Along the Razor's Edge

Incredibly addictive.
I generally don't like first person narratives, but this memoir of a prison escape in a fantasy world had deep hooks that kept pulling me back in. The characterization of the narrator was very compelling. The characterization of everyone else is hard to gauge because, as a memoir, they really only exist within the narrator's re-telling -- one of the strongest points of the novel was watching the characters transform after key events caused the narrator to reconsider her assessment of them. Friends become enemies, enemies friends, inconsequential characters suddenly gain more distinctiveness as they draw into focus. It was a very interesting narrative technique and it kept pulling me back to see how things would resolve.

There were only two downsides to this one for me. The first, of course, is that it was a first person narrative, which I generally don't like... I think this story uses the technique very well, but it's not my favorite technique. The second, however, is that there were numerous minor copy-edit problems -- misplaced commas, homonym confusion, that sort of thing -- not a huge detraction, but noticeable. If neither of those issues is likely to bother you, then this is definitely a five-star story, and I highly recommend the read either way. I'm generally terrible about starting epics and never finishing them, but I have a feeling this one may draw me back.

[ Overall Thoughts ]
Along the Razor's Edge is a the first book in the The War Eternal series following the Orran Sourcerer, Eska, and is a fast-paced read. We get the story in first-person narrative from an older Eska, apparently reminiscing about her life. Eska's narration occasionally felt a bit repetitive, but always served to hold my interest and keep me reading. The narrative style is quickly engaging and worked well to make me care about the characters and world, and sparked curiosity about what would come in future books even early on in this first one. Eska is young in the events of this book and can be rather frustrating, making foolish decisions or being overly antagonistic or proud, but the narrative voice coming from the older Eska acknowledges these faults and makes it somehow even more engaging.

[ The World ]
The majority of Along the Razor's Edge takes place in the Terrelan prison called The Pit, which is essentially exactly what it sounds like: a network of tunnels and caverns deep underground where prisoners are required to dig through solid rock for no apparent purpose. The prologue sets the beginning of our story at the end of a war between the Orrans and the Terrelans in which the Orran Empire is wiped out. We get some flashbacks from Eska's earlier life at the Orran school where she was taught to work with Sources, as well as some info from narrator-Eska about other events and places, which serve to broaden the world a bit beyond The Pit.
Magic comes in the form of Sources: stones that allow a Sourcerer who swallows one to use magic of its type. There are many types of Source, and Sourcerers are generally only attuned to a select few. Ingesting a Source of a type they are not attuned to will kill a Sourcerer very quickly, while using those they are attuned to kills them slowly; magic is not without cost in this world.

[ The Characters ]
Eska is young, proud, and angry. She was a talented and ambitious Sourcerer learning to use her magic alongside her best friend Josef when the Orran Empire required them to join the war in a desperate final effort. She is bitter about their loss, bitter about being in The Pit, and blames Josef for forcing her to surrender rather than die fighting a futile last stand. Deprived of her Sources, she is powerless and is bitter about that, too. She holds on to loyalty to the Orran Empire despite its fall, and swears revenge on the Terrelans. She can be frustrating, and is often her own worst enemy. She is an engaging POV character, and I wanted to shake some sense into her even as I was rooting for her.

[ Suggested Audience ]
Readers looking for epic fantasy that can be fairly dark.
Readers who like first-person narratives with a reminiscent, story-telling style.
Readers who enjoy imperfect, vengeful, driven characters.

[ TL;DR ]
Along the Razor's Edge is a quick, adventurous story that it's impossible to be indifferent about. Its narrative voice is unique and engaging, and paced to keep you coming back for just one more chapter.