction, and enjoys blending classic and modern elements. A passionate vegan and earnest progressive, she feels strongly about issues related to equality and compassion. Her works often explore conceptions of identity and community, including themes of friendship, family, and connection. She lives in Ferndale, Michigan, where she writes stories and revels in garlic. You can follow her adventures at edebell.com.
Bell was born in the year of the fire dragon during a Cleveland blizzard. After a youth in the Mitten, an MSE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, three wonderful children, and nearly two decades in Northern Virginia and Southwest Ohio developing technical intelligence strategy, she started the indie press Atthis Arts. Working through mental disorders and an ever-complicated world, she now tries to bring light and love as she can through fantasy fiction, as a proud part of the Detroit arts community.
Bell was born in the year of the fire dragon during a Cleveland blizzard. After a youth in the Mitten, an MSE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, three wonderful children, and nearly two decades in Northern Virginia and Southwest Ohio developing technical intelligence strategy, she started the indie press Atthis Arts. Working through mental disorders and an ever-complicated world, she now tries to bring light and love as she can through fantasy fiction, as a proud part of the Detroit arts community.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 1, 2018
🍪
1 Cookie
My Blog!
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
No. No. No. I really really wanted to like this book. The butterfly on the cover and everything was so stinking cute and intriguing.
Characters:
I’m being completely honest right now. I only know of two actual characters. Dime and Ella. I didn’t feel a connection with either, so I mean I didn’t really care. I’m not going to go character by character because there wasn’t anything to talk about.
Storyline:
The storyline was pretty bland, and half the time I had no idea what in the world was going on.
Cons:(start with the bad...)
I think the biggest problem with this book was it was much too short. I feel like the author tried to put to much into 100 pages and it didn’t work. The characters weee bland, and the actual world and story were hard to understand.
Pros:(end with the good...)
Overall I think it was a good idea. I think it could have been executed in a better way.
1 Cookie
My Blog!
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
No. No. No. I really really wanted to like this book. The butterfly on the cover and everything was so stinking cute and intriguing.
Characters:
I’m being completely honest right now. I only know of two actual characters. Dime and Ella. I didn’t feel a connection with either, so I mean I didn’t really care. I’m not going to go character by character because there wasn’t anything to talk about.
Storyline:
The storyline was pretty bland, and half the time I had no idea what in the world was going on.
Cons:(start with the bad...)
I think the biggest problem with this book was it was much too short. I feel like the author tried to put to much into 100 pages and it didn’t work. The characters weee bland, and the actual world and story were hard to understand.
Pros:(end with the good...)
Overall I think it was a good idea. I think it could have been executed in a better way.
July 21, 2018
Charmed again by E. D. E. Bell in the first part of her new fantasy saga. Dime, short for Diamond, is an ex-Ja-lal intelligence agent. Shortly after she clears off her desk and out of her office she is accosted by winged invaders and her journey begins. Who is after her and why???
I love the progressiveness of this author. She has created a society in this book with a code of etiquette which lacks assumptions about people's gender and attractions. I cannot wait for the next installment of this ten part fantasy saga!
I love the progressiveness of this author. She has created a society in this book with a code of etiquette which lacks assumptions about people's gender and attractions. I cannot wait for the next installment of this ten part fantasy saga!
June 30, 2018
It took me a while to get used to the terms used in this book however a handy guide at the beginning helped to understand the language along with a map of the unfolding scene. A story involving mythical races who lived divided from each other, Dime the main character goes on the run after unexpectedly and suddenly being accosted by strangers. She starts out on her journey alone but soon finds out that not all is as she was brought up to know. The story ends quite suddenly which leaves you wanting to read the next.
Very creative and well written.
Very creative and well written.
September 21, 2020
I enjoyed reading this, and am looking forward to reading part two.
If I'm honest, I usually would back away quite quickly if a book started with an explanation of terms en society, cause my brian isn't always up for (what seems like) a lot of work and remembering, but I trusted the author of this one, so I went and read it anyway, and it was all ok :P The terms around gender and society all felt quite natural and I was used to them very quickly. The terms around time took a little longer, mostly cause I kept wanting to translate them to 'our' term :P
I did really enjoy how the society in this book worked with gender, how they introduced themselves and how that informed other of their gender and preferred pronouns!
If I'm honest, I usually would back away quite quickly if a book started with an explanation of terms en society, cause my brian isn't always up for (what seems like) a lot of work and remembering, but I trusted the author of this one, so I went and read it anyway, and it was all ok :P The terms around gender and society all felt quite natural and I was used to them very quickly. The terms around time took a little longer, mostly cause I kept wanting to translate them to 'our' term :P
I did really enjoy how the society in this book worked with gender, how they introduced themselves and how that informed other of their gender and preferred pronouns!
June 29, 2018
Opening a new book is like beginning an adventure to me; and Escape (Diamondsong 01) did not disappoint me! Within the first few pages I had a strong sense of who Dime is as an individual, and was off on an adventure with her. While that adventure was confusing and alarming to Dime, to me as the reader it was exciting and interesting, and each page made me want to know more about her and her world; and the other characters in her world. By the end of Escape, I knew just enough to make me wish that Diamondsong 02 was already in my hands!
I recommend Escape to anyone who loves a good adventure and to everyone who likes fiction, especially fantasy fiction
I recommend Escape to anyone who loves a good adventure and to everyone who likes fiction, especially fantasy fiction
May 10, 2019
One thing I love about E.D.E. Bell's stories is her ability to craft fascinating fantasy worlds unlike any I've encountered in other books. 5/5, would recommend.
February 17, 2022
Diamondsong Vol. 1: Escape is a sheer delight!
And it’s impressively experimental in portraying a society where gender presentation and norms are not assumed or strict (while still communicating what’s going on very clearly), and in the author’s choice to minimize the use of violence to create suspense or conflict—while, I heartily assure you, stirring up plenty of both.
I get instantly drawn into stories where a seemingly utopian society has secrets and flaws waiting to be exposed. And that’s definitely the impression I got with our hero Dime’s (short for Diamond) homeland—where violence is a cruel phenomenon of past eras and so taboo that “harm it” is one of their foulest expletives, and the only punishment for crime is a kind of shunning with special tattoos and exile.
There's so much to love in this book I hardly know where to begin. With some more context, perhaps.
Excerpt:
What she had been taught was at best a half-truth...that these fairies, who called themselves the Fo-ror, had stolen from Sol's own creatures, the Ja-lal. Their incitement of the Violence had nearly destroyed Ada-ji, culminating in the Great War...
All anyone needed to know was that the Ja-lal had won... That the only way to stay the Violence was a lack of contact, of knowledge, of anything but a hidden fear locked in the back of every pyr's [person's] mind.
The author deftly orients the reader to the world of Ada-ji with a succinct helpful glossary I’ll get to in a moment, but also with a lovely map where the Great Cliffs divide the dominant humanoid species’ territories, the heavily forested ocean-front lands of the Fo-ror and the open plains and mountains and high-rise building cities of the Ja-lal.
The Fo-ror are winged gray-skinned folk with long hair who possess magic powers, nicknamed “fairies” and mistrusted by their counterparts the Ja-lal. The Ja-lal (nicknamed "brutes" by the Fo-ror) are also gray-skinned and human-like but with shaved heads, and most bear intricate tattoos that tell their personal history.
The glossary lists terms for people denoting age or gender identity including neutral terms for anyone who is “spectrum” (nonbinary, etc.) or whom you don't have enough social cues about yet, and terms for how they measure time (e.g., four Earth years make up one Ada-ji cycle etc.), and offers a few notes on the Fo-ror and Ja-lal societies, mostly the latter.
This introduction ends on the note that Fo-ror and Ja-lal societies have avoided interacting since the "Great War," which we’re later told drove the Fo-ror from the Ja-lal’s lands and which is purportedly the last time any campaign of Violence was deliberately used.
The fantasy world of Ada-ji unfolds not with info dumps but through gradual setting details provided somewhat stream-of-consciousness style by protagonist Dime, details which suggest strong similarity to Earth in terms of culture (e.g., 20-sided dice games and bean dip at retirement parties) and dominant humanoid life-forms and the natural landscape. This gave the world a slight allegorical feel for me, kind of like Discworld.
Enough context, onto character, the chief reason to read most stories if you ask me. I adored Dime.
Bonus points for breaking traditional protagonist molds with Dime being a middle-aged woman (eighty Earth years but only in her forties by physical maturity in her world), and happily married to a supportive spouse, and with two loving, well-adjusted children (both adopted)—none of whom appear to exist just to be threatened or killed off for snappy traumatic character development.
Still more bonus points for Dime and husband Dayn sharing a platonic male friend without any sexual tension or jealousy, Ador who likes fashion and politics and leads a progressive organization called the Free Winds. And huge points for what an awesome mom Dime comes across as, so proud of her children whom she thinks of often, and whom she values for their unique personalities and skills and does not underestimate: precocious daughter Tum still in school and who had her legs amputated, and Luja who is ‘spectrum’ (nonbinary) and an herbalist healer.
Dime is more than her relationships of course, she is affectionate, compassionate, resourceful, tenacious, and an independent critical thinker not easily lulled by the polite lies and unspoken biases that permeate life in the thriving capital city of Lodon.
The plot moved briskly for me, starting with Dime retiring early from the Ja-lal’s Central Intelligence Agency of sorts, the IC (Intel Circle) despite the prospect of a promotion to the highest echelons of power alongside her empire’s leader Sala known as “the Light,” because she disliked spying on her own people and disagreed often with her superiors. (I look forward to hearing more about their disputes in future books.)
Mere hours into her retirement, she needs all her covert training and skills and endurance to flee arrest in her own home by authorities who won’t even tell her the charges, and a thrilling chase ensues.
How Dime survives in the wilderness and her bold decision of what to do next makes for an alternately tense, heartwarming, and poignant adventure with engaging side characters. Help arrives from the most unexpected quarters, including a dignified primitive society of person-sized sentient feathered and scaled creatures nicknamed "newts," and a witch of fearsome reputation with a hidden past that forces Dime to question the histories she’s been taught.
Diamondsong is gentle fantasy a.k.a. quiet speculative fiction and proof that this subgenre still brings epic entertainment, while also being a kind of literary equivalent of a big cup of tea with stimulating spices.
I cannot recommend Diamondsong highly enough to lovers of speculative fiction with humor and food for thought and big-hearted, relatable characters. The only reason I haven’t let myself dive into the next volume yet is I held myself to reviewing this one first.
WHEN A SERIAL FANTASY NOVEL SPARKS JOY AND BURNING CURIOSITY, SPEAK UP—BOOST THE SIGNAL!
And it’s impressively experimental in portraying a society where gender presentation and norms are not assumed or strict (while still communicating what’s going on very clearly), and in the author’s choice to minimize the use of violence to create suspense or conflict—while, I heartily assure you, stirring up plenty of both.
I get instantly drawn into stories where a seemingly utopian society has secrets and flaws waiting to be exposed. And that’s definitely the impression I got with our hero Dime’s (short for Diamond) homeland—where violence is a cruel phenomenon of past eras and so taboo that “harm it” is one of their foulest expletives, and the only punishment for crime is a kind of shunning with special tattoos and exile.
There's so much to love in this book I hardly know where to begin. With some more context, perhaps.
Excerpt:
What she had been taught was at best a half-truth...that these fairies, who called themselves the Fo-ror, had stolen from Sol's own creatures, the Ja-lal. Their incitement of the Violence had nearly destroyed Ada-ji, culminating in the Great War...
All anyone needed to know was that the Ja-lal had won... That the only way to stay the Violence was a lack of contact, of knowledge, of anything but a hidden fear locked in the back of every pyr's [person's] mind.
The author deftly orients the reader to the world of Ada-ji with a succinct helpful glossary I’ll get to in a moment, but also with a lovely map where the Great Cliffs divide the dominant humanoid species’ territories, the heavily forested ocean-front lands of the Fo-ror and the open plains and mountains and high-rise building cities of the Ja-lal.
The Fo-ror are winged gray-skinned folk with long hair who possess magic powers, nicknamed “fairies” and mistrusted by their counterparts the Ja-lal. The Ja-lal (nicknamed "brutes" by the Fo-ror) are also gray-skinned and human-like but with shaved heads, and most bear intricate tattoos that tell their personal history.
The glossary lists terms for people denoting age or gender identity including neutral terms for anyone who is “spectrum” (nonbinary, etc.) or whom you don't have enough social cues about yet, and terms for how they measure time (e.g., four Earth years make up one Ada-ji cycle etc.), and offers a few notes on the Fo-ror and Ja-lal societies, mostly the latter.
This introduction ends on the note that Fo-ror and Ja-lal societies have avoided interacting since the "Great War," which we’re later told drove the Fo-ror from the Ja-lal’s lands and which is purportedly the last time any campaign of Violence was deliberately used.
The fantasy world of Ada-ji unfolds not with info dumps but through gradual setting details provided somewhat stream-of-consciousness style by protagonist Dime, details which suggest strong similarity to Earth in terms of culture (e.g., 20-sided dice games and bean dip at retirement parties) and dominant humanoid life-forms and the natural landscape. This gave the world a slight allegorical feel for me, kind of like Discworld.
Enough context, onto character, the chief reason to read most stories if you ask me. I adored Dime.
Bonus points for breaking traditional protagonist molds with Dime being a middle-aged woman (eighty Earth years but only in her forties by physical maturity in her world), and happily married to a supportive spouse, and with two loving, well-adjusted children (both adopted)—none of whom appear to exist just to be threatened or killed off for snappy traumatic character development.
Still more bonus points for Dime and husband Dayn sharing a platonic male friend without any sexual tension or jealousy, Ador who likes fashion and politics and leads a progressive organization called the Free Winds. And huge points for what an awesome mom Dime comes across as, so proud of her children whom she thinks of often, and whom she values for their unique personalities and skills and does not underestimate: precocious daughter Tum still in school and who had her legs amputated, and Luja who is ‘spectrum’ (nonbinary) and an herbalist healer.
Dime is more than her relationships of course, she is affectionate, compassionate, resourceful, tenacious, and an independent critical thinker not easily lulled by the polite lies and unspoken biases that permeate life in the thriving capital city of Lodon.
The plot moved briskly for me, starting with Dime retiring early from the Ja-lal’s Central Intelligence Agency of sorts, the IC (Intel Circle) despite the prospect of a promotion to the highest echelons of power alongside her empire’s leader Sala known as “the Light,” because she disliked spying on her own people and disagreed often with her superiors. (I look forward to hearing more about their disputes in future books.)
Mere hours into her retirement, she needs all her covert training and skills and endurance to flee arrest in her own home by authorities who won’t even tell her the charges, and a thrilling chase ensues.
How Dime survives in the wilderness and her bold decision of what to do next makes for an alternately tense, heartwarming, and poignant adventure with engaging side characters. Help arrives from the most unexpected quarters, including a dignified primitive society of person-sized sentient feathered and scaled creatures nicknamed "newts," and a witch of fearsome reputation with a hidden past that forces Dime to question the histories she’s been taught.
Diamondsong is gentle fantasy a.k.a. quiet speculative fiction and proof that this subgenre still brings epic entertainment, while also being a kind of literary equivalent of a big cup of tea with stimulating spices.
I cannot recommend Diamondsong highly enough to lovers of speculative fiction with humor and food for thought and big-hearted, relatable characters. The only reason I haven’t let myself dive into the next volume yet is I held myself to reviewing this one first.
WHEN A SERIAL FANTASY NOVEL SPARKS JOY AND BURNING CURIOSITY, SPEAK UP—BOOST THE SIGNAL!
August 12, 2019
What a great introduction to the fantasy genre! I grew up staring at my mother's crowded bookshelf feeling overwhelmed by the size of each of the fantasy tomes. Even for a young voracious reader, they were intimidating - I wouldn't pick up my first true fantasy novel until I was a teenager simply because of the length. Escape has all the elements fantasy readers love, in a more accessible package.
I was captivated by the story and setting from the first page. There was no issue seeing where Dime lived, worked and spent her time. I do wish there was a little more description of Dime herself as I couldn't quite grasp what she looked like.
The setup for the plot was done beautifully and I appreciated the glossary at the beginning of the book. It did take a couple chapters to get used to the various pronouns, though it wasn't a barrier to enjoying the story. I found the world's approach to violence refreshing.
Would definitely recommend for readers both new and returning to fantasy.
I was captivated by the story and setting from the first page. There was no issue seeing where Dime lived, worked and spent her time. I do wish there was a little more description of Dime herself as I couldn't quite grasp what she looked like.
The setup for the plot was done beautifully and I appreciated the glossary at the beginning of the book. It did take a couple chapters to get used to the various pronouns, though it wasn't a barrier to enjoying the story. I found the world's approach to violence refreshing.
Would definitely recommend for readers both new and returning to fantasy.
January 24, 2020
Diamondsong is a refreshing little novella. I like that it was an easy read with thought provoking content. Looking forward to reading the rest in this series in the future.
May 24, 2018
I'm so proud of the Diamondsong saga, and I hope people will enjoy it. It's fun and experimental all at once - with an epic fantasy setting, a primarily non-violent world, and ample experimentation on gender, power, and identity. I'm so excited to present Dime's journey to the world. : )
October 11, 2020
The first book of Diamondsong, a story in ten parts, introduces the world of the Ja-lal, where violence is no longer part of society. The basic concept is interesting and the new vocabulary with which the book starts supports the strong worldbuilding. Almost immediately, the story proves that a lack of violence does not imply that a story won't have suspenseful action scenes.
The book doesn't feel like a finished story, but of course you know going in that there will be 9 more parts after. This is definitely an intriguing introduction and I'm very curious to read the next instalment!
The book doesn't feel like a finished story, but of course you know going in that there will be 9 more parts after. This is definitely an intriguing introduction and I'm very curious to read the next instalment!
September 13, 2018
A fun, interesting read. Dime has quite the adventure after she leaves her job (I was able to predict the twist early on, though). Would recommend if you want to try something new for a novella-length fantasy read.
October 6, 2018
Short fantasy story that combines some familiar tropes (fairies, fear of the unknown Other) with modern/futuristic models for gender and relationships, as well as a view of violence that I haven't seen much. I had a hard time caring about the protagonist or plot for some reason, but I liked learning more about the world.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews