Blood of Heirs by Alicia Wanstall-Burke is a debut fantasy novel that follows the separate paths of two protagonists in a dark and perilous world. For the purpose of full disclosure, Alicia is a part of my writers group. Due to circumstance however, I have only met her twice and this is the first time I have had the pleasure of reading her work.
The Cover: This is a good cover for the genre. The image shouts fantasy, the colour hints at the underlying tone of the book, and the font is well contrasted and clear.
The Good Stuff: This is a solid debut fantasy novel. The world is clearly defined and well-built with some nice touches that distinguish between the different cultures within the world. There are some formidable enemies, and as with any good fantasy there is a sound magic system. The characters are individual, well developed, and have their own distinct stories. The prose runs smoothly and I found there are some great quote-worthy passages within the pages. One I particularly liked was “His plan had to work. If it didn’t, he’d have the blood of thousands on his hands; such a stain would never wash clean.”
The Bad Stuff: This is nit-picking, but there are a couple of minor inconsistencies that drew me out of the story. In chapter five they’ve been waiting for the snow, but it hasn’t come. Then we move to chapter seven and Ran’s mother queries if the snows have come early? There is also a mention in one sentence that Lidan has been studying her parents, but then a little further on we hear that she has been avoiding them. This had me thinking how she could study them if she was avoiding them? I also question a couple of the words choices, such as sofa – this seems too modern for the setting to me.
Overall, having not read any of Alicia’s work prior to this book, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy this story or not, but after chapter four I was hooked. The minor issues noted above did little to detract from my enjoyment of this book. It is a great fantasy novel, and while Lidan has a solid storyline, I really found myself drawn into Ran’s story. I’m giving this one a magic pulsing, steel slashing 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks with a deep guttural growl for good measure.
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.
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