The Soul of Chaos isn't a bad book, in fact there are great lines such as "Unauthorized my left testicle!", I just didn't personally gel with it (the book I mean, that line is great). I would say give the book a shot though since a lot of people seem to have enjoyed it.

I found the start of the book to be incredibly confusing, and maybe I'm the problem and wasn't paying attention (I do do that), but I still can't quite figure out what the fuck a 'rune' exactly is. This book really likes to just through you into it and not explain anything, which some people may enjoy, but it just lead to confusion and not the most great experience for me.

Other than that, there are a decent amount of characters introduced and I was doing okay keeping up with all of it until one point. I hadn't read a Rurik chapter since the day before and finally got to his POV and then for the life of me I could not remember who one of the characters was and I had to go and search his name to figure out who he was again.

My main issue is one that's kind of hard to explain, but I'll try. Things in this book just sort of happen, nothing is established to the reader about the world/the world's systems/characters. This leads to everything feeling like it just spawns out of nowhere. This character I've never heard of before randomly shows up and is evil and is tutoring the MC, ya okay I guess. Would've been nice to at least of heard of them before though. The MC has magic ring that can do things that help them repeatedly, I mean ya why not? I was never told what the limits of this world are, so I guess it makes sense. There are a lot more examples (but I don't want to spoil things), in fact pretty much everything that happens in this book I felt like this about. Just like, oh okay, never heard of that before but sure! I wish some details about the general world or people were fleshed out a bit more, or even just established to any degree at all.

Anyways, some combination of these factors made me lack the desire to keep reading. I DNF'd at 58%, and although this book doesn't do anything egregious and I could have finished (and have finished worse books), I just didn't have any motivation to keep reading and didn't want to force myself. All that negative jazz aside, there was one thing I really appreciated..

Often I'm hesitant to read books similar to The Soul of Chaos because they so frequently follow some path of fantasy = medieval style = sexist + homophobic, but I'm really happy to say that this author did not do that! I actually really loved this so much, maybe it's a small and irrelevant detail to some, but to me it really mattered. I love that Arkalis gets to be just Arkalis.

My other positive actually has nothing to do with the writing, but I just want to say I really like the art on the cover. Whoever drew it is very cool.

Thus concludes my probably too long review, all to say: I didn't love it, but maybe someone else would. I want to emphasize that The Soul of Chaos is not a bad book and the author seems like a great guy. I think there are sequels planned, so although I probably won't be reading them, I wish the author the best of luck.

One thousand years ago, a cataclysmic event wiped out most of civilization. Although some information and technology endured, the most advanced knowledge has been lost to time. The story begins in the ruins of an ancient city, where those condemned or in need of money try to dig through its walls while avoiding magical traps. Rurik, while of royal blood, is one of those condemned and responsible for one of the breaker groups. The discovery he makes is not only going to change his life but also the fate of the whole continent.

This epic fantasy was way more than I expected it to be. Every time I thought, OK I get where we are going, it surprised me with something new. Not only does it shift in the stakes and focus as we discover the secrets of the world alongside our main character, but it also changes in the vibes - going from historical fantasy to more sci-fi fantasy or even delving into a touch of horror fantasy.

It's the type of story where you get thrown into the deep end, trying to process all the specks of lore given. I may have missed some bits that will only click on a second re-read.

The story begins with two POVs but eventually introduces many others. Rurik is a character with a lot of baggage and one who always feels responsible for others' well-being and never hesitates to jump in for a rescue. He is the leader of a small group of breakers, which includes characters from a variety of countries and cultures. Each character has their own voice and manners, making them easily distinguishable. Our second main character is his sister. As a new heir, she has to deal with the political mess her brother left behind, and she is definitely not happy with having any responsibilities. She would rather drown herself in an alcohol haze, if only to stop the dark whispers in her head. While I enjoyed all the characters and their POVs, Luc was probably the most interesting one. His unique ability gave his storyline a very different feeling.

I also greatly enjoyed the magic system. Basically, it's a bit hard to separate what is magic and what is technology. Therein comes the sci-fi element.

I can't really talk much more about the book, as I feel it's very easy to spoil the experience. Let me just talk a bit about some negatives.

In the beginning, I had some issues with the prose. It wasn't bad, but its peculiar style made it a bit challenging to read. Eventually, though, I got used to it and didn't find it bothersome anymore. Another thing I noticed in the beginning was some difficulty with descriptions. I had a hard time imagining the layout of the ruins, as well as following some fight scenes.

Something that wasn't as bothersome to me but might be more for those reading a physical copy were passages of text in French and Latin. Instead of using a made-up language, the author chose these languages to represent some foreign characters who don't speak the local language. While I found it interesting and fitting, it might become a bit tedious for readers to translate the passages when not reading a digital copy.

Lastly, there's the ending of the book. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It might be a personal thing, and I can't discuss it here, obviously, but it's likely the reason I couldn't give this book a 5-star rating. I am still definitely looking toward the sequel, but I am just not sure what to expect. Again. It might very well change my feelings toward the ending one way or the other.

I received an ARC for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

It was a rocky start, jumping right in with power play/conspiracy against one royal scion while switching up to her sibling just trying to survive his exile into some sort of mine. There was obviously a lot of depth to the world building; however, a lot of it remains hidden in the choppy prose and it took me way too long to catchup, so a few more details for each scenario would have been appreciated. Still, it turned into a fairly interesting adventure … with Kali soon spending most of her arc trying to avoid discover candor capture and Rurik taking his crew of “breakers” into the fray from the other side. I still don’t have a clear idea what a breaker is outside of some sort of miner teaching for magical detritus in the bones of a once great magical civilization (in that respect, it is sort of a dystopian story). I didn’t particular care for the MC introductions, but they grew on my toward the end. Each MC has something special to contribute and the slow reveal was well done and helped make the story work … especially toward the end, when it pace picks up dramatically to stick the landing.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#TheSoulOfChaos #NetGalley #KindleUnlimited

Reading this can feel confusing and it did take me time to get into it. Once I did, though, I found the relationships and story intriguing and vaguely reminded me of Kings of the Wyld, just with different vibes to it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Black Rose Writing, & to Gregory Wunderlin for this ARC of The Soul of Chaos! I really enjoyed this book! I believe this is a debut novel, but if that makes you nervous let me assuage any concerns. This is a well crafted fantasy adventure that I definitely recommend! I didn't want to put this book down, especially the more I got into the story.

Sometimes authors struggle to explain the worlds & characters they've created and it creates a confusing story. Other times authors barely seem to try in hopes that readers won't experience that potential confusion, leaving their stories lacking. I didn't find either to be the case here at all! There is a perfect balance between the two that Gregory Wunderlin seems to have found. He's created a world that is rich enough to fully immerse yourself in and he did a great job introducing it to readers. It helps bring the actual plot of the book and the characters who exist in this world to life! That's my opinion, and to be fair I do have a good head for keeping names and places straight. Still, I will say for my part I was really impressed and I really appreciate the talent and effort that went into doing this.

The Soul of Chaos did a good job with characters as well, which is a really important aspect of any book. Rurik and his sister Kali are really strong main characters. I loved Kali right away. I found myself really invested in her story! Luc is someone else who really grew on me! Overall, I think there's a pretty solid group of characters that everyone will find someone they connect to!

This was a fun experience for me! I feel like this book was different from other fantasy books I've read in a really original way. If you read the description and you think you might be interested, I promise you that you definitely are. This is a good choice for high fantasy fans, especially if you're looking for an original captivating tale! I'm looking forward to more books both in this Litanies of the Lost Star series, and just by Gregory Wunderlin in general!

This debut novel somehow manages to get everything right from the first paragraph until the end of the adventure. It is a compelling and engaging piece of fantasy that grips you immediately and refuses to let go.

Balancing the story between two primary points of view, I found myself trying to read faster to see what would happen next. I was unwilling to accept the last sentence was truly the end. I wanted to keep turning the page for more from this impressive new voice.

I also appreciated a fantasy novel that treats the reader like an adult and refuses to dummy down the story. It is not a difficult read; quite the contrary. It provides more than enough context and description to stay fully immersed while maintaining the rich language that sticks with you after you put it down.

Wherever this author has been hiding, it is time to take center stage and produce more follow ups (plural) to this simply elegant bit of world building. You have us hooked - please don't leave us on the line too long.

**Thank you NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!**
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 24 October 2023

3 out of 5 stars.

You know when there’s books written for certain audiences? I don’t think I was the target audience for this one. I dove too deep into a fantasy section instead of wading, and I ended up here with ‘The Soul of Chaos’. It was so different than the fantasy style I normally read (granted I’ve been more in the YA/NA area but I’ve been slowly reaching out recently like with ‘The Sun and The Void’ but I digress) and I think that was the start to why I couldn’t really click with this read.

The writing style was 50/50 for me. I loved it in some scenes like the more action ones, but other times I didn’t vibe with it. It’s not my favorite overall. I don’t think there’s a set time period it’s supposed to be in, but the setting and the speaking kind of clash to me- but that’s just a personal dislike. It may work for others, it may not.
The characters were… there for sure. I was worried that with the way Arkalis was being written, she’d turn out to be another Lou from ‘Serpent and Dove’ which luckily she began to change more. I agree with another reviewer that I disliked the way she was sexualized immediately and a little often in her chapters. I really liked her character though, and wish she wouldn’t have fallen in that typical trope for women in fantasy. Rurik was also a bit blander for me. I think his chapters were just moving a little slower and introducing a whole lot more of the world than Arkalis’s. There was a character in his little ragtag group too that I have a bone to pick with- Feral. There isnt a skin tone mentioned for her that I can remember, but she’s mentioned to have ‘elegant dreadlocks’, has more broken speech compared to the others, and is a character that like- other characters aren’t fond of being ‘manhandled’ and talked down on by. I’m not sure if this character is meant to be poc, but the dreadlocks threw me off (as a hairstyle most common in the black community and having origin ties in Africa) paired with the way she’s written- it gave me the ick. The word ‘savage’ is also used way too much for her character for my liking (as mentioned in my ‘Savage Beasts’ review, I have no voice on the usage of this word as I’m not in the community it affects, but those who deserve the platform to speak on it have stated their views already).
There’s also this torture scene that I dunno, I didn’t like it. Again, I’m not entirely used to this end of the pool though so maybe it just caught me by surprise?

I DNF’d this read at 57% in the end and leave it at 3 stars for being a very neutral read for me. I fell out of the desire to read it- just don’t know if it was because I entered a slump, because I just wasn’t used to this writing style and fantasy setting, or just didn’t like the things that happened in the story. Maybe it was a little mix of everything. I wanted to like it though! Arkalis was growing on me and I wanted the story to unravel somehow. I got a little confused with where everything was going though, what was happening and what everything is. I thought maybe it’s connected to another already-established setting and magic system that I didn’t know of, but there wasn’t really a clear and understandable path IMO. Again, though, this may be a story that works for some people and doesn’t work for others. I’m on the latter half of that statement- it just didn’t work too well for me.

The writer does an amazing job gripping you into the world and story of its characters right from the start. You can't wait to see what happens next and how things will go from page to page. There is a playful balance of action, comedy, and suspense that teases you further and further into their story.

A great read for anyone looking to get into fantasy or is already a lover of the genre. I hope to see the next book before too long so I can continue the adventure with these captivating characters.

Thanks Gregory & Netgalle for the opportunity to review this book.

A riveting and twistly plot fantasy, unique and captivating at the same time!

I love the characters including the interesting Rurik and the underground adventures.

would definitely like to see more ...

A brilliant debut novel from a new high fantasy authour I'm genuinely excited to see more of. Taking point of views from mainly two characters, Rurik and Kali are struggling with two very different problems that culminate with a miasma of events and excitement I cannot truly put into words. I very rarely seek out fantasy books, especially the high fantasy genre, but I'm glad I did. This authour has a very unique style to his writing and it captivated me entirely. I think I could read just about anything from them. They're incredibly descriptive without giving me exposition for days. I'm tired of being treated as stupid when viewing things as an audience, whether in movies or books. I WANT to learn things when I'm reading, even if it's just a new word. But it also didn't feel preachy or inaccessible or even bogged down by lore dropping (but I did love the tidbits at the beginnings of the chapters that gave me some if I wanted). Did I get smarter reading this while on a wild ride filled with magic and swords?? I got an entirely original world that didn't just mimic the greats *cough* Tolkien *cough* and got characters that were dynamic, complicated, and wholly themselves. Luc is a standout favourite of mine and Arkalis as a main character was just refreshing. She wasn't put through the male lense at all and was allowed to be who she is without fitting into a Mary Sue box or being overtly aggravating. I really hope there's more to come and he expands on Luc and gives me even more Kali. There are a slew of characters to pick from to relate to and even the ones I'm not particularly attached to, I was still intrigued and ready for more of their storylines. I'm pleasantly surprised by this debut and will keep an eye out for more.

I’m giving this a 4 but it’s more of a 3.5 and i’m just rounding up.

I would like to point out that I’ve never been great at names, if I’m introduced to too many people too quickly, I get really confused - this was no exception. It took me about 60% of the book to figure out who was who, if they were important to the storyline for Kali or Rik, and if they were worth remembering at all.

Following this, it took about this far into the book to figure out what was going on. I understood the basics of it but the whole drive of the story was lost on me until I fully understood who was who and what was going on. Because of this, I found this book very difficult to read for long periods of time which definitely did not help. I could only read this for about 30-40 minutes without losing interest, and honestly, I’m surprised I didn’t DNF this.

It isn’t all bad though and I am glad I finished it because once it really got into it, I did start to enjoy it. The basics of the storyline with the runes and the magic I found extremely fascinating and I like how the book is left with an open ending making you want more. I just wish it didn’t take me so long into it to start enjoying it. I would advise everyone to just keep going, it may be a bit of a slow burner at the start but it does pick up.


Honourable mention to the quote ‘Where in the mother’s tits are you?’ which made me laugh out loud. I also really loved the chapter towards the back end of the book which was a letter from Ilya. It was short but also beautifully written.

Thanks for accepting my request to read this book :-)

This was good and more enjoyable than I thought it would be. It's quite an insular story but I mean that in the best way possible.

Exiled from his home and his noble heritage in disgrace, Rurik toils in the mines of an ancient, underground ruin as foreman to a group of prisoners, cutthroats, and dregs of society forced into indentured servitude

Excellent fantasy, I can't wait for more.

I enjoyed this more than I expected. The characters are so engaging and intriguing! The plot kept me turning pages, and I will read the next books...I'm hooked.