Ashael Rising is Shona Kinsella’s debut novel from the ground-breaking Unbound Publishing. Unbound’s SFF team has some serious previous experience in the field. They use a form of crowdsourcing to enable manuscripts to become novels, so Kinsella has already convinced readers to invest in her characters before publication. From the publisher’s point, this cleverly ensures that there’s a market and costs are covered. From an author’s, it’s a huge boost of support.
What does that mean for SFFWorld readers? Even if you haven’t heard of Unbound, there are people out there who knew it had all it needed to be on a shelf for others to enjoy, and the work has had the same treatment you would expect from any serious publisher.
There’s a lot to admire here. It’s clear that skills Kinsella has gained in editing the British Fantasy Society’s Horizons have been put to good use.
Ashael Rising is an epic Science Fantasy novel and uses these opposing genres to create an interesting conflict between the Zanthar and those in the Cams. While Ashael fits into the “Chosen One” trope at this point, it isn’t a bad thing to find in a book when it’s used to its potential.
If you are tired of Damsels in Distress, pick this up. In Ashael, we are given a lead female that doesn’t subscribe to that Kick Ass trope either. Ashael is quite able to get herself out of her self-made troubles using a combination skills. As a healer her strengths are portrayed in other ways. Ashael’s developing romance with Iwan provides an important balance for her decisions, and her ability to heal expands into knowing her own mind and abilities. Another notable is that Ashael’s role model, Bhearra, is female also.
But these are not the only good points in this well crafted and balanced debut.
Kinsella takes her time to lead the reader into a sense of tranquillity as we explore the picturesque Cams where threats to Ashael are minor, but through them we discover a great deal about her character. It’s a false comfort, and Kinsella switches pace when Ashael is taken prisoner. When she discovers the aims of the Zanthar, Ashael realises the very life around her is in danger.
It’s important not to brush this novel off as a utopian ‘seen it all before’ style book. Ashael Rising is not that. As I mentioned before the Zanthar bring a grim technological aspect which Kinsella uses well to challenge a reader’s own attitudes.
I for one shall be keeping a watch on her site for news so I can back the next instalment, Ashael Falling.
© Shellie Horst – SFFWorld.com March 2018
Author Website: https://www.shonakinsella.com/
Twitter: @shona_kinsella
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
Published: Feburary 2018
Availability Kindle, and Paperback.
Review copy courtesy of the author
