Death Rider

That took an unexpected turn...Having read [b:Gunmetal Gods 55777447 Gunmetal Gods (Gunmetal Gods #1) Zamil Akhtar https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624243972l/55777447.SX50.jpg 85052502] previously I thought I knew what to expect from [a:Zamil Akhtar 13833684 Zamil Akhtar https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1609188611p2/13833684.jpg] in this novella but it veered off on a mind-bending detour that I did not see coming. Kudos to any author who can shakes things up like this!Akhtar's prose is quick, smooth and engaging; he conjures some dark imagery and a profoundly in depth world in just 100 pages. You do not need to have read other books in the series before this. It is a 0.5 in the series, so set much before the happenings of Gunmetal Gods, with entirely different characters.We see the world from Darya's point of view, a tribal warrior trying to break through the walls of a besieged city and end the war in the name of the Shah. She is assigned to the death riders; the tip-of-the-spear vanguard designed as fodder against the defending forces. Despite facing death many times, somehow she continues to survive - is it luck, skill or a guiding hand?