Eleventh Cycle (1) (Mistland)

Product Information

My mind is still trying to connect the dots and secrets in the epigraphs and narrative, and I don't think I will succeed at it until I do another read-through, which I will definitely do in the future. to anyone who loves Beserk and Dark Souls and knows the darkness of those worlds, to anyone who wants to go on an odyssey of spectacular worldbuilding, who wants to delve into the darkness and see what light and fight can be sparked in the shadows – but that it is certainly one to approach with a certain amount of awareness. Finally, we are introduced to the high-ranking captain Erefiel, who is caught between worlds as a half-human and half-Zerub, a race that blends human and animal anatomies.

There is also a list of characters and glossary of terms at the beginning of the book, which is a useful resource, although the fact that I found myself needing to pay so much attention to what was on the page, meant that I was using context more than the glossary itself to attach meanings to the different names. They feel very real and the tragedy that unfolds around them are discussed in the story and are part of the characters. There was another point that really soured the story and the character for me, but I talk about that later as it also relates to Nora.We focus on five very different characters, and it’s always pleasing to see a book like this where the characters are not all human. The physical and mental damage done to one of the main characters in this novel is one of the most messed up and fatal devastation inflicted on a main character I have ever read, out of all storytelling mediums. Again, the weight of that and how it impacted her emotions and behaviour was really well done, and I was caught up in her struggle. I also felt that Ardalan did a fantastic job with the internal conflict Chroma had about being a true, free Akar and how he had been raised. With respect to the worldbuilding, Kian Ardalan's world of Minethria is truly a place of mystery and wonder.

There are MANY things to love in these games (a single review won’t be enough to cover the details of it). Our story brings us to Minethria, a land encircled by the mists, where the prophecy predicts the Eleventh Seed will be born. It’s a commitment and an experience to read, and not always a pleasant one, but no, overall, I believe that Ardalan achieved what he set out to create in Eleventh Cycle.In fact, of those five, only two are human, so this allows us to experience some of the other races of this world in more detail than we might normally be afforded. And while I can understand strong emotions giving way to other strong emotions, and that as is a message within the latter half of the book that human emotion is messy and complex, it just didn’t ring true for me here. It is about people living in an indifferent world which will pull no punches, and finding your own path. Eleventh Cycle is rich with history and lore, and we haven’t even dissected all the details of it yet.

What could have been simply a plot device, Ardalan turned into a fully fleshed out and surprisingly likable character.

Next is Nora, who escapes abusive parents to become a fierce warrior full of hatred toward the opposing akar race. I was very excited to dive into this book because it seems to be the current “cool kid on the block” in the fantasy book reviewing community. In comparison the part after the Seed joined the world properly, felt like the accelerator had been pressed flat to the ground and everything happened almost too quickly, perhaps just in comparison to that first part.