I really wanted to like this more than I did. It has some unique ideas ,like a dark fantasy with a musical angle, and a style that clearly aims to be bold and different, but this one just didn’t click with me. The pacing felt uneven, and the tone was hard to get into. I had a hard time connecting with the characters.
I appreciate books that try something new, There were moments of cool imagery, and I can see how it might appeal to readers who enjoy surreal, genre-blending stories. but in this case, the mix of elements didn’t quite come together in a way that held my interest. I found myself more frustrated than engaged.
Probably better suited for readers who are really into experimental dark fantasy—but not my kind of read.
Rating: 2.25/5

A young girl named Erzelle plays the harp beautifully while waiting to die a horrible death upon a ship where her parents also met their ends; the chef of the ship feeds using the flesh of people to his patrons, and Erzelle expects to be a meal herself. Until the flutist named Olyssa arrives and they both bring new music and new power. Their main goal now is to save Olyssa’s sister who became a wicked witch from herself.

This book is full of vibrant and deep characters with lots of twists and turns to the plot. It is full of adventure that consists of fox people, flying horses, ghouls and more.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

I want to start this off by saying the new cover is absolutely GORGEOUS! It was part of the selling point of me wanting to read this book. Aside from that, I loved the promise of a postapocalyptic world filled with such gruesome horror and fantasy elements.

The intro to the book on the Red Empress was intriguing, action packed, and filled with bits of dark horror elements. The eliteness of the ship to the promise of ghoul meat, and beautifully music crafted a nerve-racking and intense place. We learn early on Erzelle's parents have been murdered and turned into ghouls, which is what the ship specializes in cooking. After learning all this I figured I was in for a great story.

As the story progressed, I found myself dragging through it after they left the Red Empress nearly to the end of the book. There were multiple points where I wanted to stop reading, but felt I had already invested so much time into the book. I ended up finishing it though perhaps I should have put it down sooner. It struggled to keep my interest and I felt there was a lack of details. I was being told what was happening rather than diving into the details of how it was happening, how it made characters feel, and drawing the emotions of the characters on longer to make me truly feel for them.

Though this isn't my favorite book there were pieces of it I did enjoy! The idea of magic being brought through a musical instrument was an interesting and fun concept that was prevalent throughout the entire book. When we got two more characters added to our group they were a breath of fresh air. I especially enjoyed Reneer who was written in a sarcastic yet caring way that made me smile. The more gory parts of the book were written really well and there were a select few scenes I found myself devouring!

"Those assembling in the room would enjoy her desperate lullaby to herself, the same way ticks enjoyed warm blood."

Such an interesting story. I had a great time being immersed into this world and going along with all the different paths this book had to offer.

I have to DNF this one unfortunately, I am finding the writing style not to be to my tastes and think it could have had a little bit more editing done.

DNF at 35%

I just couldn't get into this one. Although, if you like horror and gore, this is definitely for you.

I liked the premise of magic through music. That was pretty cool. Being able to control ghouls and similar undead through the playing of pipe and harp and the music harnessed there was a great concept.

However, I just couldn't get past the very descriptive nature of the writing. It was a bit full on, especially the opening scenes. I pushed forward, but I just couldn't get through it, unfortunately.

Not quite my normal read. More sci-fi than fantasy. Zombies. Ghouls. On a mission to find a missing person. Only 180 pages so a short read.

I think this book is fine for a YA audience. I will be DNF for lack of interest in the story. I think the writing is maybe a little too short and rushed at the beginning not really giving me much of a relationship with the characters.

The Black Fire Concerto is an intense, gory-filled nightmare that is relentless in its pace right up until the final pages.

The blurb promised horror and gore and it definitely delivered on that front. The world of The Black Fire Concerto is a dark, post-apocalyptic landscape and as a reader you fear for its main characters every step of the way. The cast of characters were great, especially Reneer as the sarcastic comic relief when things seemed dire. The world-building is interesting, and it's clear that Mike Allen put a lot of thought and work into it, especially when coming up with the macabre 'monsters' and contraptions that litter the story.

I did find the constant descriptive gore to be just a tad too much, to the point where it was taking away from everything else that was happening and lost itself by being overly descriptive.

Recommended for anyone looking for a fast-paced, gruesome, quick read.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley*

🎶🖤💀The Black Fire Concerto💀🖤🎶

*****Read as an ARC*****

3.25⭐️


The Black Fire Concerto was a macabre, experiential story of  an unforgiving nightmare world. The horrific imagery Allen spills across the page paints a vividly gruesome picture consistently and thoroughly, immersing the reader into each haunting scene. You follow a young musician,  Erzelle, and Olyssa, a formidable warrior, as they journey through this ravaged world to find Olyssa's sister. 


The entire book reads like running through a waking nightmare, feeling surreal but also disordered. Depending on how you approach the story, this is either engaging and immersive or wildly disconcerting and inconsistent.


Pros:

The imagery of the story is insane - Allen does an incredible job painting every gruesome scene in tantalizingly terrifying detail. I can smell the rotting flesh, hear the piercing screeches, and vividly imagine the peeling flesh sloughing from the ghouls. 

- Interesting and unique magic system in a post-apocalyptic nightmare world


Could be Pro or Con, depending on your taste:

This is a dark, body horror, nightmare fantasy. There's dark magic, cannibalism, cultists, heavy violence, and gore.

Allen tells the story in a way that truly feels like a dream. But you know how crazy things happen in your dreams that make total sense in the trenches of the dream itself, but when you wake up and think back on it, it seems disjointed and doesn't really make sense? This book kind of gave me the same feelings. In that sense, if it's thought about as an intentional choice to immerse the reader in this unrelenting nightmare, then *bravo* because it really felt so much like a dream. However, if you just approach it as a story, I felt the scenes and character choices oftentimes don't flow well or correlate with the established lore (more below)


Cons:

- I felt there wasn't enough character establishment/development. The plot/world is beautifully laid out, but at the expense of the characters who feel more like props than integral parts of the story until over halfway through the book.

- the characters sometimes just... do things. Sometimes their actions make sense to the story, but how the character arrived at that action is not nearly fleshed out enough (yes, that's a pun) to make sense based on what we know of the character. 

-  Pacing is just a little off - jumping around too quickly without enough explanation


Personal note/preference:

I believe Erzelle was too young. While primarily a preference (because it makes me sick to think of a child going through everything she experiences), I also believe her mindset/processing was not in line with that of a twelve-year-old girl.


Overall, if you enjoy lyrical horror and mostly appreciate detailed imagery/world building, I'd absolutely suggest giving this a try! But if you're a reader mostly focused on characters or cohesive storytelling, I'd challenge you to reframe the story into that of a nightmare retelling, or this may not be the book for you 💀🖤🎶

The Black Fire Concerto by Mike Allen is such a good book. I couldn't stop reading this book for a bit... the storyline was immaculate, the characters were perfect! I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can.