Smoke and Stone

City of Sacrifice #1

by Michael R. Fletcher

After a cataclysmic war of the gods, the last of humanity huddles in Bastion, a colossal ringed city. Beyond the outermost wall lies endless desert haunted by the souls of all the world’s dead.

Trapped in a rigid caste system, Nuru, a young street sorcerer, lives in the outer ring. She dreams of escape and freedom. When something contacts her from beyond the wall, she risks everything and leaps at the opportunity. Mother Death, a banished god seeking to reclaim her place in Bastion’s patchwork pantheon, has found her way back into the city.

Akachi, born to the wealth and splendour of Bastion’s inner rings, is a priest of Cloud Serpent, Lord of the Hunt. A temple-trained sorcerer, he is tasked with bringing peace to the troublesome outer ring. Drawn into a dark and violent world of assassins, gangs, and street sorcerers, he battles the spreading influence of Mother Death in a desperate attempt to save Bastion.

The gods are once again at war.

Genres: Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Magic, Dark

438 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2019

About the author

Michael R. Fletcher is a science fiction and fantasy author, a grilled cheese aficionado, and a whiskey-swilling reprobate. He spends his days choreographing his forklift musical (titled "Get Forked"), and using caffeine as a substitute for sanity. Any suggestions that he is actually Dyrk Ashton in disguise are all lies.

Blog (kinda): http://michaelrfletcher.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelRFlet...

Twitter: @FletcherMR

Instagram: fletcher_michael_r

Reviews

[Petrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Utterly remarkable post-apocalyptic grimdark fantasy.

It’s surreal, but as it turns out, it’s been two years and approximately two hundred books since I’ve read anything new by Fletcher. It’s a serious shame that after all this time, Fletcher still hasn’t received the fame and recognition he deserves. When it comes to grimdark fantasy, I find that George R. R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, and Steven Erikson tend to be the most often mentioned names; for many good reasons. However, I do strongly believe that Fletcher should be equally ranked as high as them. I am drowning in books to read, but when Fletcher asked me to read and review his newest book, I accepted, started, and finished reading it immediately within two days.

“The fifth age ended in catastrophe and the death of a world. We live now in the sixth age, the age beyond life, the age of apocalypse. We live a nightmare. We are damned souls, doomed to a slow and rotting demise.”

—Loa Book of the Invisibles

Smoke and Stone is the first book in Fletcher’s brand new City of Sacrifice series; it is completely unrelated to his Manifest Delusions series. If you’re a fan of Manifest Delusions—like me—please don’t let this fact discourage you. Believe me, I’m eagerly waiting for the third and last book in Manifest Delusions too, but if you’ve read ANY of Fletcher’s previous work, you should already know that Smoke and Stone will still be infused with insanely morbid and compelling imagination. Now, what’s the premise of this book? I’ll let a small passage from the very early stages of the book describe it for you:

“The war of the gods ended with the near extinction of humanity. With so few mortals left to worship them, the surviving gods starved. In a desperate attempt to save mankind the last gods created Bastion, a city formed of a single piece of stone pulled from deep beneath the Bloody Desert. Bastion is the last city of man; beyond its walls is endless death.”

—The Book of Bastion

You read that right, the setting of the story takes place in a city formed on a single piece of stone. I don’t know about you, but I honestly don’t think I’ve read a fantasy novel with a setting like that before. If you want to know more regarding the premise, check out the official blurb on Goodreads/Amazon; they’re completely spoiler-free and informative. Fletcher has mentioned in the acknowledgment section that he narrowed the number of perspectives to two characters: Akachi and Nuru. I didn’t read the multi-POV version, but what I’ve read here was fantastic and utterly well-plotted. Smoke and Stone at its core portrayed what happened when different factions of different social statuses and faiths clash with each other. Akachi is a priest of Cloud Serpent (Lord of the Hunt), and he’s a temple-trained sorcerer who came from the inner ring of Bastion; rich, and living more glamorously, he’s tasked to bring peace to the outer ring of Bastion. Nuru is a street sorcerer who came from the outer ring of Bastion. What made the clash and rivalry between these two characters so engaging and interesting to read for me was because of, in a way, their personalities and situations were similar. What ended up separating them and causing the deadly conflict between these two characters and groups were the difference in caste, upbringing, and faith.

“Culture, like religion, depends on indoctrination of children before they are able to question or think for themselves. It is critical that the formative years of a Grower’s life be spent in an environment controlled by the church.”

—The Book of Bastion

The world-building, magic system, and actions were incredible as you can probably expect from Fletcher. Each chapter begins with an epigraph that helps flesh out the intricate lore and inventive magic system of the series. It would be incomplete for a fantasy book by Fletcher to not have a magic system that’s considerably fucked up and yet original. Akachi smokes narcotics and Nuru uses crystal stones to activate her magic; hence, one of the main reasons why the book is titled Smoke and Stone. I found double-edged madness-fueled narcotics as a magic system to be something that’s incredibly brilliant. The magic systems—such as shape-shifting, dream-walking, etc—made the battle and turmoils between the avatars of warring gods destructive and visceral to read. I personally think that the book has a slightly steeper learning curve—make sure to check the glossary at the back of the book if you feel confused, I wish I had known about this!—compared to Manifest Delusions, but once I got the hang of things, the novel became satisfyingly difficult to put down.

“Where there is inequality, there can be no justice.”

–Loa Book of the Invisibles

Smoke and Stone is post-apocalyptic fantasy magnificence; it redefined and intensified the notion that grimdark fantasy is truly Fletcher’s domain of expertise. Manifest Delusions, Ghost of Tomorrow, and now City of Sacrifice, I’ve read all of Fletcher’s full novels, and I can vouch for their quality; none of them had ever received a rating of below 4 stars from me. It’s always a 4-5 stars rating, and this stunning first book in City of Sacrifice keeps up that tradition. As always, I recommend this, and ALL of Fletcher’s works, to readers who love reading grimdark fantasy.

Official release date: September 13th, 2019

You can pre-order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

[LordTBR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis

After a cataclysmic war of the gods, the last of humanity huddles in Bastion, a colossal ringed city. Beyond the outermost wall lies endless desert haunted by the souls of all the world’s dead.

Trapped in a rigid caste system, Nuru, a young street sorcerer, lives in the outer ring. She dreams of escape and freedom. When something contacts her from beyond the wall, she risks everything and leaps at the opportunity. Mother Death, a banished god seeking to reclaim her place in Bastion’s patchwork pantheon, has found her way back into the city.

Akachi, born to the wealth and splendour of Bastion’s inner rings, is a priest of Cloud Serpent, Lord of the Hunt. A temple-trained sorcerer, he is tasked with bringing peace to the troublesome outer ring. Drawn into a dark and violent world of assassins, gangs, and street sorcerers, he battles the spreading influence of Mother Death in a desperate attempt to save Bastion.

The gods are once again at war.

Review

Thanks to the author for an advance reading copy of Smoke and Stone (City of Sacrifice #1) in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this eARC did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.

Ancient, bloodthirsty gods, street sorcerers, rival gangs, faith, and sacrifice all come to play a part is this dark and original tale from one of the best in the biz. It’s bloody, enthralling, and grimdark as f*ck.

I have to preface my review by stating that I, along with Petros of Booknest, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, etc. read Smoke & Stone, gave my thoughts on world-building, characters, the beginning and ending, and even slapped Michael around in regard to the cover design. He was a good sport for the most part.

Having read all of the author’s previous works, I knew that I could expect a grim and bloody tour de force of a novel, but I didn’t expect all of the intricacies the author mixed in to create a truly original story. The use of hallucinogens and wood/stone carvings to morph into god-like creatures, and even gods themselves, and leaving chaos and destruction in their wake. The uniqueness of the world-building as the entirety of it is made of separate but equal rings, each with a significant role to play in the story and its sequels.

I also enjoyed the growth of the characters, especially Akachi. Seeing how he morphed from page 1 to the intense climax makes for a very intriguing read, especially knowing his roots from the first draft. I also enjoyed how the dynamics of Nuru and the members of her caste played out, never seeming to have an edge until just the right moment.

You never quite know what to expect when it comes to Fletcher’s books, but one thing you do know for sure is that you are in for the ride of your life. I still, to this day, do not understand why he, among several other indie authors, is not a more mainstream name when it comes to fantasy/grimdark. I get that his material is pitch-black dark and he uses quite coarse language to get his message across, but Abercrombie seems to do well from what I can see. Fletcher needs to be a household name, and anyone who believes Anna Smith Spark’s and Ed McDonald’s books are phenomenal need to give Beyond Redemption & The Mirror’s Truth a go, let alone Smoke & Stone.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Humanity brought itself to the brink of utter destruction and the gods built this bastion, took in the few survivors, and sheltered them from the world they’d killed.”

Twenty-five thousand years has passed since the walled city of Bastion was created. The whole of mankind lives within this city of stone for protection against the cataclysmic wasteland beyond. Bastion is built of concentric circles with walls between each ring, and passages between these rings are closely guarded by warrior priests. The farmers make up the outer ring; this is the most populated region but also the most heavily oppressed class of people. Each ring closer to the center has a little more freedom, a little more wealth, and is a little closer to the gods. Class divide could not be more literal than this.

When Bastion was built, there was a war of the gods, and only a few survived within the city walls. These gods ascended to the pantheon of the city, becoming the mainstay religion for all mankind. Priests are dispatched to lead the people into lives of holiness, but not everyone agrees with the how these traditions are upheld.

Drugs are the spark that fuels the inferno of power in this city. The book has its own glossary of hallucinogens and herbs, and whatever equates to a DMT-laced cocktail of psilocybin and LSD allows the imbiber to enter a lucid dream-state, or even talk to their god. Power and abilities are pulled from smoke or stone, depending on where your allegiance lies. As you may have gleaned by now, the world-building is as detailed as it is impressive.

Even more impressive is how well the characters are developed for a cast of substantial size. There are only two POVs in this story: Akachi, a newly-minted pastor of a run-down church in a dangerous district, and Nuru, a gang member and street sorcerer trying to survive in a world where showing any form of individuality can be punishable by death. We alternate chapters throughout the book and learn much about what drives them both, but we also get to know their respective crews well enough where I felt strongly connected with many of these supporting characters. And since this is a Michael Fletcher book, we all know that there will be a happy ending for everyone, right? Right. At one point there was so much blood I think some spilled off the page and stained my hands red.

While Fletcher’s grim tales certainly aren’t for everyone, he remains one of my favorite authors, and Smoke and Stone keeps that streak alive. It is a dark tale full of unconventional ideas with that special kind of madness that only Fletcher can provide. Bring on the sequel.

ARC via author. This book is now available.

[Lukasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

In ancient times, healers and shamans used hallucinogenic substances to break their mental shackles and achieve transcendence. In Fletcher’s world, sorcerers devour obscene quantities of hallucinogenic mushrooms to do magic. It helps them to produce psychedelic sensations of time-space displacement or transformation into beasts. Their narcotic-shaped realities intrude upon the real world and give them preternatural skills.

The world as we know it no longer exists. After a cataclysmic war of the gods, the last humanity huddles in Bastion, a colossal ringed city whose structure reflects its social stratification. Unprivileged inhabit the outer rings rife with violence, poverty, and crime. Wealthy and powerful live in the inner rings enjoying the relative luxury and power. Beyond the city walls lies an endless desert.

Beyond the Sand Wall, endless desert. A dead world. She couldn’t comprehend the scale. Bastion was huge, it was everything, everywhere. As a child she dreamed of walking beyond the walls, of the freedom. You’ll get your chance. It was, however, unlikely she’d survive the fall. She’d heard sermons about the few who did. Inevitably they lay wounded and screaming in the red sand. Few lasted more than a day.

The story follows two sorcerers whose paths intertwine. Nuru, a young street sorcerer, dreams of escape from the outer ring and freedom. It seems her talents caught the attention of Mother Death who seeks to reclaim her place in the Bastion’s Pantheon. Akachi is a priest of Cloud Serpent, Lord of the Hunt, tasked with bringing peace to the troublesome outer ring in which Nuru lives. They serve different gods and each of them is just a pawn in game humans can’t understand. Fletcher stays true to himself and does to his characters what you expect from him - he puts them through hell and ruins them.

Fletcher doesn’t write for the squeamish, and he relishes ruining his characters as they step into madness or self-destruction. And yet, like his other books, Smoke and Stone is an addictive read thanks to a unique setting and a plot full of twisted reveals.

Beyond the awesomeness of the premise (ringed and socially stratified city, human sorcerers as proxies to warring gods, crystal and drug-induced magic) and the moral complexities of characters’ choices, Smoke and Stone truly shines in terms of its ensemble cast. Both POV characters remain convincing and tragic, with no good choices ahead of them. After having a vision of a mythical creature (a hybrid between spider and women) Nuru is obsessed with carving its statue. Sorcerers are able to shape-shift into creatures they carve. She just needs to get some paint and tools to finish the work.

Because of the events I can't mention (spoilers), Akashi is afraid to lose control of his life. He trashes himself on drugs, mixing them to gain preternatural skills and fight with his insecurities:

Only after the words were out did he realize how that might sound. His thoughts swam in narcotics. Foku fought to pull his attention to the perfect gutters lining the streets. Bihurtu stretched the veil of worlds so thin he saw his spirit animals circling impatiently, ready to come to his aid. Jainkoei peeled his soul, exposed him to the gods. He felt them all around him. Their will drove him, made him dance like a marionette. He was a twig caught in the raging torrent of divine need. He couldn’t think what to say to Yejide to make it right. There wasn’t enough of him left.

Secondary characters stand out as well, especially a mysterious girl known as Efra who bounces between cold self-interest and a desperate yearning to belong. She doesn’t believe in half-measures and behaves like a blood-thirsty lunatic but she's also smart. I won’t lie. She scares me.

I’ve mentioned the world-building. I love the concept of the city, but the magic system based on hallucinogenics and crystals impressed me even more. I mean, there are twenty different drugs used by sorcerers to do magic and each of them has a different effect. Skilfull sorcerers mix them to prepare themselves for special feats.

The only real complaints I have for this book are two-fold. First, I wished that there was a little more attention devoted to the worldbuilding and society stratification and its explanation. What we get is enough to follow the story and understand the tensions between casts but I would love to learn more. Second, the prose, while precise and providing the information we need, sometimes feels too casual.

Other than that, I found Smoke and Stone enthralling and unpredictable. It has it all. A solid plot, a unique magic system, fascinating world, and memorable characters. Oh, and if you're fond of familiars in your fantasy, Nuru has one. A black viper named Isabis. A sweet creature, really. I have no idea why Nuru's friends feel uncomfortable when she's caressing the snake's scales :)

[Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been hearing great things about Michael R. Fletcher for years. Several people in my Goodreads group (Fantasy Buddy Reads) have been raving about his Manifest Delusions series, and he’s even stopped by to do some Q&As (gracious authors rock). When offered a review audiobook of his latest novel, Smoke and Stone, I jumped at the opportunity to give him a try.

The book was definitely grimdark, and I liked how true to the genre it stayed – abundant violence, bleak outlooks, dry humor. It’s usually in these dark reads where you find the most beautiful glimmer of humanity by contrast. Smoke and Stone was no exception on that regard. Subjectively, I think it may have leaned too dark without as much glimmer for my personal taste, but I still enjoyed it.

When venturing in, I expected the dark elements and the dry humor based on FBR feedback about his writing. What I didn’t expect was the personable nature of the characters. They were downright charming, and easily my favorite aspect of the book. There were moments where it dipped its toe into providing more depth – inner motivations and driving forces behind the characters – but it didn’t get below surface-level very often and I think that’s part of the reason why I finished the book not feeling particularly connected to the characters, nor torn up about some of the awful things that happened to some of them.

The concept for the story was interesting, but I felt the culture needed a bit more development. The strict framework of the priests of the Cloud Serpent kind of contradicted the somewhat casual enforcement of their practices. The fact that a lesser sorcerer could even be allowed to question the morality of sacrifices without sever punishment (or at least crippling fear of sever punishment from all the brainwashing) was a bit of a contradiction. If nothing else, hanging a prominent lantern on the discrepancy would’ve helped.

All that said, the main story arc was action-packed and generally badass. I loved the pacing through the whole thing and the quiet moments with the characters were golden – where you learn more about them based on decisions and reactions. It’s a good start to a series with potential to grow.

Recommendations: I’ve heard rave reviews about the Manifest Delusions series and still hope to pick those up soon, regardless of my conservative rating here. Many of my GR buddies (who’s opinions I highly respect) really love this author, so I’m definitely not finished exploring his work. Pick it up for a creative grimdark experience and some interesting characters.

I’d like to thank Michael R. Fletcher for kindly providing a review copy. And thank you, Jon, for orchestrating it. :)

Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com

Other books you might like:

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last War is something of a misnomer. Dozens of wars were fought after the birth of Bastion, as those surviving gods battled for supremacy. This was a world of a thousand pantheons, ten thousand gods. Far too many to feed from the few surviving mortal souls. And so they cast out the losers, culled their own numbers.

Thus those that survived are the most dangerous, the most willing to betray their own.

We don’t have the gods we need, we have the gods we deserve.


Smoke and Stone is a fast-paced, narcotic-laced, titanic-sized struggle between gods where the final city of man is the playing field and champions will determine who will live, rule and prosper, and who will die. Bastion is the arena and was created by the gods to be an oasis of faith in an otherwise dead world, a way to concentrate the prayers, the souls and the blood of mankind so that it may sustain them for as long as possible.

The story is told through the two POVs of Nuru and Akachi. Each have different beginnings but very similar stories.

Nuru is part of a street crew in the poorest ring on Bastion. She is a Grower, a ‘dirt’, and her lot in life is to work, produce and die. If she were to have any children she would never know their identity. Nuru is also a street sorcerer and using various combinations of drugs, powders, seeds and fungi can manipulate the world around her, make contact with the spirit world and become the physical manifestation of the animal totems she carves. When she receives a vision of jade warriors with swords of obsidian marching though her ring, carving her friends from gullet to gut, the blood funnelling down perfectly formed gutters towards to the innermost ring where the Gods reside, she knows she must seek a different path to change.

Akachi is a young man of the cloth desperate to live up to his father’s accomplishments, and when he is sent to the Growers ring to reopen an abandoned church and bring the gods to the masses he senses an opportunity to do so. Armed with his own totems and the unshakable insanity of someone who is receiving messages from a god known as The Cloud Serpent he sets out to capture a young scarred girl who he believes is the key to avoiding his visions of death and destruction and ensuring his rise through the church. Nuru has sensed the same girl, though, and for her and her crew she might be the spark that will ignite a revolution.

I absolutely loved this first instalment of the City of Sacrifice series. It is an exciting and heart-pounding narrative, pared back so the reader barely has time to take a breath. I feel like Fletcher has done more in a little over 300 pages than a lot of writers can do in 500 but I never felt I was missing out on anything. At the start of each new chapter readers are given a small piece of backstory to grow their sense of the world and the stakes, but the story moves at a lightning pace with a focus on the characters and keeping them moving forward. Upon finishing, I stumbled upon the glossary and realised over half of the terms were not even used in this first book, and all it did was make me hungry for the rest. It’s all there. Every drug, every type of magic, and every god, it is as intricately detailed as possible and shows there is a hell of a lot of scope left in this story.

Smoke and Stone is grimdark, it’s post-apocalyptic, it’s surreal as hell. If there is any justice in this world it should find no trouble finding an audience. If you have read Beyond Redemption you’ll know how committed and invested Fletcher is when he builds his world and the amazing depth he achieves. In this world we have a brilliant combination of The Poppy War, The Books of Babel and The Cabin in the Woods. We have tons of drug-induced magic, a city that is set up in ringdoms each with their own identity, and a people that must live with the constant threat of gods living and fighting beneath them. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this exciting new series and I can’t wait to see where Fletcher takes Nuru, Akachi and the city of Bastion.

This review was originally published at https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2019/10/sm...

[Anton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to Michael R. Fletcher for sharing the ARC well ahead of the publication date!

Well... I loved it! :D I was also quite surprised... I was bracing for the heart-wrenching brutal delivery you'll find in Beyond Redemption and The Mirror’s Truth. Instead, it was way-way tamer... It is still very much grimdark, mind you. But as far as Michael's writing goes - it was is fairly upbeat. Yes, bad things happen to lots of people. Yes, you should still keep it away from your 13-year-old. But it does not contain anything that can make you squirm the same way as the torture sequence from The Mirror’s Truth or an ending of Beyond Redemption.

In fact, the closes comparison I can think of is The Final Empire by Sanderson. Michael, of course, has its own unique voice in it - but the book shares the same strengths you would usually expect from Sanderson: detailed protagonists, creative setting, unique and clear magic system. Michael R. Fletcher delivers all of the above!

Setting and Themes
The world of Bastion is both wickedly clever and very simple. The story takes place in a fantasy dystopian future where entire humanity lives in the last remaining mega-city and the rest of the world is a wasteland following the war of the gods (something that resonates with the themes of The Gutter Prayer).

The war of the gods ended with the near extinction of humanity. With so few mortals left to worship them, the surviving gods starved. In a desperate attempt to save mankind the last gods created Bastion, a city formed of a single piece of stone pulled from deep beneath the Bloody Desert. Bastion is the last city of man; beyond its walls is endless death.

The entire city of Bastion is comprised of a single stone, two hundred and fifty miles in diameter, some seven hundred and eighty-five miles in circumference. In all Bastion, from colossal Sand Wall to the Wall of Gods at the centre, from the simplest Grower’s tenement, to the columns of the Senate, to the mighty vaults of the Banks, to the towering spires of the central churches, there is no seam to be found. Bastion is a manifestation of perfection.

The culture, faith pantheon and magic system are all strongly influenced by the Mesoamerican pre-Columbian myth and legend. I found the magic system specifically very reminiscent of The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda. Very-very finely executed!

The same is true for the structure and cultural themes within Bastion. A very clever re-imagination of the dystopian themes of brutal government and religious control as well as inequality and discrimination. Even though it is a work of escapist fiction - but it really cuts deep.

Story and the Series
The story revolves around two POV protagonists on the different side of the conflict and this allows for a really multidimensional perspective on the world of the Bastion.

This book is the start of the series that will go on to explore how the new chapter of God's War will unfold...

The Last War is something of a misnomer. Dozens of wars were fought after the birth of Bastion, as those surviving gods battled for supremacy. This was a world of a thousand pantheons, ten thousand gods. Far too many to feed from the few surviving mortal souls. And so they cast out the losers, culled their own numbers. Those that survived are the most dangerous, those most willing to betray their own. We don’t have the gods we need. We have the gods we deserve.

This book will strongly appeal to the fans of Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jackson Bennett and Brian Staveley.

I can't want for the next instalment! I really hope this book will 'land' with the bang it deserves upon release.

[Chris Haught · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Smoke! (and Stone) was that a wild ride…

Michael R. Fletcher makes his return to grimdark fantasy in fine fashion, introducing us to a fascinating new world, different from that in his brilliant Manifest Delusions series. If you enjoyed the world-building and backstabbery of that series, you’ll love this one just as much. It’s the first book in the City of Sacrifice series, set entirely in the city of Bastion, which to its inhabitants comprises the entire known world.

Bastion sets on a single stone, which covers a diameter of about 250 miles. A quarter of a million people live here, separated by several walls which ring around the core, where the priests live. It’s an elaborate caste system, where the farther out one lives from the center, the more poor and numerous.

Smoke and Stone takes place mostly in the Grower’s Ring, where the food for the city is harvested by, you guessed it, the Growers. The poorest in this society, Growers are given very few (if any) amenities, but several things that are listed as being punishable. It’s actually a crime for them to own chairs, so most of them flip unused boxes over to have something to secretly sit on. The Growers are seen as too stupid to do anything but grow food, so their children are taken away at birth and raised (to be Growers) away from their birth parents.

As one can guess, the priests control everything in the name of the gods. But it turns out, the gods have a hand in things, and some of them aren’t so happy with how it’s all turned out. Seems that thousands of years ago there was a big war between these gods and the walls of Bastion are all that protects humanity’s survivors from, well, whatever horrors are out there.

In our story, we have two protagonists and the narrative alternates between their two perspectives. First we have Akachi, a young member of the priesthood that is being assigned a parish in the Wheat District, where he will be expected to guide souls until a real priest can be found to take over (the last few met pretty horrific ends, so Akachi is not expected to last long). Secondly, we have Nuru, a street sorcerer from the Grower's Ring, where the Wheat District is located. She’s a member of a small gang that roams the streets of the District and are becoming aware of and unhappy about the status quo in the city of Bastion.

The magic system is pretty awesome and unique. Nuru and Akachi are both practitioners, though they use their skills in different ways. There are narcotics which are taken in to gift/enhance the user and enable them to do all sorts of wicked things. This is another trademark of Fletcher fantasy, in that he puts a lot of thought and creativity into a magic system that’s very different from what’s already out there.

This novel then gives us the stories of both of our young protagonists as they learn the ins and outs of their mutual district from opposite perspectives. They both have a cast of side characters that are quite interesting, and we follow all of these through the story to its ending. All I will say about that is that’s it’s pretty Michael R. Fletchery in nature, so be prepared to feel like breaking something.

[Justine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mother Death wanted to break the eternal city until nothing remained of the old ways but smoke and stone.

From beyond the realm of mankind the gods scheme. Father Death remains withdrawn in his sanctuary of the underworld, while the arrival of Mother Death at the towering walls of Bastion from the wasteland of the Bloody Desert marks the beginning of the end. A priest of many talents challenges a street sorcerer of great power, both whose strings are being pulled by their puppet masters. What’s believed to be a campaign for freedom from persecution may lead to absolute annihilation as the gods wage war once again.

Smoke and Stone is the newest ultra Grimdark title from the incomparable Michael R. Fletcher, and is a raw and visceral tale of abuse and vengeful gods. Its pages seep with the concept that rules of religion and society are created by man, and are therefore flawed. That those crushed under the boot of oppression are viciously blinded by a false sense of security, and will only be led to ruin. And those same that are victimized have the power to break down the walls of injustice, as only one voice is needed to spark a revolution. In all honesty, I never know what to expect when cracking open one of Fletcher’s novels, owing to the fact that blurbs aren’t capable of giving the work’s entirety its due. Smoke and Stone is no different in this regard, and not only were my expectations met, but completely surpassed with this brilliant initiation into the City of Sacrifice series.

Set in a unique and finely crafted world decimated by war, rich in both history and beliefs evocative of Mesoamerican culture, this story is suffused with ageless deities of endless monikers determined to topple the current structure of the pantheon. These renewed and ongoing battles between fickle gods threaten to trigger bloodshed between men, revealing well-kept secrets that will surely shatter the fabric of society. Devoted priesthoods and heretical assassins, savage street magic fueled by carefully formulated concoctions of narcotics and divine will, public sacrificial rituals to appease blood-thirsty gods, the worldbuilding in this book is both astonishing and impeccable.

Structure leads to stagnation. Control leads to abuse.

Bastion, the last remaining haven for humankind, is a sprawling concentric city miraculously constructed of a single stone. The gods inhabit the center, and each subsequent ring houses those of lesser wealth and importance. The Growers, known as Dirts to their “betters”, inhabit the largest and outermost ring, and are essentially the slaves of the community. They’re worked to the bone to produce food for those in the inner rings, and in return they’re fed, clothed, and given shelter – as scant as it all may be. This is the life they’ve been taught to know, all they’ve grown accustomed to, living in discomfort and fear. However, the acrid scent of rebellion drifts upon the warm and dusty winds. Surrounded by the Bloody Desert, where all manner of lost souls and demons and exiled gods lurk, the walls of Bastion are the only means of preventing perpetual misery and death.

In addition to meticulously superb worldbuilding, this book excels at portraying tragically flawed and broken characters. The story mainly focuses on two sorcerers that fall on each end of the city’s social spectrum. Nuru is an unfortunate Grower, but an insanely powerful street sorcerer. While she’s naturally beautiful and intensely influential to those she silently leads, she has a complete lack of confidence, viewing herself as ordinary, which she is most certainly not. Akachi is an interim priest of the god Cloud Serpent. Overly sure in his many mystical abilities, he’s terrified of disappointing his father, High Priest of Cloud Serpent, with his performance at his temple deep within the Growers’ Ring. Unwilling to request help, he’s prepared to sacrifice everyone and everything in order to complete the task set before him. Furthermore, a strong and dynamic supporting cast not only adds depth to the story, but also to our main POV characters. For fear of giving too much away, I’ll leave them for you become acquainted with yourself.

The world is coming apart. The smoke never lied.

Fletcher is a master of immersion with a level of twisted creativity most could only hope to strive for. As soon as I began reading the first chapter, I was immediately hooked and unable to put the book down. A narrative dominated by captivating lyrical prose and lucid descriptions bathing you in the filth of Bastion made this an addictive read that I hoped would never end. I could feel the harsh grit of the desert sand and the stickiness of blood baking in the sun. I could sense the encompassing fear of the horrors lurking in the shadows and the strangled hope for a brighter tomorrow. Riddles presented by the gods are not only for characters to decipher, but for readers to decode, as well. A strong, solid plot riddled with shocking twists left me slack-jawed and craving more. Diving into one of his books is more than just an enrapturing read, it’s an enveloping experience in which no review could possibly prepare you for.

What an intense and extraordinary way to begin a new series. We’re left with the fate of all hanging in the balance, and I cannot wait to continue my journey through the cramped and drab streets of the Growers’ Ring as the chaos infiltrates further inwards. Smoke and Stone will be available September 13, 2019, so make sure you pre-order your copy now!

Note: A huge thank you to the author for an advanced copy of this book.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naprosto mi nije jasno kako je ova knjiga samizdat.

Za početak, pokriva skoro pa sve trenutno popularne socijalno angažovane trope u fantastici - jaki ženski likovi, neevrocentrična postavka, klasna borba, dispotija i postapokalipsa... Zaplet je sasvim solidan, jezik vrlo dobar, radnja dobro osmišljena i drži pažnju, svet je osmišljen izvanredno i sve pije vodu, premda pisac ne ide u obilje detalja - ali to obilje detalja i nije potrebno, sistem magije koji je razrađen taman kako treba, ali ne toliko da čitalac mora da crta dijagrame da bi pohvatao šta je šta.

Dakle, sve je na svom mestu i sve je taman kako treba da bude da bi konačan proizvod sasvim sigurno spadao među najbolje fantazijske romane objavljene prošle godine - a opet, nije ga objavila nijedna velika izdavačka kuća, pa ni mala, iako i roman i pisac to očito zaslužuju.

Šta se tu dešava, pojma nemam, niti nameravam da istražujem - ali svakako apelujem na ljubitelje fantazije, naročito grimdarka, da ovom romanu pruže priliku da ih zabavi.

5*

[Jon Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might just be the most unique world-building I've ever read. Bastion is incredible. I'd put it on the same level as The Tower of Babel in Bancroft's books.

Rich, developed characters, some great twists, an amazing plot, and top notch world-building. What's not to love? I can't wait to explore more of Bastion!

Damn the man!

Thank you to Mr. Fletcher for the ARC. Hopefully I worked some of that debt off, but I'll still be buying the book when it comes out.

[Laura Tenfingers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought I was in for some hardcore Grimdark. Instead I got special snowflakes.

Our MCs are teenagers (with crushes no less), stuck in a caste system 25,000 years old. Behind the veil there's also a God's war that's also 25,000 years old. These special snowflakes are on the front line, in the sights of the Gods and grabbing every demon they can find, by the balls.

Forget that they're complete idiots. Forget that for 25,000 years no one has been able to break free. These champs can get around everything no one has been able to fight against before. Yup, cause they're cool like that.

As you might imagine, the pesky grownups don't have a clue and the snowflakes, well, they do every stupid thing you can dream up but it'll all work out because. Yeah, I have no clue why. Which is why I won't be reading the next book.

[Mili · Rating 4 out of 5]

OUT TODAY!!! FRIDAY 13TH. KINDLE AND PRINT. ATTAAAACK I MEAN GET ITTT!!
_______________________________

'She is Death'.

Thanks Michael R. Fletcher for sending me the eARC of Smoke and Stone! After reading Manifest Delusions series and loving them I couldn't wait to read more by the author. City of Sacrifice is the new series Fletcher is working on and it is promising!

The writing engages you from the start! It really gets the movie going in your mind, an all round experience as I expected! There is some lovely goreyness that feeds my soul and swearing to top it off. The magic varying from shapeshifting to veils thinning and reaching multiple realities. The dialogue between the characters was great. They are the kind who at heart from their pov are doing the right thing. Or so they believe. I like that gray area. The only bit that I couldn't personally connect with was the sexual attraction between certain characters. It didn't flow for me naturally. But I feel like that is a personal experience.

The book Smoke and Bone starts the series off by showing us this city called Bastion. Bastion holds the last of human kind spread into ringdoms. The gods have saved them and sheltered them in this magnificent city. But the Gods are playing a game, they are power hungry. Are the people really saved?

'Bastion is the last city of man; beyond its walls is endless death.'

For every god there is a priesthood. Some of the priests have magical abilities. The priests rule the people. Some people have magic too but are not allowed to use it. Death is the punishment. Every ringdom appears to have its tight rules and purpose. For every misstep you might be the one feeding the Gods. Yess nothing better than a bit of bloodshed to purify someone's soul muaha! It certainly feeds mine XD.

We find ourselves in the outer ringdom called the Growers Ring where the people are kept simple, their goal to work the fields for food. We have two perspectives of young people. One is a young group of Growers and the other a young Priest. All of them are insecure and try their hardest not to fail. But of course shit goes crazy! I don't want to give too much away. But there is a lot of magic involved, the glossery is your friend cause the terminology is wonderful but you need to look up the meaning of all the 'narcotics' which are ingredients one needs to ingest with different powers! They are explained throughout the plot. I love a glossery like this! And all the type of Gods and Priesthoods! The group of Growers friends that we mostly get to learn through Nuru her POV are surviving. Nuru is a street sorcerer and knows a bit of her magics. They are a tight pack that survive by selling narcotics in their turf. After things get desperate an entity speaks to her and she hopes to control it and help out the gang.

'She knew better than to ignore her dreams. She also knew better than to trust things that had the power to reach into a sorcerer's dream and plant a need.'

Akachi, the fresh priest, in the meantime is learning things the hard way. He is not welcomed by the people. His life experience exists out of becoming a priest, mischief and trying to please his dad. He comes from a tidy place. The outer ring is all but that and I guess books can't teach you all. Determined not to fail his dad he puts on his priest face and starts working hard. Every priest has to earn his place by working in every ringdom, going inwards back to the Gods. Until a dream.......and you see him change from that naive and well meant boy that he was. Still convinced he is making the right decisions.....
Agrh! Can't wait to continue :)

[Ojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smoke and Stone is a dark, dark, dark start into what promises to be a top quality series featuring some of the darkest magic ever in the subgenre.

The gods are at war. They cannot enter the mortal world, at least not yet. But the seeds of discord, planted thousands of years ago have begun to take root. Bastion is the last Living City, a society so inherently evil, so stratified. The evil is germinating fast, as the ancient dieties slowly awake to resume their never ending war to head the Divine Pantheon. The protagonists, a priest seeking worldly accomplishment, and a lowly street Dirt gifted with sorcerous powers seeking a way to better the pathetic lives of her friends, are both caught in the machinations of evil gods, setting into motion a cataclysm that will sweep into the very heart of Bastion with bloody, evil menace.

It's very finely written, this book. With plenty of dark, dark magic. The naming system is interesting, as is the magic system itself, both of which seem to me rather very African. Some of the names: Yejide, Khadija, Ibrahim, Nuru....

The standout feature is the magic system, which is as dark as dark ever goes. It's not the bright blinding lights and a lot of waving of hands and fancy chants. This one involves plenty of trance-inducing narcotics, ancient evil daggers imbued with the souls of generations of individuals murdered/sacrificed in the worship of powerful deities, serious ritualistic stuff, certainly not for the faint of heart.

If you're looking for some lovey dovey adventure with knights and castles and kingdoms to be conquered, then stay away from this. But if you, like me have a taste for the inherently dark, then I advise you to start this journey. It will most certainly be worth it at the end.

P.S- Was quite nice seeing an old acquaintance Petros Triantafyllou mentioned in the acknowledgements. Cheers to that.

[Scott Hitchcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing that was missing for me with this compared to other works by MRF was caustic humor which made me roar. It was a good book. I can see his writing growing. But lets have more of that Beyond Redemption dark humor that I love so much.

[J.D.L. Rosell · Rating 5 out of 5]

TL;DR: Smoke and Stone has everything I love - gods, grit, and great characters.

FULL REVIEW
Michael Fletcher has been on my radar since Beyond Redemption. The idea of the first series I heard of, Manifest Delusions - where the maddest among us have the great capacity for magic - blew me away with its novelty. But I gave the novel the most cursory of tries, and when the first chapter didn’t capture me, I drifted into other books in my TBR pile.

I’m glad I came back around to give him another try.

Smoke and Stone, one of Fletcher’s latest novels, has everything I love - gods, grit, and great characters.

CHARACTERS
Nuru and Akachi made for two fantastic and differing protagonists. In Akachi, we see Bastion, the vast Egyptian-like city in which the novel takes place, as the upper-class does, perfect in its design and purpose - though the cracks are showing. A priest-in-training, he is full of idealism and youthful desire to prove himself, most especially to a disapproving father, a naivety that, of course, does not go unpunished.

Nuru, on the other hand, shows Bastion as it actually is in the furthest part ring of Bastion, the Growers’ Ring. Life is brutal and short for Growers, or “Dirts” as they’re derogatorily called, and completely devoid of hope. All any of them have is each other. But from this hopeless rises an indomitable desperation that compels me to sympathize with her, even with all the blood that stains her and her companions’ hands.

While I enjoyed the journey with the main characters, the cast of side characters also shone, particularly Nuru’s sociopathic companion.

PLOT
While there was a bit of a saggy middle for me, in general, the plot was riveting and pulled me to turn the page again and again. And while I saw the ending coming from a ways away, it still wound up being satisfying.

SETTING
Bastion, the massive city of countless souls, is vividly imagined and fascinating to explore. While we only touch a small part of it, what we see leaves me wanting to know more. What do the other rings look like, and in particular, the center? I’ll be interested to see how it all develops.

Another shining part of the worldbuilding is the use of narcotics in sorcery, which carries exactly the risks and side-effects you’d expect. Yet another idea I wish I’d come up with first!

IN SUM
If you’re into grimdark fantasy, I’d absolutely recommend Smoke and Stone. But if you’re into lighter reads, look elsewhere. This book is unrelenting, and while it stopped short of soul-crushing, it’s certainly no walk in the park! But all good fiction should leave you changed and thinking about it afterward, and that has definitely been the case for me with my first foray into Michael Fletcher’s fiction.

Review initially posted on my website, jdlrosell.com:
https://www.jdlrosell.com/blog/2020/4...

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

(NOTE: I edited this book, so take that into consideration if you decide to read my review.)

"So, aside from all that, what else do I want you to know about this book?

It’s unapologetic. It will make you uncomfortable. It might even offend you. Please don’t let that stop you. Art shouldn’t be comfortable. Good art should be the exact opposite, and this book delivers.

This is, in my humble estimation, the best book Fletcher has written yet. If you’re a fan of dark themes, of unique twists, of the relentless deployment of story, then you need to give this a read. While it is full of so many good qualities I mentioned in this blog post, it is also shockingly, stunningly human, and that’s what makes everything he’s done work so well. It’s not just a great story, with great writing, and great execution, Smoke and Stone is held together by the glue of the human experience. It’s not always graceful, it’s not always comfortable, but it is absolutely unforgettable.

Read it."

Full review here:
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2019/09/...

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 1 out of 5]

As with Black Stone Heart, I can’t get behind this one. Fletcher’s story ideas are brutal, grim, dark, savage. But since Beyond Redemption I have not enjoyed reading them. I’ll keep trying; I would still like to read the end of Manifest Delusions and his newest insectoid race book, but fear with at least the latter that I’ll enjoy the concept much more than the execution.

In Smoke and Stone it feels like story and worldbuilding took priority over character and authenticity. I never bought into the setting: a vast city, the last bastion of humanity, ringed by concentric walls (an arrangement that will never not bring Attack on Titan to mind; recently also seen by me in Robert Bennett’s The Tainted Cup), with all but the first chapter taking place in the outer ring, where ‘Growers’ live as slaves and all of the city’s farming takes place. I don’t know who came up with this system, but OF COURSE the most populous and most oppressed class, denied all but the barest essentials of survival, are going to rise up in rebellion. In this setting, people are denied any education or tools except those necessary to their farming tasks, but somehow still have an extensive vocabulary and as thorough a grasp of philosophical and social concepts as the readers. The Growers in the Wheat District march off every day to grow wheat and come back exhausted and filthy; don’t you just plant wheat and then, like, go do other things until it’s time to harvest it? What are they doing exactly all day, every day, year-round? And plenty of Growers don’t appear to bother going to work at all and nobody cares about that?

One the two main characters is a priest sent to restore church service in this district, but only for his specific god, one of many each apparently with their own churches, and over weeks he gives one sermon and never seems to care about holding another service, so what is he even doing there, and do the same Growers have to go to the other churches too? The book gives the barest details and then ignores them for the main story, which could be fine if it felt like actual life was still happening while the story is going on.

There’s a romance, but there’s no reason for it. It’s fine for the young new priest to be attracted to the soldier lady, but there’s absolutely no reason for her to be attracted to him, and the intended emotional impact of their supposed romance wasn't there. There’s a best friend who comes along for the ride, but after the first chapter there’s zero interaction between him and the main character, and the friend has no role in the story, so what’s the point?

Need I say I was unimpressed with the characters? They were mere tools of the plot, showed little agency in the story, and in truth were mere puppets, but not interesting puppets. And for a plot that had such tools at its disposal, not much happened. At the beginning, social upheaval is looming and the holy order is ripe to be attacked. At the end, social upheaval is looming incrementally closer and the holy order has started to be attacked. How important were all the pages in between?

From a style perspective, I disliked the preponderance of short paragraphs, including strings of one-liners. It gave it all a frantic pace, with an excess of pointed statements. I rarely felt there was material that I could sink into, like it wanted to fly by without being digested.

Fletcher is a good writer but recent experience is telling me his books don’t have what I hope to get out of reading.

[Rob Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate spiders. The way they move like nightmare given form and terrible purpose. The fact that one could be above me right now, slowly descending on an arse-bungee to land on my head and crawl into my hair. They way they string near invisible webs across large distances that I inevitably walk into and end up flailing about in some wild, manic dance in an attempt to free myself from something so fine it might as well not exist. Oh, I know everyone says they're more scared of me, than I am of them... but that's bullshit! I studied Zoology at university. They don't feel fear, not like we do. And besides, if they were scared of me. Why do they always RUN TOWARD ME!?!?!?!

Ahem, so you might have noticed there's a big smoky spider on the cover of this book. A BIG SPIDER!

So Smoke and Stone is the latest fantasy novel by critically acclaimed (and possibly deranged) author, Michael R. Fletcher. It's set in the city of Bastion, which happens to be the last Bastion of mankind. Apparently the rest of the world is either dead, or a wasteland filled with mad gods swallowing the souls of anyone unfortunate enough to be trapped outside the walls of this final city. Sounds like a lovely place, no? Bastion is a HEAVILY religious city, and it is divided into tiers with priests at the centre, and the poorest of the poor at the edges. It is also far more than it seems. We follow along behind Akachi, a young priest given his first parish as a punishment (it's a rather violent parish), and Nuru, a street sorcerer working with a gang of criminals. They each have their beliefs and their god, and fate seems to have set them on a collision course. Oh, and there's a GIANT SPIDER!!!

There's a lot to like about this book. First there's the uniqueness of the setting. A single surviving city in a wasteland of warring gods and lost souls. A religion so oppressive, human sacrifice is seen as a release. A pantheon of gods playing a game of intrigue with the fate of humanity at stake. A god of death, probing the cracks in the city's perfect defenses, trying to find a way back in. It's a lot to take in and Fletcher keeps hinting at something larger in play than he's letting on.

Then we have the magic system. It's fair to say Fletcher likes weird magic systems and this one does not disappoint. It might well be the most oddly intriguing bit of the whole book. Magic is practiced through the use of narcotics. Drugs that thin the veil and push the priest/sorcerer closer to their god, that allow the user to take the form of animal spirits, to enter dreamworlds. It's all a bit trippy. There's a lot of potential with this magic system, and I really hope Fletcher delves a bit deeper in subsequent books because I feel he could really make something special of it.

So there's a lot to like and a lot of potential, but I didn't love the book and oddly enough it's because of the characters. I've read quite a few Fletcher books and he tends to make characters that a broken and unlovable... lovable. He makes you root for characters who would, in any other book, be villains. But something about our main characters in this one just came across a bit too flat to me, and I never found myself invested in their struggle like I wanted to be.

So I'm giving Smoke and Stone a good 4 stars... despite the giant spider!

[Lynn K : Grimmedian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is everything I expect from Michael R. Fletcher, and that’s quite a lot. Once again we have an original, weird (in the best way), and complex dark fantasy. Thanks to author for an ARC.

Michael R. Fletcher has written an amazing book about the devastation left by a war of gods. Filled with forced oppression, and the sacrifice of millions. Gods, who in desperation to save their worshipers, created a city in which the remains of mankind dwell. Strangely enough, it’s weirdly magical. There’s a haunting feeling of both hopelessness and possibilities.
Fletcher has an enviable knack for creating characters that make us care deeply about them, whilst they commit abominable acts. I was engrossed from chapter one and cannot wait for the follow up to this Grimdark fantasy. A dark fantasy with a dystopian feel unlike any other I’ve read in recent recollection, Fletcher’s ability to create character depth and join it seamlessly to his world building is amazing. Regardless of the violent and dangerous lifestyle and circumstances, every character draws you into their personal hell. The result is that I found this book nearly impossible to put down.
In Smoke and Stone, the city of Bastion is a made in concentric rings, each holding a caste which from wealth grows to utter poverty with each successive ring outward. In reality it’s a huge sacrificial altar to feed the gods. But which gods remain? How many remain forgotten beyond Bastion? Beyond the last wall, where the souls of the dead team in millions? Most importantly, who knows the truth? The street sorcerers or the nahualli of the priests ring? Has Mother Death found a way into Bastion? Will the gods war again?

Something is coming. The narcotics used by all sorcerers, thins the veil, allows them to see portents, and also to become a spirit animal using wooden carvings. They can see the destruction coming, if not clearly, and they fear it greatly.

While simultaneously balancing the sides of the conflict growing in Bastion, and creating emotional hooks, we are kept guessing by the author. We are intrigued by the utter ignorance of oppression and the depravity of wealth. Peoples so downtrodden in slavery, they know nothing of any comforts, even that of the love of their own children. While through a nearby gated wall lies opulence, plenty, and real families. More and more privilege and wealth is found in the rings closet to the center, while the furthest out wallow in ignorance, denied learning and even simple tools.

Smoke and Stone tosses you directly into the strangeness of one world, and the horror of another, through two main POV characters. A poor sorceress and a rich priest of the inner rings. It’s a strange mix of discovery and violence which takes the preconceptions of these characters themselves and turns them upside down. The cast which surround and support them are fleshed out and fascinating. There are no clear cut heroes. Everyone must do what they must to survive and all in Bastion are born into caste system without any aspirations of rising above their station. The poorest know very little or nothing at all of the other rings and those in power intend keep them ignorant. The truth could ignite a rebellion that could kill them all. Or worse.

[Julia Sarene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got an ARC for this one - and I am happy I didn't need to wait for it's release to start.

While the author said he tried to write a "less dark" book than his other ones - it still is really pretty dark and bloody in parts. So if you don't like some graphic and bloody scenes, this might not be the book for you. Otherwise you should definitely give it a try!

While it took me a bit to really care about the characters they did grow on me throughout the book. Some of the quite widely ranged names - though inspired by real world gods and religions - threw me out of the story at times. It only happened a few times throughout the book though, so not too big an issue. As usual with Fletchers books you should definitely be afraid for them, as not nearly everyone will make it to the end...

A special plus with this story is the city itself more or less being a character on it's own! So the setting and worldbuilding really is fantastic and mysterious and all around epic right from the start! I was hooked just by the concept right from the start and can't wait to get back there!

The prose once again was fluent and let me dive right into the story, and I don't think I'll have to say anything about the gorgeous cover!

[Dustin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
Smoke and Stone is book 1 in the City of Sacrifice series by Michael R. Fletcher. Like his Manifest Delusion books, this one is wildly inventive and entertaining. This book is set in a whole new world- no doppels or huge German words to digest.😉

I can honestly say I was hooked at the very beginning of this story and something like 2 days later, I emerged following that glorious ending. There is a lot to like and look forward to in this series.

“The war of the gods ended with the near extinction of humanity. With so few mortals left to worship them, the surviving gods starved. In a desperate attempt to save mankind the last gods created Bastion, a city formed of a single piece of stone pulled from deep beneath the Bloody Desert.”

The world building is awesome- The City of Bastion and it’s rings became very real in my mind. But good world building, as everyone knows, is more than just describing a place. In Smoke and Stone, the colors, the society, the magic and the religion are all woven into the story expertly. Even though most of the action takes place in the poor outer, or Grower ring, the excerpts at the beginning of each chapter help fill in the picture of every day life throughout Bastion.

Compelling Characters- always something I hope for. I don’t need to agree with each character, but I like something that holds my interest. This book has several such people. There are two main pov’s. Akachi, a young sorcerer-priest, who feels that he’s meant to do great things but feels the pressure to please his god and his father. And Nuru, a young street-sorcerer. A member of the impoverished grower class. She is quite accomplished at her art, but is plagued by insecurities and a need to protect her adopted family/gang. The scenes with Nuru and the character Efra are especially good I thought.
The whole dynamic of the Grower street gangs and heretical religious zealots scraping and fighting for basic human necessities juxtaposed with the ruling class priests and their disdain for the uneducated and dirty Growers really drives the tension as things race to a climax.

The Magic- drugs fuel the sorcerers in Smoke and Stone. Hallucinogenics, relaxants and stimulants can all be combined to “thin the veil” and access all kinds of powers. It’s kind of a shamanistic system that is really well done. There are no powers for good or evil here. Fletcher does an amazing job showing people using what they have to fight for their very lives. You know it’s not all going to end well but I was completely enthralled to see how it all went down.

A terrific read and easily one of my favorite books of the year.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another mindf*%# of a book from the amazing Michael R. Fletcher is about the only way I can put it! You always know you’re going to get a fresh, unique new take on fantasy from him. This time it’s the post-apocalyptic Bastion, a giant city carved from a single piece of rock, each of its concentric circles housing a different class of citizens. There are gods, some long dormant, jockeying for power and competing for worshippers; a magic system based on narcotics that allow the users to enter dream worlds and transform into carved representations of animals; and a meticulously constructed class and religious system that sets up the conflicts between the human characters. The book continues Fletcher’s streak of dealing with dark themes and imagery, but not necessarily glorifying or reveling in violence or evil for its own sake. This story wrestles with complicated moral questions as I believe his previous work has, but more so. I’d say it’s somewhat less of a “Grimdark” book than his Manifest Delusions stuff, but far from YA; don’t worry, it’s still a Michael R. Fletcher book.😉🤘Definitely recommended and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Jamedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review originally on JamReads

Smoke and Stone is the first book in the grimdark series City of Sacrifice, written by Michael R. Fletcher. It's such a deranged and bleak read, brilliant and definitely constitutes an experience that is difficult to describe with words, but it could be summed that I absolutely loved reading it; an original concept with a pantheon of gods inspired by Mesoamerican myths, told with a dual POV from different social classes and a magic system which is partly accessed by the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms are some of the elements that made this book so special.

After a cataclysmic war between the gods, the last of humanity lives in the ringed city of Bastion; the gods of the pantheon belonging to the Inner Circle, humanity divided into the different rings on the basis of a rigid caste system.
In the lowest stage of this system, living in the outer ring is Nuru, a young sorceress who dreams of reaching a better life; when she receives the contact of something beyond the wall, she accepts it, risking her own self and her friends in the process. Mother Dead wants to enter Bastion and reclaim her place among the pantheon, eliminating those gods that banished her in first place; Nuru is her instrument.
Akachi, born in wealth and prosperity, is one of the priests of Cloud Serpent, Lord of the Hunt. After some mistakes, he's sent to the one of the most desolated parishes in the outer ring, tasked with bringing order there, almost a death sentence with the track record for the previous priests. He's drawn into a world of misery and crime really different from what he was used to; but when he detects the presence of Mother Death, spreading her influence, he will have to embrace her role and try to stop it before it's too late.

As you can have imagined, the path of both characters will get crossed, and really interestingly, go in opposite directions; Nuru's path is destined to continue ascending the rings of Bastion, in a bloodstained way, guided by Mother Death until reaching the inner ring, reclaiming the position this goddess lost when she was banished. Nuru wants to escape from the depressing reality she was born, and Mother Death is the opportunity for it. Akachi comes from wealth and is sent to the literal mud, taking him to the outer ring; he will be hardened by the experience, and he will need to embrace Cloud Serpent's gifts if he wants to stop Mother Death.

Outside of our characters, it's impossible to not be shocked by the creativity behind Michael R. Fletcher's worldbuilding; a pantheon and religious customs that are inspired by the Mesoamerican mythology, which includes the use of hallucinogen mushrooms as the way to enter in contact with those gods (something that can be taken from modern shamanism). Bastion is a bleak and hard city, where life has practically no value; Fletcher is not afraid of portraying this grim aspect alongside with the rest, creating a quite unique setting.

Smoke and Stone is definitely an experience to read, it's metal made a book; if you look for an excellent novel, which sets perfectly the dark tone and with different inspirations, which attracts you to read it, City of Sacrifice is definitely a series for you. And I can tell you: this won't be the last Fletcher's book we cover in this place.

[Adah Udechukwu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smoke and Stone was awesome, awesome, awesome. The novel had no dull moment.

[Freakout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this sucks, I promised myself not to start unfinished series, but the lure of grimdark mermaids was to strong, and I fell for that trick once again, and it sucks because this book is good, REALLY good.
This is new series that could easily be set in some God-forgotten part of Manifest Delusions world, it has that same taste and feeling, and characters are flawed and broken as world that surrounds them.
So far this is THE best book I read this year, Michael R. Fletcher have unique voice in fantasy, he writes fantasy for adults.
Well done Mr. Fletcher and BIG Thank You for providing ARC!

[Michael Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve spent a long time writing and reading dark, gritty fantasy, and sometimes it can go too over the top. Well, i’m pleased to say that this book has found a perfect balance.

Fletcher I think is pretty well known for grimdark. His series Manifest Delusions pretty much defines the genre. Gotta love some human stew.

I absolutely love that series, and I hope it continues in some form someday. If that series had a weakness, if any, it was possibly too grimdark, almost to a psychotic degree.

Smoke and Stone tones down the brutality to something thats both more managable, and quality. It is by far Fletcher’s best work (though his work in general is excellent quality, so that should be a testament to how much I enjoy this book) and as of typing up this review, it’s the best book I’ve read so far this year. That’s taking into account some excellent books like The Lore of Prometheus, Blood of Heirs, Seraphinas Lament, Dreams of the Dying and the entire Expanse series. Yes, I think the book is that good. In short, buy the hell out of his book and read it!

But you guys came here for a review, so here goes.

While Smoke and Stone is well balanced and in my opinion a more flexible take on grimdark, it’s still violent. It takes place inside one city with a ruthless caste system, and there is still the good murders and violence that makes Fletcher’s books so good. The worldbuilding is stellar, and it really brings you into the immersion. I can follow the narrative and see everything, which takes skill to do.

The characters I think are the best Fletcher has ever written. We have Nuru, a street sorcerer who is trying to survive, who joins up with a small group, and Akachi, a priest of Cloud Serpent who is doing what he can to bring peace to this violent, war-torn city. The gods are preparing for war, and have awesome names. Mother Death, a banished underworld god, battles Akachi in a war that will define the future of humanity.

It still takes a bit of time to get with the characters, but I found things really tight, and I found myself rooting for everyone. Again, this takes skill. The writing is tight, and puts the characters through hell. Fletcher ruins them, and breaking only makes them more powerful.

The magic system is truly impressive and I think it’s the biggest part that draws me in. Seriously, magic based on drugs! It’s so damn cool, and it’s really fleshed out. There are no fewer than twenty drugs used by sorcerers to do magic, and they get mixed for extra effects. Akachi can turn into a flipping puma, and Nuru turns carvings into living automatons. It’s such a cool magic system, and as someone who also experiments with drugs in his own novels (In the fantasy world, NOT ours! We’re all good here), It’s a true example of how creative you can be.

This might be a shorter review than I usually do, but I think I’ve summed up everything. I liked the tight writing, the brilliant world design, and the story sets the scene for what I think is going to be a brilliant series.

Rating: 5/5. I absolutely adored this book from beginning to end. If I use a best out of 10 system, I would round things down to a 9.5. The only thing which I think could improve this book even more would be a bit more exploration in the world, but I think Book 2 will go into that more.

[Karen ⚜Mess⚜ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just won this book personally from the incredible Mr. Michael R. Fletcher via Grimdark Facebook page

Narcotic-fuelled madness ~Michael R. Fletcher

Michael R. Fletcher said it best in the book’s acknowledgement section “Narcotic-fuelled madness” sums up this crazy ass novel.

This is my first Michael R. Fletcher read. The world building drew me in, and the characters kept me there. There is a complex system regarding the gods and narcotics. Or at least, it was complex for me. Thank goodness for the glossary in the back.

This world is divided into rings. The center ring being that for the gods, and the outer ring is for the Growers. As you can imagine, the further away you are from the gods, the less important you are. This story introduces to you how all that is about to change. Yep, “introduces”. Because with that blood soaking ending it was obvious that we only got our toes wet. There is so much more to come! And lucky for me book 2 comes out in 4 days!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is like if Hunter s Thompson wrote a fantasy novel after the 2008 crash, and man this book is Fletchers tightest story yet I finished it within a few days if a story about poverty God's and spiritual drug trips with a very dark underbelly this book has it all in spades oh and great social commentary.
And I dindt steal dryks pants

[Mladen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect this. I was expecting something in the vein of Beyond Redemption, and instead I got a great story in a completely different world!
It is a well conceived and built, well managed story, with characters that I somehow got attached to even though I didn't expect them to get under my skin. The first half of the novel is slower than expected, which is actually ok (I expected something else :)) but it quickly paces up,
A great city that is an entire world, with a rather cruel caste system living in separate rings is a wonderful example of dystopic heterotopia. What makes it even more wonderful is the way the author managed to link the world of the living with the world of the dead and to make the boundaries between them fuzzy.
Despite its complexity, the world and everything in it is easy to imagine owing to the author's great skill to describe it. However, there are no bothersome descriptions, no going into tiresome details that serve no purpose (other than pay-per-word-count fee, so popular among numerous fantasists, unfortunately). But it is so vivid, so well painted in words.
There is one thing that was a thorn in my eye - numerous questions. I don't expect to see them so many in the text - I somehow feel underestimated as the reader. Perhaps the author could find a way to integrate them in the text in the form of dilemmas (hinted on, not painfully shoved into the reader's eyes in such quantities).
I'm looking forward to the inner rings and more of the afterworld.