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Songs of Sefate #2
Oh, That Shotgun Sky
Days after the Boundary falls, six strangers converge in a one-horse town, all of them on the run. Some from the past, some avoiding the future.
When men from Shine Company arrive to reclaim their own, these desperate travelers have to decide if they stand with the law, or against it.
Men pull the trigger and blood spills.
Fate pulls the strings and everybody dances.
When men from Shine Company arrive to reclaim their own, these desperate travelers have to decide if they stand with the law, or against it.
Men pull the trigger and blood spills.
Fate pulls the strings and everybody dances.
143 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 16, 2021
6 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Chorn
33 books503 followersSarah has been a compulsive reader her whole life. At a young age, she found her reading niche in the fantastic genre of Speculative Fiction. She blames her active imagination for the hobbies that threaten to consume her life. She is a freelance writer and editor, a semi-pro nature photographer, world traveler, three-time cancer survivor with hEDS, and mom to two. In her ideal world, she’d do nothing but drink lots of tea and read from a never-ending pile of speculative fiction books. She has been running the book review blog Bookworm Blues since 2010, editing full-time since 2016, and currently works freelance and as the staff editor for Grimdark Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 28, 2021
This is a superbly written novella that is a continuation of the saga that started with Sarah Chorn’s excellent 2020 novel _Of Honey and Wildfires_. The reader gets the opportunity to revisit the world of the Shine Territory and it is a very welcome one for this reader! I think the novel is best enjoyed if one has read _Of Honey and Wildfires_ although I also think the novella can definitely be enjoyed on its own merits without having read the preceding book, as I think the reader will get what they need to know about the setting (the Shine Territory, about the magical oil called shine, easily understood though context and mentions in conversations; in brief, shine is a magical oil that is mined, can be used to make food taste better, used in weaponry, heal people, make people feel great, but is highly addictive and can save you but often ends up killing you; it is mined in a company owned area called the Shine Territory, run by a company that is ruthless, almost authoritarian, that commodifies absolutely everything in its realm of control and essentially has outright slavery, this entire area surrounded by a magical barrier called the Boundary).
We get a pretty large cast in the novella with three different plot threads starting out. One thread is about several female prostitutes, who are slaves in the Shine Territory, not allowed to go anywhere, do anything unless their male minders approve (and really, they don’t, they can’t even think to ask so browbeaten are these poor women). The main character in this thread is Sally Morten, with the thread also introducing two other characters, Eloise and Grace. Grace, quite unusual for a prostitute in the Shine Territory, is pregnant (most prostitutes choose not to have a baby when they get pregnant, in large part because they won’t be allowed to keep the child, as the child becomes company property and is given to others to raise).
Another plot thread centers on Saul Jenson, a wanted man, an outlaw in the Shine Territory, with a bounty on his head placed there by the company. We meet him early on experiencing some absolutely heart-rending, epic grief over the death of the most important man in the world to him, Christopher Hobson, just absolutely crushed by his loss.
The final opening plot thread is about Ned Teller, a company man, a law man, a man on the straight and narrow (so straight, so narrow he follows the company’s rules no matter how much it hurts those around him, though he isn’t unaware of the cost).
Ned is also a burnout. Most often burnouts are junkies, at the edge of death, wasted, hallucinating, washed out, but Ned, a teetotaler when it comes to using shine, has absorbed so much shine in his life (whether used on him or just from being in the Shine Territory) that he has burnout from essentially unending contact highs.
These are some browbeaten, down on their luck folks who absolutely suffer. Good people, but people who have been chewed up and spit out by the Shine Territory, people who know full well they continue to breathe air only as long as they benefit the company and the moment they don’t make the company money they are discarded if just not outright killed. In this novella, simply to survive despite what the company wants is heroic.
The company is close to if not quite faceless in the book. It reminds me of those book discussions you have in English literature class, about man vs society or man vs. environment, rather than as a protagonist overcoming the challenges posed by some specific individual antagonist the protagonist has to overcome society as a whole or a natural disaster. Though we see company antagonists in the book, the company without these people pervades the Shine Territory just as much as shine does as a sort of faceless miasma of doom, maybe more pervasive than shine even, infecting the entire area with its dehumanizing corporate greed and indifference to suffering. Even far from town, far from any other building, the suffocating company pervades everything in the setting, more akin to Stalinist Russia or Nazi Germany in how oppressive it is, that even if no one around you represents the oppressor, it lives on in your head and in your heart.
I liked the idea of having the prostitute characters. I think sex workers, treated as humans, with no depiction of any erotic scenes or even nudity, as characters, is very rare in fantasy literature. Rare in literature in general I think though I will confess I am not as widely read in literature outside of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and some mystery as I would like to be. In no way eroticizing anyone, Sarah looked unflinchingly at issues of sex slavery and human trafficking, very difficult things to look at and brave to depict.
Well done all around!
We get a pretty large cast in the novella with three different plot threads starting out. One thread is about several female prostitutes, who are slaves in the Shine Territory, not allowed to go anywhere, do anything unless their male minders approve (and really, they don’t, they can’t even think to ask so browbeaten are these poor women). The main character in this thread is Sally Morten, with the thread also introducing two other characters, Eloise and Grace. Grace, quite unusual for a prostitute in the Shine Territory, is pregnant (most prostitutes choose not to have a baby when they get pregnant, in large part because they won’t be allowed to keep the child, as the child becomes company property and is given to others to raise).
Another plot thread centers on Saul Jenson, a wanted man, an outlaw in the Shine Territory, with a bounty on his head placed there by the company. We meet him early on experiencing some absolutely heart-rending, epic grief over the death of the most important man in the world to him, Christopher Hobson, just absolutely crushed by his loss.
The final opening plot thread is about Ned Teller, a company man, a law man, a man on the straight and narrow (so straight, so narrow he follows the company’s rules no matter how much it hurts those around him, though he isn’t unaware of the cost).
Ned is also a burnout. Most often burnouts are junkies, at the edge of death, wasted, hallucinating, washed out, but Ned, a teetotaler when it comes to using shine, has absorbed so much shine in his life (whether used on him or just from being in the Shine Territory) that he has burnout from essentially unending contact highs.
These are some browbeaten, down on their luck folks who absolutely suffer. Good people, but people who have been chewed up and spit out by the Shine Territory, people who know full well they continue to breathe air only as long as they benefit the company and the moment they don’t make the company money they are discarded if just not outright killed. In this novella, simply to survive despite what the company wants is heroic.
The company is close to if not quite faceless in the book. It reminds me of those book discussions you have in English literature class, about man vs society or man vs. environment, rather than as a protagonist overcoming the challenges posed by some specific individual antagonist the protagonist has to overcome society as a whole or a natural disaster. Though we see company antagonists in the book, the company without these people pervades the Shine Territory just as much as shine does as a sort of faceless miasma of doom, maybe more pervasive than shine even, infecting the entire area with its dehumanizing corporate greed and indifference to suffering. Even far from town, far from any other building, the suffocating company pervades everything in the setting, more akin to Stalinist Russia or Nazi Germany in how oppressive it is, that even if no one around you represents the oppressor, it lives on in your head and in your heart.
I liked the idea of having the prostitute characters. I think sex workers, treated as humans, with no depiction of any erotic scenes or even nudity, as characters, is very rare in fantasy literature. Rare in literature in general I think though I will confess I am not as widely read in literature outside of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and some mystery as I would like to be. In no way eroticizing anyone, Sarah looked unflinchingly at issues of sex slavery and human trafficking, very difficult things to look at and brave to depict.
Well done all around!
May 25, 2023
Oh, so much pain. So much gut-wrenching yet beautiful and poetic pain. After reading the author's note at the end of the book which reveals a bit of Sarah Chorn's life I might have a clue of why pain is such a prominent theme in her books. I was really glad the novella ended with a good portion of hope.
The series numbering on amazon and goodreads is a bit misleading because the sequel of Of Honey and Wildfires is rather Glass Rhapsody than this novella. Even though Oh, That Shotgun Sky starts right after the end of Of Honey and Wildfires and the last paragraph seems to lead right into Glass Rhapsody (can't tell for sure since I haven't read that yet) it is about a different cast of characters and tells its own story. Maybe it is an interlude or a bridge or just an awesome side-kick.
I absolutely loved this fantasy western novella though a bit less than Of Honey and Wildfires and A Sorrow Named Joy. The latter remains my favorite Chorn novel(la) yet, I will find out soon if Glass Rhapsody changes that.
The series numbering on amazon and goodreads is a bit misleading because the sequel of Of Honey and Wildfires is rather Glass Rhapsody than this novella. Even though Oh, That Shotgun Sky starts right after the end of Of Honey and Wildfires and the last paragraph seems to lead right into Glass Rhapsody (can't tell for sure since I haven't read that yet) it is about a different cast of characters and tells its own story. Maybe it is an interlude or a bridge or just an awesome side-kick.
I absolutely loved this fantasy western novella though a bit less than Of Honey and Wildfires and A Sorrow Named Joy. The latter remains my favorite Chorn novel(la) yet, I will find out soon if Glass Rhapsody changes that.
January 18, 2021
I’ve attempted to start this review a dozen different ways, hoping to be somewhat coherent in my review. But you know what? I want to gush. I want to stand on the mountain top and scream about this book.
I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK!!
And I mean that in the sense, that at the time of writing this review I’ve now read this novella seven times and it still hurts as beautifully as it did the first time, and I keep finding new parts that both cut and fill my heart at the same time.
I went into Oh, That Shotgun Sky with high expectations but also with the bias that I absolutely adore how Sarah Chorn writes, and yet I was still caught off guard with how much I loved this novella. As with its predecessor Of Honey and Wildfires, this is not a book that you read from a distance, it’s one that you experience in all it’s stunning, gut-wrenching glory.
I’ve said it before and doubtless, I will say it again, but I don’t think I will ever tire of how Sarah writes. It’s lyrical, and Sarah’s visceral descriptions of not just the atmosphere and setting, but more importantly the emotions – the tensions and desperation, the heartbreak and sorrow, and the kind of love that burns and blesses in all its forms – makes for such a vivid experience that it puts her writing on a whole other level. And with Oh, That Shotgun Sky that has been honed to perfection. Sarah has a way of describing feelings in such a way that it’s like having an epiphany about your own heart as you read, and you can’t help but feel that even the deepest parts of you are being seen.
As this is a bridging novella, you do need to have read Of Honey and Wildfires. With Oh, That Shotgun Sky taking the fascinating world that Chorn had built in that book, the seamless weaving together of a secondary world with the Wild West and building on and expanding from that foundation. It was fantastic to see more and more elements of this world – no matter how bleak – some were just fleeting, teasing glimpses that left me wanting more, and others, offering a different side or viewpoint on something we’ve already experienced, but every one of them added another thread to an already rich world. This isn’t an easy world to live in, and it’s a complex, interwoven world so that you can’t help but feel for characters on all sides of the divide. Especially, because at its core, it’s a story about trying to survive and to some extent that levels any playing field. And from indentured whores to outlaws, and those just trying to survive at the edge of the world, it is the people – and their struggle to do more than survive, that make this world and bring the story to life.
I can’t talk about Oh, That Shotgun Sky without talking about the characters, and the fact that within the space of a novella, Sarah has created a cast of characters that have taken up occupation in my heart. Because of the way they’re written, the emotions we feel right alongside each and every one of them, it’s impossible not to be embraced by their stories, to emphasize with them regardless of what path they’ve taken through life.
Saul was possibly my favourite in this one, his grief so tangible, so visceral that everything hurt during his chapters, and yet his strength, his ability to keep moving forward was like sunlight on the horizon, and you can’t help but root for him. Ned’s story was the most surprising as it unfolded, and perhaps the most challenging, and yet his search for himself was so real and relatable regardless of who you are, that his story is enrapturing. While the relationship between Sally and Eloise was poignant and pure, built on stolen moments and dreams, and yet no less deep or real for that, and I was holding my breath for so much of their story, willing them to have the time together that they’d been denied.
Oh, That Shotgun Sky is a devastatingly beautiful exploration of love and life and survival, and it has left me with the kind of book hangover that will linger for quite a while (and has sent me off on a reread of the rest of Sarah’s books). It has shot straight to the top of my favourites list and has set the bar high for 2021.
I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK!!
And I mean that in the sense, that at the time of writing this review I’ve now read this novella seven times and it still hurts as beautifully as it did the first time, and I keep finding new parts that both cut and fill my heart at the same time.
I went into Oh, That Shotgun Sky with high expectations but also with the bias that I absolutely adore how Sarah Chorn writes, and yet I was still caught off guard with how much I loved this novella. As with its predecessor Of Honey and Wildfires, this is not a book that you read from a distance, it’s one that you experience in all it’s stunning, gut-wrenching glory.
I’ve said it before and doubtless, I will say it again, but I don’t think I will ever tire of how Sarah writes. It’s lyrical, and Sarah’s visceral descriptions of not just the atmosphere and setting, but more importantly the emotions – the tensions and desperation, the heartbreak and sorrow, and the kind of love that burns and blesses in all its forms – makes for such a vivid experience that it puts her writing on a whole other level. And with Oh, That Shotgun Sky that has been honed to perfection. Sarah has a way of describing feelings in such a way that it’s like having an epiphany about your own heart as you read, and you can’t help but feel that even the deepest parts of you are being seen.
As this is a bridging novella, you do need to have read Of Honey and Wildfires. With Oh, That Shotgun Sky taking the fascinating world that Chorn had built in that book, the seamless weaving together of a secondary world with the Wild West and building on and expanding from that foundation. It was fantastic to see more and more elements of this world – no matter how bleak – some were just fleeting, teasing glimpses that left me wanting more, and others, offering a different side or viewpoint on something we’ve already experienced, but every one of them added another thread to an already rich world. This isn’t an easy world to live in, and it’s a complex, interwoven world so that you can’t help but feel for characters on all sides of the divide. Especially, because at its core, it’s a story about trying to survive and to some extent that levels any playing field. And from indentured whores to outlaws, and those just trying to survive at the edge of the world, it is the people – and their struggle to do more than survive, that make this world and bring the story to life.
I can’t talk about Oh, That Shotgun Sky without talking about the characters, and the fact that within the space of a novella, Sarah has created a cast of characters that have taken up occupation in my heart. Because of the way they’re written, the emotions we feel right alongside each and every one of them, it’s impossible not to be embraced by their stories, to emphasize with them regardless of what path they’ve taken through life.
Saul was possibly my favourite in this one, his grief so tangible, so visceral that everything hurt during his chapters, and yet his strength, his ability to keep moving forward was like sunlight on the horizon, and you can’t help but root for him. Ned’s story was the most surprising as it unfolded, and perhaps the most challenging, and yet his search for himself was so real and relatable regardless of who you are, that his story is enrapturing. While the relationship between Sally and Eloise was poignant and pure, built on stolen moments and dreams, and yet no less deep or real for that, and I was holding my breath for so much of their story, willing them to have the time together that they’d been denied.
Oh, That Shotgun Sky is a devastatingly beautiful exploration of love and life and survival, and it has left me with the kind of book hangover that will linger for quite a while (and has sent me off on a reread of the rest of Sarah’s books). It has shot straight to the top of my favourites list and has set the bar high for 2021.
December 12, 2023
First read January 2023: 3.5 stars
Second read December 2023: 4.5 stars
Look, I don't know what past Esmay was thinking, but this novella is an absolute banger. Sarah Chorn truly never disappoints!!
As expected, this story was heavy. It picks up right after the end of Of Honey and Wildfires but follows a completely new cast of broken characters. We get to explore the fallout of all the tragic events that happened at the end of book 1, and see how the actions of the protagonists in Of Honey and Wilfires have had ripple effects throughout this entire world and affected these new characters' lives in unexpected ways.
I do have to admit that I found the shift to a complete new cast of characters a bit jarring at first, but I quickly found my footing and latched onto them all. You see, Chorn's character work is so rock solid that you can't help but get deeply emotionally invested within no time.
In just a couple of chapters, you will get to know these characters intimately, whether you like it or not. The level of melancholy and suffering is intense, but there are still threads of love, endurance, hope, and healing woven throughout all of their stories in such an achingly beautiful way.
This book weighed me down, but at the same time it also felt incredibly cathartic to see these characters persevere and hold on to hope even when enduring so much pain and suffering. There is simply so much emotion packed into these page, and I think it will resonate with any type of reader because it's just such a beautifully human story.
Chorn continues to blow me away with her gripping storytelling, complex character work and hauntingly mesmerising prose. Every time I read one of her books, I highlight the absolute shit out of them because her lines just strike a chord within me. This story is so soul-stirringly beautiful.
Needless to say, I highly recommend checking out Chorn's works if you haven't already. She is one of the best in the business. Just make sure you bring tissues ;)
Second read December 2023: 4.5 stars
Look, I don't know what past Esmay was thinking, but this novella is an absolute banger. Sarah Chorn truly never disappoints!!
As expected, this story was heavy. It picks up right after the end of Of Honey and Wildfires but follows a completely new cast of broken characters. We get to explore the fallout of all the tragic events that happened at the end of book 1, and see how the actions of the protagonists in Of Honey and Wilfires have had ripple effects throughout this entire world and affected these new characters' lives in unexpected ways.
I do have to admit that I found the shift to a complete new cast of characters a bit jarring at first, but I quickly found my footing and latched onto them all. You see, Chorn's character work is so rock solid that you can't help but get deeply emotionally invested within no time.
In just a couple of chapters, you will get to know these characters intimately, whether you like it or not. The level of melancholy and suffering is intense, but there are still threads of love, endurance, hope, and healing woven throughout all of their stories in such an achingly beautiful way.
This book weighed me down, but at the same time it also felt incredibly cathartic to see these characters persevere and hold on to hope even when enduring so much pain and suffering. There is simply so much emotion packed into these page, and I think it will resonate with any type of reader because it's just such a beautifully human story.
Chorn continues to blow me away with her gripping storytelling, complex character work and hauntingly mesmerising prose. Every time I read one of her books, I highlight the absolute shit out of them because her lines just strike a chord within me. This story is so soul-stirringly beautiful.
Needless to say, I highly recommend checking out Chorn's works if you haven't already. She is one of the best in the business. Just make sure you bring tissues ;)
July 24, 2022
Oh my heart. Sarah Chorn has the ability to make words touch your soul.
This is a fantastic novella that takes place immediately following the events at the end of the first book in the series, Of Honey and Wildfires.
In the chaos, we are introduced to three new characters, a whore, an outlaw, and a company man.
Once again, the author paints vivid images with her prose, depicting the inner emotional turmoil of the characters.
The author gets into the heads and hearts of her characters, and by some wordy witchcraft manages to get you to feel their heartache, their pain, their hopes and fears. The emotion gets under your skin, into your head and breaks your heart... Again, and again, and again. And when there are moments of hope and joy, they are felt just as greatly.
The descriptions and prose surrounding love, in particular, are both tragically and beautifully poetic. It's like Shakespeare donned a stetson.
When I read Sarah Chorn's words, I experience something more than just a story in a book, words on a page; reading Sarah Chorn's prose is something you feel deep within your heart, that wells up inside, and often ends with tears - it is a joy to behold.
This is a fantastic novella that takes place immediately following the events at the end of the first book in the series, Of Honey and Wildfires.
In the chaos, we are introduced to three new characters, a whore, an outlaw, and a company man.
Once again, the author paints vivid images with her prose, depicting the inner emotional turmoil of the characters.
The author gets into the heads and hearts of her characters, and by some wordy witchcraft manages to get you to feel their heartache, their pain, their hopes and fears. The emotion gets under your skin, into your head and breaks your heart... Again, and again, and again. And when there are moments of hope and joy, they are felt just as greatly.
The descriptions and prose surrounding love, in particular, are both tragically and beautifully poetic. It's like Shakespeare donned a stetson.
When I read Sarah Chorn's words, I experience something more than just a story in a book, words on a page; reading Sarah Chorn's prose is something you feel deep within your heart, that wells up inside, and often ends with tears - it is a joy to behold.
January 6, 2022
Again another fantastic book from Sarah! This is an interesting novella, a brilliant study of character which is mainly why I enjoyed this so much. A full review will be on the blog soon.
March 21, 2021
Oh, That Shotgun Sky is the second novel I have read in Sarah Chorn’s The Songs of Sefate series. Like Of Honey and Wildfires, this book could also be considered a standalone, even though the two novels take place in the same world, and there are some characters that tied the two books together. It’s a dark world, full of pain and loss, but this is also a story about love.
“The fuck was that?”
The opening line.
If an opening line is meant to wear a lot of hats and wear them well, then this one accomplishes exactly that. These four words at once grabbed my attention, grounded me in a character, and set up my expectations for the type of story I was getting into. And, indeed, those four words echoed on in the narrative as the strains of the storyline unfolded before me.
Chorn is a very accomplished writer, and she does not seek to soften blows or pamper the reader. This book is one of the few I have read that has successfully juggled multiple first-person point of views. This is done in a way that successfully brings the reader right into the heart and mind of the character in a way only first person actually can, with the cinematic quality of being right there submerged in the action.
Her prose is downright poetic. “This sky strewn with exit wounds” (get the shotgun imagery?) “It is possible to carry life and death in the same body” and “I breathe thin pieces of him. I excel bits of myself” are just a couple of examples. This truly is some of the most beautiful writing I have ever read in a fantasy novel. And yet the author never gets in the way of the story. Before I had any idea I was approaching the end, the novel was over. That doesn’t happen to me very often.
The characters are deep, real people. There is Sally Morten, a company whore. When the Boundary falls, she escapes with Eloise, whom she loves desperately, but whom has been terribly injured. Sally’s love for Eloise is beautiful to behold, and her pain is palpable. There is also Saul Jenson, who is the lover of Chris Hobson, one of the main characters from Of Honey and Wildfires. I really enjoyed having someone who knew Chris in this book. Not only did it tie the two novels together, but it gave me a character I was immediately sympathetic with, since I was already very invested in Chris. Saul falls in with Ned Teller, a once-lawman incapacitated by Shine addiction. Though they come from two very different places, both of them are in desperate need of healing. I very much enjoyed reading their story.
The world building is economic but is well done and effective. There is not much magic in the novel, but the magic that is there is functional and serves the plot. The main source of magic is Shine, which is almost like this world’s black gold as well as its drug of choice and the main driver behind the politics and economy. Because of this, the magic is central to the world, and yet never comes into the forefront. It never intrudes.
All in all, I cannot recommend this novel enough. It is perfect for readers who are into darker speculative fiction, especially those who are interested in more of an Old West milieu and strong LGBTQ+ main characters. You can drink this prose, it’s that good. Just bring a handkerchief—you’re going to need it.
“The fuck was that?”
The opening line.
If an opening line is meant to wear a lot of hats and wear them well, then this one accomplishes exactly that. These four words at once grabbed my attention, grounded me in a character, and set up my expectations for the type of story I was getting into. And, indeed, those four words echoed on in the narrative as the strains of the storyline unfolded before me.
Chorn is a very accomplished writer, and she does not seek to soften blows or pamper the reader. This book is one of the few I have read that has successfully juggled multiple first-person point of views. This is done in a way that successfully brings the reader right into the heart and mind of the character in a way only first person actually can, with the cinematic quality of being right there submerged in the action.
Her prose is downright poetic. “This sky strewn with exit wounds” (get the shotgun imagery?) “It is possible to carry life and death in the same body” and “I breathe thin pieces of him. I excel bits of myself” are just a couple of examples. This truly is some of the most beautiful writing I have ever read in a fantasy novel. And yet the author never gets in the way of the story. Before I had any idea I was approaching the end, the novel was over. That doesn’t happen to me very often.
The characters are deep, real people. There is Sally Morten, a company whore. When the Boundary falls, she escapes with Eloise, whom she loves desperately, but whom has been terribly injured. Sally’s love for Eloise is beautiful to behold, and her pain is palpable. There is also Saul Jenson, who is the lover of Chris Hobson, one of the main characters from Of Honey and Wildfires. I really enjoyed having someone who knew Chris in this book. Not only did it tie the two novels together, but it gave me a character I was immediately sympathetic with, since I was already very invested in Chris. Saul falls in with Ned Teller, a once-lawman incapacitated by Shine addiction. Though they come from two very different places, both of them are in desperate need of healing. I very much enjoyed reading their story.
The world building is economic but is well done and effective. There is not much magic in the novel, but the magic that is there is functional and serves the plot. The main source of magic is Shine, which is almost like this world’s black gold as well as its drug of choice and the main driver behind the politics and economy. Because of this, the magic is central to the world, and yet never comes into the forefront. It never intrudes.
All in all, I cannot recommend this novel enough. It is perfect for readers who are into darker speculative fiction, especially those who are interested in more of an Old West milieu and strong LGBTQ+ main characters. You can drink this prose, it’s that good. Just bring a handkerchief—you’re going to need it.
August 3, 2021
This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Oh, That Shotgun Sky
The boundary has fallen. Shine Country has erupted into chaos. Six strangers' lives are irrevocably changed as freedom from the company becomes a reality. But freedom won’t be won so easily.
Make sure you read Of Honey and Wildfires before this novella. Sarah Chorn wastes no time on backstory and jumps straight into the conflict and tension. Readers will see firsthand what happens after the Company loses its hold on the people within Shine country. It will be a brutal and emotional struggle all wrapped within the folds of brilliant writing.
While you’ve been told about the horrors and witnessed some of the atrocities committed for the company’s gain; Oh, That Shotgun Sky opens your eyes to the experiences of those working under Shine Company. From a company man to women forced to work in a saloon, you’ll see how each life was broken and ground into dust. And when the chance to run arrives, they take hold of that chance and fight to make freedom a reality.
And let’s not forget how both love and death can tear a person apart. How one person’s death can affect countless lives. The characters introduced to readers in this novella are no strangers to sacrifice, but how much can one person endure? Raw emotions and a fast-paced lyrical writing style will leave you craving the next book. I certainly need to know what happens next.
The boundary has fallen. Shine Country has erupted into chaos. Six strangers' lives are irrevocably changed as freedom from the company becomes a reality. But freedom won’t be won so easily.
Make sure you read Of Honey and Wildfires before this novella. Sarah Chorn wastes no time on backstory and jumps straight into the conflict and tension. Readers will see firsthand what happens after the Company loses its hold on the people within Shine country. It will be a brutal and emotional struggle all wrapped within the folds of brilliant writing.
While you’ve been told about the horrors and witnessed some of the atrocities committed for the company’s gain; Oh, That Shotgun Sky opens your eyes to the experiences of those working under Shine Company. From a company man to women forced to work in a saloon, you’ll see how each life was broken and ground into dust. And when the chance to run arrives, they take hold of that chance and fight to make freedom a reality.
And let’s not forget how both love and death can tear a person apart. How one person’s death can affect countless lives. The characters introduced to readers in this novella are no strangers to sacrifice, but how much can one person endure? Raw emotions and a fast-paced lyrical writing style will leave you craving the next book. I certainly need to know what happens next.
March 8, 2022
Oh the Shotgun Sky is a short novella that takes place straight after Of Honey and Wildfires in the same fantasy version of the Wild West – Shine Territory.
The Barrier between Shine Territory and the rest of the world has come down and everyone is panicking and fleeing.
We follow the fortunes of three POV characters as they try to put as much land between themselves and Shine Territory as possible. The land beyond the barrier is an uncompromising desert with salt flats which make it an even harder journey for the escapees.
Sally Morton is an indentured prostitute owned by the Company and along with another heavily pregnant prostitute, Grace, and two others, Bekha and Eloise, she escapes the hell of her working life on a perilous journey. It is the first time they have been free and their emotions are riding high one minute and despairing the next. None of them knows how to make a decision or where to go but they blunder on with the utmost determination to stay safe and free. Sally has been in love with Eloise for years but they have been kept apart and now Eloise appears to be dying from a stab wound she received when trying to escape the saloon:
“She lets James’s body fall to the floor, and I see her now. Truly see her. My avenging goddess. My beautiful soldier. My Eloise dressed in blood, wearing a cloak of determination.
They may have cut our wings, but they forgot about our claws.”
The emotions Sally goes through are heart breaking and visceral. Chorn pulls no punches when describing love and the emotions tied up with loss of a loved one and the human condition.
Saul Jenson, an outlaw on the run, was in love with Christopher Hobson, a character we met in Of Honey and Wildfires. Fate caught up with Christopher in that book and he has now been hanged. Saul unravels at the news, yet somehow keeps going, as far from the city and the Company as he can:
“It’s the silences I ache for. Years of comfortable quiet spread between us, warm as a summer night. We’d sit side by side on an evening just like this one, watching the stars dance overhead, feeling the fire’s warmth on our feet, and just exist together. He’d exhale, and I’d inhale the air that had been in his lungs, stealing little pieces of him, hiding them in the space between my ribs like a squirrel hides nuts in autumn.”
The third main character is a desperately unfortunate individual named Ned Teller. He works for the Company and has never touched Shine but has become addicted due to his proximity to the substance since boyhood. His constant hallucinations of his dead mother dancing and other strange occurrences served as a little light relief from all the emotional turmoil of the other characters:
“He’s crazier than you are,” his mama said. She was blowing leaves turned orange by autumn’s touch through an acorn as large as her head. The leaves spun in the air, turning in a circle before growing small, green legs and skipping away. “He’s not crazy,” Ned bit out. He rubbed his hand down Saul’s back, felt the coiled muscle, the tense lines. “He’s hurting.” “He’s an artichoke thrown in a boiling pot. Check his spiny leaves. Check his jagged heart. Bet he’s cooked through now. Bet he’s nice and tender.”
The story is engaging and difficult to put down, at times gut wrenching – but always full of determination and the final note is one of hope. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and will go on to read Glass Rhapsody, the next chapter in the Songs of Sefate trilogy, soon.
The Barrier between Shine Territory and the rest of the world has come down and everyone is panicking and fleeing.
We follow the fortunes of three POV characters as they try to put as much land between themselves and Shine Territory as possible. The land beyond the barrier is an uncompromising desert with salt flats which make it an even harder journey for the escapees.
Sally Morton is an indentured prostitute owned by the Company and along with another heavily pregnant prostitute, Grace, and two others, Bekha and Eloise, she escapes the hell of her working life on a perilous journey. It is the first time they have been free and their emotions are riding high one minute and despairing the next. None of them knows how to make a decision or where to go but they blunder on with the utmost determination to stay safe and free. Sally has been in love with Eloise for years but they have been kept apart and now Eloise appears to be dying from a stab wound she received when trying to escape the saloon:
“She lets James’s body fall to the floor, and I see her now. Truly see her. My avenging goddess. My beautiful soldier. My Eloise dressed in blood, wearing a cloak of determination.
They may have cut our wings, but they forgot about our claws.”
The emotions Sally goes through are heart breaking and visceral. Chorn pulls no punches when describing love and the emotions tied up with loss of a loved one and the human condition.
Saul Jenson, an outlaw on the run, was in love with Christopher Hobson, a character we met in Of Honey and Wildfires. Fate caught up with Christopher in that book and he has now been hanged. Saul unravels at the news, yet somehow keeps going, as far from the city and the Company as he can:
“It’s the silences I ache for. Years of comfortable quiet spread between us, warm as a summer night. We’d sit side by side on an evening just like this one, watching the stars dance overhead, feeling the fire’s warmth on our feet, and just exist together. He’d exhale, and I’d inhale the air that had been in his lungs, stealing little pieces of him, hiding them in the space between my ribs like a squirrel hides nuts in autumn.”
The third main character is a desperately unfortunate individual named Ned Teller. He works for the Company and has never touched Shine but has become addicted due to his proximity to the substance since boyhood. His constant hallucinations of his dead mother dancing and other strange occurrences served as a little light relief from all the emotional turmoil of the other characters:
“He’s crazier than you are,” his mama said. She was blowing leaves turned orange by autumn’s touch through an acorn as large as her head. The leaves spun in the air, turning in a circle before growing small, green legs and skipping away. “He’s not crazy,” Ned bit out. He rubbed his hand down Saul’s back, felt the coiled muscle, the tense lines. “He’s hurting.” “He’s an artichoke thrown in a boiling pot. Check his spiny leaves. Check his jagged heart. Bet he’s cooked through now. Bet he’s nice and tender.”
The story is engaging and difficult to put down, at times gut wrenching – but always full of determination and the final note is one of hope. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and will go on to read Glass Rhapsody, the next chapter in the Songs of Sefate trilogy, soon.
June 28, 2021
I’m fast turning into a fan of Sarah Chorn’s poetic and emotional fantasy. I loved being emotionally beaten around the head by Chorn’s wild west adventure of feels, Of Honey and Wildfires, which you can tell by my review. Thus I’m eager to get dragged across the wasteland of tears once more with the much awaited sequel, Glass Rhapsody, due out imminently! But to tide us over between releases, Chorn has gifted us with a sequel novella which not only connects the two books together but also gives us another glimpse into this bleak world through the eyes of everyday people now dealing with the consequences of our previous protagonist’s actions.
Oh, That Shotgun Sky is a short and bittersweet story told through three new perspectives; a group of desperate women escaping a brothel to find a better life, an outlaw grieving the loss of the most important man in the world, and a company man who’s life of serving the law chews him up and tosses him aside. All of these characters are dealing with fear, loss, and pain, and through fate, they come together to try to make the world just that little bit brighter.
The only downside to this beautiful book is that it doesn’t come in paperback, likely due to the short length. I’m hopeful one day that they’ll be an omnibus that will include it!
As you’d expect from the sequel to Of Honey and Wildfires, this tale is beautifully woven with poetic prose which doesn’t drown out the story, but enhances it. And as you’d expect, it’s bursting with heartfelt emotion. Maybe I’m pessimistic, but I went through this entire story expecting the worst on every page! And boy, was that a heavy feeling. By the end, I was tearing up, but I left this world feeling satisfied for now – until Glass Rhapsody comes along!
This is only a short novella, and at first I’d admit I was sceptical of reading a sequel of sorts which wasn’t based on the characters of the original. But honestly, I’d love to read more novellas of this style which introduces more of the world through fresh eyes. Each of these characters stood out as worlds of their own, with bleeding hearts and real hopes. Though I think my favourite was poor Ned, the company man who was plagued by hallucinations.
I’ve heard some of these characters will appear in Glass Rhapsody so I’m looking forward to meeting them again.
As with Of Honey and Wildfires, this story also features positive LGBT representation.
If you enjoyed Of Honey and Wildfires, then this is required reading. And if you haven’t experienced these books yet and want to feel your heartstrings being pulled on, then both come highly recommend.
Oh, That Shotgun Sky is a short and bittersweet story told through three new perspectives; a group of desperate women escaping a brothel to find a better life, an outlaw grieving the loss of the most important man in the world, and a company man who’s life of serving the law chews him up and tosses him aside. All of these characters are dealing with fear, loss, and pain, and through fate, they come together to try to make the world just that little bit brighter.
The only downside to this beautiful book is that it doesn’t come in paperback, likely due to the short length. I’m hopeful one day that they’ll be an omnibus that will include it!
As you’d expect from the sequel to Of Honey and Wildfires, this tale is beautifully woven with poetic prose which doesn’t drown out the story, but enhances it. And as you’d expect, it’s bursting with heartfelt emotion. Maybe I’m pessimistic, but I went through this entire story expecting the worst on every page! And boy, was that a heavy feeling. By the end, I was tearing up, but I left this world feeling satisfied for now – until Glass Rhapsody comes along!
This is only a short novella, and at first I’d admit I was sceptical of reading a sequel of sorts which wasn’t based on the characters of the original. But honestly, I’d love to read more novellas of this style which introduces more of the world through fresh eyes. Each of these characters stood out as worlds of their own, with bleeding hearts and real hopes. Though I think my favourite was poor Ned, the company man who was plagued by hallucinations.
I’ve heard some of these characters will appear in Glass Rhapsody so I’m looking forward to meeting them again.
As with Of Honey and Wildfires, this story also features positive LGBT representation.
If you enjoyed Of Honey and Wildfires, then this is required reading. And if you haven’t experienced these books yet and want to feel your heartstrings being pulled on, then both come highly recommend.
September 26, 2021
Sarah’s Chorn’s Songs of Sefate continues with Oh, That Shotgun Sky, a novella that picks up immediately after the events detailed in Of Honey and Wildfires, which I gave 5 stars.
The author continues to display her ability to create nuanced characters dwelling within a richly imagined alternative Wild West. They deal with extreme changes of circumstance while processing all kinds of heart-wrenching emotion; two different companies, made up of characters previously unknown to the reader, come together and make their way in the world. Sweet, intimate and, as usual, beautifully written.
The author continues to display her ability to create nuanced characters dwelling within a richly imagined alternative Wild West. They deal with extreme changes of circumstance while processing all kinds of heart-wrenching emotion; two different companies, made up of characters previously unknown to the reader, come together and make their way in the world. Sweet, intimate and, as usual, beautifully written.
March 23, 2021
Do you ever read a book, series, or author because you intentionally want to be wrecked? That seems weird right? Like it’s one thing for a book to wreck you and to enjoy how good it was, and it’s another to seek it out because you want it. I feel like that with Sarah Chorn’s books. I know what to expect now and eagerly look forward to what they will do to me. I think that’s because Chorn writes about pain and emotion so well. She has a way of getting into the soul of her characters and into yours. And all the while she protects the reader so they feel safe on the journey. It’s a marvelous skill I’m not even sure she’s aware she possesses. Sarah Chorn has quickly become one of my favorite authors and is on my auto-buy list. If you haven’t started reading her books you should rectify that situation.
Today I give you my review of Oh That Shotgun Sky, book 1.5 in the Songs of Sefate. An exploration of fate through pain, emotion, and trauma…with a glimmer of hope and healing.
What I Loved
Fate and freedom
Raw, throbbing pain
Emotion
Characters you’d fight for
Prose that cuts
Before I dive into this review (really just me flinging my feelings on the screen, not so much a review) I should note Oh That Shotgun Sky is a novella set immediately after the events of Of Honey and Wildfires which I reviewed last September. It introduces some new characters and brings back some old ones. I’d say you probably need to read Of Honey and Wildfires first or you won’t understand a lot of what is going on. Now let me also say that what Chorn accomplishes with this novella and it’s minimized page count regarding what else I’m going to say about it is…well…simply amazing.
Fate and freedom are themes that weave themselves throughout this story; themes each character contends with in one way or another. How they react to the events of Of Honey and Wildfires, and how fate and their new found freedom impact their actions is very much at the center of the narrative. How fate dictated the characters lives prior to the story’s opening, and how it brought them together during it’s course is a constant device that is complicated by the freedom they’ve now been given. It’s a strange balance that Chorn deftly explores but not before running her characters, and in turn the reader, through the wringer a bit.
“Free. That’s such a dangerous word. Sure does look pretty sitting in the space beween us like that, all glittering and gem-covered. But I can’t help but wonder how much pain is on the other side of it. After all, even diamonds cut.” - SALLY MORTEN – LOCATION 83
And run everyone through the wringer she does. Raw throbbing pain and emotion. Each character experiences these feelings and emotions. Each is beaten, torn, and exposed, and must navigate their loss and traumas in order to heal. Chorn takes the reader along on that journey with the characters. You can feel their suffering and grief. It’s raw, visceral, and it will gut you. These are characters you’d fight for; characters you’d suffer for. I found it amazing Chorn could evoke such a response from me with multiple POV characters and within so few pages.
“Oh, this pain. This unbelievable, relentless severing. This slow slide of the knife down the center of my soul.” - SAUL JENSON – LOCATION 807
Chorn does this so well because she writes with a prose that cuts you to your core. It’s poetic, at times sharp, at others blunt, and always and everywhere it will open the characters up, lay them bare and invite you to wade through the mess. But it isn’t damaging. It’s like a necessary cutting away of a disease so that the body can heal. Chorn doesn’t leave you or the characters torn and broken but by the end has put you back together and on the road to recovery. It is so deftly done and that is why I now seek it out.
“That’s what love is. It ain’t all soft and pretty; it’s hard and biting too. It’s a hungry wolf, and you just keep feeding that beast bits of yourself…Listen to me and listen well: Love devours.” - SAUL JENSON – LOCATIONS 1046-1047
Overall Thoughts
I know I haven’t said much about the characters themselves, or the plot, or the world building. All three of them are deftly crafted and expressed on the page. Oh That Shotgun Sky is a short interlude in the greater tale that Chorn is telling with Songs of Sefate. It’s one I get the feeling was necessary to move us from book one to book two, and not just some extra bit of narrative that is nice but superfluous. This is a fantasy western story that I can’t get enough of. I want to devour every episode in it that Chorn releases.
But what really grabbed me was all of what I said above and how it was done so tightly. I just can’t adequately describe it. What else can I say other than I think you should be reading this series? I don’t think you’ll regret it. It will move you, and maybe break you a bit. You’ll feel love and hate, joy and anger, pain and healing. When a book does that, and when a series does it multiple times, that’s a sign of something really wonderful. And I just feel the need to shout about it so others can experience it too.
*I received a review copy of this book from the author.
Today I give you my review of Oh That Shotgun Sky, book 1.5 in the Songs of Sefate. An exploration of fate through pain, emotion, and trauma…with a glimmer of hope and healing.
What I Loved
Fate and freedom
Raw, throbbing pain
Emotion
Characters you’d fight for
Prose that cuts
Before I dive into this review (really just me flinging my feelings on the screen, not so much a review) I should note Oh That Shotgun Sky is a novella set immediately after the events of Of Honey and Wildfires which I reviewed last September. It introduces some new characters and brings back some old ones. I’d say you probably need to read Of Honey and Wildfires first or you won’t understand a lot of what is going on. Now let me also say that what Chorn accomplishes with this novella and it’s minimized page count regarding what else I’m going to say about it is…well…simply amazing.
Fate and freedom are themes that weave themselves throughout this story; themes each character contends with in one way or another. How they react to the events of Of Honey and Wildfires, and how fate and their new found freedom impact their actions is very much at the center of the narrative. How fate dictated the characters lives prior to the story’s opening, and how it brought them together during it’s course is a constant device that is complicated by the freedom they’ve now been given. It’s a strange balance that Chorn deftly explores but not before running her characters, and in turn the reader, through the wringer a bit.
“Free. That’s such a dangerous word. Sure does look pretty sitting in the space beween us like that, all glittering and gem-covered. But I can’t help but wonder how much pain is on the other side of it. After all, even diamonds cut.” - SALLY MORTEN – LOCATION 83
And run everyone through the wringer she does. Raw throbbing pain and emotion. Each character experiences these feelings and emotions. Each is beaten, torn, and exposed, and must navigate their loss and traumas in order to heal. Chorn takes the reader along on that journey with the characters. You can feel their suffering and grief. It’s raw, visceral, and it will gut you. These are characters you’d fight for; characters you’d suffer for. I found it amazing Chorn could evoke such a response from me with multiple POV characters and within so few pages.
“Oh, this pain. This unbelievable, relentless severing. This slow slide of the knife down the center of my soul.” - SAUL JENSON – LOCATION 807
Chorn does this so well because she writes with a prose that cuts you to your core. It’s poetic, at times sharp, at others blunt, and always and everywhere it will open the characters up, lay them bare and invite you to wade through the mess. But it isn’t damaging. It’s like a necessary cutting away of a disease so that the body can heal. Chorn doesn’t leave you or the characters torn and broken but by the end has put you back together and on the road to recovery. It is so deftly done and that is why I now seek it out.
“That’s what love is. It ain’t all soft and pretty; it’s hard and biting too. It’s a hungry wolf, and you just keep feeding that beast bits of yourself…Listen to me and listen well: Love devours.” - SAUL JENSON – LOCATIONS 1046-1047
Overall Thoughts
I know I haven’t said much about the characters themselves, or the plot, or the world building. All three of them are deftly crafted and expressed on the page. Oh That Shotgun Sky is a short interlude in the greater tale that Chorn is telling with Songs of Sefate. It’s one I get the feeling was necessary to move us from book one to book two, and not just some extra bit of narrative that is nice but superfluous. This is a fantasy western story that I can’t get enough of. I want to devour every episode in it that Chorn releases.
But what really grabbed me was all of what I said above and how it was done so tightly. I just can’t adequately describe it. What else can I say other than I think you should be reading this series? I don’t think you’ll regret it. It will move you, and maybe break you a bit. You’ll feel love and hate, joy and anger, pain and healing. When a book does that, and when a series does it multiple times, that’s a sign of something really wonderful. And I just feel the need to shout about it so others can experience it too.
*I received a review copy of this book from the author.
June 21, 2021
Once again, Saraha Chorn has gifted us an excellent fantasy story. A novella, Oh, That Shotgun Sky, takes place directly after the climactic events in Of Honey and Wildfires. It’s a stand alone which can be appreciated and understood without having read its predecessor, although I highly recommend doing so. Knowing the impact of the last events in book one add tremendous depth to the characters in Oh, That Shotgun Sky.
Written in Chorn’s hammering yet lovely prose, are words that turn beautiful descriptives into the definition of pain, loss, fear, love, and hope. But all is not tragic, although tragedy is what put some of these players on the page. This group of characters in Shine Country, has had little but pain and tragedy before now, and they take the only way open to them to escape it. Soon, all of these strangers must learn to trust, in each other, and in the possibilities of hope.
Chorn’s talent in pulling the emotional heartstrings is tremendous. Her tales are both heartbreaking and heartwarming. All of them are unforgettable stories, filled with characters that haunt your mind and heart long after the last page has turned.
Highly recommended fantasy reading for those who can appreciate, and even welcome stories that may possibly shred them to pieces emotionally, and then stitch them back together again. Whole once more, but irrevocably changed by the experience.
Written in Chorn’s hammering yet lovely prose, are words that turn beautiful descriptives into the definition of pain, loss, fear, love, and hope. But all is not tragic, although tragedy is what put some of these players on the page. This group of characters in Shine Country, has had little but pain and tragedy before now, and they take the only way open to them to escape it. Soon, all of these strangers must learn to trust, in each other, and in the possibilities of hope.
Chorn’s talent in pulling the emotional heartstrings is tremendous. Her tales are both heartbreaking and heartwarming. All of them are unforgettable stories, filled with characters that haunt your mind and heart long after the last page has turned.
Highly recommended fantasy reading for those who can appreciate, and even welcome stories that may possibly shred them to pieces emotionally, and then stitch them back together again. Whole once more, but irrevocably changed by the experience.
June 4, 2021
Shine Territory haunts my imagination. There is something about the grit of Sarah Chorn's world, the way Shine both poisons and provides life; the concept enthralls me. I love how Oh, That Shotgun Sky not only brings me back to this tormented land but delves deeper into this madness. We see a wider range of characters and a broader degree of their addictions, suffering, and their love. This book is the perfect sequel to Of Honey and Wildfires.
"I remember rotten food. I remember hurting so bad I'd damn near anything to get the cramping to stop. I remember...but you aren't here. Not really, and I'm being haunted by a person I don't remember."
There is honesty with how Sarah explores pain. She doesn't scale back its emotional devastation. She skins and meticulously peels away each layer until her characters are exposed, their agony naked. It is tormenting to read. At times, damn near uncomfortable. It is addicting.
"I remember rotten food. I remember hurting so bad I'd damn near anything to get the cramping to stop. I remember...but you aren't here. Not really, and I'm being haunted by a person I don't remember."
There is honesty with how Sarah explores pain. She doesn't scale back its emotional devastation. She skins and meticulously peels away each layer until her characters are exposed, their agony naked. It is tormenting to read. At times, damn near uncomfortable. It is addicting.
Read
October 11, 2021This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S OH, THAT SHOTGUN SKY ABOUT?
This novella happens in the shadow of Of Honey and Wildfires with everyone trying to come to terms with the events of the novel's ending. The Boundary has fallen, the Shine Territory is no longer walled off from the rest of the world—access isn't as shut off. No one knows what that means. No one is ready for this "New Normal." All anyone is sure of is that things are different now, now's the chance to start over.
This novella chronicles some people taking advantage of the confusion, the lack of status quo to do something else with their life. We see a grieving outlaw, a Shine Company man hunting that outlaw while he tries not to die himself, and a group of camp prostitutes (essentially prisoners) who are enjoying the freedom they now have (however temporary it may be).
Without intending to, these all come into contact with each other and offer (and receive) help in these crazy days.
Yeah, that's vague—but it has to be. I could give all the salient plot points in one healthy paragraph if I wanted to. But you don't read these books for the plot, or even character--you read this series for Chorn's gorgeous prose.
LOVE, GRIEF, FEAR, CONFUSION, AND A LITTLE HOPE
(yeah, I couldn't pick one line to illustrate this point)
While there's not a lot of plot, and we don't get a lot about what the various characters do or think—we get a thorough understanding of what they feel—three or four of the characters in particular, with a few others to a smaller extent. They have deep feelings, deep and raw, and those feelings reveal more to the reader than anything else they might do, say or think.
You cannot read this novella and not feel what these characters are going through—the emotions are practically tangible, and Chorn puts them so beautifully.
SO, WHAT DID I THNK ABOUT OH, THAT SHOTGUN SKY?
Okay, I had to cram one more quotation in.
I'm not crazy about the characters, the plot left something to be desired for me. But I could read sentences like that all day long and not get tired of it.
Last year, when I wrote about Of Honey and Wildfires, I said: "So, yeah, I didn't like this as much as I wanted to. Many of you will wonder what's wrong with me after you read it (a few of you will think I'm too generous). But I am glad I read this—it's been a long time since I've read a book so carefully written as Of Honey and Wildfires...It's raw, honest, open, and beautiful. I didn't love it, but I commend it to you." Switch out the titles, and I can't think of a better way to talk about this.
(and like last year, I'm going to skip the stars for this one—they'd just distract from what I had to say—if I could decide how many to give)
---
Free.
That’s such a dangerous word. Sure does look pretty sitting in the space between us like that, all glittering and gem- covered. But I can’t help but wonder how much pain is on the other side of it. After all, even diamonds cut.
WHAT'S OH, THAT SHOTGUN SKY ABOUT?
This novella happens in the shadow of Of Honey and Wildfires with everyone trying to come to terms with the events of the novel's ending. The Boundary has fallen, the Shine Territory is no longer walled off from the rest of the world—access isn't as shut off. No one knows what that means. No one is ready for this "New Normal." All anyone is sure of is that things are different now, now's the chance to start over.
This novella chronicles some people taking advantage of the confusion, the lack of status quo to do something else with their life. We see a grieving outlaw, a Shine Company man hunting that outlaw while he tries not to die himself, and a group of camp prostitutes (essentially prisoners) who are enjoying the freedom they now have (however temporary it may be).
Without intending to, these all come into contact with each other and offer (and receive) help in these crazy days.
Yeah, that's vague—but it has to be. I could give all the salient plot points in one healthy paragraph if I wanted to. But you don't read these books for the plot, or even character--you read this series for Chorn's gorgeous prose.
LOVE, GRIEF, FEAR, CONFUSION, AND A LITTLE HOPE
There’s honesty in walking through the world with open wounds. No lying about the pain that’s carving me up. No hiding the injury that’s cleaving me in two. Don’t think I’ve ever been this true.
I don’t know what to do with all I’m feeling. No one ever told me that love is an ocean. That to love, you must let yourself drown.
“There is part of me that ain’t never coming back. I gave it up willingly, you understand? I gave it all to him. That’s what love is. It ain’t all soft and pretty; it’s hard and biting, too. It’s a hungry wolf, and you just keep feeding that beast bits of yourself.” I fix her with my eyes. Feel them punch all the way through her soul. “Listen to me and listen well: Love devours.”
(yeah, I couldn't pick one line to illustrate this point)
While there's not a lot of plot, and we don't get a lot about what the various characters do or think—we get a thorough understanding of what they feel—three or four of the characters in particular, with a few others to a smaller extent. They have deep feelings, deep and raw, and those feelings reveal more to the reader than anything else they might do, say or think.
You cannot read this novella and not feel what these characters are going through—the emotions are practically tangible, and Chorn puts them so beautifully.
SO, WHAT DID I THNK ABOUT OH, THAT SHOTGUN SKY?
It’s a special kind of torture to survive after the one holding your heart has died. It twists a soul something awful. Not a person in this world deserves this.
Okay, I had to cram one more quotation in.
I'm not crazy about the characters, the plot left something to be desired for me. But I could read sentences like that all day long and not get tired of it.
Last year, when I wrote about Of Honey and Wildfires, I said: "So, yeah, I didn't like this as much as I wanted to. Many of you will wonder what's wrong with me after you read it (a few of you will think I'm too generous). But I am glad I read this—it's been a long time since I've read a book so carefully written as Of Honey and Wildfires...It's raw, honest, open, and beautiful. I didn't love it, but I commend it to you." Switch out the titles, and I can't think of a better way to talk about this.
(and like last year, I'm going to skip the stars for this one—they'd just distract from what I had to say—if I could decide how many to give)
September 3, 2022
Last year, when I had the great pleasure of getting an early look at Of Honey and Wildfires, I talked about it being a painfully beautiful book, a story that was as overwhelming as it was all-consuming. What I don't think I properly addressed was just how emotionally wrecked it left me, however, and that's where I want to begin talking about Oh, That Shotgun Sky.
Sarah Chorn is as much a mistress of emotions as she is of words, and she somehow builds a romance out of nothing more than furtive glances, stolen words, and shared experiences that rivals just about any traditional love affair in genre fiction.
This is a story that didn't just tug at my heartstrings but twist them, torture them, and stomp all over them. I felt such love for Sally and Eloise from the start, wanting them to have what the world had always denied them, and the closer a wounded Eloise came to death, the more I seethed against the cruel hand of fate. I cannot put them into context for you, as you'll never understand without reading that far yourself, but there are three words near the end of the story that absolutely broken me - and they're not "I love you."
Two-thirds of this story is comprised of the simplicity of women surviving on their own, despite the harshness of a cruel world and crueler men around them. We have Sally, Eloise, Grace, and Bekah from the brothel, fleeing blindly into the darkness, wanting nothing more than to live and love, but prepared to settle for dying free. In their journey, they come across Abigail and Bertie, a pair of women who seem to have that found freedom to live and love, but they have a story too, one just as full of pain and sorrow.
Rounding out the tale is two men, Saul and Ned, who are damaged in their own ways, both products and remnants of the Company. It's through them that the story connects most directly with Of Honey and Wildfires, and I love how Sarah explores the consequences of that story through them. The two should be mortal enemies. At least one of them should be dead the moment they meet. They're nothing alike. And yet, somehow, they complete one another, with one providing purpose and the other sanity. For the women to survive, it's men like this that must do the healing, and the way they all come together, free of Shine and free of Company expectations, is wonderful.
As with any of Sarah's books, the writing here is sheer artistry, full of starkly beautiful words and painfully beautiful phrases that invite you to pause and admire the language, but which never interfere with the pacing of the story. It's largely a quiet story, full of deep thoughts and deeper feelings, but it's bookended by a pair of violent scenes, both of which end lives while beginning others. For a side-story to the overall Songs of Sefate, a novella-length bridge between Of Honey and Wildfires and the upcoming Glass Rhapsody, Oh, That Shotgun Sky is a wholly satisfying tale that provides closure and hope and leaves me hungry for more.
If you're not already reading Sarah Chorn, do yourself a favor and get her books in your hand as soon as possible. She's a writer, a storyteller, and (I swear) a witch with powers to get inside the head and heart unlike just about anybody else in the genre.
https://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/...
Sarah Chorn is as much a mistress of emotions as she is of words, and she somehow builds a romance out of nothing more than furtive glances, stolen words, and shared experiences that rivals just about any traditional love affair in genre fiction.
We stare at each other across a room full of ash and char, the remnants of everything we’ve ever known. All that pain and heartbreak. All our secret, shared glances, and moments of wanting, but not being able to have.
It all happened here, in the space stretched between us. I’ve never been alone with her. Never told her how I feel. And yet the truth lays naked and waiting, sprawled out between us, waiting for us to explore it.
This is a story that didn't just tug at my heartstrings but twist them, torture them, and stomp all over them. I felt such love for Sally and Eloise from the start, wanting them to have what the world had always denied them, and the closer a wounded Eloise came to death, the more I seethed against the cruel hand of fate. I cannot put them into context for you, as you'll never understand without reading that far yourself, but there are three words near the end of the story that absolutely broken me - and they're not "I love you."
Two-thirds of this story is comprised of the simplicity of women surviving on their own, despite the harshness of a cruel world and crueler men around them. We have Sally, Eloise, Grace, and Bekah from the brothel, fleeing blindly into the darkness, wanting nothing more than to live and love, but prepared to settle for dying free. In their journey, they come across Abigail and Bertie, a pair of women who seem to have that found freedom to live and love, but they have a story too, one just as full of pain and sorrow.
You can go ahead and fall off the edge of the world if you want to, but you damn well better wait for me, because wherever you go, I follow.
Rounding out the tale is two men, Saul and Ned, who are damaged in their own ways, both products and remnants of the Company. It's through them that the story connects most directly with Of Honey and Wildfires, and I love how Sarah explores the consequences of that story through them. The two should be mortal enemies. At least one of them should be dead the moment they meet. They're nothing alike. And yet, somehow, they complete one another, with one providing purpose and the other sanity. For the women to survive, it's men like this that must do the healing, and the way they all come together, free of Shine and free of Company expectations, is wonderful.
As with any of Sarah's books, the writing here is sheer artistry, full of starkly beautiful words and painfully beautiful phrases that invite you to pause and admire the language, but which never interfere with the pacing of the story. It's largely a quiet story, full of deep thoughts and deeper feelings, but it's bookended by a pair of violent scenes, both of which end lives while beginning others. For a side-story to the overall Songs of Sefate, a novella-length bridge between Of Honey and Wildfires and the upcoming Glass Rhapsody, Oh, That Shotgun Sky is a wholly satisfying tale that provides closure and hope and leaves me hungry for more.
If you're not already reading Sarah Chorn, do yourself a favor and get her books in your hand as soon as possible. She's a writer, a storyteller, and (I swear) a witch with powers to get inside the head and heart unlike just about anybody else in the genre.
https://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/...
August 1, 2021
This second boom in the the Song of Sefate tracks a handful of characters who, upon the collapse of the Boundary at the end of the first book, must now figure out how to navigate the chaos and what to do with themselves ... and conquer their demons along the way.
As with the first book, the quality of the prose and the striking imagery makes you sit up and take notice. Chorn puts the characters--and the reader--through an emotional wringer. There's a lot of pain, a lot of angst, and at the end of the day, a glimmer of hope. The three POV characters--a whore, an outlaw, and a lawman--are diverse and have their own voice in the text. All three are forced to toss aside who their past and embrace their future, and I thought their interactions as they met were even and believable. Secondary characters are adequately developed for the story's length. Even with the deep quality of the writing, this was a fast-paced, easy read that seemed to fly past.
The only real detraction for me is the same as in the first book, in that the depth of the pain can be so unrelenting that I got a little numb to it before it was over ... though I was glad to see a relatively happy ending for all three protagonists, such as seeing Eloise live at the end.
An excellent addition to the Sefate series.
As with the first book, the quality of the prose and the striking imagery makes you sit up and take notice. Chorn puts the characters--and the reader--through an emotional wringer. There's a lot of pain, a lot of angst, and at the end of the day, a glimmer of hope. The three POV characters--a whore, an outlaw, and a lawman--are diverse and have their own voice in the text. All three are forced to toss aside who their past and embrace their future, and I thought their interactions as they met were even and believable. Secondary characters are adequately developed for the story's length. Even with the deep quality of the writing, this was a fast-paced, easy read that seemed to fly past.
The only real detraction for me is the same as in the first book, in that the depth of the pain can be so unrelenting that I got a little numb to it before it was over ... though I was glad to see a relatively happy ending for all three protagonists, such as seeing Eloise live at the end.
An excellent addition to the Sefate series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2022
For more reviews, go to www.Wolfmantula.com
📖/🔇 Kindle, no audio
I like the idea that Sarah had with this novella, by showing what is happening in the world after the fall of the boundary outside of the main story while also still having it tie in to it. It is exquisitely written and we get several new characters with multiple plot lines each dealing with their own issues brought on by The Shine Company. Prostitutes wanting to change their way of life and live free of the Shine Company, an outlaw who’s completely broken over the loss of his love and a Company man who is dealing with burnout.
“My avenging goddess. My beautiful soldier. My Eloise dressed in blood, wearing a cloak of determination.
They may have cut our wings, but they forgot about our claws.”
As I stated in Of Honey & Wildfires, Sarah is a lyrical prose assassin, and that continues on in this novella. She doesn’t seem to back down from a challenge, writing three different plot lines with multiple characters in a novella had to be a tough job. Unfortunately, this just wasn’t as good as book 1 for me. Ned & Saul’s story I liked the most just because of the issues they were going through made me giggle. This was still good, just fell a little short for me compared to book 1.
📖/🔇 Kindle, no audio
I like the idea that Sarah had with this novella, by showing what is happening in the world after the fall of the boundary outside of the main story while also still having it tie in to it. It is exquisitely written and we get several new characters with multiple plot lines each dealing with their own issues brought on by The Shine Company. Prostitutes wanting to change their way of life and live free of the Shine Company, an outlaw who’s completely broken over the loss of his love and a Company man who is dealing with burnout.
“My avenging goddess. My beautiful soldier. My Eloise dressed in blood, wearing a cloak of determination.
They may have cut our wings, but they forgot about our claws.”
As I stated in Of Honey & Wildfires, Sarah is a lyrical prose assassin, and that continues on in this novella. She doesn’t seem to back down from a challenge, writing three different plot lines with multiple characters in a novella had to be a tough job. Unfortunately, this just wasn’t as good as book 1 for me. Ned & Saul’s story I liked the most just because of the issues they were going through made me giggle. This was still good, just fell a little short for me compared to book 1.
August 2, 2022
Oh, that Shotgun Sky is a followup to Of Honey and Wildfires, and it zooms out to show us more of this wonderful world. I did miss the characters I had fallen in love with in the first volume, as this novella introduces an entirely new cast of characters and focuses less on character development and more on the world.
However, it was so cool to get to see more of the world. This series is a sort of Western-inspired fantasy, and in "Shotgun Sky" Chron doesn't shy away from depicting some of the ugly parts of a history that has often been glamorized. There is an explosion of wealth and innovation sparked by the mining of Shine, there is a culture of care among the communities there--but there is also a corporation that ruthlessly exploits magical resources, there is prostitution under desperate conditions, and there is essentially slavery due to poor work conditions. I thought the world was very thoughtfully constructed.
THe lyrical prose here continues, and I did truly feel for the characters, but I was very eager to get back to Cass, Ianthe, and Arlen in book 3.
However, it was so cool to get to see more of the world. This series is a sort of Western-inspired fantasy, and in "Shotgun Sky" Chron doesn't shy away from depicting some of the ugly parts of a history that has often been glamorized. There is an explosion of wealth and innovation sparked by the mining of Shine, there is a culture of care among the communities there--but there is also a corporation that ruthlessly exploits magical resources, there is prostitution under desperate conditions, and there is essentially slavery due to poor work conditions. I thought the world was very thoughtfully constructed.
THe lyrical prose here continues, and I did truly feel for the characters, but I was very eager to get back to Cass, Ianthe, and Arlen in book 3.
November 3, 2022
A Beautifully written story of love, loss, and hope
Sarah Chorn is a gifted wielder of language to express emotions. This short book continues with a new set of characters in the aftermath of the events of the previous book Of Honey And Wildfires. She uses words to invite readers into the emotional world of the characters: their love and grief, their trauma and their stubborn hope. Often her dialogues cut straight to the heart. There is something almost poetic in the way she writes and it makes the strange Western fantasy world of the story and the broken lives of the characters something you want to inhabit.
Sarah Chorn is a gifted wielder of language to express emotions. This short book continues with a new set of characters in the aftermath of the events of the previous book Of Honey And Wildfires. She uses words to invite readers into the emotional world of the characters: their love and grief, their trauma and their stubborn hope. Often her dialogues cut straight to the heart. There is something almost poetic in the way she writes and it makes the strange Western fantasy world of the story and the broken lives of the characters something you want to inhabit.
February 17, 2021
This little novella is an interlude that takes place immediately after Of Honey and Wildfires, and it packs a lot of emotional punch in a tiny package. More of Chorn's achingly beautiful prose, characters who are jagged pieces of walking, breathing reality, and the poisonous beauty of shine, the fictitious magical substance which infects everything in this world.
It definitely whet my appetite for the upcoming Glass Rhapsody novel. It has a lovely, hopeful feel to the ending, so I'm setting myself up for devastation in the next book, lol.
It definitely whet my appetite for the upcoming Glass Rhapsody novel. It has a lovely, hopeful feel to the ending, so I'm setting myself up for devastation in the next book, lol.
July 11, 2021
Shotgun Sky tells an intensely personal story in the fallout of world-changing events. There's possibility to be had there--hope, freedom, redemption--but there's also a lot of danger. Sarah Chorn makes us feel both the heartbreak and joy these characters experience. I found myself dreading what would become of certain characters, and trying to keep myself from hoping to avoid heartbreak.
The ending is such an explosion of catharsis. I feel sorry for anyone who misses out on it.
It's when editing books like these that I'm reminded why I became an editor in the first place.
The ending is such an explosion of catharsis. I feel sorry for anyone who misses out on it.
It's when editing books like these that I'm reminded why I became an editor in the first place.
July 23, 2024
There's a special place in my heart for this kind of book, ones that tell stories from different characters in the same setting as the main books. They add valuable context to things that happen. This gem is no exception. Things went belly up in a hurry and now the world has to figure out what will happen next. The characters in this book had no idea this was about to happen, but they sure made the best of it in a hurry.
This, like all of Chorn's books, is gorgeously written. It's a tactful exploration of what sudden life changes do to different people.
This, like all of Chorn's books, is gorgeously written. It's a tactful exploration of what sudden life changes do to different people.
February 28, 2021
Excellent follow-up to the first novel, with just a smidge of hope thrown in at the end.
April 16, 2022
Still very pretty writing like the first one! I liked the story of the 4 women but unfortunately didn’t care about the two guys. This series deserves more love and hype!
May 2, 2023
An interesting interlude! Going to have to dive into the next one right away!
February 24, 2021
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Oh, That Shotgun Sky picks up directly following the events in Of Honey and Wildfires (you can read my review of that here.) We follow a new cast of characters as they try to come to terms with the destruction of the Boundary and their newfound freedom from Shine Company. Like before, Sarah has managed to sift through the weeds of my soul, take hold of my feelings, and completely rip them from my chest. To be fair to the author, I had an idea of what to expect coming in to this fresh out of her previous novel.
“That’s what love is. It ain’t all soft and pretty; it’s hard and biting, too. It’s a hungry wolf, and you just keep feeding the beast bits of yourself.“
Sarah’s excellent characterization continues, with a new cast of characters who all bring their individual desires and fears to the table. Even though my time with them was much shorter, I developed an even stronger connection to Ned, Saul, and Sally than I did to Arlen and Cass. My favorite was Ned, the straight-edge, former Shine Company enforcer, suffering from burnout to the Shine he never purposefully ingested. His chapters were some of the most heartbreaking, feverish scenes I have ever experienced and watching a disease that he didn’t earn take its toll on his psyche was brutal. His POVs read like a bad trip laced with heartache. There’s also something to be said about the way his addiction is discussed in-world. I thought the commentary on addicts, especially addiction as an often misunderstood disease, was quite refreshing to read.
That this was a novella served the story very well, I think. Oh, That Shotgun Sky pulls no punches, while delivering the complex, emotional story that I have come to know as Sarah’s style. It is also one where after reading I was left with a profound sense of hope, which honestly was very helpful after the gut wrenching journey that the prior novel took. I felt like I could breathe a smidge easier while waiting for the next Sefate novel.
“I know it hurts something awful, but you will get through this. You will breathe again, and you will breathe easier than you ever have before.”
Oh, That Shotgun Sky took everything that I loved about the previous entry, Of Honey and Wildfires, and improved upon every bit of it. Sarah excels at pulling on your heartstrings and making you feel everything that the characters are going through and her writing style practically oozes with empathy. If I wasn’t sold on her as an author before, I certainly am now. If you like your fantasy biting, painful, and full of melodrama, then I recommend this series wholeheartedly.
"Possibility is a knife. I’m balanced on its edge. I can feel it cutting."
You can read this and other reviews at FanFiAddict.com!
Oh, That Shotgun Sky picks up directly following the events in Of Honey and Wildfires (you can read my review of that here.) We follow a new cast of characters as they try to come to terms with the destruction of the Boundary and their newfound freedom from Shine Company. Like before, Sarah has managed to sift through the weeds of my soul, take hold of my feelings, and completely rip them from my chest. To be fair to the author, I had an idea of what to expect coming in to this fresh out of her previous novel.
“That’s what love is. It ain’t all soft and pretty; it’s hard and biting, too. It’s a hungry wolf, and you just keep feeding the beast bits of yourself.“
Sarah’s excellent characterization continues, with a new cast of characters who all bring their individual desires and fears to the table. Even though my time with them was much shorter, I developed an even stronger connection to Ned, Saul, and Sally than I did to Arlen and Cass. My favorite was Ned, the straight-edge, former Shine Company enforcer, suffering from burnout to the Shine he never purposefully ingested. His chapters were some of the most heartbreaking, feverish scenes I have ever experienced and watching a disease that he didn’t earn take its toll on his psyche was brutal. His POVs read like a bad trip laced with heartache. There’s also something to be said about the way his addiction is discussed in-world. I thought the commentary on addicts, especially addiction as an often misunderstood disease, was quite refreshing to read.
That this was a novella served the story very well, I think. Oh, That Shotgun Sky pulls no punches, while delivering the complex, emotional story that I have come to know as Sarah’s style. It is also one where after reading I was left with a profound sense of hope, which honestly was very helpful after the gut wrenching journey that the prior novel took. I felt like I could breathe a smidge easier while waiting for the next Sefate novel.
“I know it hurts something awful, but you will get through this. You will breathe again, and you will breathe easier than you ever have before.”
Oh, That Shotgun Sky took everything that I loved about the previous entry, Of Honey and Wildfires, and improved upon every bit of it. Sarah excels at pulling on your heartstrings and making you feel everything that the characters are going through and her writing style practically oozes with empathy. If I wasn’t sold on her as an author before, I certainly am now. If you like your fantasy biting, painful, and full of melodrama, then I recommend this series wholeheartedly.
"Possibility is a knife. I’m balanced on its edge. I can feel it cutting."
You can read this and other reviews at FanFiAddict.com!
March 22, 2021
I had been putting off reading this book because I wasn't in a mental state that could handle my soul being obliterated. I was kidding myself into believing there is ever a safe time to read one of Sarah's books.
This poetic stream of heartbreak and loss is fed to us so beautifully you can't help but say 'can I have some more, please?' while your emotions are screaming in protest.
It is a novella, but don't let the size fool you. Every word is purposeful, and tells a story of the aftermath of the events in Of Honey and Wildfires. So many times we don't get to see how characters cope with a pivotal climax, and the second book will jump ahead, past the hard truths of loss and the facts of how one tries to recover from it. But this book doesn't shy away from that raw emotion. It's beautiful yet horrifying.
There are many journeys happening, all traumatic, but none without hope. Because once everything is taken from us, there is always hope.
Notes: LGBT. Triggers: Abuse, death, loss.
This poetic stream of heartbreak and loss is fed to us so beautifully you can't help but say 'can I have some more, please?' while your emotions are screaming in protest.
It is a novella, but don't let the size fool you. Every word is purposeful, and tells a story of the aftermath of the events in Of Honey and Wildfires. So many times we don't get to see how characters cope with a pivotal climax, and the second book will jump ahead, past the hard truths of loss and the facts of how one tries to recover from it. But this book doesn't shy away from that raw emotion. It's beautiful yet horrifying.
There are many journeys happening, all traumatic, but none without hope. Because once everything is taken from us, there is always hope.
Notes: LGBT. Triggers: Abuse, death, loss.
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