The Black Coast

There is a clan that has sailed across the sea seeking a refuge that they are not sure will be there. They worry that they will have to fight, but they cannot stay where they were. Will they be able to land safely and make a new home with the people that were once their enemy? A country is on the verge of war. The God-King’s line isn’t solidified. If there is any chance that a new claim could be made, the country might not make it through. How will Narida endure?

The Black Coast by Mike Brooks is an excellent fantasy. It is a complex story with multiple plot lines going on in several different locations along with some very unique cultures, languages, and fantasy elements. From my experience, books that deal with several plot lines can be very good or very bad since the author has to create each of the plots as well as present each of them in a way the reader will like and care about. In general, I think Brooks has done a great job at presenting each of his major players and enticing me to want to read more about them. Since this is just his first book in the series, not all of the different plots have shown their ties to each other, but everything has been set up to leave me wanting to read the next book to find out exactly how everything will come together from here.

I also really like Brooks’ writing style. His book reads very smoothly and simply. This book is over six hundred pages which isn’t a super long book, but I consider it to be a longer than the average length of a novel. Even so, this book really flies by if you have the time to sit down and read it because the writing style is so fluid and simple. All of the details that you need are present while not being overly flowery or too brief. If you are a reader who has a hard time making it through longer novels and are worried about the length of this one, I don’t think this book will feel as long as it is.

Now, my favorite thing about this novel is the world building. Brooks has created some very interesting peoples with different cultures that clash and adapt. He has incorporated dragons and demons into his world. Plus, the way he writes helps signify the differences between the different languages being spoken despite the book being completely written in English. Brooks really takes his time to build his story from the world up, and it definitely shows. If world building and being immersed in the setting is important for you as a reader, I think you will highly enjoy this book.