The Black Cat Awards 2019 Reviews

Fantasy 2nd Place - Into Shadows and Escaping Ash by @StormRidden

🥈 Fantasy 2nd Place Winner 🥈

Into Shadows and Escaping Ash by StormRidden

Reviewed by AmyMarieZ

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Title: The title Into Shadows and Escaping Ash is an excellent choice in my opinion! It has a unique rhythm and feel to it, but at the same time it reads smoothly and flows very well off the tongue. It draws my attention and immediately makes me want to find out what the story is about. So far, I'm enjoying how I can see the connection between the title and the story, even though I feel like there is still more to come to make the connection even stronger.

Cover: The cover for this story is well thought out and striking to look at. The text style has a professional finish and a nice shine to it, which I think works especially well for stories in the fantasy genre. My only concern with the cover is that it is fairly dark. While I think it is fitting with the story, I wonder if the cover might be even more eye catching with a bit more contrast as far as light/dark colors.

Summary/Blurb: Overall, I'm a fan of the blurb for this story. It is well written and easy to follow. The blurb makes me curious about both the character Iridian and the plot of the story because it presents that unique qualities of the character and the world it is set in. The blurb also does a great job of establishing the central plot of the story to create a hook.

However, I felt like the use of five short paragraphs gave the summary a somewhat disjointed feel. I might recommend combining these down into three paragraphs if possible. Additionally, I felt like a number of the sentences in the blurb used a similar sentence structure. I'd trim out a bit of the excess, for example "Using him to escape her confinement" because it is already implied in the previous sentence, and the sentence that follows also begins with a word ending in "ing". All of the sentences in the blurb are fairly long, so it could be interesting to experiment with one or two very short sentences.

Descriptions: The descriptions in Into Shadows and Escaping Ash are simply incredible. Right from the first chapter, the descriptions of the cell where Iridian is being held prisoner are both poetic and vivid. I could picture the entire scene like a movie. I particularly loved the description of her melting the metal binds around her and them pooling at her feet. Another stand-out description was the scene in chapter 2.2 where Iridian is creating life from water. Midway through, she switches to destroying it. The way this scene was described and her reactions to what she has done are memorable and impactful.

At times, I felt like the descriptions were just a bit heavy, however. For example, at the beginning of chapter 2, because so much of the story has been focused on description, my mind was starting to wander as I read. However, when the dialog started after the break in chapter 2.1, the story grabbed my interest back.

Plot Development: The plot of Into Shadows and Escaping Ash pulled me in more and more the further I read. The beginning of the story was fairly heavy on action and description, which made for a nice hook. However, as the story progressed, the plot itself really started to take form. A lot of the plot development so far is tied to the world building. In the first five parts, the state of the world after the Tragic Storm that destroyed civilization is developed well. The reader gets a great glimpse into how horrible and bleak things have become through Iridian's eyes as she views for the first time what the once beautiful earth has become. Iridian's anger at the situation is shown well, and this works the story right into the central plot, which is Iridian's journey to find her other half and the love of her life, and through doing so hopefully save the planet.

Character Development: Right from the opening of chapter 1.1, Iridian's narrative voice shines through as strong, unique and memorable. Something I really like about her character is that she seems to be an unreliable narrator. I want to trust her as I am reading, but there are so many uncertainties about her, and that keeps me pulled into the story and wanting to know more. Her reaction to seeing the world in ruins was really well done, and it works well with her constantly referring to the humans as "Destroyers". I loved the twist when Theron turns it around on her and says that the gods were actually the ones that destroyed the planet. It makes me wonder what the truth really is.

Another thing that makes Iridian's character stand out is the amount of depth and the different levels in her character. She has the capacity to be spiteful and manipulative. Her narrative voice shows her as a bitter character full of scorn for even about what has happened to her and her world. However, at rare times, she is also capable of empathy and love. For example, when she is talking to Remi at the end of chapter 3.1 after noticing the scars on her legs, the way she reacts is much more empathetic than I might have expected from the first introduction to her character. Additionally, the main driving plot of the story is that Iridian is seeking to be reunited with her partner. It's interesting how she regards him as something better than her, or like she is incomplete without her. For a character that shows so much confidence and pride externally, it's really interesting to see all the depth in her. I'm really interested to see how her character will grow and progress through the story.

I also like the characters Remi, Daniel, and Theron so far. I feel like they are genuinely good and will grow on me. In chapter 3.1, I thought Iridian's analysis of each of the humans was really engaging and interesting. I think they work well as a supporting set of characters because they each have a distinct personality, so they are each memorable right from the start.

Overall Impression: Into Shadows and Escaping Ash is a beautifully written fantasy story with captivating descriptions. The characters leap of the page with their unique voices and traits. The world building is well thought out and presented in a striking way that pulls the reader in. The main plot seems to be just taking form, but the pacing is well done for a story of this length. The characters, premise and descriptions in this story make it a stand-out piece!