The Stone Knife by Anna Stephens REVIEW

Started: 05/06/21

Finished: 10/06/21

Spoilers: No

Characters

I love how Anna Stephens always shows both sides. By having multiple povs, she makes some of them the 'bad guys'. It better helps us to understand the motivations behind the opposition. She did the same in the Goblind trilogy and it was so interesting seeing the story from the perspectives of the antagonists.

Xessa, Tayan, and Lilla were my favourite POVs to read, but I also enjoyed Pilos, even though he's on the baddie side, he had an interesting way of thinking. But that being said, none of the POVs were unenjoyable. All brought something different to the story. I kind of loved reading from a villain's POV, and we get plenty of that here.

And if anything happens to Ossa in the next book I riot, okay.

Plot

A fresh take on the ideas of colonisation and religious wars. Anna Stephens expertly blends the two to create something that feels wholly unlike anything else.

Even though the story is reasonably slow-burn (at least until the latter part of the book), at no point did I feel bored with it. When there wasn't action, there was politics, or scheming, or a damn decent bit of character building. None of it felt like filler. Every word felt worthy of being written.

And naturally, I feel this wouldn't be an Anna Stephens book without a juicy torture scene. Not quite a long or detailed as some of her past works, but I believe peeling off someone's face and wearing while they're still alive definitely counts as a juicy torture scene.

Setting

Fascinating world-building based on the Aztec tribes of Mesoamerica. I've never read a fantasy world like this before and it was refreshingly different. I love when authors aren't afraid to explore further that basic 'European' fantasy. Whenever I come across fresh inspiration that I know little about, it encourages me to google the influences and learn more about it.

There's a steep learning curve to this world. No exposition or hand-holding. Just thrown head-first into a new world with lots of new terminology to learn. But the lack of info-dumps feels more natural.

Also set in a queer-normative world. It's wonderful to see two male characters married to each other and no one cares cause it's just normal. I never understand why homophobia exists in fantasy books. If you can create a world any way you want, why give it the absolute worst qualities of our own? Seeing a fantasy world that doesn't share our own world's intolerances is a breath of fresh air.

Basically, the world in this book it fantastically realised.

Writing Style

The chapters are much longer than in Godblind. Though normally I prefer short chapters, I think longer chapters work better with multiple pov characters. We have more time to connect with each character before moving on and exploring another. Through this style, I’d already felt invested in Lilla and Tayan by chapter six.

Final Impression

So different to other fantasy books I've read.

Such a strong start to this new series. Will definitely be reading the next instalment.