Oathbreakers Anonymous – Quaint Creatures: Magical and Mundane
I wanted to see more of two books today, one with real voice and flair, and the other with a steady, quiet opening for animal lovers.
(from Before We Go Blog)
124. Scott Warren, Oathbreakers Anonymous
A hot-headed Orc paladin of the god of fate is stripped of his power when he picks the wrong fight with a mountain godling in this 1st person fantasy with a terrific voice.
The voice of this fantasy is a stand-out. It is irreverent without being ridiculous. Humorous without leaving its story behind. It is grounded and engaging and feels effortlessly written.
The narrative flows in the voice of the MC, dipping from present action into setting details, steeped all the while in wondrous references to the Loom goddess, weaver of fates, and other bits of fantasy flair.
Simply put, this is off to a terrific start. It’s straight forward in its exposition, but with character-centered flair. We learn so much about the magical world of the story through our MCs succinct description of his divine abilities and of how magic + time can turn a beast into something godlike.
I found these sections particularly absorbing & creative and would want to read more for this alone. Add to it the voice of the MC, & the world altering (for him) turn of being suddenly divested of his abilities, and I have everything I could ask to keep turning the pages.
I wish I could go on and on about it, but at a certain point there’s little more to say than wow and oh boy! I’ll add there’s some wonderfully weird and comical details about board, their chosen weapons, and the form this godling takes.
This has been an effortlessly engaging read. Each sentence pulls me along to the next. The first chapter alone is worth the paltry cost of the ebook. Sold! I’m in!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/125195114-oathbreakers-anonymous
125) Andrew D Meredith, Quaint Creatures: Magical and Mundane
A dungeon inspector turned animal rehabilitator meets new people in his new gnomish dungeon house/shop, and there’s a difficult case coming his way.
This is off to a simple, quiet start, but does a good job of establishing a sense of setting (physical and genre) in the opening chapter.
Our MC is affable and easy going. Everything seems nice and right in his world. Some tiny people come into his shop to get a pet. The dialogue establishes where we are and how our MC got here.
It’s workmanlike, adds bits of world building flare in its interest in fantastical creatures, including the characters, and even the house our MC is living in – I think there’s some kind of dimensional magic stuff going on as opposed to just burrowing architecture.
This is written in 1st person, but so far the storytelling has felt more like 3rd person. Most of the narrative is in the dialogue and descriptions which could as easily be omniscient. Our narrator does not editorialize. What he has to say, he mostly says out loud.
Nonetheless, this persists in being interesting. This detail and that are easily laid before the reader to our satisfaction, just as the quaint creatures are shown to our shoppers. But is there something more suited to our interests?
Yes, it seems there is. Our shopper is not merely here for his niece. He has a bit of a problem that maybe our animal dealer/veterinarian can help him with. We’ll have to see what that is.
This feels like a light story. Light on voice, playful but light on humor or conflict, but not without those things. Not light on quiet charm. Not straining for your attention, but far from losing. I could happily keep turning the pages. I’m in.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/210127191-quaint-creatures
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Tom Mock 
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