Thank you so much, Rebellion Publishing, for allowing me to read Silk Fire early!

The premise of this book is terrific, the cover is fantastic, but the execution is, in my opinion, not that good. Every few chapters, I had to gather my thoughts. I believe this book could be excellent but needs extensive editing to make it more accessible to readers. Right now, it’s honestly a bit of a mess.

Silk Fire

I usually check a writer's background information before starting to read a book written by him, such as what other works he has written. Through a review, I discovered that this was the author's first attempt at fantasy, so I understood a few things. In a fantasy book with political involvement, it's normal that we don't understand what happens in the book at the beginning, but that lasted almost two hundred pages. The premise of the book is BRILLIANT and I would love to read it not only because of it but because the worldbuilding seemed amazing to me and the immersion in the story would be something fun for me, but it ended up not being. In Tahereh Mafi's dystopian saga Shatter Me, the protagonist has constant streams of thought and this makes the book fun to read and you can get nervous - in a positive way - to know when she's finally going to STOP, but in this book the protagonist just seems to be freaking out with several disconnected and empty thoughts and running in the same place and this is something that for me is unbearable in a book that has SO much universe potential. I think the leading role in this book should have been polished somehow, because the universe deserved better. I hope that there are future books and that they are not so confusing and that the protagonism is not as deep as a saucer. 2,5
Thankyou to netgalley for providing me with an
eArc.

In a deeply sexist matriarchal city, Koreshiza Brightstar is a courtesan of the War District who's hellbent on taking revenge for the injustices heaped on him by his scheming father. Both desired and abused as a 'bright' without the protection of a powerful spouse, Koré courts danger as he flings himself into the path of political strife, and is constantly one wrong move away from trouble. But beneath that, Koré harbours secret dreams of a life where he might be safe and loved, with a puppy and a partner (or maybe two...) When he wakes a sleeping god, he is imbued with an ancient power that puts him at even greater risk, but also might just offer him the freedom he has craved all his life - if he can prove himself worthy of it.

While the world is vast and impressive, and a huge amount of thought has clearly gone into developing the world and the history, Koré Brightstar carried this book for me. His voice captured me in the first chapter and never once let go. Koré is the disaster bisexual child of Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa who loses himself in spiralling thoughts of political machinations while he dissociates at work. I cannot express how much I needed him to be safe and protected. I love him and will not hear a single word against him. The journey he takes towards acknowledging the harm that has been done to him, and his tentative efforts to try healing himself and recovering moved me to tears at times. There are some beautifully vulnerable lines in the second half of the book, one of my favourites being: "I carry so many small cages within me. I'd grown used to them, until he pointed out the weight." All I could think of was the lines from Keats: 'Bright star, would I were as stedfast as thou art.' before I ended up in tears again.

Perhaps because Silk Fire is Adult Fantasy, I thought it did a far better job than many others at demonstrating the darkness of gender inequality through the subversion of our own patriarchal society and showing the consequences through the eyes of a character like Koré. Silk Fire goes places other books don't, and I have nothing but praise for the author for doing so. I would add a few content warnings including but not limited to: sexual assault; dissociation; sex work [consensual, dubious consent]; BDSM; rape threats; danger of rape; past abusive relationship; and generally the lingering trauma Koré deals with and the impact that has on him as explored in the narrative). Although nothing is graphic, I did find these themes impacted me emotionally while reading, but I am full of praise for the author for how they handled Koré's journey.

Reading Silk Fire clarified my personal view on what makes a true 5* read. I don't need absolutely everything to be perfect, I need an ambitious idea and an author with the courage to smash straight through it and shape it into something rich and alive. But above all else, I need a character who I can relate to, whose struggles and triumphs stay with me well past the final pages. WIth Koré and Silk Fire, Zabé Ellor gave me all that and more. It's only January and I think I've already found my favourite book of the year. As I've grown up, I've started fearing I would lose the joy of connecting so deeply to new stories and characters, but I'm genuinely grateful to the author for introducing me to a new all-time favourite character to welcome to my pantheon. I can't recommend Silk Fire highly enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free eARC of Silk Fire. I can't wait until my own physical copy arrives in July! These opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I’m gonna have to DNF this book. I love the author and I love the ideas presented. Silk fire is a massive ambitious piece of work and the first attempt at fantasy from this author. The story is big and expensive and incredibly creative. I think that with a little bit more polishing, it could be brilliant.

Silk Fire suffers from too much ambition without a strong Application. The first few chapters of the book are a massive info dump, with characters vaguely discussing the politics of the past and their frustrations with said politics. The info dumps are expansive and continuous, but they’re so vague that you don’t 100% understand what’s going on at any point. A good way to compare this is with Gideon the Ninth, A book famous for being very cool but incredibly confusing. Soak fire has the same confusing factor but it’s hard to match the coolness that is Gideon, which makes it a bit of a chore.

I loved every single idea presented here. I thought the world was Badass and the characters and the intricate politics have a lot of potential, but confusing a reader in the first 150 pages isn’t a good way to start a series. If there was a little bit more effort cleaning this up and slowly introducing the politics gracefully rather than shoehorning them into the front half of the book, I think that there would be potential for some greatness here. There is a chance that some folks who are smarter and better at reading than I will understand what is going on and truly love this book. I wish the author well as I love their Twitter account and think that their approach to storytelling on the conceptual level is awesome.

Silk Fire is a behemoth. This is an almost 900 page book based on the page number that my Kindall provided. Jumping into A book this large, just know what you’re getting in for. I would recommend it to readers you consider themselves advanced who are comfortable with working with info dump materials and do not mind it so much.

It hurts to say, but I decided to DNF this book at 12%. Five stars for the cover, though. The combination of turquoise and brown/orange is mesmerizing and beautifully fits the title. The cover is just pure silk and fire.

The first chapters don’t read like silk, though. They read like an all-consuming fire full of hysteria and distress. It’s unstoppable. Never a moment of peace, never a moment of silence. So many things that were happening, so many (difficult) names, so many words to read, so many times that I stopped reading because I was overwhelmed. I tried, I really did. It might be an it’s me, not you thing, I’m not sure. If you’re thinking of reading this book, please check out other reviews.

This read like a 16 year old wrote it, there was no true depth to anything that happened. It just felt like the writer wanted someone to pat them on the back and say how deep and interesting they were but it was all just the same as stories my friends wrote when we were kids! and the sex read like fan fiction, and not in a fun way.

The world building is so creative that it draws you in immediately. I loved the blend of magic and science and how beautifully written it is. I also appreciate the 4 pages of names, pronunciations and the breakdown of who owns the mega buildings at the start of the book, it allows you to flip back if you forget something but also helps you make the connections needed as the story goes on.

It's refreshing to read a plot based on a matriarchal city/society. That alongside dragons, Gods, magic, passion and love, what more could I ask for?

*I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review*

The cover for this book absolutely drew me in. I saw another review that described this as avatar but for adults and I think that's a brilliant description of this rich and incredible world inside this book! An episodic, romantic and beautiful queer adventure. I cannot wait to read more!

This was unlike anything i have read before! So much diversity, some much queerness, and so much of everything a fantasy reader like me loves. I think this should be pegged a little as an avatar the last airbender but for adults

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.