• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
FanFiAddict

FanFiAddict

A gaggle of nerds talking about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and everything in-between. They also occasionally write reviews about said books. 2x Stabby Award-Nominated and home to the Stabby Award-Winning TBRCon.

  • Home
  • About
    • Reviewers
    • Review Policy
    • Contact
  • Blog
    • Guest Posts
    • Lists
    • Neurodivergence in Fiction
    • Why You Should Read…
  • Reviews
    • Children’s / Middle Grade Books
    • Comics/Graphic Novels
    • Fantasy
      • Alt History
      • Coming of Age
      • Debut
      • Epic Fantasy
      • Fairy Tales
      • Grimdark
      • Heroic Fantasy
      • LitRPG
      • Paranormal Fantasy
      • Romantic Fantasy
      • Steampunk
      • Superheroes
      • Sword and Sorcery
      • Urban Fantasy
    • Historical Fiction
    • Horror
      • Debut
      • Demons
      • Ghosts
      • Gothic
      • Lovecraftian
      • Monsters
      • Occult
      • Psychological
      • Vampires
      • Werewolves
      • Witches
      • Zombies
    • Science Fiction
      • Aliens
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Alt History
      • Cyberpunk
      • Debut
      • Dystopian
      • Hard SciFi
      • Mechs/Robots
      • Military SF
      • Space Opera
      • Steampunk
      • Time Travel
    • Thriller
  • Interviews
    • Book Tube
    • Authorly Writing Advice
  • SFF Addicts Podcast
    • SFF Addicts Clips
    • SFF Addicts (Episode Archive)
  • TBRCon
    • TBRCon2022
    • TBRCon2023

Review: Stormblood (The Common #1) by Jeremy Szal

September 10, 2020 by Mada Leave a Comment

Stormblood (The Common, #1)
Alibris
Amazon
Book Depository
Goodreads
Indigo
Kobo

Rating: 10/10

Synopsis:

Vakov Fukasawa used to be a Reaper, a biosoldier fighting for the intergalactic governing body of Harmony against a brutal invading empire. Now, he fights against the stormtech: the DNA of an extinct alien race Harmony injected into him, altering his body chemistry and making him permanently addicted to adrenaline and aggression. It made him the perfect soldier, but it also opened a new drug market that has millions hopelessly addicted to their own body chemistry.

But when Harmony tells him that his former ally Reapers are being murdered, Vakov is appalled to discover his estranged brother is likely involved in the killings. They haven’t spoken in years, but Vakov can’t let his brother down, and investigates. But the deeper he goes, the more addicted to stormtech he becomes, and Vakov discovers that the war might not be over after all. It’ll take everything he has to unearth this terrible secret, although doing so might mean betraying his brother. If his own body doesn’t betray him first.

A vibrant and talented new voice in SFF: alien technology, addictive upgrades, a soldier determined to protect his family, and a thief who is prepared to burn the world down

Review:

Thank you to Will and Gollancz for sending me an ARC of this amazing book. The book cover is so professional it looks straight out of a Hollywood movie poster. Kudos to the book cover designer!

Stormblood is one of those novels that blew me away. I finished reading this book in one day. Not only was I impressed with how beautiful this story is, I was also seeing the subject of wars and their brutal effects on humanity itself. Its an impressive debut. I read during the end Jeremy said he wished to see this book onto the bookshelves and worked hard on it. No doubt. He’s done an amazing piece of work. Amazing. The writing is mind-staggering. The dialogue is actually AMAZING. I cannot repeat it again. Oh. I will. It is AMAZING.

I loved every single second of this novel. Pat yourself on the back, you’ve made an amazing piece of work here. There is so much good in this. I felt I was watching a movie half the time. Cue in the references: The Orville, Star Trek, Cyberpunk 2077, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Star Wars, Marvel movies. I could point out to a lot of references within this novel. This novel is fantastic.

I don’t really have much to say but I don’t wish to spoil the story too much. But it follows a certain arc…that you’ll be quick to soon realise when you read this book. I loved Katherine, who I think is a great emotional character and has a great chemistry with Vakov. I also like the idea of the combination of the Russians and the Japanese – once at war in 1905 – and many generations later, you have new breeds of humans. That go away from all the racial conflicts that plagued them from the start. Vakov grew me on throughout the entire novel – and you’ll see why. He’s brave. He’s courageous. But he doesn’t act stupid. He knows when he makes mistakes. And Grim? A great character, I really need more of him. He’s a great complement and a great addition to the story.

There is a lot of blood-pumping action in this story. Brotherhood plays a big theme. And the Kaiji are now my new favorite alien species especially with their….you’ll figure it out. I won’t reveal much, but there’s war, there’s amazing descriptions of cities that make you feel really immersed into the sci-fi world that is introduced by Jeremy. You feel like, why the heck is this not a Netflix series or an amazing Hollywood adaption? It has all the right elements in place.

A great novel. Fantastic. Loved every single second of it. SO much amazing visual, splendour, it feels like a Hollywood movie. I cannot wait to read more adventures of Vakov, Katherine and Grim!

Filed Under: Reviews

About Mada

Mada, the Medjay of Faiyum, is a book reviewer of fantasy and sci-fi, mostly fantasy and historical fiction, and passionate about video gaming, a fan of franchises such as Paradox, Total War, Assassin Creed.

Other Reviews You Might Like

Review: The Mountain In The Sea by Ray Nayler

Team Review: The Given Day by Dennis Lehane ft. Krystle Matar & C.M. Caplan

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. travelingcloak says

    September 10, 2020 at 1:54 pm

    THAT good, eh? 🤔

    Reply
    • Mada says

      September 13, 2020 at 11:25 am

      It was! I couldn’t stop reading! Personally loved all the interactions between the characters 😉

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored By

Use Discount Code FANFI For 5% Off!

Follow FanFi!

Sign up for updates and get FREE stories from Michael R. Fletcher and Richard Ford!

What Would You Like To See?(Required)
Please select the type of content you want to receive from FanFi Addict. You can even mix and match if you want!

FFA Recommends

Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book

Recent Reviews

Recent Comments

  1. James on Review: Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen #1) by Steven EriksonMarch 25, 2023
  2. Adrian M. Gibson on Author Roundtable: Indie Marketing (with Kian N. Ardalan, Ryan Cahill, Aparna Verma & Gourav Mohanty)March 23, 2023
  3. zidane on Review: A Fractured Infinity by Nathan TavaresMarch 14, 2023
  4. Gary Weston on Bender’s Top 10 Fights in Fantasy BooksMarch 14, 2023
  5. David S on My Top 15 Favorite Male Anime Protagonists (So Far)March 13, 2023

Archive

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by ModFarm Sites · Log In