From the moment the first settler dug a well and struck a lode of shine, the world changed. Now, everything revolves around that magical oil. What began as a simple scouting expedition becomes a life-changing ordeal for Arlen Esco. The son of a powerful mogul, Arlen is kidnapped and forced to confront uncomfortable truths his father has kept hidden. In his hands lies a decision that will determine the fate of everyone he loves—and impact the lives of every person in Shine Territory.
The daughter of an infamous saboteur and outlaw, Cassandra has her own dangerous secrets to protect. When the lives of those she loves are threatened, she realizes that she is uniquely placed to change the balance of power in Shine Territory once and for all. Secrets breed more secrets. Somehow, Arlen and Cassandra must find their own truths in the middle of a garden of lies.
Review
“There are good people in this world, silent and stalwart, practicing quiet acts of bravery each and every day.”
OF HONEY AND WILDFIRES by Sarah Chorn is one of my favorite books of 2020. I was already a fan of Sarah Chorn due to all of her fantastic reviews on the Bookworm Blues site but wasn’t sure how that would translate to actual novel writing. I’d enjoyed reading SERAPHINA’S LAMENT but knew some fans had mixed feelings on it. Revisiting it in 2026 only enhanced my enjoyment as a pro-LGBTAQ steampunk fantasy.
So I was interested in what she was going to do with her second novel in the somewhat underdeveloped genre of steampunk. I’m pleased to say the results are more than could be expected and put it as a must read for those seeking new indie fantasy.
The setting is the aptly-named Frontier. Here, the magical substance known as Shine is pulled from the ground and is the most valuable substance in the Union. The Shine is monopolized by the Shine Corporation, though, and they use draconian measures to keep the mining population under thumb. Being from Appalachia, this put me in mind of the company towns and brutal tactics that helped inspire the West Virginia Coal Wars (1912-21).
The stars of this book are Cassandra and Arlen who are the two different perspectives of the Frontier. Cassandra is a wild girl, part native, and raised by her aunts after being dropped off by her wanted outlaw of a father as an infant. Arlen, by contrast, is the son of the Shine Corporation’s owner and raised in the lap of luxury. However, he derives no pleasure from the act of helping his father gain even more power and money.
I liked how Sarah Chorn understands a lot of the subtle tricks the corporation has used to maintain its power. Cassandra’s father is villified for the fact that he accidentally killed a fellow worker during his attempt to sabotage some of the machines that have the people enslaved. This is constantly run in the company-controlled papers and used to paint him as a monster while many more people are regularly killed by the local law enforcement for getting in the way of productivity.
Sarah Chorn is a master of subtle description and world-building. The Frontier is a fascinating location full of nuance and complicated issues that are, nevertheless, easy to understand due to their presentation. We understand why the people of the Frontier debase themselves for the Shine Company despite the fact that they are little more than its wage slaves. We also see how the society has developed in the wake of being a one-product economy.
I have to give credit for the author for also addressing LGBATQ issues in the book as well. I won’t spoil what characters fit where but I felt their storylines touched upon matters in a sweet and interesting way. Loneliness and being true to oneself are both themes within the book and watching the two characters come to terms with both provides much of the book’s heart. There’s both lesbian as well as trans representation in a setting that doesn’t traditionally have them and I think both are handled well.
I think my favorite part of the book is the fact that it doesn’t try to be more than it is. It is a small family-orientated story that deals with the oppressive local government as well as the greed that drives it. There’s no actual evil overlord, despite the antagonism of the Shine Company’s boss, and there’s no great rebellion against him either. Instead, it ends on an emotional level and I think that it is all the better for it. As pro-worker as I am, getting the people motivated to rise up is almost impossible for our outcast heroes who are as much isolated for their acknowledgement of the company’s evil as their sexuality.
In conclusion, I strongly recommend this book and think fans of steampunk and alternative fantasy will enjoy it a great deal. While I would say it feels more East Coast mountain region than Western, I feel it does really establish its own identity. It is also an indie book that really could only have been self-published due to how much it strays from traditional publishing ideas about how fantasy should be.