Book Review: An Inkling of Flame (Song of the Damned, #0.5) by Z.B. Steele
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
An Inkling of Flame: A Song of the Damned novella by Z.B. Steele
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Song of the Damned (Book #0.5)
Genre: Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy
Pages: 89 pages (Paperback edition)
Published: 13th January 2025
An Inkling of Flame by Z.B. Steele does what the title signifies. It shows the burning potential the series has to leave its scorching mark in the genre.
“When another blames you or hates you, or people voice similar criticisms, go to their souls, penetrate inside and see what sort of people they are.”― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
I will never tire of being pleasantly surprised by titles or authors I never heard of. In fact, as I read so many fantasy books and continue to do so, I find moments like this more treasurable. It is the nature of the world. When you read so many books in the same genre, you’ll find it more difficult to feel impressed by new books you read. If you’ve been following my booktube channel for the past year, I think you’ll know I’ve been feeling mixed about the books I read in the fantasy genre. And that is a shock to me. Fantasy and science fiction are my favorite genres of all time. It brings me genuine sadness when I am not enjoying the books I read. I picked up An Inkling of Flame with zero knowledge about the book. I knew nothing. The author sent me a copy of An Inkling of Flame, which is a prequel novella to the main novel of the Song of the Damned series, Whispers of the Storm. I read the first chapter of An Inkling of Flame, and then I ended up reading the whole book in one sitting.
“A true hero is someone willing to stand up for those who need it, no matter what. No matter the method. Fancy words and dramatic speeches are for the politicians and the nobles; in shaded alleyways, only your honor and your fists can make you a man. Real honor is something earned in the dark when no one is looking.”
This standalone prequel novella follows the story of Layne, a soldier conscripted to fight under the Fox in a vengeance-fueled march. Layne and his friends were due for a fated confrontation with the Assassin in Grey. Now, the inquisitors want to hear every detail of his conscription, his training, and the duel against the assassin in grey. Do you know what this means? Yes, Steele utilizes a framing narrative to create a short, compelling, grim, and impactful narrative that will leave readers enthusiastic to hear more music and sound from the Song of the Damned. The framing narrative is a storytelling device popularized by The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. To this day, despite the popularity of The Kingkiller Chronicle, it is still shocking to see how few fantasy books try to implement that in their storytelling. Steele should’ve mentioned this to me when he pitched the book to me, and I would’ve gobbled it up. Thankfully, I still did that anyway.
“So, like I said, it was a boring year, and it was the best year of my life. They say when you’re a kid, you have energy and time, but no money; when you’re an adult, you have energy and money, but no time; when you’re old, you have time and money, but no energy. They left out that when you’re a kid, you have friends and imagination. The games we made up, the laughs we shared, the unspoken bond felt between us… I’d give anything to go back.”
It is crystal clear that Abercrombie and Rothfuss are some of Steele’s main inspirations as an author. Not only their influences are reflected in the narrative, but I also loved how Steele managed to tell a fleshed-out standalone story with such effectiveness in this relatively small book. The friendship between Layne and his friends is well-written. The banter felt realistic. The horror and boredom of war are depicted without mercy. Steele also displayed how everyone is the main character of their respective story through this tale, and the world is never fair to everyone.
“We always talk good about the dead. The good is elevated, promoted to epic proportions. One quick joke is ballooned into a lifetime as a comedian. One noble deed is evidence of a saintly life. Our flaws are treated similarly, when they can be used for levity. How many tears have been turned into laughter at the phrase “remember that time?” Foolish deeds are retold as good natured, immortalizing acts.”
An Inkling of Flame is one of the strongest fantasy novellas I have ever read. If the purpose of this novella is to push readers into reading the main novel, it has succeeded in spades. By the end of the book, I was craving for more out of this world and the characters, especially the Assassin in Grey. The identity of the Assassin in Grey will not come as a surprise. But his motivation? His actions in An Inkling of Flame? The deal with his hatred toward Tidur, Samira, Odis, Balin, and their supposedly crafted palace of lies? I want to know more. I want to know whether the Assassin in Grey is justifying his actions or telling the truth. To put it simply, I need to find out the full story behind his motivation. And to do that, enters the Whispers of the Storm. I shall do that (most likely) within this year. I highly recommend An Inkling of Flame to fantasy readers who love framing narrative and grimdark fantasy.
“They’ll never say it to your face, but they do. Don’t underestimate the value of one tenacious person. If you give up that fire, they’ll be doused too. This is war, Layne. If we don’t want to live, we won’t.”
(Side note: Steele named almost all the main characters in this novella after people in the fantasy bookish community. For example, Spark from Anna Smith Spark. This is super cool, and it did not decrease my enjoyment of the book and rating, but I did find my immersion distracted because I know most of the people and ended up imagining all of them cosplaying as the characters instead! xD)
You can order this book from: Amazon | Blackwells (Free International shipping)
The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.
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