The Life Siphon

This caught my eye and made me reach for the request button on NetGalley. It is my first book by Kathryn Sommerlot and I was really enchanted by everything about it. I found it very compelling which is what kept me flipping the pages late into the night and into the early morning!

The Life Siphon is well written, features great characters and is dramatic in parts. The characters were rather unlikeable and there were times I called into question their motives. Despite this I still connected with them and enjoyed their journeys - I often appreciate the unlikable characters in a novel more than likeable ones as they can often be more intriguing and make you think about their motives and morals.

There is also plenty of action throughout the book which is what keeps the book moving at a decent pace and there are plenty of twists in store. It manages successfully to be pretty detailed but not to bog down the narrative which unfortunately spoils a great deal of books. Another aspect I enjoyed was the fact that the story isn't just a straighforward fantasy novel but part mystery too - and as it is one of my favourite genres I loved that it was a mixture of different genres all of which I read regularly.

This was a fairly quick read and the story sucked me in from the first chapter and continued to be engaging for me until the end. My only criticism would be that it may benefit from a tighter plot achieved by some more editing as there were some pages where some of the descriptions went a little overboard. If this could be remedied I feel it would increase the readers enjoyment. I would've awarded 5 stars but for this issue.

It is the first novel in a duology, I will be looking out for the sequel and in the meantime I have a copy of Sommerlot's lastest book, another fantasy novel - Ibuki - due out on the 29th January 2018 - I hope I'll love it as much as The Life Siphon.

I would like to thank Kathryn Sommerlot, Amazon Direct Services and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

The Life Siphon follows Tatsu from his lone existence living in his deceased father’s cabin in the woods through a journey across neighboring countries to stop a terrible force from taking over and killing the world around him. What he learns on that journey about himself, his history, and the kingdoms he hails from, forces him to come to terms with a life he never knew but one haunts him every day.

There are so many unique elements to this book that I think deserve attention, but I don’t want to give away too much. I’m going to choose some of my favorites, and the rest you guys have to discover for yourselves.

First and foremost, the magic. HOLY CRAP, Y’ALL. It starts out simply, something we’ve all read before – not everyone is gifted, there are different types of mages, and each kingdom utilizes each power differently to suit their needs. Basic, right? WRONG. Though I’m not going to tell what the siphon ends up being or how it’s powered, it’s so much bigger than that. The reader is lead to believe that the highest form of mage holds enough power to manipulate organisms as complex as human beings, when in reality, the highest form is not even defined in this first book. I would have to say that is the thing I’m most excited to find out going into the duology.

Second, personal relationships take a backburner in this book. There is a secondary character, Alesh, and she clearly has a history with Tatsu. We don’t find out until the very end, though it is alluded to, what their relationship is. They were both arrested, they were offered the same deal for their freedom, and though their motivations for following through are vastly different, they are in it to be free. Not spend time together, not to hint at what could be, not to make gooey eyes at each other when there are battles to be fought – they are on a mission, and they are going to complete it. It was so refreshing for an author not to take a five break to have their main characters throw down in the middle of an otherwise tense and dangerous situation.

And third. The thing that is hardest for me to put into words, but something I think is important. Tatsu is a deeply unlikable character. He is a loner, he has no patience for other people, he has been outcast his entire life, and he has shockingly little sympathy for Alesh despite the fact that she, and her sister, Ral, seem to be the only people he knows or cares about. All of that being said, he is magnificent. Throughout the course of this book, he goes from being a lone hunter to a convicted criminal to a glorified pack mule to a daring hero, and he takes it all in stride. And as he does, the reader is shown how much he cares for everyone in his circle, whether or not he’s good at showing it. He would die for them, and he wants their freedom and safety for them as much as he wants his own. I think that’s admirable, and I like that he was written as someone the reader needed to learn to love instead of someone the reader was told should be loved because he was OH MY GOD SO AWESOME.

The final item, or rather final person, I would like to mention is Ral. She is Alesh’s younger sister, and she is sick. Or at least that’s what we’re told. She was not arrested when Tatsu and Alesh were, so she was not offered a bargain for her freedom, but somehow, she’s everywhere. Ral is a mysterious form of other that’s not explained in this first book. All I know is that she is so much more than what we’ve been lead to believe. She appears when need. She has an uncanny ability to sense what’s troubling you. She gives advice despite barely being able to speak. And she has an uncanny ability to sense anything and everything happening around her. If magic is the thing I’m most excited to find more out about, Ral is a very, VERY close second. If the role she plays in this world ends up being smaller than I think it will, I accept that, but I hope we find out what it is that’s made her into the woman we meet reading this book.

Rating this one was tough. You might not think so given all the gushing I’ve done about it, but I promise it was. Conceptually, I adored it. I had never read anything like it, and I doubt I will in the future. But it was lacking something, too. It moved so quickly. It’s rare that I think a series needs to be made longer, but I think this story might be better served as a trilogy instead of a duology. Once Tatsu started his journey, there was no stopping or exposition or change of pace. He, and consequently the reader, were just GOING from that point forward. That being said, it was published via Kindle Direct Publishing, and for something self-published, I think it’s amazing. Even if it wasn’t, I’d say it was well above average. Originally, I gave it a solid 3.5 stars on Goodreads, but I think I’m going to bump it to a 4. The more time I spend mulling it over, the more I realize how nuanced and original it was, and I think that trumps a lot of my complaints.

I hope you guys check this one out. It’s only $2.99 on Kindle, and I would be willing to pay full price for it. The sequel comes out this spring, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for it. As of this posting, I can’t find the title or release date information on the author’s website, but the title and cover reveal are slated for this Thursday, February 1!

I was given access to this ebook by NetGalley and Kindle Direct Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

The magic in this book was acutely detailed. I adored the lead for not being inherently a goody two shoes He has a tough time showing how much he cares for others but in the end would die for the few people he allows himself to trust. I am looking forward to the sequel