Spaces of Silence

by Niranjan K. (Pseudonym), Geetha Krishnan

Sky left his home town of Shiyeth seventeen years ago, leaving behind his heritage as a light mage, and severing ties with everyone except Declan, his friend and inseparable companion of his boyhood. When his cousin, Asher, approaches him with pleas of help and requests for protection from Declan and his dark magic, Sky has some hard choices ahead.

He has not used his magic in years, and the Declan he knows wouldn't harm anyone. Torn between conflicting loyalties, Sky wants to put his faith in Declan and their friendship, but how far can he trust Declan now? When secrets are revealed, and rifts appear in their trust, can he still afford to blindly believe in Declan?

Is friendship enough in the face of damning evidence?

Genres: Fantasy

98 pages, Paperback

Published November 27, 2020

Reviews

[Ben Schenkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things I liked the most about this novella is that none of the characters are one dimensional. For a short read (listen, in my case) that's hard to do. There is moral and personal complexity, and ambiguity, especially in the main characters Sky and Declan. The story was moderately paced, and interesting, leading up to a slightly complicated climax.

Overall I think the magic was explained relatively well, and I prefer my magic systems to be a bit loose, but there was a consistency in how it was applied.

The characters were real, and dialogue was engaging. A good story, Great work from Niranjan, and this was the first book of theirs that I read.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator (Aedemon Maure) sounds like Tom Hiddleston to me. My only gripe about the audiobook is that Maure doesn't differentiate his character voices that well, so it was occasionally confusing who was speaking.

[Magik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spaces of Silence feels like an apt name. This book definitely feels like something I would call quiet. Even the climactic magic fight feels quiet. It's fantasy set in the future? Definitely on different planets than earth. That part isn't well defined but it's not really important to the story. Like I said it's fantasy with lots of magic and while it certainly plays an important part it isn't really about the magic. It's partly a mystery and partly a story about the bonds of friendship. I really liked it.

[Rhonda Bobbitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an outstanding world building short story. Very elegant writing. I loved Declan's character. Friendship, magic, and mystery all rolled up in a short book. Loved it. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.