Nether Light

by Shaun Paul Stevens

*** SPFBO FINALIST 2020 ***

A world punished by a dark imprisoned magic.

When refugee Guyen arrives in the land of his enemy, he knows he will fight, but soon falls down a well of wonder and improbability as a mysterious power invades him. And when his brother falls ill to the same deadly force, he will only save him if he can master his newfound abilities.

A gritty, heart-wrenching tale of high magic and high stakes, loves lost and friendships gained, set in an oil-lit, 18th century world.

Epic Fantasy for fans of Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman, Mark Lawrence, V.E. Schwab, Ed McDonald, Brian McClellan. Please note: This book contains mature themes.

PRAISE FOR NETHER LIGHT
"A refreshing change to your usual fantasy affair."
"World building doesn't get much better than this."
"Awed me with rich imagery and fascinating concepts."
"A truly magical tale that I would recommend to all fantasy lovers, especially those seeking themes that resonate with modern day concerns."

Genres: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2021

About the author

Born in London, Shaun spent his formative years in the shadows of the dreaming spires of Oxford, before moving to Nottingham, where he graduated university with a degree in English and Media.

Navigating a path through music, art and the internet, writing came calling and he found himself ensconced in alternate realities and gritty fantasy worlds. He has written several books to date.

Shaun now lives in Brighton, on the south coast of England, with his patient family and ungrateful cat, generally being a nerd.


Find out more at shaunpaulstevens.com

Reviews

[Mark Lawrence]

I haven't read this book, yet, but it's a finalist in this year's Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, so it must be good! #SPFBO

See the finalist board here:

https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Nether Light’s opening chapter. It set the tone of the story and made me eager to continue. The more I read, though, the more my immersion became sinusoidal.

Nether Light has both strong ups and strong downs.The story follows Guyen, a refugee who needs to find his way in the land of his enemy. We learn about the world through his point of view, and his perspective feels tinged with anger and a touch of hatred. Despite this, Guyen is also naïve and ready to help, trust, and forgive. Not the best combination when you have to deal with political intrigue, mature and experienced foes, and the world in general.

Stevens delves deep into Guyen’s mind, allowing readers to observe and discover how his perspective and the image of the world change. While convincing and dramatic, it’s also a slow process that will hinder the reading experience of those who won’t click with Guyen right away. Unfortunately, I’m in this group. As a result, I had to force myself to read through parts of the book and I’m convinced a slimming treatment would strengthen it.

Stevens’ writing throughout is vivid, with many noteworthy secondary characters, from Guyen’s close ones to Mist, an intriguing girl skilled with blades. The world itself awed me with rich imagery and fascinating concepts (like almost limitless probability-based magic or the city’s dark and atmospheric setting). We discover it through the eyes of a young foreigner and he likes details. We get plenty of them. Probably too much. I would say the story really gets going around the 60-65% mark. Once you get there, you’ll probably start to turn the pages with growing interest. Before, though, a lot feels pointless.

At 660 pages, Nether Light requires a level of trust from readers. I found the pacing uneven and discouraging, with exciting bits bogged down with details and Guyen’s brooding. Listen, Guyen, I get it, your life sucks and nothing’s as it seems but c’mon man, get a grip! And cheer up a bit. Not everyone wants to hurt you, and you can find friends in surprising places.

Readers who enjoy slow-burn and dark epic fantasies with a unique magic system and intriguing setting will find Steven’s novel engaging and rewarding. Readers who prefer focused narratives may find it disappointing. Personally, I loved parts of the story but felt bored by others. And, to be frank, I’m not sure if I would finish it if it weren’t an SPFBO finalist. (6/10)

[Kitty G Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I read this as a judge for the #SPFBO as this is a finalist*

** Trigger: off-page rape, violence **

I have to say, this one was mixed for me. The plot as a whole is tricky to wrap your head around, and the characters took some getting used to, bit I think it's inventive and the world feels expansive too.
In this world we have people who have to be bound when they are born to be accepted into society, however we follow a family who do not bind their children, and instead they try their best to shelter them.
We then skip forward to when Guyan (one of the children) is older and we follow his story for the rest of the book, where he learns of his uniqueness and gets caught up in much politicking.

First up, the magic of this world is a loose system which doesn't seem to have hard rules and takes some imagination to understand. I would have preferred a clearer outline on EXACTLY how things worked and I think for me that would have made this a stronger story on the whole. I think we have some cool ideas when it comes to simulacra and Faze and the other worlds/dreams etc, but, if it's never entirely clear what's possible it leaves the reader a little confused at times. I think there's so many avenues here which is fun, but it just needed a bit of refinement for my enjoyment.

The plot is a story which starts completely different to how it continues. Personally up to the first 20% felt very slow and a little too long to me, especially as after this point the plot shifts and it all becomes quite a different focus. I wanted the story to have started with a tiny intro and then dive into where the 20% mark happens as that would have drawn me in far faster.

The main character is Guyan and I didn't love him as a character for the start of the book, though he grew on me more as it went. I never felt truly connected with him though and I think Mist was my favourite character by far for her sass and snark.

Overall, the plot does get more interesting and I enjoyed parts of this book a lot, but the confused beginning and magic left me a little cold on this and I wish I'd had more character-connection too. It's got the politics down and had so many good ideas, but it feels as though it's all a little rough around the edges so for that reason it got 3*s from me which is 6/10 for #SPFBO.

[Jennifer (bunnyreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for SPFBO. More about the contest and links at the bottom.


Nether Light was the most interesting, and unique of the SPFBO finalists to me and because of that I am still grappling with my thoughts about it.

Nether Light almost felt like a slice of life, Robin Hobb kind of story. We follow Guyen, as he adjusts to his new life in the city, searching for a way to help his brother who has fallen ill, and has possibly lost his binding… and don’t ask me what the binding is because I am not even sure if I understood it correctly. I felt like I knew while I was reading but trying to explain now…I am at a loss. Eventually though, the result is madness, and their behaviour can become unpredictably violent, endangering themselves and those around them.

The ideas behind the nether light, the binding, faze, and the simulacra are complicated, interesting and weird, all at once. I loved it for its uniqueness, and the probability angle just makes my mind spin with ideas, even while I wasn’t sure I understood faze or any of it. But that’s alright because Guyen, didn’t understand it either and since we are following him, it would matter more I think, if he did, and I still didn’t.

By the end of the story, I felt kind of like I do with math, some of the binding principles and faze were like algebra and just beyond my grasp but I had enough understanding of the basics for me to get by and enjoy the story.

Parts of this story were brilliant, some of the scenes were striking, sparking my imagination (the dice game scene with the faze shift). Some of the descriptions, I loved (the description of the house of Counters main room). And once you get to know the characters, the underlying humour in places had me chuckling a lot. I enjoyed a lot of this story for those reasons.

Other parts of the story felt needlessly long- like certain scenes were only there to showcase the world that he is in now, they felt so unconnected, and I wondered why they were included. BUT I do admit that a lot of these scenes that I felt that way in while reading, later became relevant for reasons that tie the story together, or let the Guyen have something that is needed in the final acts, keeping his actions from being pulled from a hat or too easy.

That said, after processing my thoughts about this story for awhile, I realize this story is more put together than it felt while I was reading it. And as you can see, I am kind of back and forth on my thoughts about it. The one thought that I can agree with myself on though, is that it could have used trimming, and lots of it. I think that would have helped the brilliance shine through a little sooner.

This is definitely a go with the flow kind of book and requires some patience for the pay-off. But it was always interesting because we are learning along with Guyen, and I think that’s its strongest quality because without that interest, and wanting to know and understand more about the binding, the faze, and the and the simulacra, I might have had a hard time making it to the end.



spfbo score-6.5 or 4stars

learn more about the contest here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...

Finalist board is here
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...



Our team reviews and finalist board
https://starlitbook.com/spfbo-6-finals/

[Nils | nilsreviewsit]

DNF’d at 21% - group review to come on The Fantasy Hive for SPFBO 6

[E.G. Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

While many fantasy stories are epic in scale, not all of them move from action scene to desperate situation; some are more deliberate and intentional in their collection of details into a story. Nether Light by Shaun Paul Stevens is, I would say, an epic fantasy that is happy to burn slowly into something dramatic.

1. Thoughts on the plot
This story follows Guyen, a refugee in the land of his enemies. He plans not only to survive, but to fight back, until his brother falls into a coma to do with the Faze—the magical energies of the world—and Guyen is called to the capital. There, he works on Faze and Binding, deals with political intrigue, and discovers the world is much, much larger than his own problems.
Taken as a storyboard, this story is fairly typical. Person washes up in land of his enemy, discovers he is something a bit more, learns from his enemy and discovers that things are not what they seem. It’s a generally standard epic fantasy-style story where the stakes grow ever larger as our hero’s knowledge increases. However, this plot is very, very detailed. The intricacies of Guyen’s day-to-day life are often laid out and we see much of his thought proceses as he goes about his life.
Generally speaking, I like stories that delve this deeply into a character, because I find that the details are the pieces that really make a story interesting and relatable. This story is fairly good in that regard, but I think that there is too much detail and the overarching plot gets lost in the minutiae. At least, that is true until about 65% of the way through the novel when the threads start to really weave together. Okay, that’s generally fine with me; I don’t need to understand everything all the time and having things come together later is usually what I prefer. But this novel is also 650 pages and it took a very long time to get to the point where the plot really took off.
So the plot was good, even very interesting, but a little too bogged down in detail, I think.

2. Thoughts on the character
Guyen is, on the surface, another example of a fairly standard epic fantasy-style hero. He has a staunch loyalty to his family—his brother in particular—and a firm belief in right and wrong. He is fond of books and learning and determined. These are all fantastic character traits, and Guyen displays them well. He is a likeable hero and, given the detail that is presented in describing his life (mentioned above) we see a lot of what goes into his thought processes.
The only thing I would like is a little more definitive presentation of intent in his actions. There is most certainly a purpose in what he is doing (no spoilers, sorry) and that makes perfect sense to drive his actions for about 90% of the book. But there is that extra 10% where his purpose doesn’t apply, either because he has to wait for something else to happen or because something else gets in the way. In these situations, Guyen’s actions make perfect sense, but they don’t really seem to have a reason behind them other than they further the plot.
I would say that I like Guyen; he’s a nice hero to follow and I grow really sympathetic towards him around the point of the trial (again, sorry, no more than that for spoiler purposes). Actually, at that point, he really begins to shine as a character and I find that I like him quite a lot.

3. Favourite part
The trial! I cannot really describe this a whole lot because spoilers, but I can say that I really like it when logical arguments win out despite political machinations and angry people getting in the way. It’s pretty much my favourite thing to read.

4. Critique
My only real critique for this book is mentioned in section 1; the plot gets a little too bogged down in the detail. I don’t really have a problem with slow burn novels. In fact, I often prefer them. In this case, I just feel that the overarching plot was a little lost amongst the individual pieces. It’s not a huge issue, especially once you hit the 65% mark in the book and the pacing picks up a significant amount, making all those earlier details important, but it did take a bit to get through.

Overall, I would say that Nether Light is a solidly good book. The characters were interesting (Mist was my favourite) and the story was more on the unique scale for all of the pieces that seem “standard” for an epic fantasy. The magic was well-crafted, the world very realistic, and the ups and downs well paced. If you’re looking for a story to really sink your teeth into for a long weekend, this is definitely one to consider.

[Hannah Winder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nether light was one of those books that I find really hard to rate. It started off really well for me, but as we got to the latter half of the book I realised I just didn’t *care* about the characters.

This world requires everybody to be “bound” with a concoction from the beginning of their life. Your binding is essential to how you get on in society and in part determines the kind of work that you can do. We follow Guyen, a young man who we find out very quickly has something slightly abnormal about him. He starts as a refugee with the first few chapters focusing on his life in one area, before he is whisked away to another part of the world. Here he gets caught up in navigating politics and has a personal mission very close to his heart.

The good:
- the world building is pretty much there for me. It suggests an expansive place with well thought out systems for society, politics and community
- The descriptive language allowed me to build up some great imagery in my head throughout.

The needs-work:
- so many half baked ideas. There are characters you start to hear a lot about, maybe you start to care about them or become interested in where this will take the story, but then you’ll never hear about them again. Storylines are started or character relationships are implied at, but nothing comes of them - they fizzle out like a forgotten trail. Even the character development for our protagonist and supporting characters isn’t really there. This made it so hard for me to engage with any of our characters or care at all about their intentions. They were all so one dimensional. As a result some of the bigger twists and lack any impact and honestly by the end of the book I had lost interest.
- it is a long book. At over 600 pages I expected more to actually happen. It feels like things could have been refined and skimmed down, and therefore the whole book would have been more comprehensive.
- The magic system was confusing. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a complex magic system and if it’s inventive I will forgive a lot when it comes to magic. BUT I think the author needs to provide information to back it up. You’re in the story and the magic is spoken about like you should just understand what a simulacrum is for example. Now part of the problem comes from the mystery surrounding Guyen, and you’re fed little bits as you go through to book. I can’t help but feel that there is a better way to explain things so that your reader is engaged in your magic system and understands at least a bit more about it from earlier.

Overall I wouldn’t read the next book - my commitment to finding out what happens to the characters isn’t there. 2.5*

[Stephen Richter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am going to chalk this up to the long haul effects of Covid 19. I feel the tale was overly complicated which lead to loads of exposition paragraphs that disrupted the flow. A main protagonist that failed to captivate my interest did not help. Maybe it was just the wrong year to read this book. I went days without returning to the tale which has not happened in a long time .

[S. Bavey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nether Light is the story of Guyen, a biracial refugee who has powers connected to Faze energy, a magical force running through the Feyrlands, where this fantasy story is set:

“the lifeblood of the universe. The energy which makes the world.”

Faze energy can be used to power certain artifices and also can be manipulated by certain people like a form of magic. The exact way it functions is never really described, however, which gives it a fairly mysterious feel.

The world-building in this novel is comprised of really descriptive prose, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and is of epic proportions. The early part of the book follows twins Guyen and Yemelyan and their parents escaping war, fleeing Krell across an ocean to Sendal, Guyen’s mother’s homeland, a country hostile to their race and where they must struggle with assigned employment, treated as second class citizens and with contempt. It is only really when Guyen is taken to the city of Carmain that the actual story begins – just under a quarter of the way into the book. I do feel this book would benefit from some of the earlier scene-setting chapters being cut or made into a separate prequel novella, and Guyen reaching the city earlier. The early chapters are well-written and interesting, but I felt like the real bones of the story hadn’t begun yet, and I was proved right. As soon as we reach the city the action becomes so much more intriguing and the characters he meets are more compelling and fleshed out.

“If Makers Gate was Carmain’s heart, the sprawl of streets and buildings extending from it were its veins and arteries. Cranes and steeples dissected the skyline, shrouded in acrid grey smog despite the sizzling day. As the hour struck, bells pealed in every direction, the hollow clangs of church bells overpowering tinkling chimes from public buildings and grand houses.”

When Guyen reaches the city of Carmain we are introduced to the character of Mist, who I loved in Servant of the Lesser Good which takes place after the events of Nether Light. Mist is feisty and fun, her sass made the pages in which she featured the most compelling parts of the book for me. She proves to be a really useful companion to have in a sticky situation with her talents as a cold-hearted assassin:

“That settled it, the girl was a psychopath. Badge. Certificate. Straightjacket. But that was all right when she was on your side.”

There are some pretty dark scenes in this novel, particularly a torture scene which I found a little hard to read. Poor kind-hearted Guyen really can’t catch a break and everyone is out to get him, either because of his immigrant appearance or to use him as a pawn in various plots and schemes where he always seems to come off worse than anyone else. Even when he goes to the aid of Ariana, who is being propositioned by a lecherous old pervert, he doesn’t receive any gratitude.

Guyen gets mixed up in the politics around Binding – a process whereby all children are injected with a serum which helps to determine their skills and assigns them a role in life. This was a fairly intriguing concept especially when some people who were “Unbound” began to descend into madness. People also appear to begin losing the Binding and Guyen is hopeful that he might be able to find a cure for this while working on a cure for his brother, who has fallen into a coma.

There are a lot of threads in this novel which are not all that necessary to the main plot and therefore cause some confusion while reading. I feel if the story was tightened up a little more it would be unputdownable. As it is, I found it highly enjoyable and appreciated the humorous touches which are interspersed through the narrative. There is also a significant surprise towards the end and a final battle filled with plenty of excitement and peril for those who enjoy the darker style of fantasy!

[Cmoore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book had a fairly long fuse. But the story was so well written that I continued listening, because I needed to know what happened next! We get to follow Guyan as he works out how to save his twin brother!
As I said the writing, world building and magic system are all superb! And I've included some of my favorite lines:

""That's preposterous." "Preposterous!" Repeated Janic. "Actually, It's perfectly posterous" She interned." ...Hahaha, the author used the word posterous! You have no idea how happy that made me...

"Mist laughed, "I doubt that she'd recognize a moral if it bit her on the tit. And if she did, she'd ignore it.""

"Wondering whether this new job might be a piece of bad luck in good luck's clothing."

"Emotions can be confusing things, especially when you're sleep-deprived, grieving, hardly able to think. Shock mingled with hope bathed in hatred, dusted in doubt, and distrust."

The narrator Maria Marquis was fabulous and her nuanced performance also insured that I stayed with the story all the way through to the last page!

[Kristen]

RTC

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very slow build up, but well worth the time put in to reading this excellent book. The ending is very interesting.

A worthy finalist for the spfbo 6.

[The Reading Ruru (Kerry) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review after SPFBO6

[Jake Laird · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dunno about this one.

I read it all which i don't do if i hate a book but i wasn't really interested. The magic was interesting which i think was the only real thing keeping me going. I think i just didn't really like the main character.

[Ellie Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

~About

Guyen and his family have migrated to Sendal, to be away from a perilous war. However, Krellens are deemed less than because of their different race and as such, are treated poorly at every turn.

When Guyen is discovered to be a purebound, he is inducted into the devotions, where he learns he has the ability to manipulate faze energy. Meanwhile, the maddenings (people becoming unbound and crazed) are growing in number, threatening the stability of Sendal.


~Characters

Guyen was a fascinating character. Understandably bitter given the way he is treated by the Sendali people, intelligent and somewhat rebellious, he had a fire within him that urged him to keep going, no matter what happened to him.

Emeldra (Mist to friends) made for a great sidekick type. She was stealthy, resourceful, direct, and above all, fearless.

Ariana, a high born, provided a nice contrast to Guyen and Emeldra. She was smart, independent and, unlike other high borns, she was concerned about the fate of the people and showed great compassion toward them, no matter their race.

Rossi, a Sendali guard of some renown came across as pampered, rude, and very prejudiced. However, as the story progressed and he was forced to spend more time with Guyen, his initial harshness and cruelty seemed to soften.

Although there were other characters present, these four took centre stage and captured my interest the moment they were introduced. Each played an integral part in the story, adding their skills to the mix, to help find a solution to the problems at hand.


~Likes

There was a lot to like about Netherlight. From the close third person narration, which flowed well, to the organically developed world building that pulled you deeper into the story’s surroundings and culture.

The Sendali cultural aspects explored painted a vivid picture of a place heavily prejudiced against Krellen, a place which even oppressed its own people, as long as the high borns benefited.

The inclusion of The Layer or ‘Otherwhere,’ a sort of other realm between the realm of life and death, was beautiful explored. Known as the place ‘where meaning is created,’ it added a nice touch to the story overall.


~Memorable Quotes

Two quotes struck me hard when reading Netherlight, both of which have heavy relevance to modern day concerns.

1) ‘Some people are happier living in ignorance.’
2) ‘It always makes a difference. You should stand up for what you believe in.’

Why not take a moment to think upon these quotes.

.How have you experienced the ignorance of others in life?
.Is there something you believe in that you would fight tooth and nail for?


~Overview

Overall, Netherlight was a mesmerizing fantasy novel that explored the mistreatment and prejudice of the Krellen race, alongside the maddenings, where a secret plot lay buried in the heart of Sendali culture.

My Rating: 5 stars.
A truly magical tale that I would recommend to all fantasy lovers, especially those seeking themes that resonate with modern day social concerns.

[Julia Sarene]

I won't rate this, because I couldn’t get past page 100 of this one. I hate to rip apart books, and I couldn’t write anything even a fraction as well as this, so still kudos for writing a novel like this! But this just didn’t work for me at all. Instead of hating on it, I’ll just try and give you examples of what was problematic for me – you might not mind the same things as much as me.

I couldn’t really get to the plot or story, or enjoy the world building, as I felt myself barred from immersion by the prose. The world and plot and magic all have potential, but I just couldn’t get into the story as the prose itself just constantly kept grinding on me.

Especially the first chapter was very repetitive in sentence structure.

“Olvar jumped up. The junior Overseer pulled his sword. Olvar raised a placating hand.”

There were also sentences like this, spoken from husband to wife:

“Don’t worry, woman, it’s just a scratch.”

I also don’t especially like this:

“That was the kind of thing you noticed if you did a lot of noticing, which he did. Unfortunately, another noticed thing had been the boson’s manifest, a stolen glance over the man’s shoulder on the day of departure suggesting over two hundred souls aboard.”

or these:

“He grunted a contemptuous laugh”

“Smiling at the three daughters, nine, twelve and fourteen, at a guess.”

– quite an exact guess… Some phrases felt way too modern to fit the setting:

“Chairs being at a premium”

“So you can’t accuse me of being sexist now, can you?”

“Passive-aggressive comments about the incompetence of foreigners”

“Have ideas to make real dough”

“Staring at his clone”
In a scene with two mothers in one room, it isn’t the best choice to use “Mother” like a name. “She turned to Mother”, “Mother smiled tightly” – whose mother exactly now? Yes, I assume the POVs mother, but as it isn’t first person, it just didn’t feel smooth.

Some bits just didn’t make sense to me – like escaping a slave ship and the first night with a roof over your head after, you go “This would be a trial, what with father’s snoring” because you have to share a room?

Or like being freezing cold, especially mentioning a coat that was lost with the ship. Finding the wreckage at the beach, and leaving all clothes that are even mentioned, instead lugging a big random chest with you. Because the one who used to own it had money – you know that because you got a gold coin from them. Only a few chapters later it’s a counterfeit coin, and you knew it all along…

Add to that quite some moments with actually inappropriate words being used (fermented rebellion being a favourite of mine) and I just couldn’t get past the writing to make it to the actual story sadly.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nether Light follows Guyen, a young biracial man who is shipwrecked upon Sendal shores. Upon arriving in the city proper, he and his twin brother Yemeylan are thrown into Sendal’s working caste system, where people are given employment based on their Talents.

This oil-light epic fantasy series feels like walking through the world as Daniel in Frictional Games’ Amnesia: The Dark Descent. This dark world, lit by harsh sodalamps and adorned with the 18th century’s iconic tricorne hats, hosts a decaying magic. Citizens are inoculated with a Concoction at birth to Bind them against a creeping pandemic that causes madness and turns them into creatures (the Unbound) that resemble the Grunts that haunt Daniel so.

Guyen, who is of Krellan and Sendali descent, struggles to survive in a country where his heritage is looked down upon. Upon getting his Binding tested to receive his Sendali citizenship, it is discovered that he is Purebound: he is naturally resistant to the maddenings. He is shipped off to the Devotions, where he studies to become a Bindcrafter and seek the cure for Yemeylan, whose Binding is weakening and risks losing his citizenship and mind.

Magic system nerds will surely be intrigued by Faze, the magic Guyen stumbles to learn alongside his other studies. Although Nether Light doesn’t dive too deeply into a hard magic system, it is hinted that there is surely more to come in additional Bindcrafter books.

Should you pick up this book?

This book will delight those who love delving into a fantasy world, Nether Light will be sure to satisfy. It is a slow burn novel that takes its time to reveal the true plot, which binds Guyen into politics, fantasy science, and the fate of the Binding. It is a leisurely stroll through the world as told through the eyes of a young foreigner.

Readers who enjoy The Stormlight Archive and who long for additional Flintlock fantasy will enjoy Nether Light. The slow pacing and exploration of Guyen’s daily life early on in the book will deter some readers, however, through Guyen the reader learns of the world and what is at stake.

Nether Light is a delightful independent book by Shaun Paul Stevens that catapults it above many other independent fantasy books by the virtue of its impressive worldbuilding.

For those who prefer a faster-paced story, but who are interested in the Bindcrafter universe, readers may check out Deliverance at Van Demon’s Keep, which follows a Ranker named Kiprick. Kiprick must rescue miners who are trapped with Unbound, who have infiltrated the mine.

[Amy Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fantasy

Stevens pens a grand story in Nether Light. I have read fantasies from this author before, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were real and intense, because Guyen was totally in survival-mode. The characters in the story had a lot of depth, and the world building in this story made it feel real, and if it were real, almost terrifying. Magic and mayhem, struggling to survive in a world that looks down upon his status. His legacy. A very well-written story, and I enjoyed it. This author is not just a writer but a great storyteller that took this reader on a grand journey. It's a great story to follow and try to figure out what will happen next. I look forward to reading many more stories by this author. This book is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews.

[T.O. Munro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nether Light is one of ten finalists in Mark Lawrence's Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog Off for 2020-21.
So, as one of the judges for the fantasy-hive, I have just finished reading it.

The team will be collating our thoughts and giving the book an overall rating and score in time for the April final of this year's contest. I will post a fuller review and a link to those deliberations at that time.

you can now see what the hive team thought here

[Anya Josephs · Rating 4 out of 5]

What It's About: Guyen, a naive refugee ashore on the enemy's banks, as he adjusts to his new life and the people he meets in it. This is a highly character-centric fantasy story, focused primarily on Guyen and the internal journey he faces.

What I Thought: I found the shorter prequel to this book very charming, but this longer work wasn't quite as engaging to me. I did really enjoy getting to see Mist (the hero of the previous volume) return in all her glory. Guyen, though a well-dveloped character, did not resonate with me as much, and the book was so focused on him that it made the overall story feel less engaging for me personally. Also, the worldbuilding was expanded on in a very interesting way. it's almost low fantasy--the titular nether light is an important aspect of the story, but there's no magic "system", which I appreciated.

Who Should Read It: If you're looking for something epic in length and intimate in scope, this is a great option.

[Tristen Kozinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good prose and decent, well-developed characters, but there's a huge portion of this book where little to nothing happens. The beginning is strong, and the ending as well, but that fifty-sixty percent in between them is just waiting for something relevant to happen. There are a few scenes where plot occurs, but they're rare and mostly brief.

[Amabel Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book due it being a SPFBO Finalist 2020.
Took me a little while to get into the story but enjoyed it in the end with its twists and turns. Will keep an eye out for a follow up to find out what is next for Guyen.

[Slick · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 / 4 Stars

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I thought but it was very good and I really enjoyed it.

[Alon Lankri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dnf 10%
2.5/5

The prose is solid and the world sounds cool but things were confusing and the plot and characters developed too slowly to grab me.

[The Scribblings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having left their homeland of Krell, Guyen and his family have to make new lives for themselves. Struggling to cope with their refugee status and the prejudice he encounters, things become worse when the state takes him from his new home and looks to profit from his emerging talents.

Nether Light takes place in a strongly realized world, from the rough and tumble port town where Guyen and his family first arrive, to the capital city where the bulk of the novel takes place. It gives an impression of a rigidly structured society, one where careers can be assigned from an early age and where dissent can have severe, perhaps even fatal, consequences. Once the action moves to the capital, things also take on a greater political dimension, with Guyen encountering members of various factions vying to change things and often looking to use him for their own advantage.

In many ways, the main character of Guyen can sympathetic. Force to start over in a foreign land, and having to deal with a large amount of casual racism from multiple sides of the new society he finds himself in, his anger and bitterness are easy to understand, especially since he is a teenager. He can also be frustrating though. I counted multiple times where I was muttering to myself about the choices being made. I suppose that could be considered a positive in some regard, that I was invested enough to let that get to me but it can be galling to have the character mentally proclaim something a bad idea or situation but then not take steps to avoid it.

Given the size of the book, there are a number of supporting characters although only a handful are given more than cursory development. The most interesting are the trio of main female characters; Ariana, Mist, and Jal; and puzzling out their motivations is one of the stronger elements. Each of them alternately helps or hinders Guyen as he tries to find his way in his new society and come to terms with his new abilities.

The notion of a probability-based magic system is an intriguing one and, for the most part, works well; particularly in scenes where Guyen uses it to force outcomes. Unfortunately, the mechanics of it never felt especially clear, and other aspects, such as Guyen’s ever-present simulacrum or the concept of the Layer seemed either underdeveloped.

If I had to choose a word to describe Nether Light, the one that comes to mind is over-stuffed. There is a lot to like about it, the world-building is strong and the magic system is interesting but I was often left with the feeling that the author perhaps had more ideas for it than could comfortably fit into the narrative. Despite these complaints, I will be interested to see if the author intends to do more in this world and explore some of these points in greater detail.

6.5 out of 10 ghostly duplicates.