Review: Copper Skin Oaken Lungs by Adam Bassett

 
The Book:

For a thousand years, The Old Town has stood as humanity's last bastion against the maalkonis, malignant black mists that reduced the rest of the world to ash. They are kept at bay by rusty machines on the town's walls. In order to survive, the dwindling population depends on one another.

Since a young age, Justīne has embraced the harsh responsibilities that accompanied her apprenticeship on the last farm in existence. Her younger sister, Anna, is beginning her own apprenticeship as well. Learning engineering was not Anna's first choice, but the town's last mage fell to the maalkonis years prior, leaving nothing behind but confusing books and strange runes.

When food runs low during a particularly harsh winter, distrust spreads like a plague, and Justīne is blamed for it. As hunger leads to violence, she and her siblings are forced to flee The Old Town, embarking on a perilous journey into the very mists that had formed their cage. Their fight to survive in the dark develops into a hopeful mystery as they follow the breadcrumbs of a mage's efforts to save the world. Meanwhile something pursues them through the maalkonis...

My Thoughts:

This was a short yet thoroughly enjoyable novel, the first in what appears to be a forthcoming series, as its subtitled Copper and Ash Book 1. I do hope this is the case because this is certainly a world that I am curious to know more about.

The worldbuilding is probably the best bit about this novel. The concept of the maalkonis is quite unique and the atmosphere and sense of place is skilfully woven and immersive, both the old town where the story starts and then when Justine and her companions venture into the black mists that surround them.

There’s an interesting backstory to this world and I’d love to know more about the origins of the maalkonis and how it came to devastate the lands we find ourselves in. The technology which keeps the maalkonis at bay is also a fascinating element to this tale, especially with the danger of this ancient knowledge becoming lost. We are constantly reminded of the precarious nature of the old town’s survival which adds to the sense of peril. These are all aspects which could perhaps have been developed further had the novel been longer, and yet, as there is more to come in this series the unanswered questions compel me to read on.

Having said that this story is in itself well rounded with a satisfying conclusion and I certainly didn’t feel as if I was left hanging, which can sometimes happen at the start of a series.

So if you fancy a short but immersive read then this is one I can recommend.

My Fiction on Substack

Earlier this year I looked around at potential platforms to use for a newsletter. Several authors that I’m acquainted with send these out sporadically and it seems like a good way to build and keep in contact with their readership. So after a bit of deliberation and looking at what other people were using I decided on Substack.

It’s been interesting. There’s a vibrant community on Substack but also a cohort of people who are vehemently against it, although I’ve yet to see any evidence to back up their claims. Personally I’m finding it very friendly and useful. There’s all sorts of publishing insights and interesting people there.

I started my newsletter back in February and slowly started to build traction. Substack has an interesting setup where you can write articles which will be sent out to your subscribers – the newsletter part – and also has notes which are pretty much like all the other social media platforms where you can follow people and they can follow you, separate from actually subscribing to receive your articles by email.

I started with a monthly newsletter but then I noticed that several of the people I was subscribing to were sharing their fiction, some short stories and some serialised novels which they then went on to self publish. In fact the more I looked the more I found.

And so I’ve decided to join in the fun. Let me introduce you to Flashes of Strangeness where I will be sharing a piece of flash fiction or a drabble every few weeks for the foreseeable future. I’ve built up quite a collection of short stories over the years so I can’t wait to share them with you all. 

Here’s the link if you’d like to subscribe. Flashes of Strangeness

And then along came Ficstack. This is a brand new venture – a website that logs and lists Substack fiction. It’s searchable by genre and vibes so you should be able to find exactly what you like to read. Defiantly work taking a look. Here’s the link: Ficstack.

So far this is proving to be a good decision. Subscribers are increasing, which suggests to me that people are actively looking for fiction to read on there. I will keep going and see how it develops. Who knows, I might even serialise one of my own novels at some point in the future.