Synopsis
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.
A backwards narrative full of banter and blood Z.B. Steele presents An Inkling of Flame, a Song of the Damned novella.
Review
Inking of Flame by ZB Steele is the prelude to his coming novel, Whispers of the Storm. If this novella is any indication, that book will be an absolute showstopper.
I read Steele’s earlier work, For a Few Days More, and while I enjoyed that book, this is the one that convinced me he will be a star.
Set against the backdrop of a difficult childhood and a vague war, we are treated to a tale that takes the best of friendship, and fantasy mixed with a sort of creeping dread that isn’t fully realized until the last few pages.
Indeed, Inkling of Flame makes excellent use of a frame narrative to both foreshadow trauma to come as well as ground the overall story in its destination. I found myself making some comparisons to Markus Zusak’s excellent The Book Thief as I read about the friendship and struggles of Layne, Sharp, Spark, and Harwood as they attempted to navigate a war-torn adolescence without losing each other.
And to that end, the story flows perfectly. There is not a wasted word in this brief novella and I found myself wishing it wouldn’t end. Bloody and a bit tongue-in-cheek, Steele shows his powers of observation and insight into human nature in a small package.
Not only do we have the strong central story of friends but we also see: complex politics between followers of various gods, an interesting magic system
, and the funniest joke I’ve ever read in a book.
I can’t praise this book enough. There are those times you know you’ve read something special, and this is up there with Kings of the Wyld, Brotherhood of Steel, and even my all-time favorite fantasy book, Royal Assassin
I would recommend this work for fans of Hobb, Ryan, and just really, really good writing.
Get it now, get on the ground floor before ZB Steele takes off and leaves us all in the dust.
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