HUGEOrange Publication Review
Editor’s Pick Award Winner 2020
Canticle of the Spear, by S.C. Terlecky
Canticle of the Spear is a wonderful fantasy tale of adventure and thrills. It’s everything you want from a well-woven story with unique worlds, undiscovered lands and mystery.
The rising sun painted a winding pattern of rocks cutting through a dense forest of vines and colossal trees. A thick fog rose to the treetops like the growing froth from a freshly poured ale. To Pike’s back loomed the gigantic mountain wall that had stopped explorer hopefuls like himself since the beginning of time. And there was something else, a faint melody in the sanctuary of his mind. Something he could swear he’d never heard before, and yet it was familiar. It was a faint whisper that he yearned to hear more clearly. As abruptly as he noticed it, the sound disappeared. How strange, he wondered in a whisper.
The worldbuilding is great with a map guide of the known world at the front of the book. The author does a great job of holding mystery and tension between chapters, encouraging interest throughout the book. From the first mention of a man-hunting beast to the scenes that come after, you will be on the edge of your seat.
There are a lot of characters in the book, with many coming and going. Each is fleshed out appropriately to give them enough depth and meaning. The main protagonist, Pike, is easy for the reader to like and follow. Smart enough for the reader to have faith in, but enough flaws to make him believable. Pike is a man that I liked and cared about for his morals and honesty. There’s plenty of action during his adventures and scrapes too, which are hard to put down once they begin.
This is a bold book that does a great job of introducing the world, characters and scenes while keeping the flow and story moving.
The story engages and builds suspense every step of the way. It pulls you in as a reader. You feel present in the scenes since the writing draws the surrounding environment in.
Jada looked at him, her face horrified. “You will kill the beast?” The conversations stopped, and now everyone around the bar seemed to be listening.
I’m not giving anything away, but the ending felt right. The plot works and the writing impresses. I had a ball reading it, give it a try, you probably will too.