Title: Threads of Ash: South (The Frayed Kingdom Book 1)

Author: S.H. Cooper

Release date: May 24th, 2024

*Huge thanks to S.H. Cooper for sending me a digital ARC!*

You know, it’s not uncommon for any of us to scroll through any of the various social media pages we all have and come across the argument that a writer should only write in a singular genre. That they should pick a trope and not go beyond it. That they should pick their lane and stay in it.

Yet, almost without fail, the authors I love reading most AND the authors who continue to push the envelope and advance every genre are those that hop back and forth like an elementary kid playing hopscotch.

I’ve read a number of S.H. Cooper’s books in the past – I was even honored to previously blurb one of her standout releases – and time and time again, Cooper crafts stories that are masterful. Saying that, I’ve not yet read any of her fantasy releases, so, when I saw her putting out a call for reviews, I quickly sent her a DM. This one sounded fantastic and that cover art had me sold.

I had no idea what I was going to be in for, but I was excited to dive in!

What I liked: The story begins with a bang. We’re thrown into the mix of a town under siege. A ‘disease’ known as the weeping blight is sweeping the land and teen/young woman Yaveta is trying to flee. Soon enough, while chased, she encounters a man, a northerner that they refer to as milkskin’s that is armored and ready to fight. The man’s name is Wulfren and together they flee, heading south.

From there, it’s a gripping mix of fantasy/horror and comradery dynamics. Wulfren is quiet, brooding and secretive. Yaveta is young, questioning and innocent. She’s trusting of all and because of this, we see that openness continually put them into harms way, even as Wulfren warns her about what is going to happen next.

As they continue on towards the town of Orkeas, where Wulfren is to meet someone and where Yaveta’s aunt lives, Cooper works her magic by writing a fantasy novel with the sensibilities of pulse-pounding horror. There is no bloat here. We don’t get thirty pages dedicated to describe what it is they’re eating for dinner or pages and pages of purple prose showcasing the details of the land and the hills around it. No, Cooper keeps it sleek, streamlined and the reader is richly rewarded for that. It creates an atmosphere throughout of ever growing tension. If things are bad in the outskirt areas, just what awaits them in the next town.

And what does await them is fantastic and a phenomenally executed mix of fantasy-horror creature creation. I won’t spoil it here, but Cooper has outdone herself with the world building and the figures and things that inhabit it. Even when we get brief moments of backstory or historical information, its to the point and solidly shared.

Once we get to the ‘final destination,’ where we all know this won’t be the ending, because A) it’s a fantasy book and B) I mean it says it in the title that this is book one!, we see where they need to go next and just what might await them.

Cooper does a great job of leaving this on a chaotic, tension-filled cliffhanger and one that will have readers desperately begging for book two to arrive sooner than later!

What I didn’t like: Really, the only thing I didn’t like was that it ended on a cliffhanger. Look, I knew it was going to, and I knew this was book one, yadda yadda, but that will always be the thing that will make me pull the limited hair I can still grow on my head out! I just wish more fantasy ended each book with a finish that still set up where the next book would go.

Why you should buy this: Are you a book snob who turns your nose up at fantasy? Well, consider this more of a horror story with an armored guy with an axe! Are you a book snob who turns your nose up at horror? Well, consider this a fantasy story with creatures and action. Hey wait, that’s like all the other fantasy out there.

Look, the reality is here, that S.H. Cooper has written her ass off to create this PHENOMENAL story that is 100% about two people who are so completely different in normal times they’d never team up, who are thrust together because of things outside of their control and have to figure out a way to band together and survive. This is pretty much every horror AND fantasy novel and movie that’s ever been released, but told through the lens of a masterful storyteller who will have you gripped from page one and just doesn’t let go.

I honestly can’t wait until book two and I’m annoyed that Cooper hasn’t announced it already!

Outstanding novel and I’m sure this will be an outstanding series sure to be raved about for decades to come!

5/5

Goodreads link;

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205821290-threads-of-ash

I’ll update this with a pre-order or live link once it’s available!