“The Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS, pronounced “sphinx”) is a yearly competition to recognize, honor, and celebrate the talent and creativity present in the indie community. We are a sister competition to both SPFBO and SPSFC, and we highlight greatness in the novella format in all areas of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc.).” – From the official SFINCS website.
Note: The following review contains only my personal thoughts as a judge and does not reflect the views of the team as a whole. No finalists will be announced until Team Bookend Elves has read all of our books!
REVIEW
Meticulously edited and with prose that’s accessible, unpretentious, and extremely polished, Call of the Huntress marks Jessica A. McMinn as one to watch if you love adventure fantasy that isn’t too dark and has a little of a videogame or TTRPG feel to its plotting. An accompaniment to McMinn’s main fantasy series, Gardens of War and Wasteland, CotH will especially appeal to fans of the main books who are eager to see more of its protagonist, Princess Amikharlia. Although there’s no formal quest involved, CotH has the feel of a classic fantasy quest story, combined with a coming-of-age narrative that feels suited both to adults and younger audiences.
McMinn keeps the plot tight and straightforward, which works for a novella-length story. Amika is young, vivacious, and feels eager to prove herself. On her adventures (during which she’s started waiting tables!) she learns of a dangerous monster being hunted nearby, and against the advice of her boss, Lomi, decides to follow the man in charge of dispatching it. When the hunter is unable to overcome the monster alone, Amika steps in to help and defeats it alongside him, proving both to herself and Lomi that she’s no wilting flower.
I watch an embarrassing number of competition reality shows, and a positive critique that’s often showered on performers (full transparency: 
I’m talking about Ru Paul’s Drag Race) is that as the audience, the judges felt at ease watching a performance. The knowledge that you’re in good hands, that you don’t have to be anxious that an author is going to stumble, prose-wise, as the story continues, is something that’s often achieved through very careful and repeated editing. Through no fault of our own as indies, we often lack the budget for the level of repeated editing that traditionally published authors have access to (though, increasingly, that’s changing as well). As a consequence, that feeling of safety is quite rare. For me, McMinn’s prose created that wonderful feeling of being in good hands. On top of the editorial strength, (and I praise this ability a lot in my positive reviews), McMinn really understands how important it is not to let the writing get in its own way, or in the way of character and story. There’s a quiet confidence here that’s worth noting, and paying attention to.
I alluded to it in my opening summary, but CotH strongly reminded me of a videogame quest. Specifically, it felt comfy in the way that the opening few missions in an RPG often feel, featuring a likeable set of characters with familial closeness and relatively local problems that are resolved as part of learning one’s way around the controls (or, in this case, worldbuilding). For some readers, this will no doubt be a huge positive, while for others, it may prove a turn-off. I’ll confess that, although I was very impressed by McMinn’s writing, and would love to see what she does in her main series, the plot and character work here was just a little simple for me. I don’t see this as a negative from an objective standpoint, since, as mentioned above, novellas are often best when they focus on one or two things, but I did find myself yearning somewhat for just a bit more.
It’s a double-edged sword, I suspect, that I haven’t yet had the pleasure to read McMinn’s main series. On the one hand, if I had read The Ruptured Sky, I imagine there would have been plenty of fun Easter eggs, along with rich character detailing, that I would have picked up on and would have added the layer of substance I look for from a favourite read. On the other, I do think I was better able to critically evaluate CotH as a story that stands alone, as a consequence of not having that additional attachment to (or set of expectations of) the story. While McMinn does a good job steering clear of too much unnecessary detail that would prohibit newcomers to her work from following Amika’s story, my suspicion is that CotH will find its most ardent fans among people already attached to Amika and her world.
Given the high quality of McMinn’s writing, I have no qualms recommending it to fans of adventure fantasy, plucky heroines, and games like Dragon Age, Final Fantasy, and Dungeons and Dragons. In fact, I’ve already recommended it to more than a few friends, and I’m excited to try The Ruptured Sky and perhaps revisit this one once I’m better acquainted with the characters.
Buy Call of the Huntress on Amazon.
Add Call of the Huntress on Goodreads.
