When Michael R. Fletcher publishes a new book, you can bet your bottom dollar it’s going to be great. A dark tale, Black Stone Heart does not disappoint.
A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was.
He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.
There was a woman.
There was a sword.
There was an end to sorrow.
Khraen walks the obsidian path.
Khraen’s awakening thousands of years after his “death” is a raw and wild thing. It’s survival at any cost. Living like an animal for several years in the frozen wilds, the unexpected return of another shard of his heart teaches him that he must move towards the call of the other shards. It is a remaking of a man who ruled for 10,000 years. Each shard returns more memory of his former existence, and each changes him no matter how he fights the cost.
Khraen wants to be a good and just man, but as the horrors of his past and his arcane powers return he finds thinner excuses to justify himself and rationalize his actions. This is where Fletcher shines. His characterization is brilliant. In anyone else’s hands this would be a good but rather mediocre tale, but that is not the case here. Fletcher builds a depth of moral dilemma that makes his protagonists and characters unforgettable.
The dialogue is outstanding and at times downright humorous amidst the violence. The plot twists and turns. Khraen’s questions are burning and his relentlessness is daunting. His hatred of wizards is inexplicable. He is drawn to a undead necromancer whose existence he spares, but he doesn’t know why. The reader can’t help but sympathize with his ignorance, but as truths emerge, the more you realize you don’t know who is truly good or evil at all. The ending is a smashing revelation that will have you begging for the next book.
This is a riveting start to an excellent saga. The author has surpassed himself again and we are all luckier for it.
5/5 Stars ⭐️
You can now pre-order Black Stone Heart, due for release April 1, 2020.
I received an arc of this book for review from the author. Many thanks.
Pre-order your copy by clicking the cover.
- Publication Date: April 1, 2020
- Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B083Y748QX
About Michael R. Fletcher:
Michael R. Fletcher lives in the endless suburban sprawl north of Toronto. He dreams of trees and seeing the stars at night and being a ninja. He is an unrepentant whiskey-swilling reprobate of the tallest order.
He is the author of BEYOND REDEMPTION (HARPER Voyager 2015), THE MIRROR’S TRUTH (2016), GHOSTS OF TOMORROW (2017), and SWARM AND STEEL (Skyhorse/Nightshade Books, 2017).
Grimmedian 