Eleventh Cycle (1) (Mistland)

Product Information

My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Andrew W, Annabeth, Barbara, Brad, Casey, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Elias, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jesse, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Kristina, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Michael, Miracle, Neeraja, Nicholas, Radiah, Romeo, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shawn, Wendy, Wick, Xero, Yuri, Zoe. What we get is the emotion – and I can see why they were the aspects of emotion, but it was often shapeless emotion, that while we could see the source and understand it, lacked the impact it might have had with a bit more form and anchoring. It’s a chonk of a book and in some ways dense with it, and yet at the same time, this was a tome I consumed within the space of two days (admittedly doing little else between commute and a very late night), although I will admit that part of that was because I was hopeful that I was going to find that spark that would make me love this book as much as others have.

It’s a commitment and an experience to read, and not always a pleasant one, but no, overall, I believe that Ardalan achieved what he set out to create in Eleventh Cycle. As I progressed through Eleventh Cycle, each of the four protagonists took turns being my favorite character. From the very beginning of the prologue, Ardalan pushes us through the wardrobe and into this world, and immediately closes the door to the real world behind us.It urged me on, tempted me with promises of being unchained and free if my anger could spring to the surface. I hope that any prospective sequels get the time and editing process that they require to properly do justice to the genuinely interesting ideas and world that are in there somewhere. Next is Nora, who escapes abusive parents to become a fierce warrior full of hatred toward the opposing akar race. And in the center of all those stories, there is the Seed, the cause of the prophecies, the perspective that will be told from a third-person standpoint. I probably over-hyped the book in my own mind a bit too much, which definitely colored my perception of it.

There were some interesting powers, from the power to heal to the blood magic revealed later, and their magic certainly was the most interesting in what it might be capable of – and we didn’t get to see it. There was another point that really soured the story and the character for me, but I talk about that later as it also relates to Nora. Luckily the characters find their own voices pretty early on so it's easy to get into their heads as the PoVs change. It felt like we are watching their lives from a distant, like a play with actors conveying the emotions of the character. However, at a fundamental level Nora was the most grounded of the characters, in that she knew who she was and what she wanted – at least on the outside.

I also love its soft magic system, which is the perfect accompaniment to the novel’s mysterious aesthetic. The author mentions right from the very start of the book that none of this is done simply for the sake of it, to make light in any way, or for any type of shock value. Ardalan builds deep connections to these characters, which get reinforced by the use of a first-person voice for each one of them, creating a more close connection to them, and giving more impact to what will happen to them.

From the foreword to the afterword, we are warned that this will not be an easy journey, that the story is one intended to twist and turn, and meander through the all the shades from brightest white to darkest black. Today I am sharing my review for Eleventh Cycle by Kian Ardalan, the first book in the Mistland series. I have given my approval to the intricate world-building, Dark Souls inspirations, and powerful themes. There were beings, Seeds, and races birthed from each cycle such as Xelxidon of the light, Muriya the Protector as the great giant with a hammer that conjured earthquakes, and Kaelu the Silent that brought forth the age of Dragons.

There is layer upon layer to this world-building, and outside a few clunky bits of dialogue, there is no info dumping. If there's another aspect that is at the same level with worldbuilding, is how in contraposition with the darkness of the world, we are given characters we get to connect with them. While reading I could only imagine a slightly shorter version of this book (the 600 page version instead of the 800 page version), and how the book might have been better for it. I know I have mentioned in my review this is a grimdark fantasy novel, and as far as graphic content and brutal themes go, it truly belongs in the subgenre. I do find sometimes that books containing elves and dwarves do little to differentiate them from humans, other than the fact they have pointy ears or long beards.

While I have passing familiarity with both of those, I have never played/read either of them, and so I don’t have those to color or inform my opinion of the book. I read this at an astonishing pace of 200 pages per day, and believe me, with how busy my life is now, reading at this pace seldom happens. That high-level satisfaction feeling you get when you overcome difficult bosses in these games is utterly rewarding and missing from many games lately.It felt like a very traditional fantasy story that has been done a million times that read like a generic Wheel of Time style book. Each and every one of them is flawed but they are trying their best to navigate their often cruel surroundings. War was there on the periphery, an influence but not the hand that wielded the hurt that pushed him over the edge – it was family, and loss, and heritage and the pain of having everything you know crumble beneath him.