Beneath Far Skies by F.C. Filips
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by AstilbeA bit to the south of nowhere, the village of Shtrossenhossen faces an unexpected calamity. The government’s response is swift—mainly because it consists of a single person—and a ragtag band of neighbors is quickly assembled to defend their idyllic home. Unfortunately, they are completely out of their depth.
Join them on a journey packed with hilarity, action, and adventure as they uncover just how laughably outmatched they are by their enemy. From ancient ruins soaring high above the earth to reality-bending machinery buried below it, their quest will peel back the layers of a world they only thought they knew. Along the way, meet characters so unforgettable, it’s hard to tell whether they’re delightfully eccentric or dangerously unhinged.
Will our woefully unprepared heroes survive the impossible odds stacked against them? Can they challenge a god and live to tell the tale? Or will they have to move to another village? But then again, will there even be another village left? Crack open this book and find out!
Every adventure begins the same way: with a single step forward.
This was a world I felt like I really had just visited! It was described with such vivid detail that I could imagine the forests, villages, ruins, and other settings clearly in my mind. Figuring out how this society functioned was also easy to do as the characters spent plenty of time describing their roles, what was expected of them, and what they thought of, say, goblins or other creatures that followed other rules.
The slow pacing made it difficult for my interest levels to remain high at times. While I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the places they visited, I would have liked to see more action or conflict during their adventures as there wasn’t always enough of these things to encourage me to read just one more page before bedtime.
There’s something to be said for dialogue that is well written and feels natural. Reading it made me feel like I was listening in on someone else’s conversation. The characters had smooth, casual speaking styles and didn’t always use full sentences to communicate their thoughts. This was a good choice for a book that was willing to play around with the English language a little in order to show how people – or sometimes folks who technically aren’t human but are as intelligent as humans – talk to each other when they have a lot to say and not much time to say it.
I also would have liked to see more attention paid to character development. Characters faded into and out of scenes regularly due to how many of them were included in this quest. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to know any of them well because of the large cast and the limited amount of time that was spent developing their personalities and backstories. This meant that I didn’t feel strong emotional connections to anyone and sometimes struggled to remember who was who.
One of the positive things I noticed about the characters was the way the women were written. That is to say, the author did an excellent job of allowing everyone equal opportunities to play whichever roles in the storyline they wanted to take on no matter their sex. This wasn’t always something that was common in the fantasy genre, especially in historical settings, so I was glad to see characters feel free to pursue their hobbies and interests without any restrictions. It’s nice to have these quiet moments of freedom and acceptance for everyone.
Beneath Far Skies made me smile.
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