The death was harsh, and I can absolutely see the impact that it would have on anyone witnessing, let alone someone with that level of closeness – but aside from a few brief moments, we didn’t see that closeness. There are Plague Knights who take disease and inflict them upon those touched by their blades, there are owl bears and giant flying manta rays as well as races that we get to know a bit more, like the Akar and Zerubs. There is something compelling about the image, and the colours really pop – especially in the physical copy; although after reading the book, it was an interesting figure to choose considering the focus of this first book, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that it is a fantastic cover. He was the battlefield hero; he was the one who looked at those around him regardless of their race and position and offered a helping hand. Part of this might have been the result of trying to make sure all four of the main POV character’s storylines lined up so that the big confluence of character meet-ups could happen later in the book.

The length of the book betrays it just a little bit, as the middle of the book starts to drag while Ardalan moves all of the characters into position. Rest assured, the majority of the main story in Eleventh Cycle is so much more accessible than its inspiration: Dark Souls, and I totally appreciate this. With the exception of the Seed, the POVs were in first person, and yet it felt as though there was a veil or a vagueness to the characters, which meant that aside from the odd moment there was a disconnect. But I have not actually discussed THE aspect that elevated Eleventh Cycle to becoming one of my favorite books of all time: the characterizations. One thing that I particularly loved is the fact that the paths of the PoV characters crosses often and in meaningful ways.I think one of the reasons that Chroma’s story resonated so much, is that the hardships he experienced, and the wounds inflicted on his soul were more contained, and therefore in a way more impactful. Why can’t it just be about a clueless, young bard who is simply trying to make good on a promise with a wise-cracking skull as their companion? The worldbuilding certainly took centre stage for me and is the one aspect that I loved about this book, particularly when it was paired with the vivid imagery that Ardalan was able to conjure. There was of course the occasional chuckle, giggle and even laughter but those were the rarer occurrence.

And I have to say I think some of my favourite overall character work in Eleventh Cycle was how Ardalan dealt with Nora, from her hatred of Akar – that fear of the other, to the fact that so much of her strength and determination and hope stemmed from fear.Then there is the fact that there is a map – which as anyone who knows me, will know is an instant bonus point. Famished, simply skin on bone, she would sit upon her cathedra of bondage and bleed in a bowl at her feet. The story is dark and violent, the emotions the empathizing characters felt were palpable, and it does not shy away from revealing the light and darkness of humanity to its maximum effect.

And the aesthetic and imagery that has been built up in the design of the book, and in the worldbuilding itself is carried forward in the prose – and yes it does lean towards that awful term of ‘purple prose’ – which usually is something that I love. Chroma’s story, meanwhile, is far more despairing in tone, and his struggle with torn loyalties turned out to be my favorite part of the book.

Or maybe akar (a race born from the end of the 6th cycle with large charcoal-hued bodies and monstrous strength), giant flying stingray (like in Demon's Souls), and so many more. Eleventh Cycle is a book that has received a lot of attention and hype, and it was a highly anticipated book for me, especially with the fact that it was described as being a love letter to Beserk and Dark Souls – I am more familiar with the former than the latter, but one of my favourite reads in the last couple of years was another Dark Souls inspired book, and I was excited to see how Ardalan had combined those elements and what individual flavour it had brought to it.