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Review: The Unbroken (Magic of the Lost #1) by C.L. Clark

March 19, 2021 by Manny Henri Leave a Comment

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Rating: 8/10

Synopsis

Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought. Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet’s edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne. Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren’t for sale.

Review

Sometimes you take a chance with a book you know beforehand might not be your preferred styles or genre, and in most cases you end up being disappointed. The Unbroken didn’t. In fact, I was thoroughly surprised with this book. C.L. Clark drags you into a rich world filled with political intrigue and a slew of raw relationships in between opposing characters.

The story centers on Touraine, a member of the Sands, which is basically the military in the story, and how she deals with the events of discord in between her vowed protection of the Balladaire government and her Qazali’s family roots. Once the pressure reaches its boiling point with the relationship between the people of both sides, it breaks into a series of events challenging the status quo and our characters. Clark spends a tremendous amount of time developing a deep narrative and powerful themes, one of which deals with opposite philosophies and how to unite them, which is a subject that strikes right at home with the current political climate. 

Although is it a slow-burn novel and you shouldn’t expect non-stop action from the book, it is a story that truly applies to the times we live in by exploring a rich world of corruption, love affairs and triangles, family reunions and treason, and political manipulation in an environment made of dust, sand and burning heat. The way Clark describes the landscape, I could literally taste the grains of salt in my mouth.

In conclusion, The Unbroken grows on you and provides a perfect mixture of political unrest, a celebration of womanhood in every sense of the word, and enough thematic spices to enrich the reading experience with a relevant story that connects to today’s issues. 

Filed Under: Fantasy, Grimdark, Reviews, Sword and Sorcery Tagged With: C.L. Clark, Orbit Books, Orbit Publishing

About Manny Henri

Emmanuel Henri grew up in Chambly, a city in the tail of Quebec (Canada) near Montreal. He’s an established technologist with 25 years of experience in the world of programming and design, and also published 125 courses on several platforms such as Linkedin Learning, Pluralsight and O’reilly. Since his teens, he always had a knack for storytelling, especially monster-driven tales, and has compiled a boatload of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and horror ideas he’s thrilled to put into words. To keep his head sane and healthy, especially after his close call with cancer in 2020 (now in remission), he’s pledged his body to a strict diet and rigorous exercise plan. He’s currently working on his novel “Ashes” and editing “From the mist” and several short-stories, such as “The Agency”.

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