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Illthdar: Guardians of Las
"My hair changes colour and I talk to myself a lot."
Welcome to Illthdar, the land that logic and reason forgot. The ways to Illthdar are many, be it through freak weather events, rabbit-holes, mirrors, plant circles or magical wardobes. The way out of Illthdar, as the Half-bloods who unwittingly find themselves there discover, is a horse of a different colour.
Welcome to Illthdar, the land that logic and reason forgot. The ways to Illthdar are many, be it through freak weather events, rabbit-holes, mirrors, plant circles or magical wardobes. The way out of Illthdar, as the Half-bloods who unwittingly find themselves there discover, is a horse of a different colour.
490 pages, Unknown Binding
Published June 1, 2018
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6 people want to read
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August 1, 2020
Review for Illthdar: Guardians of Las by Rachel E Garcia
Background: I’ve been following Rachel’s blog for a while now and really wanted to read Illthdar, but kept getting horribly distracted from reading anything by school and covid and stuff. As soon as I finished final exams, I ordered it, and I’m sorry I didn’t earlier because it’s SO GOOD
Things I liked:
The characters! They’re such a wonderfully diverse and somewhat eccentric bunch, and I had a lot of fun reading all of their arcs/developments over the course of the story! I think I related most to Vyxen and her desire to go home and be with her family the most: I have a big family myself and grew up in a rural area (though nothing as extreme as Alaska), so I really felt for her and how desperate and homesick she was to find a portal back. They’re all wonderful though, and I really enjoyed learning all the backstories over the course of the story, meeting the other members of the order and the guys they become friends with, and I was really rooting for their friendships by the end of the story. If I talk about it all this will take all day but I WILL talk about them all if you give me the opportunity.
The worldbuilding was also really interesting! My absolute favorite part was the new year festival that takes a large focus in the end of the book - all the lore and history and how that transfers into customs and traditions and day-to-day societal quirks was absolutely fascinating. I would personally not enjoy being dragged to a party because I am an Introvert (tm), but it was a TON of fun to read about, and I loved reading all the descriptions of the scenery and outfits
In terms of writing style, Rachel’s descriptions are all really wonderful and vivid and put me straight into the world of Illthdar. The dialogue and banter between the friends can be fun too - the guys have a brotherly dynamic between them with the standing up for each other and swearing at each other in the same breath and I love that.
And I have to mention the representation - there’s a wonderful diversity of people, but I really appreciated the disability representation especially, with Abaddon’s blindness and how the characters accommodate them without a second thought. Illthdar might be a hellscape but the friends make it more like home, and ableism Shall Not Stand!
What I didn’t like:
Not much. The first few chapters were really hard to get into because I was really confused about how Illthdar worked and I kept trying to fit it into logical boxes and it felt rushed, but to quote the characters “that’s Illthdar,” and once I got used to how the Order worked, the rest of the book picked up and I really enjoyed it. I also have a suspicion that was an intentional choice on Rachel’s part so you’re just as confused as, and therefore relate more to, Zercey who’s just been thrown headfirst into the chaotic world and so well done there. The only reason I don’t like it is because it slowed me down on reading the rest of the great book. If you’re picking it up for the first time, just be patient, because it gets really good!
This point comes with the huge disclaimer that I don’t understand romance that well, and have absolutely 0 clue about sexual innuendo, and so those bits between the characters (Scy looking at you), was a little weird because it took me a few rereads to figure out what was going on and then rolled my eyes at it, but that’s what I do in real life anyhow, and Nymia’s similar reactions were Much appreciated so honestly I can’t complain about that, and I enjoyed the endgame romances in the end so...? that’s on me, Rachel wrote it well, and anyone else who has a basic comprehension of social cues (read: not me) would probably really enjoy this!
Final thoughts: Definitely check out Illthdar! You won’t regret it, I really enjoyed this story and I’m REALLY looking forward to reading the rest of the series when it comes out!
Background: I’ve been following Rachel’s blog for a while now and really wanted to read Illthdar, but kept getting horribly distracted from reading anything by school and covid and stuff. As soon as I finished final exams, I ordered it, and I’m sorry I didn’t earlier because it’s SO GOOD
Things I liked:
The characters! They’re such a wonderfully diverse and somewhat eccentric bunch, and I had a lot of fun reading all of their arcs/developments over the course of the story! I think I related most to Vyxen and her desire to go home and be with her family the most: I have a big family myself and grew up in a rural area (though nothing as extreme as Alaska), so I really felt for her and how desperate and homesick she was to find a portal back. They’re all wonderful though, and I really enjoyed learning all the backstories over the course of the story, meeting the other members of the order and the guys they become friends with, and I was really rooting for their friendships by the end of the story. If I talk about it all this will take all day but I WILL talk about them all if you give me the opportunity.
The worldbuilding was also really interesting! My absolute favorite part was the new year festival that takes a large focus in the end of the book - all the lore and history and how that transfers into customs and traditions and day-to-day societal quirks was absolutely fascinating. I would personally not enjoy being dragged to a party because I am an Introvert (tm), but it was a TON of fun to read about, and I loved reading all the descriptions of the scenery and outfits
In terms of writing style, Rachel’s descriptions are all really wonderful and vivid and put me straight into the world of Illthdar. The dialogue and banter between the friends can be fun too - the guys have a brotherly dynamic between them with the standing up for each other and swearing at each other in the same breath and I love that.
And I have to mention the representation - there’s a wonderful diversity of people, but I really appreciated the disability representation especially, with Abaddon’s blindness and how the characters accommodate them without a second thought. Illthdar might be a hellscape but the friends make it more like home, and ableism Shall Not Stand!
What I didn’t like:
Not much. The first few chapters were really hard to get into because I was really confused about how Illthdar worked and I kept trying to fit it into logical boxes and it felt rushed, but to quote the characters “that’s Illthdar,” and once I got used to how the Order worked, the rest of the book picked up and I really enjoyed it. I also have a suspicion that was an intentional choice on Rachel’s part so you’re just as confused as, and therefore relate more to, Zercey who’s just been thrown headfirst into the chaotic world and so well done there. The only reason I don’t like it is because it slowed me down on reading the rest of the great book. If you’re picking it up for the first time, just be patient, because it gets really good!
This point comes with the huge disclaimer that I don’t understand romance that well, and have absolutely 0 clue about sexual innuendo, and so those bits between the characters (Scy looking at you), was a little weird because it took me a few rereads to figure out what was going on and then rolled my eyes at it, but that’s what I do in real life anyhow, and Nymia’s similar reactions were Much appreciated so honestly I can’t complain about that, and I enjoyed the endgame romances in the end so...? that’s on me, Rachel wrote it well, and anyone else who has a basic comprehension of social cues (read: not me) would probably really enjoy this!
Final thoughts: Definitely check out Illthdar! You won’t regret it, I really enjoyed this story and I’m REALLY looking forward to reading the rest of the series when it comes out!
Read
January 5, 2021DNF @ page 114 (Blue Cover Edition)
Zercey was living a normal, unassuming life. Then one day, she is pulled by mysterious means to Illthdar: the land that logic and reason forgot. Forced into training beneath the Order of Mana, Zercey begins to hone in on her abilities while making friends like Vyxen, Scyanatha, Nyuma, and Abaddon during her training. Together, they fight foes and explore their heritage…all while training to be Illthdar’s Guardians.
I interviewed Rachel Garcia back in June as part of my launch event, and had a ton of fun learning about Illthdar. But, frankly, I wasn’t sure if this book would be for me despite the fun conversation we had. It sounds like a great premise: a bunch of individuals from all sorts of worlds transported into a land with logic or reason. What fun! But the back cover didn’t draw me in at first glance.
I gave it the benefit of the doubt though, especially after talking with Rachel. But as soon as I opened the book, the formatting immediately caught me off guard. Perhaps I just got a badly printed version of the book, so I won’t hold that against the author at all. I decided to push onwards.
The book starts like any traditional portal fantasy novel: we meet Zercey as she is dealing with her friend’s complaints, and a wish for a greater life than what she had. Sudden, she finds herself transported to Illthdar…and in the course of one chapter she goes through training and adapts to Illthdar without much chance for the reader to understand where she ended up. Woven in with exposition about the world, as a reader I struggled to connect with Zercey’s plight, and as more characters popped up, they blended in one after the other.
I really did try to continue with this book. The premise is fun. In a way, it reminds me of a video: you’re thrown into this chaotic world and have to train quickly, sort of like Legend of Zelda or Skyrim. But, the execution just didn’t work for me, and I knew by the time I crossed 100 pages I had to make a decision: continue the book and possible rate it very low, or be fair to myself and to the author, DNF the book, and not give a star rating.
I chose the latter at page 114.
Illthdar: Guardians of Las just wasn’t for me. While it wasn’t written badly, in fact the grammar was impeccable, the pace bounced from one thing to another way too quickly. For me, pacing is critical to whether or not I finish a book. I personally struggled to keep track of the characters as well as the events; this might be because I read very fast as well. If I had slowed down, I might have absorbed more of the story.
While this book wasn’t for me, don’t let the fact I didn’t finish it prevent you from reading about Illthdar. If you like fast-paced books, multi-faceted casts, diverse casts, and a land without logic or reason…then Illthdar: Guardians of Las might just be for you.
Zercey was living a normal, unassuming life. Then one day, she is pulled by mysterious means to Illthdar: the land that logic and reason forgot. Forced into training beneath the Order of Mana, Zercey begins to hone in on her abilities while making friends like Vyxen, Scyanatha, Nyuma, and Abaddon during her training. Together, they fight foes and explore their heritage…all while training to be Illthdar’s Guardians.
I interviewed Rachel Garcia back in June as part of my launch event, and had a ton of fun learning about Illthdar. But, frankly, I wasn’t sure if this book would be for me despite the fun conversation we had. It sounds like a great premise: a bunch of individuals from all sorts of worlds transported into a land with logic or reason. What fun! But the back cover didn’t draw me in at first glance.
I gave it the benefit of the doubt though, especially after talking with Rachel. But as soon as I opened the book, the formatting immediately caught me off guard. Perhaps I just got a badly printed version of the book, so I won’t hold that against the author at all. I decided to push onwards.
The book starts like any traditional portal fantasy novel: we meet Zercey as she is dealing with her friend’s complaints, and a wish for a greater life than what she had. Sudden, she finds herself transported to Illthdar…and in the course of one chapter she goes through training and adapts to Illthdar without much chance for the reader to understand where she ended up. Woven in with exposition about the world, as a reader I struggled to connect with Zercey’s plight, and as more characters popped up, they blended in one after the other.
I really did try to continue with this book. The premise is fun. In a way, it reminds me of a video: you’re thrown into this chaotic world and have to train quickly, sort of like Legend of Zelda or Skyrim. But, the execution just didn’t work for me, and I knew by the time I crossed 100 pages I had to make a decision: continue the book and possible rate it very low, or be fair to myself and to the author, DNF the book, and not give a star rating.
I chose the latter at page 114.
Illthdar: Guardians of Las just wasn’t for me. While it wasn’t written badly, in fact the grammar was impeccable, the pace bounced from one thing to another way too quickly. For me, pacing is critical to whether or not I finish a book. I personally struggled to keep track of the characters as well as the events; this might be because I read very fast as well. If I had slowed down, I might have absorbed more of the story.
While this book wasn’t for me, don’t let the fact I didn’t finish it prevent you from reading about Illthdar. If you like fast-paced books, multi-faceted casts, diverse casts, and a land without logic or reason…then Illthdar: Guardians of Las might just be for you.
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