Eleventh Cycle (1) (Mistland)

Product Information

However, I will say here and now, while this book is fantastic, and I loved it, and will be reading the sequel – do read the warnings before you embark. Some of the characters really needed the time to develop (Nora in her character development and Delila in the sheer amount of worldbuilding that had to occur around her), while others like Chroma and Erefial were just along for the ride. There is also a list of characters and glossary of terms at the beginning of the book, which is a useful resource, although the fact that I found myself needing to pay so much attention to what was on the page, meant that I was using context more than the glossary itself to attach meanings to the different names.

That high-level satisfaction feeling you get when you overcome difficult bosses in these games is utterly rewarding and missing from many games lately. If there's another aspect that is at the same level with worldbuilding, is how in contraposition with the darkness of the world, we are given characters we get to connect with them. We were to the being what ants were to us, as a simple press of the glowing thumb could completely crush us.The characterisations and Dramatis Personae are complex, intricate and otherworldly containing the alien, the human, humanoid and the god-like. Perhaps because it was in the first person, but her voice, her sorrow and self-hatred were almost characters in themselves, and seeing where she had come from, and what had pushed and pulled her onto the path she found herself gave it greater impact – and to see how she chose to fight it, even passively at times. She gave me a wide and ugly grimace where her gums peeled back to reveal still growing and crooked teeth.

I think most of that stems from events later in the book, that were some of the elements that really didn’t work for me. With the existence of Elder Kings, Elder Guards (the one in the cover art), and the unstoppable rot, it is understandable why readers/gamers might think that. Ardalan has undeniably done something very special here and the entire reading world should stand up and take notice. It’s a long book and yet I devoured it, so keen was I to find out what happened next to my favourite characters. This is the one and only time that Ardalan kind of toes the line in terms of content; it was not long enough to turn me away from the book, but I am interested to see what the larger perception is.There is something universal about the desire to fit in, and his struggles to find his place in Akar society – especially with the split between those in the settlement where he grew up, and those who were gathering as an enemy – were one that resonated.

It isn’t escapism and unfortunately there are many people who have experienced these issues first hand.In a similar way to Dark Souls games, Ardalan made sure the main plot progression in Eleventh Cycle is never difficult to understand.

Again, the weight of that and how it impacted her emotions and behaviour was really well done, and I was caught up in her struggle. The addition of lore snippets at the start of each chapter adds an extra layer of information about Minethria, similar to what we experiment with Hidetaka Miyazaki's narrative, giving you partial information, letting some empty spaces that you can fill with theories, which will be confirmed or discarded once we continue advancing into the story. There was of course the occasional chuckle, giggle and even laughter but those were the rarer occurrence. Perhaps, because the narrative was so focused on these four main characters and their emotion, it felt a bit much when the world bit and tore into them, bleeding them, wounding them so deep that who they were bled out, and then did it again, and again. With the exception of the Seed, the POVs were in first person, and yet it felt as though there was a veil or a vagueness to the characters, which meant that aside from the odd moment there was a disconnect.In fact, I feel the sexual content is handled better here than some romantic fantasies I’ve read recently that dresses up non-consensual sex as somehow desirable, which I find incredibly dishonest. But don't get me wrong, this is one of the darkest novels I've read, one that seriously justifies the use of content warnings, as the worse aspects of a decadent world will be reflected in a really grim way, without any kind of glorification; and that close connection to the characters will make it harder from the emotional standpoint. At first glance, I would have thought this being was a product of nature, a serendipitous result of rock formations and volcanic discharge that just so happened to form some likeness to man.