Black Stone Heart

For me, there's just something about a doomed protagonist who slowly falls into a corruption arc that both the reader and the character recognizes is happening and yet there's nothing that can be done about it that's just... *chef's kiss

This was an interesting take on an amnesia premise. Instead of bits of memory coming back all at once or at random intervals, we have a character who can take concrete, specific actions in order regain memories of his own life, and he knows what needs to be done, but it necessitates actions that are either difficult or violent (often both). And I mean violent; there are some pretty ruthless scenes in this one. And what's worse, the more he learns about the man he used to be, the less willing he is to continue doing so for fear of becoming that awful person again. And yet, he needs to regain that terrible knowledge in order to defend himself against the enemies he made by getting what few memories back he already did. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Definitely felt like a first book in a series with lots of setup that will (hopefully) be paid off in later entries. And the main twist I saw coming a mile away, but how the characters involved reacted to that twist caught me by surprise (in a good way!) so I think I'll eventually continue with the sequels.

3.25 stars rounded down to 3 stars.
I got this recommendation from @PreacherReads video "Booktube Recommends Fantasy Novels for Horror Fans! Must-Read Books You’ll Love!" It was recommended twice on the video, so I thought, hey this must be the one to read.

I would say this book would be great for horror readers who want to dip their toes into epic/high fantasy and don't want something "advanced." The writing is poetic & grim but written as if it were a YA novel. The book was great, it kept me captivated all the way through, there were some cringy moments that seemed pretty childish to me but I kept pushing through. I had too high hopes for this and wanted to love it so much. One thing is for sure, it got me out of my reading slump. I wont be continuing the series though.

You've got a man who was buried in the middle of nowhere, the ground is decaying in a circle like shape with skeletons on the ground and a decaying old tree nearby. The man eats bugs and drinks the life of the sap from the tree, the more he eats, the stronger he seems. He's clawing himself out of the ground. He has no memory as to who he is, what he is, how long he's been in the ground for, and he begins to journey through his surroundings, eating bugs for survival. He comes across a hut made of animal bones and animal skin, kills the man living there and takes it over for himself. He slowly discovers small portions of memories lurking within. It is when he kills a boy with skin black as his because he has an urge that is pulling him towards the boy, he takes the boys heart and slices it open to find a black shard which shoots into his own chest to his heart. It is then that he learns his name and knows that there is more like this boys heart he needs to find. When he decides to leave the hut even though he is scared to, is when his true journey takes hand.

”Your actions will define you.”

I love stumbling across really good fantasy that nobody’s heard of. I’ve sort of fallen out of the fantasy genre as a whole in the last few years, mostly because it felt like everytime I dipped a toe in it just felt like more of the same. And that’s fine! Everyone loves comfort reads! But when I read something new, I want it to feel new. I’d honestly never heard of this author before randomly adding this to my to-read list earlier this year, but holy cow does he have a ton of books out! This definitely was new to me, it was different, and it was delightful.

A note for my friends, whom I know love fantasy dearly: this is definitely grimdark fantasy. It’s very dark, very descriptive, and not exactly fluffy. There’s a lot of blood, a lot of description of gore and dismemberment, but all of it has a place in the story and didn’t feel gratuitous. Just know that before giving this a look based on my review.

The book follows a man who wakes up, claws his way out of a dirt grave, with no memory of how he got there. Around his resting place are the corpses of animals and people, but he certainly didn’t put them there. Who is he? How did he get there? Where does he go from here? Instinct guides him for the next period of time, until he finds himself drawn to a man in a cabin who inexplicably looks just like him. Before he has time to think, he reacts, kills the man with his own face, and is compelled to dig out his heart. But instead of a heart he finds…a black shard of stone. Touching the stone pulls it inside our main character, and restores a small portion of his memories in the process. Thus our man, Khraen, starts walking the path to restore his own black stone heart, piece by piece, and discovering along the way how bad of an idea it might be.

I loved the detailed worldbuilding going on here, and the philosophical ponderings about what makes a man and how memories can shape someone. Khraen meets few people on his path to restore his own heart, but each one has a reason for being there, a place in Khraen’s story, and I really felt compelled to continue to find out who Khraen was and where the story was going. The best part about the book for me was how, even with all the terrible things Khraen finds himself doing in pursuit of his goal, the author manages to make him sympathetic at the same time and includes moral dilemmas along the way. I thought that was a neat touch.

There’s even a bit of romance, but…maybe not in the traditional sense.

This was a delightful find, and I can’t wait to read the second book.