Eleventh Cycle (Mistland Book 1)

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A lot have questioned how exactly a Dark Souls inspired book would work. Well in this case, its through the delivery of the worldbuilding. Of course you still have your typical fantasy bard that delivers tales of yonder, as well as some good old fashioned exposition. But that is far and few between, the vast majority of the worldbuilding takes place within epigraphs before each chapter, a little snippet of an in-world tome. This is definitely a character-driven narrative, despite having such a detailed world to learn about. Overall Thoughts There's one aspect that I found especially interesting that I would like to talk about before passing to the characters, and it is how well the fragmented narration is integrated into the full story. The addition of lore snippets at the start of each chapter adds an extra layer of information about Minethria, similar to what we experiment with Hidetaka Miyazaki's narrative, giving you partial information, letting some empty spaces that you can fill with theories, which will be confirmed or discarded once we continue advancing into the story.

Eleventh Cycle (Mistland, book 1) by Kian N Ardalan

We find ourselves in the world of Minethria, at the beginning of what is known as the Eleventh Cycle. In this world we have what are known as the Elders, the creator of this world being known as the Elder King. All Elders live in a mysterious mountain called Mount Morniar Ardalan is a master at developing realistic, relatable characters. As I progressed through Eleventh Cycle, each of the four protagonists took turns being my favorite character. Although they inhabit a world so different from our own, their struggles reflect universal themes of identity, acceptance, friendship, and love. I could see the outline of a slumbering forest, its silhouette looking much like the curled body of a dreaming giant.' Disclaimer: I am an ARC reader for Kian, I am doing this of my own volition because I am simply adoring this book near 40% in. And that's where I get annoyed, because I'm not sure this would stand out as so awfully bad to me if I were just reading instead of listening. It might not be that bad.Eleventh Cycle has one of the best levels of worldbuilding that I've seen in a long time, with a really dark and grim execution. This book is not shy of showing the dark realities that are associated with war and violence. It has been a thousand years since the last Seed abandoned their duty. The mists are closing in. Finally, the Morning Bell tolls. A new Seed is born, but is it too late? The rot eats away at mortals. The Witnesses pray so that they may not turn into one of the forgotten. And the constricting mists infect the lands with fear. Part of this might have been the result of trying to make sure all four of the main POV character’s storylines lined up so that the big confluence of character meet-ups could happen later in the book. Some of the characters really needed the time to develop (Nora in her character development and Delila in the sheer amount of worldbuilding that had to occur around her), while others like Chroma and Erefial were just along for the ride. This is a common problem with long, multi-POV epics, and if this is something that tires in you books, then you might want to look elsewhere.

Eleventh Cycle, by Kian N. Ardalan : r/Fantasy - Reddit [Review] Eleventh Cycle, by Kian N. Ardalan : r/Fantasy - Reddit

Chroma: One of the creatures known as Akar (essentially ogre like giants), traditionally enemies of the humans, Chroma and his mother are part of a group of Akar who split from their brethren, tired of the war, and are now refugees held in a squalid camp and mistreated by the humans. Chroma longs to be a warrior for his people, but his shy nature is often taken advantage of.In conclusion, this book is set to shake the foundations of grimdark fantasy, with a new independent author who has a decisive command of character, world-building and prose, all working in harmony to create my favourite series debut of the year.

Reddit Books with Dark Souls vibe : r/Fantasy - Reddit

What makes Eleventh Cycle so effective is that this darkness is balanced with a big heart. Ardalan shares Sanderson’s talent at creating empathetic, broken characters, bringing a deeply personal focus to a vast, complex world. At its core, Eleventh Cycle is a character-driven fantasy featuring four mortal protagonists living in a land that is indifferent to their struggles. You don’t like dark elements in your books (murder, death, sexual assault, etc.) [ Specific trigger warnings listed by the author in the blurb below] One line for one character in particular stood out to me, and is a testament to the level of Kian's writing. Apparently there are 4 or 5 future books planned for the series. I am so excited to see more of this world!

Read Eleventh Cycle by Kian N Ardalan

By the end I am sure I will need a mountain of tissues! So far it's been a few tears, which is very hard to get from me in a book, and I have been assured by my friends whom have read it, that it only gets more emotional from here on out!