Valley of Embers

Fantastic Debut


Some of my favorite things in fantasy are great character building, and unique magic. This book has both, and then some. The ember magic is a fascinating power, and there is just enough description of how it works to keep you gripped every time its used, but just enough mystery to tell you there's more to be revealed. As far as characters go, the races are well thought out, and the central characters are engaging and full of back story. Every battle had me on edge too, which isn't always easy to accomplish. To this debut novel I applaud Kelliher for pulling off an exciting and refreshing tale. Bravo!

A strong debut from a promising new author. It features a world of elemental magic, evil sorcerers, and lots of action.

When I hear “elemental magic,” I almost always immediately think of Avatar. There's definitely a bit of anime flair to the magic, but it feels pretty fresh. The main characters are Embers, essentially a form of fire mage. Instead of just shooting fire around, they can absorb heat from their environment and channel it into physical or thermal power. There are several other types of magic, too, including defensive rock warriors, seers, healers, and animal tamers.

All of the magic users seem to take some of their power from the land around them, earning the name Landkist. Some, like the Embers, can even draw power from the sun. This fanart captures it perfectly.

The story takes place in a Valley that is mostly isolated from the rest of the world. A group of godlike sages are fighting an ongoing war against each other, and one of them decided to save a race of desert nomads and hide them away in the Valley. Nearly a century later, that people is struggling for survival against the regular onslaught of demons.

The main character, Kole, is a fire-wielding Ember who helps defend his village from these demons. He can be a little hot headed at times, but he cares strongly for his friends and family. His friends range from being magic-less badasses to magical badasses (including the awesome rock mage you probably didn't notice on the cover).

There's a pretty big cast of characters, but it isn't too hard to keep track of because the core group is pretty small.

The book opens with a new type of demon attacking Kole's village. In addition to being powerful, it also appears to be controlled by one of the incredibly powerful sages that are essentially the gods of the Valley's religion. This sage has been the Valley's greatest enemy for over a century, and his return could mark the destruction of its people.

Kole and some friends set out on what is a probably a suicide mission to enlist the help of another sage, the one who originally brought their ancestors to the relative safety of the Valley. However, Kole is convinced that the sage his people worship as their protector might be their greatest enemy of all.

For those of you who don't know, Kelliher is a former professional fighter. Don't believe me? Watch him kick some poor chap unconscious.

This experience is evident in how the fight scenes are written. You won't get a blow-by-blow description of each punch, but you'll be thrown into a frantic fury of ferociousness. Kelliher does an excellent job of showing you the emotion of a fight.

While the prose was a little rough around the edges, I could definitely catch glimpses of a talented wordsmith in the making. There wasn't any purple prose in sight, but I found myself appreciating well-written turns of phrase on a regular basis.

If you like interesting magic systems and well-written combat scenes, you might enjoy this book. It reads fairly quickly and is the start of a series that shows a lot of promise.

You might not like this book if you are opposed to steep learning curves. I didn't think it was too bad, but you are thrown into the story and world and have to figure it out as you go. There's a lot of Capitalized Fantasy Names, which can be hit or miss with some people.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Plus, the series features some stunning covers.