“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 cuts or semi-finalists will be announced until Team Bookend Elves has read all of our books!
REVIEW
The Amber Isle is a fantasy romp with a high degree of polish that boasts smooth prose and a story that’s easy to follow. The first entry in a series, it promises a lot of fun for fans of adventure fantasy in particular, and reminded me of the pulp fantasy and sword and sorcery classics, but with a modern flair.
I was very impressed by the writing in this one. The Amber Isle could easily be a traditionally published novella, with its clear and consistent tone and well-edited prose. There’s also a strong committment to style and genre–Never’s adventures felt to me as though they’d leapt straight out of a classic swashbuckling adventure story, and given the heavy dose of action throughout I could easily imagine The Amber Isle making the leap to the screen as a blockbuster in the vein of Pirates of the Carribbean (but in a secondary fantasy world). There’s a density to the writing that perfectly suits its subgenre and does a lot to create what I’d call in places a nearly-Gothic sense of atmosphere.
Never himself is an intriguing, if opaque, character. There’s a degree to which the narrative necessitates that Never remain obscure (he is, after all, struggling to uncover his true identity), yet I did also feel at times as though he was privvy to more than the reader in a way that made it hard at times to connect with him. Although Never’s characterization–he comes off as nimble, clever, and ultimately a good sort–is very clear in certain ways, there’s a degree to which the audience needs to be satisfied with both he and his role as somewhat archetypal. This certainly suits the style of story and so isn’t something I would hold against The Amber Isle. The focus here is on plot, action, adventure, and atmosphere.
The Isle itself plays a huge role in the story, going beyond setting and becoming somewhat of a character in its own right. The puzzles, traps, and other barriers that face Never and his misfit companions each add to the sense of danger and mystery that the Amber Isle poses to those who brave its shores. As Never and co. traverse its ancient ruins and explore its wild areas, one can’t help but start to feel the Isle is its own living, breathing entity.
I do feel that, to keep the pace up, there could be (perhaps paradoxically) slightly less action throughout. Some of the hurdles the explorers faced could, at times, feel a little repetitive, not in terms of the events themselves but with regard to the types of scenes that make up the fabric of the book. I mentioned earlier that The Amber Isle is full of stuff; and occasionally I did find myself wishing there was just a tiny bit less stuff. Although overall I don’t think anyone will have trouble following the story, I did also want to see slightly more information given to the reader in terms of the little Never did already know about his history and background. Not only would this have grounded me in the world, but it would have allowed me to connect more deeply with the protagonist.
The Amber Isle is, however, one of the most professional books in my batch, and lest that seem like a rather cold and distant assessment, I’d like to also praise its charm and personality. I enjoyed my time with Never and my glimpse at the wonders the Amber Isle holds for all those who risk its dangers. This is a novella I could easily see being translated effectively to other media: comics, film, and especially video games. Despite being the first in a series, The Amber Isle also did a great job of providing a satisfying ending to this first part of Never’s story while teasing more fun to come.
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