Kato Vorsok is a man deserted by his god. A failed hero living in exile, he wants nothing to do with his old life.
Until the night he encounters a wounded mourning cloak—a demon that can walk through walls, dissolve into mist, and spear a man’s heart with a fingernail.
She calls him by name. She knows his past. She needs his help.
And she is his key to redemption.
Mourning Cloak is a fantasy novella.
My Review
5 of 5 Mourning Cloak
Mourning Cloak is an amazing Novella. This is the first Novella I have read by Rabia but it will not be the last. I was captured right from the first page and stayed that way until the end. I wanted so much more because the world Rabia created had me so entranced I needed more of Kato.
Mourning Cloak is about a fallen God that has been exiled. Kato has been cast aside and he has no idea what to do and where to go. That is until he sees the mourning cloak a demon who has extraordinary powers. At first Kato is not sure what to make of her but then things change and she needs Kato's help and he finds himself saying yes. He is not sure what is going on but he knows that he has feelings for this mourning cloak and he will do whatever it takes to redeem himself and be what she needs him to be.
I am such a sucker for love stories but this one is so heart wrenching and gut twisting it has betrayal, redemption, love and the emotional meter is off the hook! This is a must read!
Mourning Cloak Links
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Making Genre Soup By Rabia Gale
When I first started writing, my work fell firmly in the fantasy camp. All the usual fantasy tropes made it into my stories: pseudo-medieval settings, other races like elves, dwarves, and dragons, and protagonists whose jobs were Warrior, Farm Girl, and Blacksmith.
Then something changed.
Science fiction elements crept into my fantasy. Sorcerers were also scientists, as likely to perform genetic experiments as they were to chant magical spells. Gods were superhuman beings who looked down on mortals from orbital crafts. My characters began carrying guns, flipping light switches, and taking the train.
The technological level of my fantasy worlds increased, though I was not writing steampunk or urban fantasy or alternate history.
A large part of this shift came from my personal experience. I was an urban child who grew up in a high-tech age. I can drive a car, but not ride a horse. I’m more comfortable working the Playstation than I’d be gutting a fish. I navigate city streets and the Internet highway much better than I could trek through the wilderness. My more modern take on fantasy reflects the realities of my current, technology-saturated life.
I’m not breaking new ground when I mix fantasy and science fiction. This robust combination has existed in animated movies and video games for a long time. Where else can you bring a magic sword to a gunfight? Or have a wizard face off against a man in a battle suit? When I write, I’m drawing inspiration from eighties’ cartoons like Voltron and ThunderCats, the Studio Ghibli films, the Final Fantasy franchise, and even from newer shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender.
And lastly, I love both science and the humanities. I am as fascinated by black holes and cave creatures as I am by Mughal emperors and Mongol hordes. My dragons are the size of continents and live in space. My warrior’s super power is the ability to transform into a battle machine. And when you dig down to the roots of my magic systems, you find nanotechnology and string theory.
But I never lose sight of the wonder of fantasy, my first love. My settings are other worlds, not futuristic. Winged humanoids and assassins that flow through walls populate my stories. And I have no problem bending the laws of physics in the pursuit of the spine-tingling, the extraordinary, the magical.
So, what do I write? A pinch of science fiction, a heaping spoonful of fantasy, sometimes a dash of romance or a shake of something strong and bitter—that’s my kind of genre soup!
I break fairy tales and fuse fantasy and science fiction. I love to write about flawed heroes who never give up, transformation and redemption, and things from outer space. In my spare time, I read, doodle, eat chocolate, avoid housework, and homeschool my three children.
A native of Pakistan, I grew up in hot, humid Karachi. I then spent almost a decade in Northern New England where I learned to love fall, tolerate snow, and be snobbish about maple syrup and sweet corn. I now live in Northern Virginia.
Rabia’s Website
Thank you for your review, and for having me on your blog!
ReplyDeleteI do love writing without barriers. So much of the original science fiction and classic space opera violates physics and "science" to blend it thoroughly with fantasy. To me, this is just another progression in the reality of fiction. It's all literature and valid and lovely and powerful.
ReplyDeleteLiana Mir
www.lianamir.com