Understated Science-Fantasy novels that should be collecting awards keep finding their way into my TBR pile. 
I’m not complaining. I love finding gems like this. Danie Ware’s highly visual style combined with the almost fairytale feel of this novel are right at home in Fox Spirit’s library.
The Blurb
An ancient city, sealed in a vast crater. A history of metallurgical magic, and of Builders that could craft the living, breathing stone.
Caphen Talmar is the high-born son of an elite family, descended from the Builders themselves, his artistic career ruined when his ex-lover broke his fingers.
One night, gambling down at the wharfside – somewhere he shouldn’t have been in the first place – he meets Aden. An uncomplicated, rough-edged dockworker, Aden is everything Caph needs to forget the pressures of his father’s constant criticism.
But this isn’t just another one-night stand. Aden is trying to find his sister, and he needs Caph’s help. Soon, they find themselves tangled in a deadly game of trust, lies and political rebellion.
And, as Caph begins to understand the real depth of the horrors they’ve uncovered, he learns that Aden is not what he seems. And Aden knows more about the coming destruction than Caph could ever have guessed.
What the author does so well with Children of Artifice is drill down into the driving emotions, truly exposing what motivates her characters. Even the city takes its pound of flesh from those living in it.
The success of this book is as much due to the levels the author has gone to in her worldbuilding, entwining the magic and intrigue, as it is about Caph’s and Aden’s relationship. The city is set in a crater and by making her world claustrophobic, it amplifies the social structure and needs.
Danie Ware’s characterisation is captivating, Caph’s actions hold up as he has to work to evade his elite status through the political problems thrown at him. The cruel actions of his ex-lover Molly shape and scar him, both physically and mentally. It also effects his music – Caph’s ache at the loss of his ability to play music is palpable.
Beautifully and painfully, this then trickles down into his interaction with Aden. Just to add to the layers of mystery, Caph’s new lover has the ability to alter his visual appearance.
The story leaves you raw. Ware excels in these internal conflicts making Children of Artifice a mood-rich, intense read and at times you have to come up for air.
Sarah Anne Langton’s cover captures the complexity of this book in all its elegant sensuality.
As is expected, Danie Ware’s ability to connect with her reader leaves the imagery with you long after you put the book down. I’d enjoyed Ecko Rising, and her short story in Fight Like A Girl. I had high hopes for Children of Artifice – but even so this book blew me away. So much so, it’s taken me three attempts to write a review that will do fair justice to the intricacies of plot, world building and character.
And I’ve still missed the target.
Read it. Then join me in the line for the sequel.
Highly Recomended.
© Shellie Horst – SFFWorld.com July 2019
Author Site: http://danieware.com/
Twitter: @Danacea
Publisher: www.foxspirit.co.uk
Published: July 2018
Availability: Paperback, Kindle, Audio
Review copy courtesy of the author.
