The Story Continues – My review of Tales Of Ioth by D.P Woolliscroft

Welcome to the latest review on my blog, westu hal to you.  I do hope that you are staying safe, and reading something awesome.  I am coming to you today with a review of a book that I have really enjoyed, fair warning it is part of a series, but it is a series that I am calling a self published wonder.  Welcome to my review of Tales of Ioth by D.P Woolliscroft, book 2.5 of the Wildfire Cycle.

First of all here is the premise for you:

Ioth was gone. Kingshold had fallen.

But we could not give up.

I am Mareth, once Lord Protector of Kingshold, and these are the stories of what happened after the fall, when everyone was at their lowest ebb. These are the stories of how the battle against Llewdon moved from the Jeweled Continent to Alfaria – the Wild Continent.

So I thought I would structure the review based on the order of the stories that are presented to the reader, I like to keep things neat and tidy.

The Beginning of Things

Dave starts this collection with an origin story, the creation of the world.  Told as a story to distract someone in the book, a narrative is weaved which swept me to a different place almost as an observer of this event.  It begins simply with the Mother-Tree and the fruit it bears, the animals that spring forth and the people that they create.  I love creation myths, this reminded me of Norse myths about Yggdrasil the world tree, this is a wonderful story though because it introduces key parts of the world, some important characters and why some things are.

Profit and Plain Sailing

A familiar character and his crew are the centre piece of this story, and one of my favourites too, none other than Vin Kolsen and his pirate crew are back.  Kolsen has a plan in this story, to establish something, to become the Pirate King and bring the North Sea Corsairs together after successfully raiding Pyrfew ships.  This was an interesting story, it deals with quite a few issues such as conquest, colonisation and free will.  An important character is introduced, Mouse and also how Kolsen finds an important Turtle as well.  Kolsen is one of my favourite characters in this cycle, an almost civilised pirate and trying to do (what he believes) the right thing.  An excellent story in this collection, because we all love pirates.

Dundenas

This is a novella in five parts, it takes place almost immediately after the end of Ioth:City of Lights.  It is a continuation of the story and finds everyone in a state of real depression, for everyone has lost something.  Told brilliantly from five different points of perspective, our group of heroes make a decision to travel to the Wild Continent by way of Purple Worm and through Dundenas.  Dundenas is one of the most intriguing parts of the Jeweled Continent, an underground realm that is wonderfully described.  All the perspectives show the different thoughts, emotions and motivations of each character, this is also where some of Dave’s finest writing comes to the fore.  The way he inhabits each character’s mind is wonderful, it pulls the reader in, I really enjoyed the perspective from Jill who is a bit of an outsider from this group, unsure of her place but determined to protect Alana.  Neenahwi, a character that I have really grown to like, is burdened with leadership, first reluctantly then assumed.  Her arc in this novella and her perspective is wonderful and brilliantly written by Dave.  Dundenas was a story I was really looking forward to, I was not disappointed at all and it moves the story along really well for all the characters.

The Further Adventures of an Old Man and his Pyxie

It’s always great to see a favorite character return, Jyuth was a great character in Kingshold and it was wonderful to catch up with him in this entertaining story.  I loved how he is trying to take a new direction in life, in his retirement, so to speak.  His Pyxie companion had me laughing at points, such a brilliant creation and some of his reactions to Jyuth are brilliant, another great character creation by Dave.  I won’t be saying to much about this story, it has some interesting developments for the world.  It does however further the readers discovery of the world, the Jeweled Continent is such a rich fantasy world and I am so happy to have been able to discover more of this amazing world.

The Wanderer

Of all the stories that are included in this collection, “The Wanderer” is perhaps the most intriguing and mysterious for the reader.  Told from the perspective of Yamaagh, a member of the Tigereye clan.  Similar to the clan Motega and Neenahwi are from, more of the Alfjarun are being revealed.  Telling of the interactions between Pyrfew and the Alfjarun clan Tigereye, the consequences of pride, clan loyalty and a clash of civilisations ensure in this story.  Yamaagh is a character I would love to see more, he was interesting and determined to succeed for his clan and himself.  He also has one awesome spirit animal as well, this story only increased my love of this series!

There you have it, a review of Tales of Ioth and all the stories contained within.  This is a great collection of stories from one of the best writers in the fantasy genre, I am very happy to say that Dave is one of my favourite writers and the Wildfire Cycle one of my favourite series. It is a self published wonder, a gem in the fantasy genre that should not be missed.  If you need some further convincing then please check out my reviews of Kingshold (Book 1) here, Tales of Kingshold (book 1.5) here and Ioth:City of Lights (book 2) here.  If you fancy, you can check out a Q and A with Dave here as well.

Finally, thank you for checking out my blog and the review as well, if you have been inspired to pick up a copy or start the series then I will be really happy.  Let me take this opportunity to wish you westu hal, and stay safe.

Until next time.