Synopsis
Cursed by the gods, the insectile ashkaro live on flying islands travelling the eternal River of Days while a hellish firestorm devours the world below. Collected into queendoms, the higher caste brights live in the luxurious windward rain-forest while the servile dulls scrape out a desperate existence in the leeward desert.Conflicts escalate between two neighbouring queendoms. Where Nysh embraces modern ideals of equality and independence, Yil honours the Fallen Goddess by enslaving their neighbours and maintaining traditional castes.In preparation for the imminent war, Nysh sends ashkaro youths with dangerous Talents to secret schools, training them as assassins and spies. Joh, a dull male with a Talent for suggestion, and Ahk, a bright female with a Talent for stealth, are torn from their families and thrown into the academy. The two naively believe that the biggest threat comes from the other students, not realizing the war has already begun.United in purpose, divided by caste, they can only save the island from the Mad Queen by working together.
Review
Damn, another fantastic, imaginative tale from the Lord of Grimdark Michael R Fletcher. Fletcher continues to create amazing worlds one after the other, and let me tell you this: this one is an absolute page turner.
Children of Corruption is the first book in his new series, The Storm Beneath the World, that will have you hooked from the very first page. It’s fast-paced, action-packed, very creative, and an entertaining roller coaster of a read that will leave just in awe of Michael R Fletchers writing.
What’s so good about this book is the incredible worldbuilding and the characters. But these are no ordinary characters and not your ordinary fantasy that you would divulge yourself in daily. Fletcher has created a cast of insectile characters called Ashkaro.
In Ashkaro society, they live on floating islands, there are a higher classes called the Brights, which rule and serve under their Queen, and the Dulls that are the lower classes who work and slave for the Brights. But in this society, the females are the Warriors and Lord it over the bigger male counterparts.
There is a fantastic magic system called the corruption. Anyone who develops their talent is sent into the dessert away from society until the lure of their talent finally takes them completely.
I absolutely love Michael R Fletchers’ books. Everything I’ve read so far has been amazing. So if you love Grimdark, dark fantasy or characters with some of the longest names in fantasy..😁 or you just wanna lose yourself in some very crazy worlds, then look no further.
In this first book, neighbouring Islands are about to go to war with each other, The Mad Queen has her eyes fixed on the Queen of Nish Island and plans to take all or destroy it.
But the Queen of Nish is planning on using the corrupted as assassins and spies to help her in her war against her rival. But will her plan work, or will the corrupted finally succumb or yield to their overwhelming desire to use their powers fully and ruin everything.
Damn the ending left me with a complete cliffhanger. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book. If you are looking for something different with a new twist on fantasy, then I very highly recommend that you check this out.
Coming out in April 2024….😁🔥🏹🐜🪳🐝🦟
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