Variety is the spice of life, right? Since the last two books I reviewed (A Silent Voice and Rachel Starr Thomson’s Seventh World Trilogy) were both among my favorite stories of all time and highly recommended, I decided to review something I wasn’t quite so passionate about, although it may be interesting to others. By the way, if you haven’t read those other two stories I just mentioned, go do that first, then return to read this review. Or if you’re not convinced, read my reviews of them by clicking on the titles above.
I wasn’t expecting much when I started reading Steve Rsaza’s The Bloodheart. It was only a dollar on the Kindle store, so I figured I didn’t have much to lose by trying it. The book met my expectations nearly perfectly. Which isn’t saying much, although it is an enjoyable tale. The plot follows Bowen Cord, captain of a flying ship with two crew members. After he encounters an orphaned boy, he searches through the ruins of the boy’s hometown and is sent on a quest to reunite three powerful artifacts and fight evil, personified in the (very evil) artifact-seeking Strathern, an agent of King of Northamber, who is presumably also evil. The setting has a slight steampunk feel - giant islands floating above an ocean - that isn’t particularly unique. The magic system is simple - certain people have the ability to summon ‘elements’ such as fire, ice, earth and lightning. There are also the aethershards, which allow the flying ships to soar through the sky, and various relics that can effect these abilities. Oddly, despite the fantasy setting, the language and nationalities are from Earth - English, Chinese, Nordic, etc. Other than this, there’s nothing to indicate an alternate history setting. The antagonist, Strathern, is the single biggest problem with this story. He’s evil, pure, irredeemable evil. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as not every story needs a sympathetic antagonist, except for the fact that we spend a lot of time in Strathern’s viewpoint. One glimpse into a mind as depraved as Strathern’s is more than what’s necessary. Yes, he’s evil, but that fact could have been communicated from a viewpoint that didn’t see the evil he commits as good. If we see him murder an innocent, then we know enough about his evil. We don’t need to be inside his head, listening to him monologue about how much he enjoys killing. Although this problem isn’t nearly as bad as it is in The Well of Ascension, another book with unnecessary and depressing antagonist viewpoints (I would still recommend reading it, just skip all of Straff’s POV chapters), it’s definitely one area where The Bloodheart could have been improved. While it’s true that Strathern’s POV scenes advance the plot, Bowen eventually finds out about everything significant that happens in them anyway, and it wouldn’t take much explanation to reveal how Strathern tracked him. Themes Although the author is a Christian, explicitly Christian themes, while present, are not particularly prominent in this book. Indiana Jones-style theology with regard to ancient, powerful artifacts plays as a role as well. While the Bowen comes to believe in God in the last few chapters of the book, his character arc is more about him growing to accept his ability to summon ice and using it to protect the innocent. Bowen has a friend who’s a priest, but when he advises Bowen, he emphasizes Bowen’s responsibility to unite the Bloodheart with the other other two artifacts and then use them to fight the darkness rather than his need to repent of his sins. A man and a woman are implied to be sleeping together before marriage and this action is never explicitly condemned. However, neither is initially a Christian, or ‘follower of the Most High’. They both convert and when they do, they marry each other. A connection between those two decisions can be inferred. Content There are couple of instances of ‘hell’ as a swear word. More significantly, Strathern was worried that the reader maybe, just maybe, wouldn’t catch that he was the bad guy of the story, so he makes sure to brag about all the mistresses he’s had over the years. His opening monologue about his need for control and his subsequent murder of a random man in a bar who annoys him were too subtle. As for violence, there are no graphic descriptions, but characters die by getting frozen, electrocuted, and stabbed. <Mild spoiler alert> There’s a brief scene of Strathern going to hell at the end. Nobody feels sorry for him, ‘cause he’s evil. Oh, and did I mention that Strathern is evil? Well, he is. That’s a very important part of the story. <End spoilers>. Conclusion It’s not likely to change anyone’s life or be discussed by truth-seeking philosophers sixty years from now, but The Bloodheart is a decent story with a mildly interesting protagonist and a strong ending that makes up for its saggy middle. I haven’t read any of Steve Rsaza’s other works, but am planning to pick up another one to read once I have some extra time on my hands. Which will be a while, since I’m currently working my way though The Divine Comedy for the first time. If anyone reads this article and has any favorites among Rsaza’s works, comment below and recommend them. P.S: Strathern is evil.
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Progress on Doombear, Rough draft:10%
Progress on The Lore of Yore, third draft:
100%
"In truth, by leaving, I was seeking only one thing. A journey."
-Oathbringer, pg 981 Types of blog posts:
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