Stormsinger
The Storms in Amethir series, Book 1
Stephanie A. Cain
Stephanie Cain, publisher
Fiction, Fantasy
Themes: Creative Power, Girl Power, Magic Workers, Pirates, Seafaring Tales, Water Monsters
***+
Description
The kingdom's best and most famous privateer, Captain Arama Dzornaea usually spends her days hunting enemy ships to bring glory (and treasure) to her liege. A quick jaunt to a neighboring kingdom with the crown prince, to deliver him to his betrothed, should scarcely test her mettle... not even with a stormwitch aboard to ensure a favorable breeze. But something extraordinary lurks in the depths, a force that quickly turns a routine sail into something far more dangerous.
Review
On the whole, this has some intriguing parts. Arama promises a colorful history, not just because of her storied and strange relationship with the prince's general. The
world itself, with sea monsters and strange magics and rival kingdoms, has potential. But in a story this short, that potential can scarcely be touched, let alone realized.
I couldn't quite work out if this was a short story with too much baggage or a novel that ran out of steam, as Stormsinger seems adrift between the two possibilities.
It earns an extra mark for having been apparently written in eight hours - given that time frame, it's remarkably polished - but I'm not sure it should've been published as
it is; had Cain sat on it until she had a novel-length story to go with the novel-length ideas, she might've had something special on her hands.
(As a closing note, when I was transferring my reviews to the new site template, I found that Cain had, indeed, extended the story and universe begun here. As I mentioned,
there was plenty of material, though I don't know that I'll pursue the series myself.)