Self-Published Author Appreciation Week – ERYN MCCONNELL’s Top 5
This week is self-published author appreciation week (bit of a mouthful) so to that end we here at team EPIC have decided to each list our top 5 Indie fantasy and sci-fi books.
Some of these you might recognize and others they’ll probably be the first time you’ve ever heard of them. However, this is the main point of EPIC, to bring attention to the wealth of talent and great books that otherwise get overlooked. So without further ado here is Eryn’s list top 5 Indie books.
Falling Through Stars by Staci Olsen
This is a beautiful fantasy based on Alaskan mythology. The story begins quietly, with beautifully crafted prose and continues into a story that emcompasses gods, great evil, family and love. It was my top book of 2022.
Blurb; After crashing her dogsled into the frozen river, Ts'ellbah fears something is wrong, something deeper than the inexplicable new scar over her heart. She feels like a stranger in her own skin and struggles to remember her closest friends and family. At first, her clan is relieved that she survived the accident. But on a night when red spirit lights stain the sky like blood, Ts'ellbah suffers her first violent seizure and sees a vision in which a revered elder encounters a mythical monster and dies. When her announcement of the elder's death proves correct, many are convinced something evil possessed her in the dark river. They believe she killed the old man and want to cast her out. Before they do, Ts'ellbah must persuade her people that their ancient enemies have indeed returned, that they are looking for something, and they'll destroy the entire clan to find it.
2. The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies
I am a sucker for steampunk and gaslamp fantasy and this one did not disappoint. We have time manipulators, tons of vengeful Gods, a interworld station, a number of worlds, and much intrigue. It's complex, flashy and very British.
Blurb; When the saints fail, the sinners step up. Cruel gods rule the steam-powered city of Chime, demanding worship and tribute from their mortal subjects. Kayl lost her faith in them long ago, and now seeks to protect vulnerable and downtrodden mortals from their gods’ whims. But when Kayl discovers powers that she didn’t know she had—and destroys a mortal’s soul by accident—she becomes Chime’s most wanted. Quen’s job was to pursue sinners, until the visions started. Haunted by foreboding images of his beloved city’s destruction, Quen hunts soul-sucking creatures made of aether who prey on its citizens—and Kayl is his number one target. To ensure Chime’s future, Kayl and Quen must discover the truth of Kayl’s divine abilities before the gods take matters into their own hands. For a city that bows to cruel gods, it’ll take godless heathens to save it.
3. Darling there are Wolves in the Woods by LV Russell
I LOVE dark fairy tales, but I'm not such a fan of the popular fantasy kind with muscly fae and mates. This is not that kind of story. It's akin to Brothers Grimm of old, it's malevolent with hints of folk horror and mythology. The story is dark, rich and beautifully rendered.
Blurb: The woods are dark and wicked, and perhaps some things would be better off staying lost… Teya Jenkins is ten years old when her sister is taken. Niven is never found, because no one knows where to look. No one but Teya that is, who heard the whispers of the trees and saw the beautiful creatures that dwelled in the shadows. It is only after another tragedy, years later, that Teya finally dares to enter the forest that haunts her dreams, determined to bring home her sister and mend the fractured remains of her family. Beneath the whispering oaks, she meets Laphaniel, an outcast from the Seelie Court, who tempts her away with veiled promises of the thing she’s always longed for…to belong somewhere. But Laphaniel has secrets of his own, and Teya soon finds herself fighting not only for her life, and for her sister, but also for her heart. A sensual, dark faerie tale, full of delicious romance and delightful gothic imagery.
4. Many Savage Moons by Ben Spencer
This one is an #SPFBO9 read and is currently one of my joint top 3 for 2023. This is an urban fantasy at heart but at least half of it is set within a book, as the characters are forced to spend their nights within a book written by a Machiavellian author. He controls their lives while in the book and sometimes they do not survive it. It's got shades of Inkheart and Inception and it's really really good.
Blurb; A smartly written contemporary fantasy influenced by the genre-bending styles of David Mitchell, V.E. Schwab, Benjamin Percy, and Lev Grossman. In the space of a single afternoon, Nathaniel falls hard for Winter York, the beguiling, tattooed woman he meets at the local bookstore. She entrances him with her enigmatic sophistication, and the fact that she is avoiding another man only increases his interest. What starts as the perfect day ends in a violent home invasion when the man Winter is avoiding tracks her home. Nathaniel fights him off, sure the worst is over. Winter, however, insists that the man is capable of a strange and twisted magic: once he touches someone, he can write them into dreams, dreams where that person can die. How does Winter know? She is the inspiration for the man’s fantasy book series, and she has seen her friends perish at the stroke of his pen. Many Savage Moons is an unconventional love story full of literary references and haunting tattoos, set in a world where a writer wields fantastical powers over those who inspire his work. Straddling the literary and fantasy realms, Many Savage Moons is a compelling work of fiction.
5. Wrath of Olympus by EK KKoulla
This is an alt history: Rome still rules the world and the Gods are ever present. The Navy has ship-heads that run the ships, women that have been trained and then magically become part of the ship. It's gripping from beginning to end and is wholly original. I loved it.
Blurb: The Roman Empire never fell. The Gods are real. Ships are alive. In the Province of Britannia, ruled by descendants of King Arthur and on the brink of an industrial revolution, young Maia Abella is on the run. Something unseen has murdered her cruel mistress and she’s being blamed. The streets and factories of Portus are no place for a friendless girl, trapped in events beyond her control. The city authorities and the Royal Navy are both desperate to find her - one investigating a killer, the other to recruit her, while the deadly legacy of a tragic past stalks her every step. Aided by Raven, an ancient, blind Mage with a terrible secret and Milo, Crown Agent and spy, Maia must discover and overcome the fatal consequences of her birth. Meanwhile, the Gods are making their moves. And not all of them are friendly.