I found two terrific romantic fantasy openings today. One blew me away, but both felt unique and were full of exciting ideas from Fantasy Book Critic‘s group.
105. Ian Haramaki, Mercy
A young priest, hated by his isolated, early 1900s quasi-eastern European town, is forced to hunt a vicious monster that has been killing the townspeople one by one. But he only has magic to heal in this dark, queer fantasy romance
I’m wow’d. This is simply terrific. The narrative is fast, focused, descriptive, and strange in the way the best fantasy horror is. It’s MC is unique and engaging.
He’s nothing like a hero. This isn’t his responsibility. He’s no hunter. But either he goes after the monster, or the town may tear him apart. And if he runs, which part of him wishes he would, he would be excommunicated. It is unthinkable.
And so, he goes to his death, out into the wilderness with a lantern and a censer. But will he die? Will he even find this monster that drips black ooze and is covered in red eyes? You’ll just have to read to see.
The setting and our sense of our MC are established fast and with wonderful precision. The prose is a delight. The situation is ghoulish and seemingly inescapable. What could possibly go right? (For our MC, that is).
The town itself seems to be going mad. What can one holy man in resplendent vestments do? The Hunter is already dead, and the church is not answering his letters. A demon in a backwater is little concern to them.
There are hints at a difficult past. Some shadow of guilt, at least the rumor of one, hangs over our MC. His father, also a priest, died young. His mother lived in a home full of trash.
This packs so much into every page. Guilt, exasperation, revulsion, grief, anger, helplessness, belligerence, cowardice. I can see the movie in my head as I read, and I can’t wait to read more. The Queer Indie Awards 2023 Winner! I’m in!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199495033-mercy
106. SJ Stiles, The Song of Thyssia
In an island kingdom at war with itself, a widowed Queen contemplates her dead king’s pyre, the lost lover of her youth, and the bargain she made with the sentient void in this romantic fantasy.
There is great emotion and imagery in this opening. The loss our queen has suffered is palpable, but restrained in its presentation. What has been is as present to her in the moments we share with her as what is now lost.
The prose is expressive, even poetic at times. Our glimpses of the bereaved queens past are snapshots, but they succeed wonderfully in telling a story.
In fact, I would say they succeed better than the present narrative. They are succinct, and because we expect them to be snapshots, they fulfill our expectations in their extreme focus and limited detail.
The context of the present narrative of this opening, however, is something I’m less certain of. While the images are strong, the exposition is not.
I am certainly less confused than I could be! But, as with any fantasy story, I know nothing about this world, and by the time I reach the end of the first chapter, I don’t feel there’s much I can say for certain about our setting.
There are details scattered throughout this opening, but somehow they lack clarity, especially in the prologue which was much too short to be very informative.
I think this may be a case of a beginning in too much of a rush, and yet there is a story here! And there are most certainly compellingly human characters who carry a mountain of responsibility on their shoulders.
Though in my estimation this just begins to tease its most engaging story/plot details instead of clearly establishing them (which I think would have been much more engaging), as I glance ahead, this seems to become more present and grounded in scene.
I expect this will go a long way towards also grounding the reader in the setting, and thus the local context for the story we’re enjoying. Make no mistake, what I do understand, I’m definitely enjoying.
Our queen has three grown children. She had a real love affair with her dead husband whom she only married because he won the tournament she devised to allow her to marry her young lover, only that man ran out on her to claim the crown of his own kingdom. Great stuff.
I’m eager to see where this one goes. When the characters start talking, the dialogue works well. The islands setting feels unique to me. The story seems high stakes, and yet grounded in characters with deep and real feelings. I’m in!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/208827600-the-song-of-thyssia
Tom Mock 
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