Synopsis:
Tell me how it happened…
Layne was a soldier, conscripted to fight under the Fox in a vengeance fueled march. He, and his friends, were due for a fated confrontation, one that has ended in blood and loss. Now, the inquisitors want to hear every detail of his conscription, his training, and the duel against the assassin in grey.
Review:
An Inkling of Flame is marketed as a standalone novella related to the author’s epic fantasy series, Song of the Damned. I figured I’d check out the novella first, since I already have too many in-process series to keep track of, and novellas tend to be quick reads.
This story gave just enough detail about the world and its conflict to pique my curiosity, but didn’t go into so much detail that it gave anything away from the related series. But I wish there had been a little more worldbuilding included, particularly relating to the conflict between the gods. Since I have not read the related series, this omission felt like a big gap, and I question whether this novella truly works as a standalone. It might be better if taken as a supplement to the series, rather than an introduction.
Other than the question of “is it really a standalone?” I liked the story well enough. It’s told by Layne, who is being interrogated about his time as a soldier in Tidur’s army. As I understood it, Tidur is one of the gods (represented by a fox), and his followers went to war alongside those of two other gods, to battle a group who killed yet another god. The intricacies of the conflict were glossed over in the novella, so I can’t really go into more detail about it in this review. I believe you’ll get the full story if you read the series, but don’t quote me on that.
Overall, it was a fast read, but I think it’s definitely one that will be appreciated more by those who have read the related series.
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