Goose Reads 2023! (Closed)

Week 43 - The White Thorns of Fire

Week Forty-Three - October 22nd - October 28th

Title: The White Thorns of Fire

Author: Exequinne

Genre: Fantasy

Number of Chapters: 12

Completed? Yes

Link (Added as an in-line comment):

Blurb:

Mersem Wess, a town boy in the wintery kingdom of Solon, is content with his life collecting timber and admiring Leara Madris, the darling Lady Knight, from afar. His sister, Silke, a girl with a short fuse and way too much time on her hands, thinks otherwise.

When a plan to raid the palace's armory goes awry, Silke may just get the adventure of a lifetime...with Mersem in tow. Now that all the Palace Knights, the lone mercenaries, and even the bounty hunter guilds are out for Silke's head, Mersem must ditch his rural lifestyle in favor of adventuring in the harsh lands to get to his sister before everyone else does. He must survive the great unknown, get Leara Madris to fall for him, and bring his sister back home before fate, duty, and truth catch up to him.

From Exequinne, the author of the high fantasy series, The Chronicles of Fantasilia, comes a story of adventure, buried secrets, and a bond flowing thicker than blood yet as fragile as frozen thorns.

Goose's Thoughts:

It's Week 43 and we're jumping into a short fantasy story that will chill you to the bones and have you yelling at the screen for the last three chapters.

Cae's worldbuilding throughout this story is insane. Despite it only being twelve chapters and being trapped to the confines of the ONC wordcount, we learn so much about the world Mersem lives in. They are able to reveal so many small details about the world and the way it operates without it feeling like we're being bombarded with information. Subtle details are revealed through the way the characters act and even in the small actions they make. It's some of my favourite worldbuilding in a story I've read. 

There is some great contrast throughout this story between the setting and the magic used by the characters. Whilst the story is set in an icy, unforgiving landscape, Cae's use of the fire-magic with both Aramale and Vera juxtaposes this. What's interesting is the veil of mystery that surrounds these characters and them not being from Solon. It's a really small, subtle detail but it works so well to add a new layer to the worldbuilding and expand beyond what we've already been introduced to.

Mersem is such an interesting main character for us to follow throughout this story. I loved how he sets out on this quest to try to help his sister, yet comes to doubt himself and becomes embroiled in quite the complicated situation. He puts family above all else which is a great characteristic for him to have and gives him strong motivation for each of the decisions he makes. What I love is that there is a brief moment where it looks like he's going to turn on her sister and hand her into the bounty hunters. That slither of doubt we're thrown into is such a dramatic moment in the story.

Speaking of dramatic moments, the end of this story is insane. There are so many insane cliff-hanger moments within the last few chapters that I was all but screaming at my laptop. The twists are so natural and work so well that most of the clues are right in front of us throughout the story and we just miss them at first. Cae does need to apologise for that ending, though. That was just rude.

If you're looking for a short story full of insane world building, devastating endings, and awesome descriptions, then this is the story for you. Cae manages to create such an awesome world in such a few chapters and this story deserves all the love for that alone, but this story is incredible. 

Thank you for writing such an amazing story, Cae!

-Goose